Near Canaan

Near Canaan is an intricate and multi-layered novel of secrets and memory which explores the far-reaching, inescapable effects of the past.

Liese O’Halloran Schwarz published her first novel, Near Canaan, while she was studying at medical school. Her second novel, The Possible World, was published nearly thirty years later. She currently 
lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

‘Intelligent, thoughtful, resourceful’ WASHINGTON POST 
 
 
Filmmaking student Buddy Whyte never visited his mother’s hometown while she was alive. 
 But in the wake of her tragic death, he can no longer resist the lure of Naples, Virginia. He packs up his car and drives south from New York City with his camera. He means to make a short film about the town – and perhaps learn why Beth Whyte left it, and why she never went back. 
 Many people in the close-knit community are devastated to learn of the death of Buddy’s mother –not least two brothers, Jack and Gil, who knew her best. Although they live and work side by side, a dark secret divides them, and they have not spoken to one another in years. 
 Through his camera lens, Buddy captures an unexpected story, including glimpses of his mother that challenge everything he thought he knew. But in a small town where even disparate voices agree that the past is best kept hidden from outsiders, will he actually learn the truth? 
 
 
 Near Canaan is an intricate and multi-layered novel of secrets and memory which explores the far-reaching, inescapable effects of the past.

Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

The Possible World doesn't shrink from grimness and is as grippy as any crime novel yet is ultimately joyful and optimistic.

In hauntingly beautiful prose, Schwarz weaves a complicated story that spans nearly a century, from the Great Depression until the present day... Full of imagination and nostalgia, loss and redemption.

This beautiful story of loss and memory by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz is a joy.

The Possible World is a luminous read, full of paradoxes. It’s a riveting page-turner, yet exquisitely written. It’s as smart as a whip but also deeply wise, unflinchingly truthful yet compassionate, epic and yet intimate. How the three stories are woven into a satisfying whole is short of miraculous. It’s rare that a book brings me so much joy that I cry in rapture. But The Possible World did that and more. I found it utterly transformative.

Tor Udall, author of 'A Thousand Paper Birds'

Oh how I have LOVED this. Definitely a book I've read with my heart. A beautiful entwining story of three extraordinary characters.

This is such a beautiful story it made me cry …I recommend this book to each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

The Possible World is compelling and absorbing with exquisite prose and beautiful characterization.. I couldn’t put it down.

Very rarely do I clamour to keep reading a book and this was the first one in a long time that I couldn’t wait to read at night, at lunch, whenever I could… Thank you to Liese O’Halloran Schwarz for writing this with her heart and soul.

Intriguing, thought provoking and almost magical

This is a tender and touching story treating the unique situations of each of these lives with great understanding and awareness of the human situation. I would highly recommend this book

If you like a story with lots of twists and turns and emotion, I’d definitely recommend it – an excellent story about humanity and how we connect with each other

A gorgeous and uplifting story that seamlessly stitches together the lives of three strangers

Beautifully entwined story of three extraordinary characters

From the very first page, I was gripped by the enchanting prose that Liese O’Halloran Schwarz has produced. Her language is beautiful. She communicates so much in such seemingly simple sentences. The book feels like an easy read, but underneath is a story that is worth telling, full of human problems and emotions.

This book simply was an absolute delight to read. It's a story of epic proportions spanning a hundred years. It tells of impossible things made real. It blurs boundaries and spans generations. The writing flows and before you know it you're halfway through the book. It's such an uplifting story about the kindness of human nature and what it means to be alive. I loved every word.

______________________ 
'Every now and then I come across a book I wish I’d written. The Possible World is one ... A gorgeously wrought exploration of who gets to tell the story of our lives, and who gets to inhabit that story with us' JODI PICOULT 
 
Ben is the sole survivor of a crime that claims his mother and countless others. He is just six years old, and already he must find a new place for himself in the world. 
 
Lucy, the doctor who tends to Ben, is grappling with a personal upheaval of her own. She feels a profound connection to the little boy who has lived through the unthinkable. Will recovering his memory heal him, or damage him further? 
 
Clare has long believed that the lifetime of secrets she’s been keeping don’t matter to anyone anymore, until an unexpected encounter prompts her to tell her story. 
 
As they each struggle to confront the events – past and present – that have defined their lives, something stronger than fate is working to bring them together... 
______________________ 
'A beautiful story of loss and memory' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 
 
'Full of big questions' THE OBSERVER

Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

Praise for The Possible World

The Possible World doesn't shrink from grimness and is as grippy as any crime novel yet is ultimately joyful and optimistic.

In hauntingly beautiful prose, Schwarz weaves a complicated story that spans nearly a century, from the Great Depression until the present day... Full of imagination and nostalgia, loss and redemption.

Compelling storytelling

The Possible World doesn't shrink from grimness and is as grippy as any crime novel yet is ultimately joyful and optimistic.

In hauntingly beautiful prose, Schwarz weaves a complicated story that spans nearly a century, from the Great Depression until the present day... Full of imagination and nostalgia, loss and redemption.

Compelling storytelling

The Possible World doesn't shrink from grimness and is as grippy as any crime novel yet is ultimately joyful and optimistic.

In hauntingly beautiful prose, Schwarz weaves a complicated story that spans nearly a century, from the Great Depression until the present day... Full of imagination and nostalgia, loss and redemption.

Compelling storytelling

Books by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

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