Welcome to our new look Newsletter!

We have moved our newsletter onto our website as it offers us much greater flexibility of form and function – all the better to provide you with details of the latest and greatest books that have just landed or are on the way!

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We hope you enjoy!

Elizabeth Strout was born in Portland, Maine, and grew up in small towns in Maine and New Hampshire.  From a young age she was drawn to writing things down, keeping notebooks that recorded the quotidian details of her days.  She was also drawn to books and spent hours of her youth in the local library lingering among the stacks of fiction.  During the summer months of her childhood, she played outdoors, either with her brother, or, more often, alone, and this is where she developed her deep and abiding love of the physical world: the seaweed covered rocks along the coast of Maine, and the woods of New Hampshire with its hidden wildflowers.

During her adolescent years, Strout continued writing avidly, having conceived of herself as a writer from early on.  She read biographies of writers and was already studying – on her own – the way American writers, in particular, told their stories.  Poetry was something she read and memorized; by the age of sixteen was sending out stories to magazines.  Her first story was published when she was twenty-six.

Strout attended Bates College, graduating with a degree in English in 1977.  Two years later, she went to Syracuse University College of Law, where she received a law degree along with a Certificate in Gerontology.  She worked briefly for Legal Services, before moving to New York City, where she became an adjunct in the English Department of Borough of Manhattan Community College.  By this time, she was publishing more stories in literary magazines and Redbook and Seventeen.  Juggling the needs that came with raising a family and her teaching schedule, she found a few hours each day to work on her writing.

Elizabeth Strout is the author of many books, including her very popular Amgash series about Lucy Barton’s decades-long journey from the rural Midwest to sparkling, gritty New York and the cliffs of Maine in the context of grave personal tragedy and larger cultural events. Strout is set to release book number 5 in the series this September, Tell Me Everything. A hopeful, healing novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world – from the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Booker Prize shortlisted author of My Name is Lucy Barton

FICTION

There are Rivers in the Sky
Elif Shafak

“Later, when the storm has passed, everyone will talk about the destruction it left behind, though no one, not even the king himself, will remember that it all began with a single raindrop’’.

From this opening line I was entranced and hooked. Elif Shafak amazes me with every book she writes and this one does not disappoint. As with Island of Missing Trees there is an affinity with nature as a central theme and part narration, this time with water as the element. Though this may sound strange, at times you get the voice of this single drop of water, who talks about the power of water to give life but also how it can equally destroy things. Told over different time frames and with different characters, Elif masterfully weaves each story together succinctly and beautifully. A pure joy to read, I eagerly look forward to what she writes next.

Reviewed by Suzie

NON-FICTION

The Joy of Quiet Places
Lonely Planet

Discover 60 of our planet’s most serene and peaceful spaces plus 120 extra ideas on tranquil trips that explore the joys, pleasures, and restorative effects of quiet travel.

Nothing is more healing to the mind and spirit than finding a special place of peace. Learn how to slow down, open your eyes and ears to the tiny details of our world, and find joy in spaces far from the hustle and bustle of daily life with this unique travel guide.

Lonely Planet’s Joy of series introduces The Joy of Quiet Places, the ultimate gift book for anyone looking to experience a meditative or mindful getaway, and add more balance and joy to their next travel adventure.

Well, having finally booked myself some leave for September, reviewing this one has me set to renew my passport and drain the “New Kitchen” savings account to hop on a plane and seek out some serenity!  A fantastic blend between inspiration and practical information Lonely Planet is known for, this volume of ‘quiet places’ focuses on hidden gems of quiet serenity, perfect to decompress or unwind.  My top aspirations included snorkeling in the Cook Islands, wandering the red wood forests of California, and hiking beside the aquaducts in Madeira, but I’m not sure I will be able to fit them into one trip.  Perhaps I’ll start with kayaking in the Tarkine, a little more local…

Reviewed by Kate

Christian White in conversation

Thursday 24 October 6:30pm – Bookings essential

We are thrilled to be welcoming local crime author Christian White to Farrells in conversation this October. After three years with his focus on screenwriting projects for Netflix and Paramount, Christian has returned with another gripping crime novel The Ledge.

When human remains are discovered in a forest, police are baffled, the locals are shocked and one group of old friends starts to panic. Their long-held secret is about to be uncovered. It all began in 1999 when sixteen-year-old Aaron ran away from home, drawing his friends into an unforeseeable chain of events that no one escaped from unscathed. In The Ledge, past and present run breathlessly parallel, leading to a climax that will change everything you thought you knew. This is a mind-bending new novel from the master of the unexpected.

With many of our staff already huge fans of The Ledge, we assure you Christian’s new novel will not disappoint. A true master of misdirection and intrigue. In store 24 September.