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Amy and Lan
' vivid and funny, sometimes heart-rendingly sad' GuardianThis is the story of how we came to Frith. And we're never, ever, ever leaving.'Amy Connell and Lan Honey are having the best childhood, growing up on a West Country farm - three families, a couple of lodgers, goats, dogs and an orphaned calf called Gabriella Christmas.The parents are best friends too. Originally from the city, they're learning about growing their own vegetables, milking the goats, slaughtering chickens and scything the hay--'Mind your eyes! Don't break your neck! Careful!'The adults are far too busy to keep an eye on Amy and Lan, and Amy and Lan would never tell them about climbing on the high barn roof, or what happened with the axe that time, any more than their parents would tell them the things they get up to - adult things, like betrayal - that threaten to bring the whole fragile idyll tumbling down...'A gently episodic and humorous tale whose sharp-eyed, effervescent child narrators entertain... Beguilingly readable' Daily Mail'Jones's evocation of childhood is its fierce passions, disaffections, loyalties and suffering' Financial Times
312 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
March 23, 2022
4+ stars
This is a coming of age novel told alternately across a five-year period (2005 to 2010) by Amy and Lan (Lachlan). Lan’s mum Gail and stepdad Jim, Amy‘s parents Harriet and Adam along with Rani and Martin Hodge club together to buy and renovate Frith, a Herefordshire farm where they all live in different cottages. I love the self-sufficiency element but it makes no bones about the difficulties, though initially for Lan and Amy and the other kids, Frith feels like heaven.
The alternating points of view works extremely well, although it’s sometimes hard to differentiate one child from the other which may be deliberate as they do seem like halves of a whole. The adventure and magic of Frith comes across strongly in their narratives and I’m under a Frith spell, it enchants me. It’s vivid and very funny in places though the tone changes towards the end. Some scenes are such fun picturing such as Gabriella Christmas, the calf in the snug!
The characterisation is excellent and you are prompted to remember via Amy and Lan just how insightful, perceptive and truthful young kids are in their incisive remarks on the adults . They are all fleshed out, your picture Harriet working hard on the farm, Gail not so much, lovely Jim, good looking and noisy Adam who is also a tad work shy. The dynamics between the adults and how it changes brings a darker tone later on in the novel with money being short leading to disagreements and with different desires and directions. Outsiders perceptions of Frith life is illuminating too. The dynamics between the children are less clear but you realise Bill is, well, Bill.
Overall, this is a very good blend of the beautiful and magical with the raw brutality and occasional harshness of a farming life, which has its sadnesses combined with sensitivity and heartache.
I enjoy this very much, Sadie Jones is an excellent and vivid storyteller.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Vintage/Chatto and Windus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
This is a coming of age novel told alternately across a five-year period (2005 to 2010) by Amy and Lan (Lachlan). Lan’s mum Gail and stepdad Jim, Amy‘s parents Harriet and Adam along with Rani and Martin Hodge club together to buy and renovate Frith, a Herefordshire farm where they all live in different cottages. I love the self-sufficiency element but it makes no bones about the difficulties, though initially for Lan and Amy and the other kids, Frith feels like heaven.
The alternating points of view works extremely well, although it’s sometimes hard to differentiate one child from the other which may be deliberate as they do seem like halves of a whole. The adventure and magic of Frith comes across strongly in their narratives and I’m under a Frith spell, it enchants me. It’s vivid and very funny in places though the tone changes towards the end. Some scenes are such fun picturing such as Gabriella Christmas, the calf in the snug!
The characterisation is excellent and you are prompted to remember via Amy and Lan just how insightful, perceptive and truthful young kids are in their incisive remarks on the adults . They are all fleshed out, your picture Harriet working hard on the farm, Gail not so much, lovely Jim, good looking and noisy Adam who is also a tad work shy. The dynamics between the adults and how it changes brings a darker tone later on in the novel with money being short leading to disagreements and with different desires and directions. Outsiders perceptions of Frith life is illuminating too. The dynamics between the children are less clear but you realise Bill is, well, Bill.
Overall, this is a very good blend of the beautiful and magical with the raw brutality and occasional harshness of a farming life, which has its sadnesses combined with sensitivity and heartache.
I enjoy this very much, Sadie Jones is an excellent and vivid storyteller.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Vintage/Chatto and Windus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
February 26, 2023
I feel like I’ve just lost my whole family, and all the people I love in this world are gone. That's how caught up I got in this book. It felt so absolutely real to me, as though I was one of the lucky ones living on Frith Farm with Amy and Lan, and all the rest of them.
It's such a lovely, wondrous story! So idyllic! Three families decide to give up the city life and rent a smallholding (farm) in the English countryside. At the start, no one knew quite what to do, but it’s been about 10 years now and, with the help of The Self-Sufficiency Bible—referred to often—they’re feeling pretty confident in their skills and knowledge. They keep goats, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, and of course, their orphaned cow, Gabriella Christmas. Oh, what a precious gift she was! They grow vegetables and harvest hay for the animals. It felt like living in a fairy tale. Everyone was blissfully happy; each of them knew their role, and everything was moving along like a well-oiled machine… until it wasn’t.
