In a Far Country. Linda Holeman

by Linda Holeman

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 075534507X
• ISBN13: 9780755345076
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Headline Review
• Length: 628 Pages
• Weight: 4.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Distressing Yet Gripping

I'm not sure why this historical fiction is "Untitled" in the U.S.A. In Canada, it's sold under the name "In a Far Country" although it seems a rather insipid name for such a powerful story. As the daughter of poor medical missionaries in India, Pri Fincastle's life is far from glamorous or easy. There's much to do and she spends her time tending the gardens, learning the languages of the area and helping her parents look after the needs of the villagers who come to the mission for medical relief. There is little occasion for fun or frivolity in her austere upbringing. As well, the atmosphere at the mission is not a happy one and there is much about her family's strange situation she can't understand. While she recognises her mother's slow descent into madness, it is not until the tragic death of both her parents that she learns part of the dark secret that the mission station holds. That knowledge leads her into even more distressing circumstances and towards the compelling and gripping conclusion. I can't say this is an enjoyable read--it is often disheartening and depressing--and yet it held me spellbound. Ms. Holeman is an extremely competent writer whose wonderful descriptions bring the hot and sundrenched countryside of India to life. Nevertheless she often has a tendency to be too wordy. A good edit could do wonders for the story as, sometimes in a particularly exciting moment, you just wish she would get to the point. Just the same, it certainly deserves the four stars I am giving it.