The Distance Between Us

by Maggie O'Farrell

From Maggie O'Farrell, bestselling author of AFTER YOU'D GONE and THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, comes a gripping novel about the way childhood fears can haunt adult lives.On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but she instantly recognises him. Or thinks she does.At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revellers, Jake realises that things are becoming dangerous.They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand.Gripping, insightful and deft, this is Maggie O'Farrell's finest achievement to date.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Scotland, Family

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Maggie O'Farrell (born 1972, Coleraine Northern Ireland) is a British author of contemporary fiction, who features in Waterstones' 25 Authors for the Future. It is possible to identify several common themes in her novels - the relationship between sisters is one, another is loss and the psychological impact of those losses on the lives of her characters.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I’ve tried to do this year was to read all of the books by some of my favorite writers. Maggie O’Farrell is on that list and after reading this book, I’ve read all of her published books to date. I love that I’ve done that, but then I was sorry I didn’t have another to read by her so I’m thrilled to know that she has a new one to be published in 2020.

I’m always drawn to her characters, their complicated relationships, the intelligent and emotional depiction of their lives. I found all of this here. I’m drawn to her writing because even if though I don’t think I can find myself in the shoes of her characters, I end up there as well as in the places they are as in the book, on the streets of Hong Kong during a crowd crush at a New Year’s Eve celebration or on the streets of London or a quiet, secluded place in Scotland.

While I can’t say that this my favorite story line of hers, the writing and the structure amaze me, so I won’t say much about the plot. You can find that in the book description and in other reviews. But the writing is incredible! There are paragraphs following each other, giving details of what the main characters, Jake and Stella are simultaneously doing thousands of miles apart. The narrative moves from one character to another, from one place to another, from their present to their past and back again. You might think that would be confusing, but it never was for me and I’m in awe of how she skillfully executes this, how I was continuously captivated as it moves around like this. She is simply an amazing writer. With so many transitions between time and place and character, we become privy to their past relationships, to the things they carry from that past and how it moved them to where they are in the present. As I mentioned, the story line wasn’t my favorite of hers so it’s 3 stars for that and 5 stars for the writing. In spite of the 3 star story line, I will read whatever Maggie O’Farrell writes !

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! I never expected this. I never expected to fall in love with a book that I randomly plucked from a box at a garage sale.

Maggie O'Farrell has enchanted and captivated me. Her writing is lyrical and honest, warm and homely. She describes things in a way I can relate to.

'He doesn't like the word 'homesick', doesn't feel it does justice to what it's supposed to describe. He prefers the long, pulling, mournful vowels of the German word 'heimweh'. For him, it's not just a mild case of nausea - he feels flattened, steamrollered, horrified, miserable, disjointed, desperate. It's as if he's the wrong species for this place: there's not enough sun, the air doesn't have the right ratios of gases, everything is too spread out, too sprawling, and he can barely understand what people are saying to him. '

'Sometimes, she knows, people just have to exit their lives. '

'Even at the end of her life, when she was consigned to a chair in an old people's home near the Swansea docks, she could recall the feel of her mother's wooden spoon against her tongue, the grain of that damp saturated wood, the taste of uncooked dough, the sticky irresistible mix of egg, flour and water, the dry handle held firm in her fingers. '

The Distance Between Us is written in an unusual fashion. There is a large cast of characters encompassing Stella's family - large, Italian-Scottish- and Jake's family. Stella and Jake live on opposite sides of the world and know nothing of each other's existence. But at one moment in time, each has reason to flee their lives.

There is no time line - it bounces and jumps all over the place. On one page we have Nina leaving her husband, something she does with amazing regularity, and later on the same page we have her starting nursery school. This is something I normally hate, but O'Farrell makes it work, and work well.

An unexpected treasure. I want more.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Distance Between Us (originally published in 2004) is my sixth Maggie O'Farrell book, so I am a fan. However because I've read and gloried in her amazing skill in her later much more literary works, and because my introduction was her phenomenal memoir I Am, I Am, I Am which provided me knowledge about her real life that made me guess some of the plot for this earlier book, I think from now on I will go forward reading her new works only. (She has a historical fiction novel coming out in March, Hamnet , and I can't wait.)

The Distance Between Us is episodic commercial romantic drama. Whereas her later books are tightly constructed as organic, seamless tour de force literary jigsaw puzzle scenes, jumping time and characters, the same technique used in this less mature book feels frustrating. Scenes build steam and then we cut to another time and place, requiring reader readjustment. I dealt with this by stopping between scenes—much the way you would watch an episodic television series over the course of a season. The characters and plot are compelling enough to remember from scene to later scene, but the facility with amazing transitions that marks her later books is not there yet.

Don't get me wrong. This is a good commercial effort. But if it is your first Maggie O'Farrell book and you prefer something more artistic and complex, please read her later works to see how her abilities develop and bloom.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the eight novel that I have read by Maggie O’Farrell. I can always rely on her for a good story, well told! I will say that this being her third book, it did not stand up as well to her later books. It did not feel as tightly written, but nonetheless, I still really enjoyed escaping into her characters’ worlds.