Put 16 people together—some married, some not, some adults, some children, some adults who act like children—and before too long, things will start to change. People may migrate around like puzzle pieces looking for a new slot to fit into to. Some may notice—Amy and Lan do—but they don't understand so they let it go and no one says a word... until hearts are broken and something must finally be said.
From what I can tell, this is NOT the author’s usual fiction style, but I’m awfully glad she took a chance and published this beautiful, heart-felt “coming of age” story. Amy & Lan is the kind of book I think EVERYONE would benefit from reading, at least once. It "spoke to me" and I feel it could have something to say to all those who read it. It's a very special piece of writing and I most heartily recommend it.
5 A-story-you'll-never-forget stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's such a lovely, wondrous story! So idyllic! Three families decide to give up the city life and rent a smallholding (farm) in the English countryside. At the start, no one knew quite what to do, but it’s been about 10 years now and, with the help of The Self-Sufficiency Bible—referred to often—they’re feeling pretty confident in their skills and knowledge. They keep goats, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, and of course, their orphaned cow, Gabriella Christmas. Oh, what a precious gift she was! They grow vegetables and harvest hay for the animals. It felt like living in a fairy tale. Everyone was blissfully happy; each of them knew their role, and everything was moving along like a well-oiled machine… until it wasn’t.
Put 16 people together—some married, some not, some adults, some children, some adults who act like children—and before too long, things will start to change. People may migrate around like puzzle pieces looking for a new slot to fit into to. Some may notice—Amy and Lan do—but they don't understand so they let it go and no one says a word... until hearts are broken and something must finally be said.
LAN: I sit on the window ledge, with the chick tucked under my neck. It feels like the most alive and breakable thing in the world. Amy is probably still in the car, not at the station yet. I am going to call her and Facebook and stuff. I thought I wouldn’t, but I probably will. “Obviously”, I practically hear her say.I surprised myself at how many tears I cried; my chest was heaving. It broke my heart, and touched a nerve that made me a bumbling mess. And then in an instant it was over. And I felt like I'd been cleansed somehow! It's a story I hope I'll never ever EVER forget.
The chick feels so alive it’s almost humming, quivering on my chest. Soft and precious. And somewhere inside it, a tiny, tiny little heart, beating.
From what I can tell, this is NOT the author’s usual fiction style, but I’m awfully glad she took a chance and published this beautiful, heart-felt “coming of age” story. Amy & Lan is the kind of book I think EVERYONE would benefit from reading, at least once. It "spoke to me" and I feel it could have something to say to all those who read it. It's a very special piece of writing and I most heartily recommend it.
5 A-story-you'll-never-forget stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
February 22, 2022
Dangerous things are always fine if you're clever like we are, and cool like us.
This reminded me a bit of 'The Go-Between': a story told by children who don't understand what's happening amongst the adults surrounding them. Jones does a fine job of catching the voices of Amy and Lan who are just seven when the book opens, coming up to adolescence as it closes - but their voices do merge together so that, technically, we cannot tell them apart.
There's a similar issue in that the adults are not clearly portrayed: I think some of this is that the child's view does, to some extent, see them as a group of 'grown-ups' but the lack of easy differentiation rather undermines the emotional experience of the reader.
On one hand this is a mundane story of growing up and being initiated into the puzzling world of adulthood; on the other it has an almost mythic dimension - the Edenic view of Frith from Amy and Lan's perspective (despite all the blood, poo, and death that farming involves), and the final expulsion into something more adult.
Jones has some fun with the idea of the rural idyll which she undercuts with some glee, and there's a vividness in the writing that puts us there. I like the mix of the inconsequential and the significant, but this feels a little dialed down from Jones' more emotionally devastating books like The Outcast and Small Wars.
This reminded me a bit of 'The Go-Between': a story told by children who don't understand what's happening amongst the adults surrounding them. Jones does a fine job of catching the voices of Amy and Lan who are just seven when the book opens, coming up to adolescence as it closes - but their voices do merge together so that, technically, we cannot tell them apart.
There's a similar issue in that the adults are not clearly portrayed: I think some of this is that the child's view does, to some extent, see them as a group of 'grown-ups' but the lack of easy differentiation rather undermines the emotional experience of the reader.
On one hand this is a mundane story of growing up and being initiated into the puzzling world of adulthood; on the other it has an almost mythic dimension - the Edenic view of Frith from Amy and Lan's perspective (despite all the blood, poo, and death that farming involves), and the final expulsion into something more adult.
Jones has some fun with the idea of the rural idyll which she undercuts with some glee, and there's a vividness in the writing that puts us there. I like the mix of the inconsequential and the significant, but this feels a little dialed down from Jones' more emotionally devastating books like The Outcast and Small Wars.
September 23, 2023
Told from the point of view of two children, which is bad enough, but they were also indistinguishable from each other. I don’t even understand the point of it at all. Disappointing!
