Synopsis
'Holds you captive like a blues song' Olivia Sudjic
In San Padua you can never get the ocean out of your brain.
Anne Marie's husband Cal left her on their first anniversary. Two years later and she is still adrift, living a precarious life of shift work and shared apartments.
When he shows up on the doorstep, clearly in trouble, she reluctantly agrees to a drink. But later that night a gun goes off in an alley near the shore and the young couple flee together, crammed into a beat-up car with their broken past, desperate to fill their lives on this long stretch of road under hot skies.
______________________
PRAISE FOR HIGHWAY BLUE
'Poignant, moving and cinematic' An Yu
'Beautiful' Observer
'Unforgettable' Elaine Feeney
'Gripping' Stylist
Publisher information
- Publisher: Vintage Publishing
- ISBN: 9781529112887
- Number of pages: 192
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 13 mm
- Weight: 159g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
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Not sure, sorry
So I am not exactly sure I understand what I have just read! I am a little confused and much bemused.
With thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC
A touching story
When Cal, her estranged husband unexpectedly turns up at Anne Marie's shared apartment one evening the event that follows sets them off together on a journ... READ MORE
Engaging & Dark
Highway Blue is an impressive and thoroughly enjoyable début. Anne Marie is in San Padua, trying to forget about her ex-husband, Cal and build a new life f... READ MORE
An interesting story told in a lyrical, mesmeric style
Highway Blue by Ailsa McFarlane is an interesting story told in a lyrical, mesmeric style. The writing is delightfully sensuous and expressive, full of co... READ MORE
A roadtrip novel about outsiders, loneliness, and the desire for a sense of belonging
“Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named sweet Anne Marie and she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sh... READ MORE
Brilliant
i Love the story and how she describes the scenes i was really into it . Love that !
Promising Start from a New Young Writer
Anne Marie married Cal at age 19 and a year to the day later he walked out. It was unannounced though, as we’ll learn later, not totally unexpected. In the... READ MORE
If Sylvia Plath and Albert Camus had a love child
Highway Blue reads like you're finding voices of old friends. It's familiar and yet new at the same time. There were times when Anne Marie (the narrator) r... READ MORE
Coming of age genre
Anne Marie is working at a bar by night and walks dogs by day, trying to build a new life for herself and forget about her ex-husband Cal. She marries him ... READ MORE
Mood piece
I enjoyed this short road-trip read, but although it was atmospheric it didn't seem substantial enough for a full novel. The mood was melancholy and refle... READ MORE
A beautifully written debut
Thanks so much to Vintage for letting me read Highway Blue in advance! I'd heard about this one before (not sure where) and I was very happy when I noticed... READ MORE
A very promising debut novel
Anne Marie is working at a bar by night and walks dogs by day, trying to build a new life for herself and forget about her ex-husband Cal. She marries him ... READ MORE
Rather melancholic
I was sent a copy of Highway Blue by Ailsa McFarlane to read and review by NetGalley. I found this to be quite a melancholic novel, leaning as it did towa... READ MORE
Well Written
I so wanted to like this book. I enjoyed the style of writing, I just didn’t find the story very interesting and I wasn’t bothered about what happened to t... READ MORE
Cinematic
Highway Blue was rich in description, especially for such a relatively short book (192 pages). I could see the story unrolling in my head as I read.
It... READ MORE
An introspective road trip
Anne Marie married Cal at 19, he walked out on their first anniversary, now he's back...and in trouble.
This is a quiet coming of age novel where the prot... READ MORE
Short but captivating
Highway Blue is a short novel, maybe even more of a novella, where the emphasis is not so much on action, but on emotion and thoughts.
Anne-Marie married ... READ MORE
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