We meet Stella and Jake. Stella is in London when she encounters a “stranger” that makes her flee to Scotland. Jake is in Hong Kong, when he is caught in a Chinese New Year crush, and due to circumstances, first comes to London and then escapes to Scotland.

We alternate going between Stella and Jake, their pasts and their families. There was a lot of time and people switches so it took me a bit of time to settle into the story. Once comfortably ensconced, the story took over and had me racing to the conclusion.

The themes include family ties, sisterly bonds, responsibility to self and others, past mistakes, guilt and love.

There were two unresolved questions for me and the ending was a bit too pat for my liking. The writing in true Maggie O’Farrell fashion was stunning.

“The moments that affect you are only ever the ones you’re not expecting. The ones you know will arrive, the ones you’ve been waiting for, have almost an unreal, rehearsed air about them, because you’ve imagined them so many times.”

Published: 2004

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A love story or a story of two sisters - I was never quite sure. Perhaps the problem with this book was that it tried to be both and became clogged and cloying from the effort. Stella runs away constantly and inexplicably (even given the 'terrible secret' that has 'haunted her since childhood') and Nina is one of the most confusing and annoying characters I have encountered in fiction. Actually, scrap that, they are both annoying. Despite Stella's complete lack of personality (and vocabulary), Jake (who does his fair share of idiotic things too) falls in love with her. She runs away, he follows her, she runs away, ad nauseum. It is all a little overwrought and ends as typical love stories always do - but with another inexplicable layer in the narrative and another perfect co-incidence( the book is riddled with them). Perhaps intentioned to illustrate how destined they are for each other. But only succeeding to aggravate this curmudgeonly reader and make her want to fling this book aside.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written in a dreamy style, from different characters points of view, set in different places and not in chronological order and it takes a while to sort out who the significant characters are. I quite enjoyed the writing style as it made it quite an impressionistic read. What didn’t work for me was some of the characters, particularly Nina. She became quite an annoying part of the story. I really wanted to know what the big secret was and when it’s revealed Stella as an 8yo on a camp pushing the class bully into a river there’s nothing in the text about how the family or school or anything reacted or dealt with it. Stella is still so obviously traumatised by it as an adult. It lacked resolution in Jake’s story as well The trip to Scotland to find his father and he never gets any closer to knowing him. So I enjoyed the writing but found the plot and characterisation the weak part.

[Piña McPíñez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uf me ha encantado, es que esta señora escribe tan tan bien.. todo lo hace bonito. No le pongo 5 estrellas porque hasta la mitad del libro no me enganché, y porque Stella es una petarda.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro fez-me sentir como se estivesse a tentar montar um puzzle do avesso; ia encaixando as peças, uma a uma, com dificuldade, sem vislumbrar de todo a imagem na sua totalidade.

Por falar nisso, faço um parêntesis para contar algo de que recordo com saudade: a minha filha mais velha, quando tinha cerca de 6 anitos, adorava fazer puzzles, quando os considerava já demasiado fáceis virava-os ao contrário, para tornar o desafio mais difícil, e encaixava as peças pelo seu formato. O ideal seria ter acesso a outros de dificuldade maior, mas obviamente não podíamos (financeiramente falando) proporcionar isso ao ritmo das suas exigências.

Regressando ao assunto que aqui me traz, o livro retrata duas histórias distintas; vidas fragmentadas, pessoas diversas, ora no estado adulto ora no de criança, entre passado e presente, lugares díspares, acontecimentos numa amálgama que tentámos unir. As peças surgem baralhadas num mistério que aguça a leitura.

A autora organiza de forma diferente os acontecimentos que jaziam escondidos desafiando o leitor.

Os personagens enigmáticos e interessantes envolvem-nos e a dado momento a narrativa torna-se um verdadeiro page-turner.

"O Estranho Desaparecimento de Esme Lennox" foi a minha estreia com Maggie O'Farrell e senti-me arrebatada; este é o segundo livro que leio da autora e já tenho outros adicionados que quero muito ler.

[bookstories_travels🪐 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta es la historia de cómo dos personas que viven en distintos puntos del mundo acaban encontrándose.
Por un lado está Jake, un joven de ascendencia británica, nacido y criado en Hong Kong, cuya vida cambiará una noche de Año Nuevo, cuando él y su novia se vean envueltos en un terrible incidente. Por otro lado está Stella, una mujer en constante huida de un pasado que le impide disfrutar de la vida o echar raíces en algún lugar. De ahí que la única persona que realmente la comprende es su hermana Nina, con la cual comparte un complejo y poderoso vinculo. Jake y Stella quieren escapar de sus vidas, y el destino hace que coincidan en un pequeño hotel de Escocia.

