Highway Blue

Hardback Published on: 06/05/2021
Price: £12.99
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Synopsis

An Observer 10 BEST DEBUTS OF 2021
A hypnotic story of young love on the run

'I loved Highway Blue - a dark, glimmering, journey deep into modern America' Rosie Price, author of What Red Was

'Highway Blue holds you captive like a blues song or incantation' Olivia Sudjic, author of Asylum Road

Anne Marie is adrift San Padua, living a precarious life of shift-work and shared apartments. Her husband Cal left her on their first anniversary and two years later, she can't move on.

When he shows up suddenly on her doorstep, clearly in some kind of 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. Their ill-at-ease odyssey takes them across a shimmering American landscape and through the darker seams of the country, towards a city that may or may not represent salvation.

Highway Blue is a story of being lost and found; of love, in all its forms; and of how the pursuit of love is, in its turn, a kind of redemption.

EARLY READERS LOVE HIGHWAY BLUE
(all reviews from NetGalley)

'This will be one of the best books of the year'
'Highly recommended'
'I was glued to it from the first page and couldn't put it down'
'Thoroughly engrossing and wonderfully written'
'Fabulous characters'
'An author to watch!'

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Vintage Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781787302365
  • Number of pages: 192
  • Dimensions: 207 x 140 x 23 mm
  • Weight: 309g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

View all
Highway Blue
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
Sarah Burton
Highway Blue
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
Deborah Loader
Highway Blue
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
Bridget East
Highway Blue
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
Ciaran McLarnon
Highway Blue
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
Graham Fulcher
Highway Blue
Brilliant
i Love the story and how she describes the scenes i was really into it . Love that !
Florian Odorici
Highway Blue
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
Andrew Smith
Highway Blue
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
Melanie Fraser
Highway Blue
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
The Secret Book Review
Highway Blue
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
Verity Halliday
Highway Blue
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
Rachel Walker
Highway Blue
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
Celia Short
Highway Blue
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
lesleys
Highway Blue
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
Tammy Muir
Highway Blue
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
Clare R
Highway Blue
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
Amanda Read
Highway Blue
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
Louise Barber