August 20, 2022
Sadie Jones creates intriguing backdrops and atmospheric tones in her novels. In her last book, THE SANKES, much of the action took place in a creepy and deserted hotel, with oddball, twisted, and sinister characters. AMY & LAN is quite a departure from THE SNAKES, and occurs during a five-year period (2005-2010) on a rambunctious Herefordshire farm. The smallholding, Frith, is delicately illustrated in an ink drawing prefacing the novel, and serves as a physical guide for readers. Three sets of Londoner friends decide to take their kids and dogs and escape the urban life for country living. Best friends and seven-year-olds Amy and Lan (Lachlan) tell the story, in alternating voices, of their predominantly unsupervised farm life with their parents. Born just days apart, they describe themselves as two halves of the same whole. As the story progresses, Amy and Lan—and the reader—will observe increasing undercurrents of less than idyll realities. The bucolic countryside is fraught with restive tensions, mainly brought forth by the parents.
The adults are often preoccupied with finances, petty conflicts, and self-regard, but the two best friends, although limited by age, still sense the prickly emotions that ripple through the farm. The story unfolds vividly, as the children experience agricultural and animal life on Frith. Whether it’s the slaughtering of their precious turkey, Virginia, for Thanksgiving (potent and traumatic!), the adoption of an orphaned calf, or the birth of one, life never gets dull for the kids. Moreover, everyone learns to participate in scything the grass to make hay (I actually paused my reading to watch a YouTube vid on scything!). Some adult characters are more defined than others, but all are seen through the lens of Amy and Lan, where the weight of the narrative rests. I’m not often onboard with child narrators in novels, as they can lean toward the precious or too self-aware. However, the author hits the sweet spot, and, through Jones, these two children tell an authentic tale.
“Usually I don’t really think about me and Amy being friends,” Lan says. “We’re always together and I don’t even notice her that much.” One primary thrust of the novel, though, is how Amy and Lan, raised almost like siblings (or more like twins!), start to experience themselves as separate from the other. These heartfelt moments reminded me how brittle and brutal our childhoods can be. The inevitable climax didn’t surprise, yet I still felt the impact.
4.5 rounded up
A grateful thank-you to Harper Collins for sending me a finished copy for review.
The adults are often preoccupied with finances, petty conflicts, and self-regard, but the two best friends, although limited by age, still sense the prickly emotions that ripple through the farm. The story unfolds vividly, as the children experience agricultural and animal life on Frith. Whether it’s the slaughtering of their precious turkey, Virginia, for Thanksgiving (potent and traumatic!), the adoption of an orphaned calf, or the birth of one, life never gets dull for the kids. Moreover, everyone learns to participate in scything the grass to make hay (I actually paused my reading to watch a YouTube vid on scything!). Some adult characters are more defined than others, but all are seen through the lens of Amy and Lan, where the weight of the narrative rests. I’m not often onboard with child narrators in novels, as they can lean toward the precious or too self-aware. However, the author hits the sweet spot, and, through Jones, these two children tell an authentic tale.
“Usually I don’t really think about me and Amy being friends,” Lan says. “We’re always together and I don’t even notice her that much.” One primary thrust of the novel, though, is how Amy and Lan, raised almost like siblings (or more like twins!), start to experience themselves as separate from the other. These heartfelt moments reminded me how brittle and brutal our childhoods can be. The inevitable climax didn’t surprise, yet I still felt the impact.
4.5 rounded up
A grateful thank-you to Harper Collins for sending me a finished copy for review.
July 23, 2022
Amy and Lan, 7 years old, are having an idyllic childhood on a communal farm deep in the countryside, where they are left mainly to their own devices while the adults get on with their own increasingly fraught lives until everything inevitably finally falls apart. It’s quite a mundane and unoriginal story and a fairly routine coming-of-age narrative. We see everything from the children’s perspective and of course their comprehension is that of children, so although we get hints of what is going on with the grown-ups we never get the adults’ perspective which I found distanced me from their troubles. They all seemed to be types rather than fully rounded characters. Farm life is vividly and realistically portrayed and Jones avoids romanticising country life but it all felt inconsequential to me, and certainly not “fabulously funny and heart-rendingly sad” as the Guardian describes the novel. It’s a pleasant enough read but left me underwhelmed and certainly not as enchanted as many other reviewers have been.
September 10, 2023
The tale of two kids growing up on a communal farm in Herefordshire, starting from when they are 7 to early adolescence. I loved the details and atmosphere of this book, the changing of the seasons, the wildlife, the livestock, and the children's freedom to play and discover. I grew up nearby, in a semi rural area on the outskirts of Worcester in the Midlands and this took me right back to being out all day playing in the fields, climbing trees, riding horses, falling in streams and nettles, and getting absolutely filthy. Amy, Lan and the other children love their life, but the adults lives are far more complicated and disruption to this wonderful idyll ensues. The story is told by Amy and Lan in alternating chapters, however I found the voices so similar that I had to keep flipping back to see who was speaking, and the adults I found to be a bit one dimensional, I kept getting two of the mothers mixed up. All in all though, a gentle, enjoyable read, 3.5 stars rounded up.
July 25, 2022
How do you know when you’ve really loved a book? You can’t bear to be away from it, you want to read it at every opportunity and when you’re finished, you’re bereft.
