Far Afield - (Vintage Contemporaries) by Susanna Kaysen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A compulsively readable novel of enormous charm swimming in the cuisine and culture of the Faroe Islands from the author of Girl, Interrupted.

Jonathan Brand, a graduate student in anthropology, has decided to do his fieldwork in the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. But, despite his Harvard training, he can barely understand, let alone "study," the culture he encounters. From his struggles with the local cuisine to his affair with the Danish woman the locals want him to marry, Jonathan is both repelled by and drawn into the Faroese way of life. Wry and insightful, Far Afield reveals Susanna Kaysen's gifts of imagination, satire, and compassion.

From the Back Cover

Jonathan Bran, a graduate student in anthropology, has decided to do his fieldwork in the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. But, despite his Harvard training, he can barely understand, let alone 'study, ' the culture he encounters. From his struggles with the local cuisine to his affair with the Danish woman the locals want him to marry, Jonathan is both repelled by and drawn into the Faroese way of life.

Review Quotes

"Brilliant . . . a novel distinguished for [its] intelligence, psychological insight, and splendid writing." --The Atlantic

"Enthralling . . . at times supernaturally beautiful. A gritty, intellectual, emotionally complex and astute account of an outsider succumbing to the hidden charms of a remote and peculiar island community." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Kaysen softly moves the story forward, chronicling personal change with deft touches of insight and with detail of island life so rich that it seems she had spent a year there herself." --Chicago Sun-Times

"Witty, intelligent. . . . An inspired novel about the human condition and the nature of civilization. One of the best novels . . . in some time." --Boston Magazine

About the Author

Susanna Kaysen has written the novels Asa, As I Knew Him and Far Afield and the memoirs Girl, Interrupted and The Camera My Mother Gave Me. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.