Siempre diré que me fascinan los autores y autoras que son capaces de hacer historias interesantes a partir de tramas sencillas y asépticas, sin grandes giros de guión o sorpresas argumentales, tan solo valiéndose de su buen hacer literario y de la manera en que manejan a los personajes. Y creo que una de las autoras contemporáneas que mejor sabe dar en el clavo en este aspecto es Maggie O’Farrell. Es la tercera novela de la autora irlandesa que leo después de sus trabajos históricos en “Hanmet” y “El Retrato de Casada”, y la verdad es que ya tenía muchas ganas de conocerla en su faceta más contemporánea. Y tengo que decir que la experiencia, a grandes rasgos, ha sido positiva. Pero tampoco ha dado lugar a una lectura que me haya emocionado, especialmente. De hecho, yo diría que de las tres novelas que llevo leídas de O’Farrell, “La Distancia que nos Separa” es probablemente la que menos me ha gustado. No me ha parecido mala ni me ha desagradado especialmente, y ha habido muchos momentos en los que la he disfrutado, y creo que es interesante por muchos motivos. Pero tampoco me ha emocionado y en muchos tramos de la lectura he sentido cierta indiferencia hacia lo que me estaban narrando y sus protagonistas.

En primer lugar, creo que todo esto puede deberse a que estamos ante la tercera también). Novela de la autora y aún se percibe en su prosa cierta inmadurez. Después de haber leído sus últimos trabajos, tengo la impresión de que en este Maggie O’Farrell aún estaba conociéndose y probándose a sí misma como escritora. Y en segundo lugar, creo que la narrativa de la obra favorece el que sea muy difícil poner el foco en elementos concretos de la misma. Y es que si algo caracteriza esta lectura son los constantes saltos en el tiempo que la sazona. En un momento determinado, podemos estar leyendo lo que le está pasando en el presente ayer, para inmediatamente saltar a los recuerdos de la madre y la familia italiana de Stella y Nina, para luego transportarnos a la traumática infancia de estas dos Hermanas. Y esto da lugar a una lectura que a veces resulta no tan liosa como inconstante. El lector está obligado a leer por este aspecto “La Distancia que nos Separa” con algo de concentración, y hay que hay momentos en que pasas de un lado al otro, y sí que puede costar un poco ubicarte al principio. Además, en general, me ha dado la impresión de que las diferentes tramas y personajes de esta historia no terminaban de estar bien hilvanados unos con otros por este aspecto,. Y es que la idea no es mala, ni está especialmente mal ejecutada. De hecho, hace que la lectura sea muy original y ayuda a que podamos poner el foco en un amplio abanico de personajes y por eso mismo para mí lastra demasiado a los personajes en no pocos momentos de la lectura. Impide que muchos de ellos puedan desarrollarse con cierta eficacia. Y es que si algo me gusta de O’Farrell es la sencillez y la rotundidad con la que sabe caracterizarlos, cómo puede hacer caracteres definidos, dentro de su sencillez, marcados por las circunstancias que les rodean y por sus personalidades, creíbles en su simple y contundente humanidad, y como, además, sabe hacerles cercanos al lector, por la manera que tiene en meterse en sus almas y en sus mundos. Y todo eso es algo que me ha faltado con los de este libro a grandes rasgos. Me han parecido que se quedaban a medio gas que, que les faltaba fuerza y caracterizaciones más definidas e interesantes. Además, la autora no solo se centra en la pareja protagonista, también pone el foco en sus núcleos familiares y sus padres y abuelos. Es verdad que todo eso da al contexto personal de Jake y Stella mucho volumen, enjundia e interés, ayuda no poco a entender de dónde vienen estos dos y hacia dónde van. En el caso de Stella, en concreto, creo que este viaje a sus raíces está soberbiamente bien llevado. Pero en lo que toca a Jake, por el contrario, siento que esta parte queda bastante enfocada y que no se le otorga la importancia que debería haber tenido si se tiene en cuenta que si le proporciona a Stella. De hecho, para mí las partes en las que tomaba el testigo. La abuela de Jake me han resultado absolutamente innecesarias, siento que no aportaban nada a la novela, y eso me ha parecido una pena, porque ese arco me parecía bastante interesante y me quedo con ganas de que la autora lo hubiera explorado más.