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
*Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse @vintagebooks @chattobooks for the ARC via @netgalley. Amy & Lan was published on 7 July and is widely available in all good bookshops.*
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
*Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse @vintagebooks @chattobooks for the ARC via @netgalley. Amy & Lan was published on 7 July and is widely available in all good bookshops.*
June 24, 2022
Amy and Lan are practically twins, growing up in a commune-style farm as they navigate from childhood to early adolescence. A gentle but engaging read, Sadie captures the beautiful simplicity and enduring hardships of farm-life, painting a timely portrait of agricultural life in a capitalist society. But this is also a family portrait. Through the innocent eyes of Amy and Lan, we experience the intimacies between the families, their struggles, disloyalties and domestic disagreements – though these are not always understood by the children.
While beautifully written, this not Jone’s best work. Characters are often hard to differentiate – even the voices of Amy and Lan can be hard to tell apart at times. It is a novel to be read quickly, or else abandoned halfway through. Though even if you do make it to the end, you may still be left wondering, what was it all about anyway?
While beautifully written, this not Jone’s best work. Characters are often hard to differentiate – even the voices of Amy and Lan can be hard to tell apart at times. It is a novel to be read quickly, or else abandoned halfway through. Though even if you do make it to the end, you may still be left wondering, what was it all about anyway?
February 15, 2023
Story of a communal farm and the friendship of the children living there.
September 2, 2023
This is a coming of age novel, narrated by Amy and Lan. They and their families reside on a communal farm.
Three families had decided to give up city living and have rented a farm in the countryside. It's idyllic looking after their pigs, goats, chickens, dogs, cats and an orphaned cow.
Unfortunately when the world of the grown ups impact on the children's, their lives will never be the same again.
I couldn't put this beautifully written book down, by the end of this I felt like I knew Amy and Lan and wanted to be a part of their wonderful farm.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Three families had decided to give up city living and have rented a farm in the countryside. It's idyllic looking after their pigs, goats, chickens, dogs, cats and an orphaned cow.
Unfortunately when the world of the grown ups impact on the children's, their lives will never be the same again.
I couldn't put this beautifully written book down, by the end of this I felt like I knew Amy and Lan and wanted to be a part of their wonderful farm.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2022
“Honeys in the Farmhouse, Connells in the Cowhouse, Hodges in the Carthouse…”
When three families decide to forego the urban world and move together to a Herefordshire farm, the decision seems idyllic – at least to Amy and Lan (short for Lachlan), two seven-year-old best buddies. Narrated from their perspective, Frith Farm is a never-ending revelation of ramshackle picnics, wheelies, birthing cows, rescued caged-in hens, baled hay, and bucolic settings.
It’s not easy for any writer to present the world from the viewpoint of children, who are seven when the book begins and twelve when it ends. The Children’s Bible, by Lydia Millet, comes instantly to mind. And loss of innocence is a theme that has been often leveraged.
But Sadie Jones handles the pitfalls well. She is a darn good writer and uses metaphor in similar ways that she did in her last novel, The Snakes. There, actual snakes were used as a counterpoint to a venomous family, who needed to shed their protective skin and morph into their real essence. Here, in one vivid scene, the families must dispense with writhing rats, writhing around in a bin. No one wants to smash them to bits and leaving them to starve is cruel. One of the children speculates, “I bet they’re eating each other…or having sex.”
Indeed, while the families are in no danger of starving, money is a ubiquitous issue. None of the couples are natural farmers and schisms begin to be noted (and sometimes, dismissed) by the unsupervised children. As certain allegiances begin to grow, the outside world is allowed in and fault lines begin to appear.
As with most novels about children, a loss of innocence is inevitable but when it happens, it still packs an enormous punch. Amy and Lan are portrayed authentically, and my only quibble is that their voices seem interchangeable. I’m giving this a 4.5 rating, rounded up. I'm very appreciative to HarperCollins, who sent me a advance reader copy of a long-time favorite author in exchange for an honest review.
When three families decide to forego the urban world and move together to a Herefordshire farm, the decision seems idyllic – at least to Amy and Lan (short for Lachlan), two seven-year-old best buddies. Narrated from their perspective, Frith Farm is a never-ending revelation of ramshackle picnics, wheelies, birthing cows, rescued caged-in hens, baled hay, and bucolic settings.
It’s not easy for any writer to present the world from the viewpoint of children, who are seven when the book begins and twelve when it ends. The Children’s Bible, by Lydia Millet, comes instantly to mind. And loss of innocence is a theme that has been often leveraged.
But Sadie Jones handles the pitfalls well. She is a darn good writer and uses metaphor in similar ways that she did in her last novel, The Snakes. There, actual snakes were used as a counterpoint to a venomous family, who needed to shed their protective skin and morph into their real essence. Here, in one vivid scene, the families must dispense with writhing rats, writhing around in a bin. No one wants to smash them to bits and leaving them to starve is cruel. One of the children speculates, “I bet they’re eating each other…or having sex.”
Indeed, while the families are in no danger of starving, money is a ubiquitous issue. None of the couples are natural farmers and schisms begin to be noted (and sometimes, dismissed) by the unsupervised children. As certain allegiances begin to grow, the outside world is allowed in and fault lines begin to appear.
