"The sequel to Jenny Wren centered around Dahlia and Cecil Sproat and was a novel of the beginning of their marriage. Dahlia’s decision to marry the older curate was one of safety � Cecil was a safe choice � and not one made out of love. Cecil was a very serious-minded curate mindful of doing right and keeping peace in the community. Dahlia is very independent and free-spirited who doesn’t care to speak her mind.

A new marriage is never easy at the beginning and we are witness to the struggle these two have trying to wade through the expectations on so many levels. How does a newlywed couple learn to love each other? What if one of the two cannot be the person the other wants them to be or to behave? How can two people so completely opposite (one a believer and the other a non-believer) manage to find common ground and make a marriage successful?

She would do her best, but again, she wished he were that greengrocer, going early to market, coming back with things which were definite in their value and giving people what they wanted instead of what he thought they ought to have.

The Vicar and his wife, Mrs. Doubleday, demonstrate how a lengthy marriage doesn’t necessarily mean there is love there. Mrs. Doubleday is a power-hungry woman and quite selfish. The Vicar is good-natured and kind-hearted living with a woman who is not liked (which is a huge understatement) in the community. What seems a neat and tidy marriage on the surface begins to emit the cracks in the relationship and the jealousies that form over time.


So much of the conversations and thoughts are of the disharmony experienced by Cecil and Dahlia. They annoy and hurt each other over and over yet haven’t figured out how to turn that into something loving or at least heading that direction. These two need to get to know one another and learn how to manage each other’s idiosyncrasies. I wanted something more for them, something definable that would mark the true beginning of a loving marriage rather than one so besotted with angst and weariness. Young leaves the ending ambiguous yet on a hopeful note.

My thanks to my buddy reader, Megan, who adds such remarkable thoughts and makes reading together so much more joyful!
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"This earlier book of O’Farrell’s has left me a bit of a conundrum. I have loved the three novels I’ve read so far and have been blown away by her ability to write the non-linear plotlines with perfection. I am also a fan of her inventiveness in her prose and her characterizations because you find yourself so enmeshed in the lives she creates. I wanted all of this in The Distance Between Us but for me it fell flat.

I didn’t care for these characters or the traumatic events that surrounded their lives and brought the two main protagonists together. They were worlds apart � literally � Hong Kong and Scotland � and that’s how I felt throughout. Jake was not a character I could get on board with and Stella and Nina had a sisterly bond that was so much like twins yet they weren’t � just really close. These characters all make life-changing decisions in the moment out of fear or guilt.

In O’Farrell’s trademark way, we are given the story pieces like a puzzle that is put together bit by bit. However, in this particular book, O’Farrell still has some work to get to her nuanced skill I know she has in later books. The ending came up rather quickly after a lengthy progression to the twist and surprise. One for Stella and one for Jake � neither of which were actually resolved. I still have several more O’Farrell books to get to and I will be looking forward to them!
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