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Few and Far Between

By Jan Carson
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Brief Description
For fans of Mariana Enriquez and Julia Armfield, a literary alternative history about a community living on an archipelago, the flamboyant guru who brought them together and the secrets that will lead to their fall. From the award-winning author of The Raptures and The Fire Starters,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3800
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For fans of Mariana Enriquez and Julia Armfield, a literary alternative history about a community living on an archipelago, the flamboyant guru who brought them together and the secrets that will lead to their fall.

From the award-winning author of The Raptures and The Fire Starters, a stunning, imaginative novel about a community living on a small group of islands. Sometimes a utopia is not all that it seems...

In Few and Far Between, award-winning writer Jan Carson imagines an alternative version of Northern Ireland's recent past. A prime minister with a mad plan to create a new county. An archipelago of haunted islands. A community seeking refuge from the Troubles. The perfect place to escape to - or so it appears.

It's summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago are facing imminent eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in fifty years. How will they cope with modern life? Will the Ark give up its secrets before it sinks?

Praise for Jan Carson

'Jan Carson is a born storyteller - her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too - you never know where she's going to take you next, so reading her is always an adventure. Exactly how it should be.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies

'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists.' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace

The Fire Starters 'blew me away with its power, anger and wit.' Joseph O'Connor, Books of the Year

'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times

'Absolutely magnificent - dark, witty, charming.' Marian Keyes, author of My Favourite Mistake

'Heart-rending, hilarious... It's a belter.' Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529936766

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Doubleday

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 350g

Pages: 368

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Humour Jan Carson Literary Fiction Penguin Books Sci-Fi & Fantasy

About the Author

Jan Carson is a writer based in Belfast. Her first novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was published in 2014 to critical acclaim, followed by a short-story collection, Children's Children (2016), and two flash fiction anthologies, Postcard Stories (2017) and Postcard Stories 2 (2020). Her second novel, The Fire Starters (2019), won the EU Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for the Dalkey Novel of the Year Award and her third novel, The Raptures (2022) was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year and the Kerry Group Novel of the Year. Her most recent short story collection, Quickly, While They Still Have Horses, was published in 2024. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She has won the Harper's Bazaar short-story competition and has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, the An Post Irish Short Story of the Year, and the Sean Faolain Short Story Prize.

Also by Jan Carson

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  • Quickly, While They Still Have Horses
    The dazzling new short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures; bold, tender, surprising stories of youth and innocence, age and experience - and all the spaces in between. Jan Carson is a born storyteller - her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too - you never know where she's going to...
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  • Children's Children
    A reissue of the debut short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures, with a new bonus story. Read the debut short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures, now updated with a new bonus story. Jan Carson is a born storyteller – Lisa McInerney A floating six-year-old tethered to the backyard fence; two siblings watching...
    By Jan Carson
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