As with most novels about children, a loss of innocence is inevitable but when it happens, it still packs an enormous punch. Amy and Lan are portrayed authentically, and my only quibble is that their voices seem interchangeable. I’m giving this a 4.5 rating, rounded up. I'm very appreciative to HarperCollins, who sent me a advance reader copy of a long-time favorite author in exchange for an honest review.
November 17, 2022
Setting: West Country, UK; 2005-2010.
Amy Connell and Lachlan (Lan) Honey live with their respective families and others on a 'West Country farm' (possibly somewhere near the Welsh border) known as 'The Frith'. Amy and Lan narrate their observations of life on the farm and their families' stories from the ages of seven to about twelve, including family conflicts, harvest time, school, animals and relationships, as the pair grow up with little adult supervision and consequently encounter several near-death experiences. All is not happy at The Frith, as the two best friends are soon to discover....
Although quite well-written, I think this was one of those books where, as with other similar books, I wasn't really enamoured with the narrators being children. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the sections being headed up 'Amy' and 'Lan', I would have found it difficult to tell which of the children was 'speaking'. Also, nothing much really happened in the book so this turned out to be my least favourite of this author's works so far - 6/10.
Amy Connell and Lachlan (Lan) Honey live with their respective families and others on a 'West Country farm' (possibly somewhere near the Welsh border) known as 'The Frith'. Amy and Lan narrate their observations of life on the farm and their families' stories from the ages of seven to about twelve, including family conflicts, harvest time, school, animals and relationships, as the pair grow up with little adult supervision and consequently encounter several near-death experiences. All is not happy at The Frith, as the two best friends are soon to discover....
Although quite well-written, I think this was one of those books where, as with other similar books, I wasn't really enamoured with the narrators being children. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the sections being headed up 'Amy' and 'Lan', I would have found it difficult to tell which of the children was 'speaking'. Also, nothing much really happened in the book so this turned out to be my least favourite of this author's works so far - 6/10.
July 19, 2025
loved this read about english rural life told by two children.a commune with all its clashes and different personalities.the description of the house and meals and pets and farm animals was great. a very good Summer read. also love the authors other books ,which led to this.
September 14, 2023
A beautifully complex and achingly nostalgic portrayal of childhood innocence and its gradual decay. Wonderfully vivid in its portrait of rural farm life, reading Amy & Lan was like reminiscing over a happy childhood memory, whilst desperately trying to ignore the hazy discontent of its before and after.
July 25, 2022
How do you know when you’ve really loved a book? You can’t bear to be away from it, you want to read it at every opportunity and when you’re finished, you’re bereft.
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
*Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse @vintagebooks @chattobooks for the ARC via @netgalley. Amy & Lan was published on 7 July and is widely available in all good bookshops.*
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
*Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse @vintagebooks @chattobooks for the ARC via @netgalley. Amy & Lan was published on 7 July and is widely available in all good bookshops.*
December 30, 2022
Out of the mouths of babes!
“Amy & Lan” presents a snapshot of life at Firth, a rambling farm/commune built by a group of starry-eyed London hipsters who ditch city life for (literally) greener pastures.
Life at Firth isn’t easy, but 7.5 years into their stay, things have more or less evolved thanks to homesteading research on the dial-up internet, communal determination, a fair bit of bumbling, hard work (by some characters more than others), and a heavy dose of luck.
The story is relayed with wide-eyed innocence by the titular characters, Amy & Lan, the eldest of 6 or 7 children born after the move to Firth. Three couples, their children, and two single adults live on different outbuildings across the property.
Amy and Lan are half-feral, living and playing underfoot, joyfully, mischievously, and somewhat dangerously exploring the ins-and-outs of the communal farm while their preoccupied parents try to make a go of homesteading.
The story comes alive through a series of childhood adventures, domestic scenes, and milestones at Firth. Below the innocent voices of our narrators, the disappointments, jealousies, anxieties, and bitter indiscretions of the adults in their lives bubble over.
As years pass, and childhood wanes, Amy & Lan’s idyllic life comes closer into focus, and the vulnerabilities and failings of the adults around them become impossible to ignore.
Not a read for thrill-seekers, this is a character driven novel layered with quiet pleasures, small amusements, and ordinary heartbreak. Sadie Jones captures the voice of childhood in all of its bittersweet complexity.
According to this Book Eater, Amy & Lan tastes like an English countryside picnic: pasta salad with fresh-picked broad beans and courgettes; waxed paper-wrapped goat cheese, thick-sliced home baked bread and a jar of unpasteurized honey with a tiny bee’s leg floating in its sweet depths for authenticity. In other words, I ate it all up (sans bee’s leg, of course.)
“Amy & Lan” presents a snapshot of life at Firth, a rambling farm/commune built by a group of starry-eyed London hipsters who ditch city life for (literally) greener pastures.
Life at Firth isn’t easy, but 7.5 years into their stay, things have more or less evolved thanks to homesteading research on the dial-up internet, communal determination, a fair bit of bumbling, hard work (by some characters more than others), and a heavy dose of luck.
The story is relayed with wide-eyed innocence by the titular characters, Amy & Lan, the eldest of 6 or 7 children born after the move to Firth. Three couples, their children, and two single adults live on different outbuildings across the property.