Dicho todo esto, también le reconozco a “La Distancia que nos Separa” sus cosas buenas. Y es que con otro autor este libro hubiera sido bastante más aburrido y sobrio, hubiera hecho aguas por doquier al poco de iniciarse. Pero con Maggie O’Farrell nos encontramos con una historia que lleva a buen puerto y que se luce en todo lo que muestra sin palabras. La escritora nos habla del peso del pasado en todos sus sentidos: tanto en lo que concierne a las raíces familiares y a la educación y cultura entre las que pasamos nuestros primeros años de vida, como a los errores que nosotros mismos cometemos y que acaban afectando directamente a nuestro presente. Y todo eso, pasado, presente y futuro, forman en “La Distancia que nos Separa” una suerte de efecto mariposa que hace avanzar el argumento. Stella y Jake emprenden huidas hacia adelante que no pueden obviar, pero tampoco van a poder ignorar que deben aprender a tomar las riendas de su destino y del momento presente. O’Farrell presenta a dos personajes que, por diversos motivos, están distanciados del resto del mundo e inmersos en su propia realidad, y poco a poco deberán llevar a cabo un viaje geográfico y emocional para aprender a conectar con ellos mismos, con el resto del mundo y el uno con el otro. Y todo eso nos llevará a una disertación sobre la individualidad y la independencia y las relaciones afectivas que, como se señala en la sinopsis que aparece en la contraportada de este volumen, son un Leit Motiv típico en la bibliografía de esta escritora. Y que se llevara a cabo de una manera sencilla y directa pero no carente de su propio lirismo humano; emotiva por lo sutil que es y por como O’Farrell lo maneja sin caer en lo tópico o lo predecible, sin precipitarse en moralismo vacíos y condescendientes. Con ella todo es cercano, humano y orgánico. Y por ello también impredecible y lleno de momentos que sorprenden.

Sí, ha habido cosas, como he dicho antes, que me han parecido bastante mal hilvanados dentro de la narración; y momentos que pretendían resultar impactantes y no lo han conseguido, junto a situaciones que, sinceramente, me ha parecido un poco salida del tiesto y no me he terminado de creer. Pero también me quedo con ese alegato de la individualidad del ser humano y como esto no tiene porque impedir que conecte con otros. Y también con la forma en que O’Farrell pone sobre la mesa el peso de las relaciones familiares y de las raíces, la forma en que habla del sentimiento de desajuste, soledad y desarraigo que genera encontrarte en un país o un entorno con el que culturalmente no tienes apenas nada en común, diferente a la realidad con la que te has criado, lo duro que puede ser estar etiquetado como miembro y parte de una nacionalidad que no es la del lugar en el que vives. Y sobre todo, con una relación amorosa, que nace de distanciamiento entre los personajes y todo lo que se ven obligados a callar, que puede parecer precipitada a ratos. Pero en otros aplaudo la sensibilidad de la autora para encauzarla, para darle potencia y hacer que poco a poco vaya tomando forma.

No va a pasar a la historia como mi novela favorita de Maggie O’Farrell. Pero no por ello ha disminuido mi interés en leer todo lo que ha escrito esta señora, mi admiración hacia su manera de narrar y las ganas que tengo de seguir leyéndola.

[Lisa (NY) · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.7] This novel has all the elements I've come to expect from Maggie O'Farrell - beautiful writing, fascinating characters and a seemingly effortless structure. A worthwhile read, but it doesn't shine compared to her later novels.

[Lori Keeton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This earlier book of O’Farrell’s has left me a bit of a conundrum. I have loved the three novels I’ve read so far and have been blown away by her ability to write the non-linear plotlines with perfection. I am also a fan of her inventiveness in her prose and her characterizations because you find yourself so enmeshed in the lives she creates. I wanted all of this in The Distance Between Us but for me it fell flat.

I didn’t care for these characters or the traumatic events that surrounded their lives and brought the two main protagonists together. They were worlds apart – literally – Hong Kong and Scotland – and that’s how I felt throughout. Jake was not a character I could get on board with and Stella and Nina had a sisterly bond that was so much like twins yet they weren’t – just really close. These characters all make life-changing decisions in the moment out of fear or guilt.

In O’Farrell’s trademark way, we are given the story pieces like a puzzle that is put together bit by bit. However, in this particular book, O’Farrell still has some work to get to her nuanced skill I know she has in later books. The ending came up rather quickly after a lengthy progression to the twist and surprise. One for Stella and one for Jake – neither of which were actually resolved. I still have several more O’Farrell books to get to and I will be looking forward to them!

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y al fin lo he terminado...
si me gustó la historia. Esta obra explora temas como los lazos afectivos, el peso de los recuerdos y la necesidad de independencia, todos ellos fundamentales en la obra de Maggie O'Farrell.
La historia sigue a dos personajes principales, Stella y Jake, que viven en diferentes partes del mundo. Stella, después de un encuentro perturbador en Londres, se retira a un lugar muy remoto y escondido en Escocia, donde solo su hermana Nina sabe dónde encontrarla.
(La relación entre las hermanas es todo un tema...)
Mientras tanto, Jake, que vive en Hong Kong, busca un lugar aún más remoto después de un accidente y una mala decisión con Mel.
A medida que la historia avanza, las vidas de Stella y Jake se entrelazan de manera inesperada!
La novela ha recibido críticas positivas por su prosa lírica y detallada. Algunos críticos han destacado la capacidad de O'Farrell para crear personajes complejos y emocionalmente profundos.
Sin embargo, la cuarta y última parte puede ser un poco desigual, corta y lleva a un final un poco precipitado.
"La distancia que nos separa" ganó el Premio Somerset Maugham en 2005, lo que refleja su calidad literaria y su impacto en los lectores.
Vale la pena leerlo.

