Status
Available
Description
Set largely between Hong Kong and the Scottish Highlands, Maggie O'Farrell's third novel is a story about family and emigration - and the way you can never escape your family, or their history, no matter how far you travel. Stella - spirited, witty and passionate - has fled London to confront the childhood secret which has marked her life, and twinned her destiny with her sister's. A set of tragic circumstances and a hasty marriage bring Jake from Hong Kong to Britain, where he embarks upon a quest for the father he never knew. When Jake and Stella meet, both their lives are changed forever, but not before Stella's past is brought painfully out into the open. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US is a loving, immensely moving and often very funny look at the way families work, which will live with the reader forever, and bring Maggie O'Farrell to her widest readership yet.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member michelle_bcf
This is another great read from Maggie, which is similar in form to her first book, After You'd Gone. It's partly a love story, but mainly a story about family.. and sisters in particular.
At the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main characters. Jake is living in Hong Kong, finding
From here, we meet various other characters, including both families. Maggie also takes us to various time settings, exploring not only Stella and Jake's childhood, but their parents history too.
These strands gradually start to wind together, as the story evolves.. history and present coming together, as Jake and Stella come together too.
This kind of story telling could very easily be confusing, especially to someone like me, who gets lost very easily, and yet it doesn't. The developments of the past gradually add to the present story, until everything comes together.
The characters are believable, and Maggie's writing is down to earth, whilst flowing well. I found myself wanting to keep reading, whilst not wanting it to end!
At the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main characters. Jake is living in Hong Kong, finding
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himself caught in crush on News Years Eve, and what happens after that brings him to England. Stella sees someone she thinks she recognises, which sparks some memory in her, and sends her running to Scotland.From here, we meet various other characters, including both families. Maggie also takes us to various time settings, exploring not only Stella and Jake's childhood, but their parents history too.
These strands gradually start to wind together, as the story evolves.. history and present coming together, as Jake and Stella come together too.
This kind of story telling could very easily be confusing, especially to someone like me, who gets lost very easily, and yet it doesn't. The developments of the past gradually add to the present story, until everything comes together.
The characters are believable, and Maggie's writing is down to earth, whilst flowing well. I found myself wanting to keep reading, whilst not wanting it to end!
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LibraryThing member oldblack
This is fundamentally a simple heterosexual romantic "love story". That is, boy meets girl by quirk of fate, a misunderstanding leads to them separating, boy desperately searches for girl, boy finds girl and begs forgiveness but is apparently rejected, girl decides that he's right for her after all
What this book has going for it that a Mills & Boon romance doesn't have is another, perhaps more interesting story underlying the romance. This underlying story is one of an Italian family in Scotland, focusing on the two sisters, one of whom is the "girl" in the romance. It looks at how isolating it can be to be from a different culture to the one in which you live. Further, the issue of disability is added to that cultural conflict, together with unresolved feelings of guilt left over from childhood. This last issue is probably the most interesting (for me), and yet receives the least attention. What a shame.
It's a reasonably long book but is quite easy reading, and would be ideal to read while traveling on a plane and heading for a new and different culture. In fact, the edition I read is called the "airport/export" edition!!
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and surprises the boy by turning up on his doorstep. Presumably they live happily ...for a while, at least, if not ever after.What this book has going for it that a Mills & Boon romance doesn't have is another, perhaps more interesting story underlying the romance. This underlying story is one of an Italian family in Scotland, focusing on the two sisters, one of whom is the "girl" in the romance. It looks at how isolating it can be to be from a different culture to the one in which you live. Further, the issue of disability is added to that cultural conflict, together with unresolved feelings of guilt left over from childhood. This last issue is probably the most interesting (for me), and yet receives the least attention. What a shame.
It's a reasonably long book but is quite easy reading, and would be ideal to read while traveling on a plane and heading for a new and different culture. In fact, the edition I read is called the "airport/export" edition!!
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LibraryThing member readingwithtea
Summary: Stella runs away from her life in London to work at a Scottish hotel. Jake survives a crowd crush in Hong Kong, finds himself in the wrong life in England, and goes in search of his father in Scotland. Stella’s sister Nina has never coped well without Stella, and Stella’s
I loved this. The bond between the sisters was so strong and real, and O’Farrell seems to have the knack of coming up with seemingly insignificant anecdotes which touch on the core of what she’s trying to convey – in this case, the protectiveness of a bigger (though younger) sister, teenage rebellion, different attitudes to life and love and yet that unswerving loyalty to one another.