Amy and Lan are half-feral, living and playing underfoot, joyfully, mischievously, and somewhat dangerously exploring the ins-and-outs of the communal farm while their preoccupied parents try to make a go of homesteading.
The story comes alive through a series of childhood adventures, domestic scenes, and milestones at Firth. Below the innocent voices of our narrators, the disappointments, jealousies, anxieties, and bitter indiscretions of the adults in their lives bubble over.
As years pass, and childhood wanes, Amy & Lan’s idyllic life comes closer into focus, and the vulnerabilities and failings of the adults around them become impossible to ignore.
Not a read for thrill-seekers, this is a character driven novel layered with quiet pleasures, small amusements, and ordinary heartbreak. Sadie Jones captures the voice of childhood in all of its bittersweet complexity.
According to this Book Eater, Amy & Lan tastes like an English countryside picnic: pasta salad with fresh-picked broad beans and courgettes; waxed paper-wrapped goat cheese, thick-sliced home baked bread and a jar of unpasteurized honey with a tiny bee’s leg floating in its sweet depths for authenticity. In other words, I ate it all up (sans bee’s leg, of course.)
February 3, 2023
This is a quirky book about a group of families that live on a commune. They live in their own little world and it takes a while for the kids to realize how different their world is but they love it. The story is told from both Amy and Lan’s perspective. It reminds me of a family I know, which made me laugh.
October 9, 2022
When three families decide to leave the urban rat race and move to a small piece of farmland in the English countryside, it all seems idyllic at first. Amy and Lan, both seven years old at the beginning of the story, are best friends (“almost twins”) whose parents help keep things afloat as they figure out how to run a small farm. Because the story is told through Amy and Lan’s eyes, we often see things in their descriptions that they themselves don’t yet understand, particularly regarding the interactions amongst their parents.
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’d thought I would. The author has certainly done her research into running a small farm and the details regarding raising cows, sheep and chickens are wonderful and often entertaining (again, particularly because they’re told by Amy and Lan). I think Jones has probably captured the true essence of what “city folk” would encounter if they decide to go natural and live somewhat communally... both the joys and frustrations, plus an enormous learning curve! Yet, the story dragged for me and although I enjoyed a lot of Amy and Lan’s observations, I found their family members rather tedious. Even Amy, in particular, grated on my nerves at times. One minute I would be loving her independent spirit, then the next, I’d be agreeing with one of the farm’s guests who aptly said the kids were “foul-mouthed and filthy”. Yes, they were, and I confess I found that a bit off-putting at times.
I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why I was so underwhelmed by this one. It should have been a quick read, but I feel like I slogged through it, somewhat like the characters in the book who seemed to constantly be slogging through sopping muck.
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’d thought I would. The author has certainly done her research into running a small farm and the details regarding raising cows, sheep and chickens are wonderful and often entertaining (again, particularly because they’re told by Amy and Lan). I think Jones has probably captured the true essence of what “city folk” would encounter if they decide to go natural and live somewhat communally... both the joys and frustrations, plus an enormous learning curve! Yet, the story dragged for me and although I enjoyed a lot of Amy and Lan’s observations, I found their family members rather tedious. Even Amy, in particular, grated on my nerves at times. One minute I would be loving her independent spirit, then the next, I’d be agreeing with one of the farm’s guests who aptly said the kids were “foul-mouthed and filthy”. Yes, they were, and I confess I found that a bit off-putting at times.
I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why I was so underwhelmed by this one. It should have been a quick read, but I feel like I slogged through it, somewhat like the characters in the book who seemed to constantly be slogging through sopping muck.
July 24, 2023
Screaming, crying, throwing up
December 8, 2022
Amy and Lan are the best of friends on the rural English farm commune where they grow up, born just a few days apart. They’re very young when the story commences (5 or 6), and everything that transpires is seen through their eyes and narrated in alternating chapters from their different viewpoints. The author has crafted a bit of a magic with these childish perspectives that, while not at all cloyingly immature, are innocent in that they only understand what a child might. The seasons and the years roll on, and Amy and Lan are clearly in paradise, energetic and happy and loving everything about their friendship and their life on the farm. But there’s trouble in paradise, as the adults around them seem to be increasingly unhappy…
Quite brilliant at conveying the world through children’s eyes.
Quite brilliant at conveying the world through children’s eyes.
November 15, 2024
4.5 stars. This is the story of Amy and Lan, two kids growing up in a large farm in the Frith countryside, their families moving there to escape the stresses of city life. It’s mostly an idyllic environment; nature and the seasons playing a huge role but trouble is brewing and the happy ever afters are about to be hugely challenged…
I went into this thinking it would be a bit dark and menacing like The Snakes was (oh my god how I loved that book) so I was a bit surprised and dare I say it, mildly disappointed that this seemed to be completely different. But I stuck with it and boy am I pleased I did.
This isn’t dark, it isn’t menacing. It’s a tale of life and death and childhood and growing up and joy and sadness and oh it’s so rich with emotion and wonderment. The scenes of nature took my breath away, the friendship between Amy and Lan warmed my heart and the ending brought me to tears.
Truly majestic. Sadie Jones has done it again.