[Edita · Rating 4 out of 5]

He watches her shape, receding from him through the trees, and suddenly knows that he cannot let her leave his sight, that for her to go away from him now would cause such a rift, a scar in his life, that it might never heal over.
*
She closes the book with a slap and sighs. She can’t stop thinking about him. Not in any constructive, intelligent, coherent way. But whatever she is doing or supposed to be thinking about, her mind slips sideways and just repeats Fake, fake to her, over and over again. She’s never fallen for anyone the way she has fallen for him. It’s almost like a disease, an altered, weakened condition. He deprives her of herself, makes her exist in a kind of stupor, a daze, a state of Jakeness.
*
There will be a time, Jake thinks, when he is not racing about Britain looking for people. He has to keep promising himself this — that his life will not for ever consist of mad dashes up and down a country in search of people who do not want to be found.

[Becky Dicker · Rating 2 out of 5]

So - I have found that I usually LOVE books that weave together the lives of multiple characters connected across generations. In many cases I find that this gives characters and the plot greater depth. Additionally, I am usually a fan of non-linear narratives. I like being kept on my toes, picking up the the scattering of breadcrumbs placed by the author in order to piece together the puzzle that makes up a story (my absolute favourite example of this to date being "Girl, Woman, Other"). I felt that "The Distance Between Us" was successful in doing this in some aspects but not in others.

I enjoyed the back and forth between the childhoods of the main characters and their adulthood, as well as the variety of perspectives that the book shifted through (Maggie O'Farrell's ability to indicate a perspective shift through change in voice was effective!). I also particularly enjoyed the internal dialogue and moments of introspection that a character would have, especially where a character would reflect on a seemingly trivial detail or object, in turn having some deeper significance.

However, going back to my usual love of the fore-mentioned multiplicity of characters and places across a number of generations and time-points - with this book, it felt to me less of an artful interweaving of narratives and rather I found myself dizzyingly grasping at loose strands that in the end fitted together, but not in the fulfilling way I would hoped for. I would start to settle into a narrative and start the process of emotionally investing in a character and then that narrative would somewhat abruptly shift onto a totally different narrative without much to assist the reader with how this connected to the last. This I found particularly true towards the beginning of the book which left me feeling disorientated and with a bit of mental whiplash. It definitely eased towards the end of the book which honed in and felt more seamless. For me personally, the result of this was that I couldn't strongly associate, emotionally attach or invest in any characters as much as I would have liked. I guess part of this could be due to the absence of chapters and lack of time spent on one narrative or perspective before changing to the next. I think more structure would have provided some assisting backbone to balance the shifting plot lines. But perhaps this criticism is one of personal taste - so each to their own.

The one other main criticism I have that I feel more strongly about is that unfortunately, I found myself, at times, being irritated by and strongly disliking Jake particularly. I found the scene where Jake locks Stella in a laundry cupboard, putting the key down his trousers deeply problematic, eroticising a lack of consent which I found repulsive rather than being passionate or steamy. It was at this point that my investment in the romantic aspect of this novel died. The trope of a boys and men especially being unable to control themselves physically was all too present in Jake's excuses of going 'out of his mind' or 'insane'. And it didn't seem to me that this was the author conducting a critique in this respect. The theme of Jake being depicted as having this quite animalistic desire for Stella in how he has to control his desire to touch her almost constantly and how he notices things like "the rise and fall of her breasts" under her shirt among other things similar felt more predatory to me than sensual, especially when in the context of his incessant inability to respect the word no - even in non-sexual, casual situations with other characters. I'm no prude, in many of the books I have read, detailed descriptions of characters' sexual desires and explorations of sexuality are moving, natural, healthy, liberating or alternatively if there are descriptions of self-destructive sexual behaviours for example - it has not brought on judgement from me but empathy around feelings of shame around sex and desire. Additionally, any problematic sexual behaviour has been purposefully and carefully handled and subject to critique whether that be around power dynamics or unhealthy culture or attitudes around sex etc. I understand at the end of the book, it is alluded that Stella is in need of a strong character who challenges Stella's ingrained mentality of blocking people out and dissociating - i.e. parallels are drawn between Nina and Jake in that sense. However, the romantic aspect of the book reminded me of the many examples of romcoms which normalise the kind of, in my eyes, problematic behaviours demonstrated by Jake in this book. I actually felt that there was some worrying similarities I could draw between Jake and Anthony to be honest. If I was Stella's mate I'd be saying "RED FLAGS BBY GURL!". Since I am touching on the topic of the bully of the book, Anthony - I think the fact that I didn't feel bad for him at all when (BIG SPOILER ALERT!!) he was killed showed the surface level-ness of his character - he was a no-doubt about it 100% villain - perhaps more exploration of his character leading to some conflicting feelings about him would have been interesting.

To leave this very long review on a good note though - I kinda enjoyed the exploration of the sister’s (Stella and Nina) relationship - there was more nuance and conflicting tos and fros to be found here. Although I found Nina to be pretty toxic at points too…

A character I did actually like was Evie's character - for me she had the makings of a main character I would have enjoyed reading more about...

