A Far Country

This is a beautifully written book! It is very simply written, the accumulation of specific details sketching a reality that is very different than ours, and letting us enter into it, and understand it. The heroine, Isabel, grows up in a hard-scrabble rural community periodically ravaged by drought and hunger. She is close to her brother Isaias, a naturally-talented musician, and is able to sense his presence, wherever he is. Isaias leaves for the Big City to pursue his fortune. Drought engulfs Isabel's community and she is sent to the Big City to live with her cousin because her family can no longer support her. She goes to "The New Settlements." She tries to understand this new city and tries to find her brother. We are inside her mind as she learns about the city and about urban life. This book gripped me with its vision. It made me understand those struggling to simply exist in our world. It made me begin to understand those people outside my experience - people in the "third world," the "developing world." [...] I enjoyed reading "The Piano Tuner" immensely, and enjoyed reading this book as well. This book is very different than the previous book, but equally gripping. I am in awe of Daniel Mason's talent.

Anne Twomey narrates this vivid story of a young girl's journey through an unnamed country in search of her brother. Isabel has the gift of second sight - when war changes her life and separates her from her brother, it may be the only thing that can help her locate him. A fine story of a dangerous quest emerges, involving listeners in a delicate, finely honed drama. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Dan Mason continues his vividly delicate storytelling that completely envelopes you in a dreamlike state. This is not your average contemporary fiction - not lurid, not slick, not reality TV; 'graceful', 'luminous' and 'ethereal' are the words to describe it. You feel dizzy when she's sick, so amazingly empathic are the details that entrance you into this girl's world. I had a hangover after reading this book - I just couldn't stop thinking about it. The best literary trip I've taken in awhile (maybe since Mason's last novel).

Your enjoyment of this novel may depend on how fast you bond with the main character, Isabel. She had me at "Hello." A FAR COUNTRY has elements of a quest novel, but it could also be a "Coming of Age" novel. Isabel is sent to the city because a drought has devastated her homelands. She takes a "perch," a flatbed truck surrounded by a railing that looks rather like a birdcage. Isabel hopes to find her brother, Isaias, who left for the city to become a musician. If you have ever been lost in a big city, you will feel for Isabel. The address she has for her cousin, for whom she will babysit during the week, doesn't mean much to the people she asks for help. When she finally finds "The settlement" it's a scary place indeed. Isabel finds a weekend job working as a flag-waver for a political candidate. That's where she meets Josiane, who could be an American teenager. She's into boys, discotheques, and movie magazines. She sets out to corrupt Isabel. She also provides the comic relief in the novel. Meanwhile Isabel continues her search for her brother. Some will be bothered by the number of coincidences involved, but Daniel Mason has done a great job suspending disbelief. As a young girl in the backlands, Isabel had a mystical ability to find her brother in the sugar cane fields, no matter how well he hid. This makes what happens later more believable. Mason never does tell the reader where in South America the action occurs. But he does drop some hints. Brazil has innumerable sugar cane fields. Mason also tells us the city Isabel goes to has ten to twelve million people, and there are "settlements," in the big city, a euphemism for slums. Isabel's boyfriend also takes her to a huge beach. Ipa Nima? I may be wrong but it was fun to gather clues. It's hard to believe that a Californian can write this well about South America. Mason knows the backlands. The people eat cactus and ants, as well as mixing soil with what little food they have to stave off starvation. There is a huge dump outside the big city that the people can "The Mountain." Isabel rides by it in a bus. When she takes a closer look she sees people clamoring over the mountain scavenging. It is a godsend to people who have nothing else. I am an unapologetic bookworm. Usually I'm lucky if I can find one great book during the year, but this year I've already read two. This one and THE TERROR by Dan Simmons. I can't wait to read Mason's THE PIANO TUNER. It's supposed to be better than this one. That's hard to believe.

I love this book! A huge fan of Mason's, The Piano Tuner, I ran out and bought this the day it was released. I was not disappointed! Mason's writing is addicting and with the descriptive story line and vulnerable characters, especially Isabel, it's tough to put down. Read this book. A++++