I went into this thinking it would be a bit dark and menacing like The Snakes was (oh my god how I loved that book) so I was a bit surprised and dare I say it, mildly disappointed that this seemed to be completely different. But I stuck with it and boy am I pleased I did.
This isn’t dark, it isn’t menacing. It’s a tale of life and death and childhood and growing up and joy and sadness and oh it’s so rich with emotion and wonderment. The scenes of nature took my breath away, the friendship between Amy and Lan warmed my heart and the ending brought me to tears.
Truly majestic. Sadie Jones has done it again.
January 2, 2024
Gillar Sadie Jones, men detta var inte hennes bästa enligt mig. Lite seg. Men intressant roman om grönavågenliv skildrat ur två barns perspektiv. Vad förstår barnen egentligen av de vuxnas konflikter? Som läsare anar man hur det ska sluta. Snyggt skrivet, och kanske hade den fått en fyra om jag varit mindre förkyld och mer fokuserad 🙂
July 28, 2023
When you happen to read the book cover and you are enticed into a story that will turn out to have a sinister turn at some point, you are constantly waiting for that moment to happen.
However, Sadie Jones manages to keep you on tenterhooks throughout the whole story and there are many moments where you think you are at the climax when you are far from it.
A beautifully woven story of childhood, growing up, love, friendship, and adventure. A story though, highlighting the difficulties of growing up, the challenges of friendship, the consequences of rebellious behaviour and, ultimately, the reality of some families in modern times.
For me, when you read a book and can imagine and want it as a movie, then you have hooked me in and Amy & Lan certainly did that!
However, Sadie Jones manages to keep you on tenterhooks throughout the whole story and there are many moments where you think you are at the climax when you are far from it.
A beautifully woven story of childhood, growing up, love, friendship, and adventure. A story though, highlighting the difficulties of growing up, the challenges of friendship, the consequences of rebellious behaviour and, ultimately, the reality of some families in modern times.
For me, when you read a book and can imagine and want it as a movie, then you have hooked me in and Amy & Lan certainly did that!
July 21, 2022
How do you know when you’ve really loved a book? You can’t bear to be away from it, you want to read it at every opportunity and when you’re finished, you’re bereft.
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is evocative and gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
I sat for ages dwelling on Amy & Lan when I finished it, sort of marinating in it, not wanting to move past it. It was an unexpected gem, not one I’d seen a lot of hype about (or any reviews of) but I’m so glad I read it.
Amy & Lan is a story told through the eyes of two children whose families move to Frith, a rural farm in the English countryside which they set up as a commune of sorts with a third family and a couple of stragglers.
Amy and Lan narrate the story in alternate chapters, capturing perfectly the cut and thrust of farm life and the experimental chaos of former city dwellers living off the fat of the land.
The ecstasy of outdoor life, the freedom and innocence of childhood and the canny awareness of children as to what adults are feeling and getting up to, is captured so perfectly, as is the easy companionship between the two friends, who are two halves of the same whole to the point where the voices almost overlap as you’re reading.
The story itself is quite gripping and very subtly told by the children. The maelstrom of the commune is depicted vividly and an uneasy feeling over the direction things are taking is hard to shake off as you’re reading.
Amy & Lan is evocative and gentle and beguiling and sad and I loved everything about it. I see it being a contender for prizes (Sadie Jones has previously been shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the WP) for The Outcast, and won the Costa Book Award for it - I only realised when I finished this one that I’ve read it). I see that Amy & Lan has also been selected as a Guardian and Evening Standard Summer Read for 2022.
A book hangover has already set in, it gave me that special feeling. Bravo Sadie Jones. 5/5⭐️
June 28, 2022
I found life with Amy and Lan on the Frith farm a pure delight. It reminded me of my less wild younger years growing up on a farm, too, though without the benefit of the lack of supervision these two rambunctious 7-year-olds seemed to enjoy.
In Amy and Lan we see the world through the eyes of our two young narrators who try to make sense of the adult world they inhabit. Frith is a commune, of sorts, being a farm purchased by three families as a means of getting back to nature and a simpler way of life. They grow their own food and raise their own animals. There are many tough lessons and hardships to face but Amy and Lan bounce from event to event taking the ups and downs in their stride. The complexities of adult interactions are noticed, even if not understood, and the way they interpret them is naively sweet and perceptive. They have an amazing radar for emotion and underlying tensions between their parents though not the life experience to see what these might mean for them.
I couldn't put this book down and felt a real sadness upon completion. Sadie Jones is a terrific writer and made the world of Amy and Lan a magical place full of simplicity, joy and tough realities. This was a journey through the innocence of childhood without the entanglements of tech and complex social media and norms. Brilliant.
In Amy and Lan we see the world through the eyes of our two young narrators who try to make sense of the adult world they inhabit. Frith is a commune, of sorts, being a farm purchased by three families as a means of getting back to nature and a simpler way of life. They grow their own food and raise their own animals. There are many tough lessons and hardships to face but Amy and Lan bounce from event to event taking the ups and downs in their stride. The complexities of adult interactions are noticed, even if not understood, and the way they interpret them is naively sweet and perceptive. They have an amazing radar for emotion and underlying tensions between their parents though not the life experience to see what these might mean for them.
