Far Afield

I loved this book for what another reviewer saw as a weakness--laxk of plot. It's strength for me was the very dailiness of Jonathan 's sojourn in an alien environment. No.spoiler here's but the aliens kindly take him in, and he does manage to come to terms.with data for.a.thesis, as not sfarce, either. Among the strengths of the tale.is the multiddnsions of the people. We see both good and bad, weird and normal. I xould.have read on and on, and would dearly love to have a way to get my hands on the resulting thesis to get Jonathan's hindsight.on it all.

For a novel this book reads more like an anthropological report. What should detract from the story, however, makes up in fascinating slice-of-life detail for a rather unappealing hero. For him alone I would soon have given up on the book, but the islanders’ lifestyle is too interesting, even where if offends modern views.

Characters well developed. Plot starts a little slow, then grabs you and pulls you in. Don't want to reveal the plot by writing too much but if you liked her later books - read this.

I read this book mostly because it was about the Faroe Islands and only secondarily because it was by the author of Girl, Interrupted. I loved the setting and while I agree that it would not have been as interesting if set in Maine, the fact is that it wasn't set in Maine....it was set in the Faroe's:). A lot of the drama and comedy arise from a city slicker's exposure to countryfolk and how they live with animals, and that's a topic I always find interesting. So this is not the greatest psychological novel ever, nor the most dramatic, but if you want a sensitive, humorous treatment of what it would be like to live in a small Scandinavian Island community for a year, then this is your book.

This is a book with lots of virtues--it's well written, very subtly witty, has a great sense of place. Unfortunately, it suffers from lack of plot and a main character who is only moderately interesting.

Re-read this book in anticipation of traveling in the north atlantic countries. Great atmosphere and glimpse into a completely different culture.Love Susanna Kaysen....wish she would write more.

Seriously, save yourself. Just click off this page and go find something else to read. My goodness, this book was dull. The character had zero development - I had no idea why he was there or what his purpose was or what made him such a miserable dull donkey. I gave up when night after night I'd dread reading more. The good news is I kept clicking onto wikipedia and I've learned a lot about the Faroes that way.

a must

Slow read.

This book was recommended to me by a Faroese guy, and I gave it a read. Did not regret it - I had been to the Faroe Islands myself a few years before and blurted out at many of the hilarious situations in the book because I had experienced them similarly. The story itself is a bit cliché, but for anyone with an interest in the Faroes this book is time and money well spent.