BookTalk with Harriet Sobol: Land (2026) by Maggie O'Farrell

BookTalk introduces readers to a carefully chosen, provocative selection of novels for reading and informal discussion, considering the author’s writing techniques and the character’s personal journeys. Readings include translations of books from other countries and cultures in the search for fictions that illuminate the lives and understanding of those from all across the globe.
 
This class focuses on Land (2026) by Maggie O'Farrell.  Land follows Tomás and his ten-year-old son Liam on a remote Irish peninsula in 1865, charting the land for the Ordnance Survey in the shadow of the Great Hunger. A chance encounter in the woods shatters their course, forcing Liam to confront his father’s mysterious change and their way back home.