Far from Maddy [Paperback]

C. C. Saint-Clair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003

In a bid to heal herself from emotional trauma, twenty-two year old Jo takes the unusual step of opting out of the mainstream and a promising career in architecture, to take up life as a homeless person. On the eve of moving in with her lover, Maddy, Jo simply vanishes. So begins the strange tale of her self-determined disappearance and Maddy's desperate search to find her. As a child, Jo had tried to survive her mother's illness, alcoholism and suicide the best way she could. There was also her father's emotional distance and the loss of a much older sister when that sibling left home. Years later, Jo's interactions with Maddy, within their loving relationship, trigger the memory of these unresolved childhood issues. Jo's fear of emotional dependence on her lover reflects her fear of abandonment as a child and, so, in a pre-emptive strike, she runs away from Maddy before Maddy might think to abandon her. Eventually, Maddy makes contact with Jo but is frustrated by her refusal to return to mainstream society, and even more afraid for Jo's safety when she learns that she has reverted to heavy drug use.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Bookmakers Ink (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972678921
• ISBN-13: 978-0972678926
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,210,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars funky chick, March 23, 2006

By 

cory rush (SF) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far from Maddy (Paperback)

Jo is one funky chick. So sad thinking that, in real life, funky chicks like her, often don't make it back into the mainstream. Far From Maddy is fiction, but it's real-to-life. Totally accessible. Very involving. This book is my 2nd Saint-Clair book. A great read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Far From Maddy by C.C. Saint-Clair, February 18, 2005

By 

Pam Harrison "thewritestuf" (Vine Grove, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far from Maddy (Paperback)

Far From Maddy is the second book I've read from C.C. Saint-Clair, the first having been Morgan in the Mirror. Saint-Clair is in my opinion the undisputed mistress of the sensual storyline: in my years of reading an assortment of love scenes made indiscernable by metaphors and repressed sexuality, she holds the lead in her ability to write a love scene that absolutely boils over with emotional and sensual detail.

Jo tried to survive her childhood family tragedies the best she could--her mother's illness, alcoholism and suicide, her father's emotional absence and the loss of her much older sister when that sibling left home--but her love for Maddy triggers fear of being emotionally dependent and vulnerable despite their loving relationship. That fear leads to Jo's "disappearance."

In Far From Maddy, a romantic escape to the beach suddenly becomes a day of terror: Maddy returns with a bottle of brandy and two plastic tumblers to find the picnic table where she had left her lover, Jo, empty. When Jo does not return from the beach, Maddy goes through a frantic week of searching for her, dealing with Brisbane police who completely dismiss her relationship with the girl and advise Maddy, "Perhaps you need to have a chat with her boyfriend and see if she's missin'..."

Jo has taken to the streets, living rough, in the Australian vernacular, in an attempt to run from her past and her fear of loss tied into her love for Maddy, but also to find the strength to confront and come to terms with the demons she hides inside. Maddy teams up with Officer Christen Jensen and begins a desperate search to find Jo and bring her home before it's too late.

Maddy's fear and mental exhaustion are real, made even more so by society's failure to recognize same-sex relationships and give them the same credence as a heterosexual one in cases of crime or disappearance.

Far From Maddy is an outstanding read that keeps the reader bound to the book and its two protagonists, Jo and Maddy, until the final page is turned.

[...]

4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh & Strong, April 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Far from Maddy (Paperback)

Fresh because Jo, the survivor of her emotionally abusive mother is only 22.
Fresh because her lover, Maddy is only 24.
Fresh because there aren't that many dyke novels centered around one of us choosing to live rough ... out of emotional/survival necessity.
Fresh because it's set in this great park out our way in Queensland.
Don't know of any other novels set in New Farm park.
I go there with my dog to throw a freesbee.
It's a real place.

Strong because all the the above is brought togehter into a strong and sensual plot.

Enjoyable. Thought provoking.
Sure, I'd like my best buddies to read it.
:)