Pulling all my feelings and thoughts about this book together - it’s a 2 from me sorry

[Genís Vives Cantero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aquest llibre m’ha enganxat tant que he tret estones d’on he pogut per llegir-lo. Des d’un inici saps que hi ha dues persones i dues històries que al final s’entrellacen, però el camí per arribar-hi està molt ben trobat i desenvolupat. Una història bonica, amb molts matisos i girs, però també amb amor.

L’estructura de la novel·la és suggerent i de segur molt treballada, però és força desendreçada pel lector. A més, hi ha molts personatges i t’acabes perdent. Per això per mi seria un 4,5/5.

En qualsevol cas, la sort ha estat llegir-la durant les vacances d’estiu; durant el curs, hauria perdut una mica el fil i molts matisos. M’encantaria una segona part, honestament, i saber com els va la vida als protagonistes.

Llegiu-la (i gaudiu-la molt) quan tingueu una estona de calma!

[Marta Cava]

Que bé que entra sempre un llibre de la Maggie O'Farrell!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the earliest work of O’Farrell’s that I’ve read – it was her third novel, following After You’d Gone and My Lover’s Lover (I finally found those two at a charity shop last year and I’m saving them for a rainy day). It took me a long time to get into this one. It’s delivered in bitty sections that race between characters and situations, not generally in chronological order. It’s not until nearly the halfway point that you get a sense of how it all fits together.

Although there are many secondary characters, the two main strands belong to Jake, a young white filmmaker raised in Hong Kong by a bohemian mother, and Stella, a Scottish-Italian radio broadcaster. When a Chinese New Year celebration turns into a stampede, Jake and his girlfriend narrowly escape disaster and rush into a commitment he’s not ready for. In the meantime, Stella gets spooked by a traumatic flash from her childhood and flees London for a remote Scottish hotel. She’s very close to her older sister, Nina, who was deathly ill as a child (O’Farrell inserts a scene I was familiar with from I Am, I Am, I Am, when she heard a nurse outside her room chiding a noisy visitor, “There’s a little girl dying in there”), but now it’s Nina who will have to convince Stella to take the chance at happiness that life is offering.

In the end, this felt like a rehearsal for This Must Be the Place; it has the myriad settings (e.g., here, Italy, Wales and New Zealand are also mentioned) but not the emotional heft. With a setup like this, you sort of know where things are going, don’t you? Despite Stella’s awful secret, she is as flat a character as Jake. Simple boy-meets-girl story lines don’t hold a lot of appeal for me now, if they ever did. Still, the second half was a great ride.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book by Maggie O'Farrell I have read. I find her writing absolutely captivating. Despite the fact that this story had a much more satisfying ending (i.e., less dark), I don't think it will leave a very lasting impression me. I sobbed when I read After You'd Gone, and I was positively disturbed after reading The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. These are both much stronger emotions that just feeling warm and satisfied. Yet as much as I try to categorize which of these three I like best, I can't. Each has its own unique merits to recommend it.

In The Distance Between Us, we meet Stella and Jake and, in typical Maggie O'Farrell fashion, we are also given their family histories. As Ms. O'Farrell slowly lays the story out for us, one absorbing layer after another, we learn of the tragic chain of events that caused the deep dark secret Stella keeps, which she has spent her whole life trying to run away from and which has left her feeling unworthy of happiness. And we acutely feel Jake's loneliness and sense of detachment as he desperately searches for something to connect him to the world around him.

If you're new to Ms. O'Farrell, be warned: you might find her style difficult to read at first. She jumps around a lot chronologically, without warning, and if you're not paying attention it's easy to get lost. But if you're like me, you become so engrossed in the story that you quickly learn to ignore it. At least this book did not change perspective - it was all told in the third person, which isn't always the case with her writing. And for this reason, I believe The Distance Between Us would probably be a good starter book if you've never read Maggie O'Farrell before.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voy a empezar con un confesión: no me sale ser objetiva con O’Farrell.

Siempre voy a buscar la manera de inclinar la balanza a su favor. ¿Por qué? Porque hay algo en su escritura que me atrapa como no lo consiguen otras. Y eso para mí es… demasiado importante.

Es impredecible, afilada y directa. Y eso me encanta de todas sus novelas. Pero aquí… me ha faltado algo. Esta vez la historia no se me ha metido bajo la piel, y sé que pronto olvidaré los detalles de lo que acabo de leer.

Mi problema ha estado en que he sentido el último tercio de la novela como si fuese una historia completamente diferente. Con otros personajes. Con otro ritmo. Con otro hilo.

Leerla ha sido una cosa hipnótica, como siempre, pero me he pasado buena parte de la lectura un poco despistada.

