When I received my requested ARC for Land by Maggie O’Farrell, I knew I had arrived in the big leagues of ARC-ing. (That doesn’t mean I always get what I ask for, but still.) And I was thrilled. I have now read three O’Farrell books and have two more on my shelf. I imagine I will become a completest because I adore her writing. She is one of my faves, even though I didn’t meet her until Hamnet (the book, not the movie).

So, thanks to the publisher for an ARC. And you, my friend, will have to wait until June 2nd if this review sounds about right to you, but it’ll be worth the (short) wait.

Blurb: It’s 1865, and Liam and his dad are out on a rural peninsula of Ireland, re-mapping for the British government in the wake of the Great Hunger. But when the magic of the land crashes into the practical man that his father is, the land wins, again and again. Sweeping in scope from ancient times all the way through two generations of one family, Land explores the people’s often fraught relationship to place and to nature. Can the land tear families apart? If the families don’t do it themselves first.

Let’s begin at the beginning. Land starts slow. You see, it is literary fiction in an Irish tradition (which also means no quotation marks, etc.), and literary fiction does not have the modern requirement of a big ol’ hook on the first page or starting in the middle of the action and what have you. It will have to warm up, and that’s to be expected. Keep reading. A slow start is a beauty in itself, and once this book warmed up, I was totally in. Then the pace increases all the way to the very end.

The beginning also doesn’t really let you know what you’re in for. Surprise! It’s not just historical fiction and family drama, but magic and ghosts, maybe literal but definitely metaphorical. It’s a family saga with two generations, and an epic of the land with flashbacks way into the past.

Land is a lot like Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait with its flights of narration into sudden and unexpected places. I love this. There are several POVs, some of them random. I also love this. (Also loved it in The Promise by Damon Galgut, which I just read.) The writing style is breathtaking, the language beautiful and so carefully constructed. Maybe some things could have been cut—it was pretty long. But if you asked me at the end what I would have wanted you to cut, I would say nothing. I didn’t want to leave her writing or where it took me.

Though my only real complaint made me want to actually leave. The complaint? The story grows so harrowing, especially toward the end. Tragedy builds upon tragedy, upon tragedy, and we are invested in these characters and their lives, we sorta love them. It hurts, almost physically, and I began to doubt that any good could happen for them or ever again in the history of the world. I was worn down emotionally and while I was also, “What’s going to happen to these people ultimately?” I also sort of wanted to put the book down and walk away. It was brutal. I think one or two fewer desperate losses at the climax would have suited. Ultimately, though, this is an author I can trust, and the ending is bittersweet…

Even so, this was my favorite O’Farrell so far, and I see award nominations (and winning?) in store for this one. It is wonderful. If you find yourself loving great literary, Irish, and/or historical fiction, then be first in line on June 2nd for this one.