I couldn't put this book down and felt a real sadness upon completion. Sadie Jones is a terrific writer and made the world of Amy and Lan a magical place full of simplicity, joy and tough realities. This was a journey through the innocence of childhood without the entanglements of tech and complex social media and norms. Brilliant.
July 1, 2022
Amy and Lan tells the story of Amy and Lan, 2 primary school children who live with their families and various associates in a ramshackle farm in the west of England. The premise seems strong, the families are a disparate bunch, multiple tensions abound, and the farm is barely functioning.
The book is related by Amy and Lam over 5 years of their lives, unfortunately this causes a problem.
Amy and Lan have very similar narrative voices even though they are different sexes and in very different family set ups. I regularly had to check back to see who was narrating each chapter and who “mum” was this time. The device also distances the reader from the story. You are aware of the tension between the adults but as you only ever see them through the eyes of a child you get very little true understanding of their characters and motivations. What they are up to is far more interesting than what Amy and Lan are up to, unless you are really interested in 2 kids witnessing the running of a farm day to day.
I found it really hard work in places though it did come to life in the final few chapters when everything comes to a head and something happens. Amy and Lan are 11 at this stage so their narration is more nuanced and adult. I really wish the rest of the book had been so involving. Thank you to #netgalley and #chattobooks for allowing me to review this ARC
The book is related by Amy and Lam over 5 years of their lives, unfortunately this causes a problem.
Amy and Lan have very similar narrative voices even though they are different sexes and in very different family set ups. I regularly had to check back to see who was narrating each chapter and who “mum” was this time. The device also distances the reader from the story. You are aware of the tension between the adults but as you only ever see them through the eyes of a child you get very little true understanding of their characters and motivations. What they are up to is far more interesting than what Amy and Lan are up to, unless you are really interested in 2 kids witnessing the running of a farm day to day.
I found it really hard work in places though it did come to life in the final few chapters when everything comes to a head and something happens. Amy and Lan are 11 at this stage so their narration is more nuanced and adult. I really wish the rest of the book had been so involving. Thank you to #netgalley and #chattobooks for allowing me to review this ARC
July 5, 2022
This is a brilliantly-written coming-of-age novel about two children who grow up together like brother and sister whilst their families and other friends pursue their dream having escaped the rat race to run a self-sufficient lifestyle on a small-holding.
The novel cleverly uses a very immersive narrative alternating between the two juvenile protagonists, Amy and Lan and their childlike voices and perspectives are incredibly convincing. The beauty of their childhood innocence contrasting with the invasive nature of impending maturity, the threat of the outside world on their bucolic countryside idyll, and the destruction wrought as the adult relationships slowly fall apart.
I really enjoyed this novel, and have always found Jones' writing to be immersive and incredibly sensitive no matter what type of characters she writes about. This book talks about about whether we can truly escape the problems of the world and about raising children in the countryside and how we perceive the virtuosity of this. Yet, this is perfectly woven into a captivating story, which is vividly rich in colour and evocation. An excellent read!
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
The novel cleverly uses a very immersive narrative alternating between the two juvenile protagonists, Amy and Lan and their childlike voices and perspectives are incredibly convincing. The beauty of their childhood innocence contrasting with the invasive nature of impending maturity, the threat of the outside world on their bucolic countryside idyll, and the destruction wrought as the adult relationships slowly fall apart.
I really enjoyed this novel, and have always found Jones' writing to be immersive and incredibly sensitive no matter what type of characters she writes about. This book talks about about whether we can truly escape the problems of the world and about raising children in the countryside and how we perceive the virtuosity of this. Yet, this is perfectly woven into a captivating story, which is vividly rich in colour and evocation. An excellent read!
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
June 28, 2022
I absolutely LOVED Amy & Lan, a take of two inseparable youngsters growing up on a quasi-farm run by their respective parents and another couple in a middle-class version of a commune. The adults are all old friends who have escaped city life to pursue a dream of self-sufficiency living in the countryside. The novel is in turn both very moving and laugh-out-loud funny. It's also hyper-realistic about the way in which the "countryside" is a tough, unglamorous environment for those born to it and a bucolic idyll (at least for a while) for those who have chosen to live there. As an adult reader, you see the end coming a mile off but are still spellbound as to how it will play out. Amy and Lan are delightful and so too are all their quirky names for various animals, places – and even the family car. Jones is a great writer with many lines to linger over and relish (such as this gem during an extremely tense multi-family dinner: "we could hear everyone chewing even though spaghetti isn't crunchy".). Amy & Lan is now competing hard with my all-time favourite Sadie Jones book Small Wars. This is a great summer read and I'm REALLY hoping it gets made into a TV series!
July 14, 2022
After the brilliance of her previous novel, The Snakes, what a huge disappointment. This was basically a children's book in the same vein as Little Men, in which Jones traces an utterly hackneyed path from childhood innocence to a burgeoning adolescent disillusionment. It's not new or sophisticated, and comparisons to The Go-Between are way off the mark. I thought The Snakes showed an author emerging as a major force, but that work now looks like the exception in her oeuvre rather than a step forward.
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