On ‘Land’
Maggie O'Farrell's "Hamnet" was a hard act to follow. With her newest release, "Land," she tries less to repeat it and more so return to where she came from. O'Farrell's own ancestral Ireland is the setting for most of the book, and the result is a story paying homage to it. The story is sprawling, literary and feels deeply rooted in place.
Set in the 19th century following the shadow of Ireland's Great Famine, "Land" follows a family navigating British occupation, generational grief and a fractured relationship with the land that once sustained and then failed them. That famine, and the mass immigration to the New World it set in motion, gives O'Farrell the description and background to directly weave it into her characters' choices and losses, tracking how sons and daughters of a hearty family stay bound to a homeland that has already asked everything of their parents.. The land itself functions almost as a character, present in nearly every page.
What sets "Land" apart is O'Farrell's control of language. Her vocabulary is expansive enough that readers may want a dictionary close by; that's part of its pleasure. Passages slow down to let a single term do the work, and the prose rewards patience. It’s a longer read, however. "Land" is not a page-turner in the conventional sense, and its momentum builds gradually, sometimes without a payoff that matches the build. That shouldn’t bother readers who come to historical fiction for atmosphere, language and a strong sense of place. But it might frustrate those who want a faster plot to hold onto.
Structurally, though, the novel reads more like a television show in its later seasons than a book built around a single driving arc; it drifts among characters and subplots, and readers may reach the end unsure exactly where the story was headed exactly.
I’d suggest reading "Land" if you love historical fiction anchored in landscape and family history, and O'Farrell's grounded style of prose. Skip it if you prefer a brisker, more plot-driven read, with twists and turns. Either way, it's a worthwhile addition to the conversation around this year's literary fiction, and we'd love to hear what you think when you finish it.
