Away
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Average rating4
A stunning, evocative novel set in Ireland and Canada, Away traces a family’s complex and layered past. The narrative unfolds with shimmering clarity, and takes us from the harsh northern Irish coast in the 1840s to the quarantine stations at Grosse Isle and the barely hospitable land of the Canadian Shield; from the flourishing town of Port Hope to the flooded streets of Montreal; from Ottawa at the time of Confederation to a large-windowed house at the edge of a Great Lake during the present day. Graceful and moving, Away unites the personal and the political as it explores the most private, often darkest corners of our emotions where the things that root us to ourselves endure. Powerful, intricate, lyrical, Away is an unforgettable novel.
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Jane Urquhart's prose is like no other. I was astounded by her poetic phrasings. Her story is imbued with spiritual ideas, bordering on the paranormal. I found myself savouring the way she described not only the landscape of Ireland and the Canadian Shield but also the way she showed us what her characters were thinking and feeling. My only problem, and it's a minor one, is that I got lost about who was who in the family tree when she went back and forth in time, covering a few generations of character. Some of that is my fault, as I'm a quick reader, and though I struggle over every word I write, I don't always read every word on a page.