[Lucia Nieto Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

Todo lo que he leído de la autora me ha gustado, y este libro aunque muy diferente, y no en el mismo nivel, también.
.
Tenemos como protagonistas a Stella y Jake, ambos en diferentes lugares de la Tierra, y ninguno de ellos sabe que se encontrarán, aunque el lector lo esté deseando.
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La historia narra primero la vida de ambos por separados, cada uno en una punta del mundo y mientras avanzas, estos se van acercando geográficamente para encontrase a sí mismos.
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Stella vive en Londres pero huye a Escocía, lugar donde solo su hermana sabe el significado de por qué allí,Jake vive en Hong Kong y por unas y otras acaba en Reino Unido…
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Es una novela de personajes, muchos personajes y bien construidos como hace Maggie, pero quizá el fallo , para mi, es la forma en la que está contada la historia.
Una narración que pasa de un personaje a otro, de un lugar a otro, del presente al pasado y viceversa. Cuesta meterse un pco en la historia y a veces me resulto confuso.
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Aún así, es un libro que recomiendo si te gustan las historias de personajes, familiares, y sin grandes giros.
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[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

no sé muy bien qué deciros.... hamnet para mi había sido una decepción (q sé que muchas no compartis) así que entré con un poco de miedo a este libro. m tuvo en vilo hasta el último momento, me hizo soltar unas risillas y en la línea siguiente se me cayeron dos goterones por las mejillas (esto es culpa mía por estar majareta)

adoré cómo presentó los acontecimientos y cómo enseña toooodo lo que te conforma como la persona q eres, hasta lo más minúsculo cuenta.... también presenta el dilema: cuánto debo permitirle al pasado moldear mi presente/futuro?

[Mina H · Rating 4 out of 5]

După „Hamnet” & „Dispariția lui Esme Lennox” am avut curiozitatea să citesc(imediat după „Dispariția…”) „Iubire la distanță” un roman la care odinioară nu m-aș fi oprit, nici după descrierea de pe coperta a patra și cu atît mai puțin după coperta care, la prima vedere, ți-ar da de înțeles că e un roman scris de Nicholas Sparks și nu autoarea care ne-a oferit „Hamnet”.

Dacă în „Dispariția lui Esme Lennox” avem, printre altele, tema familiei, a abandonului, a regăsirii, în „Iubire la distanță” Maggie O’Farrell adaugă acestor teme și dragostea dintre doi oameni care „nu s-au cunoscut niciodată”, un roman despre căutarea sinelui, despre redescoperirea rădăcinilor și legătura indestructibilă dintre două surori.



Un roman copleșitor pe alocuri, deloc pretențios, nu abundă în siropoșenii dar e înzestrat să-ți redea cîtuși de puțin încrederea în „dragoste la prima vedere”. Nu trebuie deloc citit doar ca pe un roman de dragoste pentru că nimic din ce a scris Maggie O’Farrell nu este mai mult sau mai puțin din ceva anume. Găsim cîte puțin din fiecare.






„Maternitatea este un lucru clar, prestabilit. Cele nouă luni pe care le petreci în pântecul mamei tale presupun încheierea unui contract nescris, pe toată durata vieții, pe care nu-l poți rezilia niciodată. Dar paternitatea este un lucru confuz, nedefinit - un simplu cromozom aruncat în vânt.”

Maggie O’Farrell | Iubire la distanță, Nemira, 2008.

[Kirsta · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I find an author I love, I try to read as many other titles by them as possible and typically, there is a point where the author has gone from amateur to professional. I have really enjoyed Maggie O'Farrell, and while I enjoyed this story, I feel that she was still an amateur when she wrote The Distance Between Us. It lacked the refinement and tightness of more recent titles. I don't mind a story that jumps around. In fact, I quite like the varying perspectives; the lack of chornological timeline. However, this style was extreme here. We get the perspective from the main characters, both of their mothers and both of their grandmothers. The story covers the 1930s to present, bouncing around the 20th century with little regard to casual readers who might be trying to care for small children while keeping track of it all. Stella, the protagonist, has a sister Nina who was rather poorly developed. I could not make sense of her, was she evil? was she pathetic? was she a little "slow"? Had the book been 75 pages shorter, it would have been more successful for me. Had the love story been a little less Bella and Edward, again, more successful. But if you're a fellow fan of O'Farrell, you will see the hint of what will come, so it won't be a bad use of your time overall.

[Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

O passado pode ser uma fera que nos vem roer os calcanhares constantemente.
Esmiuçar o passado a par do presente é parte do cunho de Maggie O'Farrel. Pessoalmente, gosto disso. Gosto de me sentir na corda bamba enquanto o passado vai justificando o presente, as personagens vão ganhando forma e os gestos vão ganhando significado. Formas ambíguas na maioria dos casos, porque a autora faz questão de não facilitar o trabalho ao leitor, e as subtilezas são muitas. E quanto mais leio a Maggie mais me vou apercebendo de temas chave na sua obra.
Neste livro gostei de todas as personagens, até as que detestei, adorei detestá-las. Achei o final um bocadito teen que esfriou algum do meu entusiasmo e, tenho que admitir, senti falta das cenas de chorar baba e ranho.

[Tuices · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este libro es una película de sobremesa de antena tres.

