Far From Home: A Gorgeous Literary Fiction – A Lost Teenager's Journey to Redemption

by Anne Degrace

“A gorgeous novel of coincidence and redemption….A story that will impact our own lives profoundly.”—Katrina Kittle, author of The Kindness of StrangersA wonderful new literary voice in the vein of A. Manette Ansay, Ami McKay, and Joanne Harris, Anne DeGrace makes her U.S. debut with Far From Home—a thoughtful and lovely novel about the chance encounters that can change our lives forever. Paulette Jiles, the New York Times bestselling author of Enemy Women, calls Anne DeGrace “a gifted story teller” and Far From Home “thoroughly enjoyable.” The story of a lost teenager who finds herself in a diner in the middle of nowhere, Far From Home is superb introduction for U.S readers to a talented writer who has already made a splash in her native Canada.

Genres: Fiction

285 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Neha S R · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's pretty much hippy nonsense that never gets resolved. Tries hard to focus on too many characters and never doing a single one justice.

[Momruns5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to be kinder to strangers.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a deeply humane and compassionate fabric of tales woven in and around a mountain cafe in British Columbia. The prose is easy to read and deft, and the characters, with a couple of clunky exceptions (Buddy, Pixie), are sympathetic and believable. Alas, the continued introduction of new characters in the story became a little hard to follow and harder still to believe, making me think that the narrative either needed to be honed for simplicity or the novel made more commodious (i.e., longer) to accommodate the crowd. All in all, a very pleasant read with a warm, humane heart.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. It was the same thing with each chapter: stranger comes into diner, shares their story and moves on. I kept waiting for some big revelation, and maybe there would be further into the book, 1/3 of the way into it I just couldn't find any interest to finishing.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, I like the way all of the characters stories were tied together in one way or another, although I didn't care much for the ending.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough read, though pretty contrived and simplistic.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Far from Home" is one of the better books I have read. Not only is it a good story but it is well written. It is an easy read that keeps the reader interested throughout the entire book.

The story takes place in British Columbia and a young college girl, Jo, is living with her parents. Jo's parents, in an act of kindness, allow a distant relative, Eamon, to live with them until he can find work. Eamon seduces Joe and she becomes pregnant.

After delivering the baby and realizing that Eamon is not interested in marriage and being a father, Jo is unable to remain at home and begins to pursue a life of her own. Taking what few belongings she has, Jo begins to hitchhike across the country.

Jo is taken in a friendly trucker who finds he a job as a waitress at Cass's Roadside Diner. The diner is located on a mountain pass and is frequented by truckers and a few travelers that are just passing through.

It is here that Jo finds herself interacting with strangers and coming to the understanding that every person has a story and every person can have some influence on others. The type of characters she meets are both entertaining and informative. Although, most of the characters are just passing through, they all leave something behind that Jo uses to give direction and meaning to her life.

There is a young hippie who has chosen to follow the wind, whichever way the wind blows is the direction he will take. She listens to the water witcher who comes from a family that can find water but finds he does not possess the gift. Jo hears the tragic story of a woman who is mentally challenged and is going through a crisis in her life. All of these people leave an impression so that Jo can pick up her life and face the future.

"Far from Home" makes an excellent book, not only for the individual, but also for a reading group. It provides an interesting, fast moving story that will cause the reader or reading group to think about what is happening to the characters portrayed in the book.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay... wish I could give it 2.5 stars. It's basically a series of character studies woven together to create a novel. I found the introduction of new characters every few chapters to be a little hard to follow. It seemed more like a grouping of short stories. I wanted to get to know the characters on a deeper level, and thought that I would as the book progressed, but that didn't happen. It was an interesting way to tell a story, but I wish it had a stronger storyline.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Far from Home Anne DeGrace spins a lyrical tale of the interwoven paths of several strangers who seem to have virtually nothing in common. Nothing, except for their varying stays at a little cafe that sits on just off the road on a mountain pass in the middle of nowhere – Cass’s Roadside Cafe. This unremarkable little cafe is the hub on the wheel from which DeGrace spins her literary tapestry...

Full review on our book blog:

http://simplepleasuresbooks.wordpress...

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was easy to read and the language flowed nicely. I preferred some of the side character stories to the actual whole. I thought some of the side stories would have made for beautiful short stories. The book isn't a bad one, it just has a lot going on, and many intertwining character stories to follow. The initial premise of the story seemed too far fetched for me to take seriously. I realize this is fiction, but it still needed to be a little more believable.

[Maryruth Endicott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well written story whose characters interact and intersect very carefully. Anne Degrace does an amazing job telling the story of each character and interweaving their stories throughout the book. It was very easy to read this book because the stories are so interesting and often tragic in their own way. A wonderfully told story about finding yourself and dealing with your past.

[Jill Tallman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious. 70 pages from the end and I couldn't even make myself care enough about the book to finish. I can't imagine anything spectacular was going to happen in the last 70 pages to make the first 160 worth my while.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, just right for a warm summer afternoon. The author has written a series of character sketches and loosely tied them together with a common geographical setting (a road side diner). Further character development would have made what is a good book even better.

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intriguing story and wonderfully drawn characters! I particularly enjoyed the fact that Jo learns something from each person with whom she has contact at the diner. I think it's so true that if we accept and learn to appreciate each other, we will advance our own development and understanding.

[Becksy49058 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only "liked" this book. It wasn't really a page-turner, for me, because of the way the author told the story from each character's point-of-view. Yet, as I got toward the end, I was anxious for it all to be tied together. I'm not sure the ending did that for me.

[Megann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Anne Degrace and it was a challenge for me. The story line jumps around from person to person and back again so there were times I got confused but in the end I had it all figured out. Very interesting plot line....

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good concept with a lot of potential, but the interconnected tales are disjointed and don't really go anywhere, and the storyline is predictable and not very well executed. Meh.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

glad I bought it at a thrift store .Not worth the 14.99 original price.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far so good!

[Kathleen Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling story about a traumatized and disillusioned young woman on a journey to find a new life.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book should have been called People on the Run From Themselves. Everyone was running from something.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, quick read, interesting characters.