Far

"Far" is an exquisitely written novel about Martha, a 30-year-old Baltimore woman who refuses to conform to what most people think "normal" women should be like, and finds herself isolated form everyone as a result of it. Martha is perfectly content being completely self-sufficient. She has no desire to get married or have children, and instead becomes involved with Edward, a man who appears to accept Martha for who she is. However, when Martha begins to think that Edward may have other things in mind, she quickly relocates to a small southern town to manage a jewelry store. There, Martha has an affair with a married high-school guidance counselor and strikes up a rather odd friendship with her next-door-neighbor, Louise. When Martha discovers that her younger sister, Carly, has become involved with Edward, she eventually returns home in search of some sort of resolution. The best thing about "Far" is author Victoria Lancelotta's beautiful prose. Her poetic language alone is a good enough reason to read this book, but the story itself is a haunting tale about love, loneliness, independence, and being a woman. This is a very unique and intriguing book that's unlike anything I've ever read before. It's a must-read for all women out there.

This is such a beautifully written book that I feel like a real dunce trying to review it, but here goes.This book describes a womans life the way women really think, with sex described as snapshots of images, whiffs of smell and remembered small sounds. This way of describing sexual encounter really works well, it also works for describing other things from memory, especially for a character such as this: who drinks too much and may have ADHD. Well, OK, Martha is more complicated than a mere assigning of syndromes and learning disabilities can explain. She is complicated and interesting; or, she is a shallow, promiscuous woman who comes to terms with her jealousy towards her sister (beautiful without make-up, who could stand this!).The secondary characters are finely written and believable.This book is entertaining and sexy, so if you have been reading Bridget Jones and the like, please know you will enjoy this as well. With any luck you will never go back to chick fiction after this read. The book is artfully written, so for God's sake buy this book and expose yourself to some proper literature with poetic descriptions of time, place and human interaction.Ultimately I want to say "Far" is very smart, so readers don't have to be. LOLI would love to be able to say I had written such a book.