{"product_id":"9780571399888","title":"Gaining Ground : 'A wildly original novel' (Sarah Hall)","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Barfoot, Joan\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eClassic fiction (pre c 1945)\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublished on 30 July 2026 by FABER \u0026amp; FABER in the United Kingdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback \/ softback | 304 pages\u003cbr\u003e198 x 129\u003cp\u003e'A joyful and generative novel about running away to make a new home for a new self.' Sarah Moss'I didn't know how badly I needed it. Barfoot shows us the beauty and terror of being alone.' Amy Key'This is what the best writing does: makes you think, think again, think better.' Claire Kilroy'A modern masterpiece.' Doireann ní Ghríofa'An outstanding sense of place and inner space: unsettling as well as memorable.' Margaret Drabble'Beneath the radical disquiet is a beautiful hymn to the hearts and minds of women.' Sarah HallI swear I loved them all, and I did the best I could. And then I left them, left all of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbra has a perfect-seeming life as a wife and mother: until one day, she walks away, leaving only a note asking her family not to look for her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a woodland cabin, her new life alone begins. There are no mirrors, no clocks, no memories: just the squirrels breathing in the forest, and silence of vegetables growing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears later, a young woman arrives, and the past-flashes begin. Daughter? A strange word. Is this her? And what will this mean?Joan Barfoot's Gaining Ground is a both a provocative meditation on living on your own terms and an exquisite work of art. It calls to anybody who has ever wanted to escape - who has asked what it costs to be wild, to be sane, to be free.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat readers are saying:So damn extraordinary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book meant everything to me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn instant all-time favorite.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI loved reading this book . . . A story of impossible bravery, survival and reconciliation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful story about a woman who puts her own happiness in life above her maternal duties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the most influential novels I have ever read.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWonderful. So much food for thought. I never re-read books, but this is one of the first I'll make an exception for.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA quiet masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barfoot, Joan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53578438017208,"sku":"9780571399888","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0509\/1953\/8872\/files\/9780571399888.jpg?v=1781107401","url":"https:\/\/octoberbooks.org\/products\/9780571399888","provider":"October Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}