[Katya]

Se nos conseguirmos afastar o suficiente, pode ser que não sejamos apanhados por nós próprios.

Apesar de não me sentir particularmente entusiasmada em relação aos dois últimos livros que li da autora - este incluído-, a ideia de fazer uma leitura cronológica da obra traduzida de O'Farrell tem provado não ser má de todo, permitindo, até aqui, identificar elementos comuns nas suas narrativas. Elementos como: a fuga; as frustrações eróticas; a assombração pelo passado; os sentimentos de culpa e a necessidade de expiação. Já para não mencionar que a estrutura familiar, o ponto de vista feminino, a procura da realização através do trabalho, o luto e o simbolismo dos comboios como ferramentas de escape também estão presentes em todas as três narrativas de O'Farrell que li.

- (...)Sei exactamente o que vais fazer.
- Ai, sabes?
- Vais fugir outra vez. E vais continuar a fugir, como sempre fizeste.
Stella pensa nessa ideia, observando a sua respiração a ganhar forma e a desaparecer no vidro.
-Provavelmente - ela aquiesce. - Sim.

Antes de Nos Encontramos obedece a um modelo estruturalmente complexo também típico da autora, no qual se entretece a história das suas personagens principais bem como a história das várias gerações que as antecedem, numa procura de enraizamento...

A maternidade é algo claro e determinado. Aqueles nove meses que passamos com outro ser enfiado dentro do nosso ser são um contrato verbal vitalício que jamais poderá ser cancelado. Mas a paternidade é algo nebuloso, indefinido, que se pode resumir a quase nada, a uma mera célula com cauda disparada para o vazio.

... e de afeto que as levará ao encontro físico apesar dos milhares de quilómetros de distância que as separam.

(...)por vezes, as pessoas têm simplesmente de sair das suas vidas.

Não há muito como esmiuçar este livro sem estragar o prazer da sua leitura futura pelo que apenas acrescento que a direção que Antes de Nos Encontramos toma acaba por aproximar o romance de um tipo de narrativa um bocadinho mais óbvia do que eu esperava, e até, a dado momento, um bocadinho conveniente demais: uma paixão com duas semanas parece-me demasiado adolescente e suspeita para levar dois adultos a percorrer meio mundo por ela, mas isto sou eu - acho que seria muito mais interessante analisar e trabalhar as histórias secundárias que o livro nos oferece do que batalhar numa relação demasiado imatura e precipitada. No entanto, há muito aqui que me interessa, sobretudo do ponto de vista do amadurecimento da autora e do seu processo de criação que me deixa, isso sim, entusiasmada para continuar a descoberta cronológica.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Nina told him that night flashes at him intermittently, like the beam of a distant lighthouse. He feels as though he should be more shocked by it, more affected. But he finds he is curiously unsurprised. There is so much about Stella he doesn't understand. (PG 340)

O’Farrell you never disappoint. I love you like my belly button. I’m not sure why I have it but I’d miss it if it was gone.

I don't read romance but I enjoy family dramas and I thought, based on the cover, this was a sisterly drama. I wasn't completely wrong but there was a bit of a wayward romance jumbled in this. I think I actually enjoyed it because it didn't feel forced. It was an organic eyes locked in I-feel-like-I've-known-you-my-whole-life type of love. I even liked Stella and Jake and just when I felt hate for Nina O'Farrell pulls me in with her adversity.

I'm a sucker. Still won't seek out the romance section but I appreciate this writer's thought process.

This novel begs the question::: Do you believe in FATE?

[Iris L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un dramon con romance exquisito. Una historia de familia y de la intensidad del amor entre hermanas.
Con un final inesperado, cálido y triunfante, salí de este libro aliviada porque fue una montaña rusa de eventos.
Me encanta O’Farrell, soy su súper fan sus historias me cautivan y sus personajes me intrigan.
Este libro fue publicado originalmente hace 20 años y es incredible como encaja totalmente en la modernidad.
Habla sobre la migración y cómo las personas cambian y se establecen en nuevos lugares y cómo la familia moldea a cada uno. Trata con sutileza temas de infancia y adolescencia, accidentes que marcan a los personajes y nos lleva tras la búsqueda de sus identidades.

Como siempre la autora nos lleva poco a poco a descubrir todo como en un bucle y es casi hasta el final cuando todo lo desenvuelve. A este punto no se si me gusta más en ficción contemporánea o ficción histórica, es fenomenal.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have raved about Maggie O’Farrell before. I love the way she weaves stories out of her characters’ lives. There are the siblings Stella and Nina, their mother Francesca and her friend Ivy, and Jake of course, Mel and a bunch of other associated characters. The narrative moves from one to the other, each time spinning a thread in its own distinct shade. Then the treads run along, don’t really mix, just keep crossing each other every now and then, until eventually a clear picture starts to emerge.
A treat as always!

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another satisfying O'Farrell. Sometimes "guessable" but always readable. UPDATE: I read it a long time ago, and I may have to try it again - I just remember I liked it! :)