The Far Away Girl: A heartbreaking and gripping novel of tragedy and secrets

Name: The Far Away Girl: A heartbreaking and gripping novel of tragedy and secrets
Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Sharon Maas

Mar 2021 · Bookouture

4.5

2 reviews

Ebook

350

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

She dreamed of finding a new life…

Georgetown, Guyana 1970. Seven-year-old Rita has always known she was responsible for the death of her beautiful mother Cassie. Her absent-minded father allows her to run wild in her ramshackle white wooden house by the sea, and surrounded by her army of stray pets, most of the time she can banish her mother’s death to the back of her mind.

But then her new stepmother Chandra arrives and the house empties of love and laughter. Rita’s pets are removed, her freedom curtailed, and before long, there’s a new baby sister on the way. There’s no room for Rita anymore.

Desperate to fill up the emptiness inside her, Rita begins to talk to the only photo she has of her dead mother, a poor farmer’s daughter from the remote Guyanese rainforest. Determined to find the truth about her mother, Rita travels to find her mother’s family in an unfamiliar land of shimmering creeks and towering vines. She finds comfort in the loving arms of her grandmother among the flowering shrubs and trees groaning with fruit. But when she discovers the terrible bruising secret that her father kept hidden from her, will she ever be able to feel happiness again?

A beautiful and inspiring story that will steal your heart and open your eyes. Fans of The Secret Life of Bees, The Vanishing Half and The Other Half of Augusta Hope will be captivated by The Far Away Girl.

What everyone is saying about The Far Away Girl:

‘Astoundingly beautiful, incredibly powerful, a powerhouse of a book. This author never ceases to amaze – book after book she stuns and beguiles with her beautiful prose and her wonderful stories… one of the most versatile writers I've read… This book is sheer perfection. Please read it. If you don't you're missing out.’ Renita D’Silva, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An emotional, heart-warming, inspiring and absorbing story… totally unputdownable.’ My Reading Narnia, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I devoured this book in just a couple of days… brilliant storytelling, this book is sure to be a hit and has certainly become a firm favourite of mine.’ Jenny W Reads

‘I have really enjoyed reading this book by Sharon Maas it is a lovely story and draws you in and I can highly recommend it. 5 stars!’ Netgalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Maas’s books are always a delight, a chance to travel to some of the most beautiful parts of the world without ever leaving your home.’ Cayo Costa 72

Ratings and reviews

4.5

2 reviews

Marianne Vincent

February 1, 2021

The Far Away Girl is the eleventh novel by Guyana-born author, Sharon Maas. When she was five, Rita Maraj came to live at Number Seven Kaieteur Close, Georgetown, with her father and Mildred the maid. Her Daddy, having not had his own family from the age of three, didn’t know how to be a parent, so there wasn’t much discipline, but eventually Rita was happy, which was the most important thing, as far as he was concerned. Until Doomsday arrived, Rita had been free to have her ant farm and jars of tadpoles and a menagerie of animals (she loved animals). Things in their old Dutch colonial white wooden mansion could be as messy as they liked, no one was bothered. Then Daddy brought home a wife, Chandra, who would be a mother for Rita, and everything changed: ants, animals all gone, everything had to be tidy, and a new baby… Jitendra Maraj was always uneasy when Rita, ever inquisitive, raised the topic of her mother. She would hear whispers about her mother’s death and some would say Rita was a bastard; Jitty promised to tell her everything when she was older. Meanwhile, he discouraged contact with her mother’s family, up there in the hills near the Pomeroon. When Rita finally met, properly, her maternal grandmother and visited the place from where Cassie Gomes had come, would she learn the truth? What was Jitty not telling? Maas gives the reader a touching story of love and loss, guilt and grief, racial prejudice and moral judgement, as well as touching on conservation issues. Her characters are credibly flawed and most have a genuine appeal that allows the reader to invest in them, care about their fate and shed a tear or two at their tragedies. The story is told from multiple perspectives and skips back and forth between timelines, clearly marked so there is no confusion. Entries into the diary that Jitty gives his daughter when she turns seven add to the narrative. Maas deftly captures the era with mentions of popular songs, movies, political and world events; her gorgeous descriptive prose easily evokes her setting, giving it an authenticity only possible from one who is intimate with the place. The love that Maas has for Guyana and her people is apparent on every page. A wonderful, truly moving read. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Bookouture.

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