Like in The Hand That First Held Mine, we have Europeans living in Britain, learning to be bicultural, touches of another language thrown in haphazardly – which appeals to me so much because it’s exactly what I have lived. According to Wikipedia, a stint working in Hong Kong (which she draws on in this novel) is O’Farrell’s only “foreign” experience, so I wonder where she got this bilingual slant from. Anyway, I think it’s fabulous.
Also as in THTFHM, there was a sort of mystery to be solved, or an undisclosed event which was revealed towards the end and had a transformative effect on the characters’ lives, but finding it out wasn’t really the aim of the book, which was quite pleasant. The deed in question was pretty clearly signposted but I didn’t think that detracted from it.
The reason this doesn’t get 10/10 is because the ending was a bit disappointing and twee – too neatly wrapped up. But I guess that’s a matter of personal taste.
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Italian-Scottish family isn’t thrilled about her new life choices either…I loved this. The bond between the sisters was so strong and real, and O’Farrell seems to have the knack of coming up with seemingly insignificant anecdotes which touch on the core of what she’s trying to convey – in this case, the protectiveness of a bigger (though younger) sister, teenage rebellion, different attitudes to life and love and yet that unswerving loyalty to one another.
Like in The Hand That First Held Mine, we have Europeans living in Britain, learning to be bicultural, touches of another language thrown in haphazardly – which appeals to me so much because it’s exactly what I have lived. According to Wikipedia, a stint working in Hong Kong (which she draws on in this novel) is O’Farrell’s only “foreign” experience, so I wonder where she got this bilingual slant from. Anyway, I think it’s fabulous.
Also as in THTFHM, there was a sort of mystery to be solved, or an undisclosed event which was revealed towards the end and had a transformative effect on the characters’ lives, but finding it out wasn’t really the aim of the book, which was quite pleasant. The deed in question was pretty clearly signposted but I didn’t think that detracted from it.
The reason this doesn’t get 10/10 is because the ending was a bit disappointing and twee – too neatly wrapped up. But I guess that’s a matter of personal taste.
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LibraryThing member kk1
Thought I'd read it before, but couldn't remember the story from the back cover, just snippets - the Hong Kong crush and an Italian family in Scotland (and both of these remind me of other stories).
I think "After you'd Gone" , by the same author is a much stronger story. Although both have similar
I think "After you'd Gone" , by the same author is a much stronger story. Although both have similar
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family themes. Show Less
LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Abridged audiobook.
I absolutely loved After You'd Gone, my first Maggie O'Farrell book, but when I followed that soon after, with My Lover's Lover, I was disappointed. Three years later, I decided to try another of the author's books and was pleasantly surprised with The Distance Between Us. There
I was particularly drawn to the character of Jake, who lived all his life in Hong Kong, with a British mother. I found myself identifying with him, as I have raised four children as expats in Dubai. Although he is comfortable with the Chinese, he can never quite fit in to the Chinese community. As a result of a tragic accident, he finds himself married to a girl he has no feelings for, back in a country he cannot identify with. So he runs away to Scotland on a search for his unknown father.
There are similarities in the situation in which Stella finds herself. She lives in Britain but is of Italian extraction. She is very close to her sister Nina but is alienated by the other children. She is also running away, though it's not until near the end of the book that we actually find out what she is running from.
Inevitably, Jake and Stella meet up, sparks fly and explanations are finally given. While somewhat formulaic in this respect, the wonderful descriptions and the time spent in Hong Kong, made this an excellent read.
Also read by Maggie O'Farrell:
After You'd Gone (5 stars)
My Lover's Lover (3 stars)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (5 stars)
Hand That First Held Mine (5 stars)
I absolutely loved After You'd Gone, my first Maggie O'Farrell book, but when I followed that soon after, with My Lover's Lover, I was disappointed. Three years later, I decided to try another of the author's books and was pleasantly surprised with The Distance Between Us. There
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were some vague similarities with my first read, but I was quickly drawn into the story and enjoyed it. This review is actually from a re-read, as I later acquired an abridged audio copy of the book and decided to enjoy it again.I was particularly drawn to the character of Jake, who lived all his life in Hong Kong, with a British mother. I found myself identifying with him, as I have raised four children as expats in Dubai. Although he is comfortable with the Chinese, he can never quite fit in to the Chinese community. As a result of a tragic accident, he finds himself married to a girl he has no feelings for, back in a country he cannot identify with. So he runs away to Scotland on a search for his unknown father.
There are similarities in the situation in which Stella finds herself. She lives in Britain but is of Italian extraction. She is very close to her sister Nina but is alienated by the other children. She is also running away, though it's not until near the end of the book that we actually find out what she is running from.
