Land by Maggie O’Farrell

This was my #1 most anticipated book of 2026. And I really wanted to write a review about how much I loved it. I liked it a lot, not sure if I love it. Did it have to be so sad? An alternate title could be ‘Death’. Yes, a lot of people die, or, bad things happen to them. I should’ve known after Hamnet.

I had no idea what the book would be about, I added it to my TBR because of the author. The beginning confused me a bit, using words I’d never heard while surveying the land, but I kept going. Young Liam wanders off and things get interesting in the mystical copse. I’d have love more of an explanation about it, we did not get it. I’m curious about Irish folklore now. I’d also never heard about The Great Hunger, so I kept stopping to look things up. There’s hunger, money struggles, yearning for a home and family, religion and beliefs.

The surveying and drawing of maps was very interesting.

Eugene was and remains a mystery to me. He knows where Enda and Rose end up, but does not recognize Liam? I would’ve liked more of an explanation.

There was a nice reminder about the cycle of life: birth, life, death and becoming one with the land again.

In summary, lots of things are covered, it did inspire me to do some research, but there’s multiple things left unexplained. And there’s so much tragedy. Because of this, I decided on 4 stars.