Maggie O'Farrell

I loved O'Farrell's debut, "After You'd Gone". It was one of those books that you race through in a day or so, not just for the plot but because it is such an intense experience.

Her second "My Lover's Lover" gets a more mixed reception from the reviewers on Amazon.co.uk. Has anyone here read it? What did you think?

O'Farrell's next, "The Distance Between Us", is out in hardcover at the beginning of March.

I read an article in the Guardian written by Maggie when she had just released My Lover's Lover, and the article was fantastic, so much so I had to go out and get the book. I got about 100 pages and gave up - really couldn't get into the writing, the characters or anything else.

PM me your address and I'll send you the book if you like.

Mxx

Thanks to murphyz I have now read, "My Lover's Lover". Unlike him I wasn't driven to abandon it.

Though it is nowhere near as strong as "After You'd Gone", that was such a strong debut that it was always going to be tough to follow. I'm in two minds.

What I didn't like about it:
* The central male character, Marcus, is shallow, self-obsessed and immature - though sadly no less believable for all that.
* The second part jumps about in time strangely. I couldn't really determine why this was, and what effect it was intended to have.

On the positive side:
* I was slowly drawn towards the principal supporting male character - the good guy who disapproves of what his best mate does to his girlfriend. Though some might regard him as a bit wet.
* There was sufficient mystery about what it is that Marcus did to his ex to keep me turning the pages.
* There are some good small touches. Descriptions of very ordinary things like swinging ones legs when sitting on a station bench. O'Farrell is a writer with an eye for detail, when she chooses to be.

Another one for the, "I'm glad I read it once but now its off to the charity shop" pile, I think.

after you'd gone is one of my favorites, i still get depressed when i think about it, she wrote it so perfectly.

Resurrecting an old thread here....

I discovered Maggie O'Farrell last year, after reading some very good reviews on another forum. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (her most recent one, I think) was the first one I read, and I was so impressed with it. The story was great, as was the way it was written. And that twist at the end..... I had to read the last page a few times before I got it.

I've also read After You'd Gone, which I think was as good as The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Everytime I'm at my local library, I look for her other books, but they always seem to be out. Anyway, I'd recommend her work.

I just finished reading "After You'd Gone" and I can't figure out the ending- It's driving me nuts!