Inevitably, Jake and Stella meet up, sparks fly and explanations are finally given. While somewhat formulaic in this respect, the wonderful descriptions and the time spent in Hong Kong, made this an excellent read.
Also read by Maggie O'Farrell:
After You'd Gone (5 stars)
My Lover's Lover (3 stars)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (5 stars)
Hand That First Held Mine (5 stars)
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LibraryThing member ylferif
Unsympathetic characters and irritating timeline jumping.
LibraryThing member bookczuk
My previous venture into Maggie O'Farrell's writing left me less than satisfied with the story, but more than satisfied with the writing (barring some confusion at the end.) This story, however, was much easier to follow. Two stories entwined, about two rather lost souls (three if you count Nina).
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I think O'Farrell has a good grasp on how to write about wounded souls. Show Less
LibraryThing member LARA335
Exceptional writer, am in awe of O'Farrell's sentence construction. This perhaps more than the story - sweet Jake, brought up in Hong Kong, does the kind thing to his cost. In parallel, a young woman confronts her past. The story jumps from character to character, and from the parents /
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grandparents past to present , so kept me guessing as to how they would meet, and to discover the story behind the female siblings' social awkwardness. Show Less
LibraryThing member nocto
It looks like I'm at a one all draw with Maggie O'Farrell. I enjoyed The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox after a slow start, but didn't get on at all well with My Lover's Lover. So it's taken me a while to pick up a third of her books.
This book is written in what I always think of as "jigsaw piece"
I liked the book despite finding the writing a bit over the top at times, and I liked that the story didn't explain everything in the end but didn't leave you feeling cheated by that either.
This book is written in what I always think of as "jigsaw piece"
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style. Passages from the lives of the characters appear in what seems to be no particular order, time goes back and forth, places change, minor characters appear and it sometimes takes a while to figure out who they are. On the whole this is a storytelling device I enjoy and it's well used here. Underneath it's basically a love story but time and place are evoked so well that it doesn't get too cheesey. The contemporary story of two sisters is muddled up with bits of their childhood and with bits of the life story of male leading character too. I liked the book despite finding the writing a bit over the top at times, and I liked that the story didn't explain everything in the end but didn't leave you feeling cheated by that either.
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LibraryThing member Mercef
Enjoyed this story but not the structure. Two stories told as non-linear narratives - flitting here and there, back and forward in time. Normally I would abandon these books but Maggie O’Farrell writes so well that you can so easily picture the scenes in your mind. Basically a romance story -
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will these two make it? I’m not spoiling it. Show Less
LibraryThing member amaraki
Well I am copy pasting the greater part of my review from the last book of MO'F I read: Highly narrative and quite a page turner. Contains many narratives of the different characters involved or at least related to the main story. I found this disorienting and I am not at all fond of flashback so I
On the minuis side, the accurate & detailed description of the immediate environment, that at times I found too long. Also the overly detailed background stories of everyon's grandmother and mother. Was she trying to build up the psych profile of Nina and Stella. Not successful there, I felt they were just separate stories.
In any case as one of the reviewers said, she makes you care passionately about her characters and I did as she focused on them in the latter parts of the book, staying up to read if and how Jake and Stella get together.
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skipped chapters/quite a few of their stories. But towards the end this skillful author has timed the main story and character development in such a way that I had to read the final chapters without a break.On the minuis side, the accurate & detailed description of the immediate environment, that at times I found too long. Also the overly detailed background stories of everyon's grandmother and mother. Was she trying to build up the psych profile of Nina and Stella. Not successful there, I felt they were just separate stories.
In any case as one of the reviewers said, she makes you care passionately about her characters and I did as she focused on them in the latter parts of the book, staying up to read if and how Jake and Stella get together.
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LibraryThing member camharlow2
Two people on opposite sides of the world experience frightening events and decide to change their lives. Stella, in London, sees someone who frightens her. Jake, in Hong Kong, is almost crushed in a New Year crowd and both flee from their surroundings. As the novel unfolds, we come to learn of
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Stella’s very close relationship with her sister and Jake decides to go in search of his father who he has never met. By chance, they meet in Scotland at the place where Stella had a traumatic experience in her childhood and where Jake believed that his father lived. O’Farrell’s prose envelops you in the contrasting family backgrounds of Stella and Jake and as their secrets are gradually revealed, she tenderly explores their growing feelings for each other. Show Less
Awards
Somerset Maugham Award (2005)