Every bit as good, if not better, than her highly acclaimed previous novels. An intriguing plot, sympathetic characterisation and beautifully observed, sophisticated writing all make for a hugely satisfying read
Booksellers' Choice
Maggie O'Farrell brilliantly reveals how the past has an untidy habit of cluttering up the present in this compulsively readable tale of star-crossed lovers and secretive siblings
Elle
This is the third of her seductive novels and quite the best to date ... haunting, passionate ... full of sensual language [and] vivid snapshot imagery ... this superb story ... has an extraordinary female intensity and authentic emotional punch
Barbara Trapido, The Independent
O'Farrell pulls a passionate and absorbing love story out of the bag
THE MIRROR
Maggie O'Farrell has written three novels, each of them a critical and commercial success ... her confidence in her characters' plausibility is endearing ... She tends to their emotional lives with the inexhaustible tenderness of a doting mother
FINANCIAL TIMES
hyper-sensitive examination of family relationships ... ambitious and trickily arranged narrative ... The result is a skilful, sensitive romantic novel
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Her gift for story-telling is wrapped in gold paper and tied with 15 velvet bows. Give her any synopsis you like and she would probably make it work ... Maggie O'Farrell has a magical talent for writing sensuous love scenes which are somehow touchingly old-fashioned
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
Fans of the earlier books can expect the same telling observations, evocative descriptions and a narrative that moves seamlessly between past and present
SCOTSMAN ON SUNDAY
Maggie O'Farrell has written three novels, each of them a critical and commercial success
FT
A well paced read that slowly and tantalisingly unravels a web of mysteries, tragedies and intrigue, keeping you hooked
Eve
Gripping, insightful and deft, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Maggie O'Farrell is a haunting story of the way our families shape our lives, from the award-winning author of HAMNET. It was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller 2004 and won the Somerset Maugham Award.
On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but instantly recognises. 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 lives: 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.