Bookseller Reviews
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A glorious, gripping family saga
Imagine sitting in front of the big screen watching a film in glorious technicolour of the Australian outback. You can sense the intense heat, hardships an... READ MORE
Definitely not a forgetment!
Loved this!
I kept finding time to read A Far-flung Life, which is always a good sign.
The MacBride family have more than their fair share of bad luck,... READ MORE
Breathtaking, epic, devastating
This is a novel that will grab hold of your heart and not let go.
You will laugh, you will cry, and you will raise a smile at the ‘Australianism's’ that ... READ MORE
Quite extraordinary
Stedman has gone even better than her Light Between Oceans! This is my favourite type of story telling, a brilliant story, written beautifully. This gave m... READ MORE
Synopsis
Outback Western Australia, 1958: for generations, the MacBrides have lived on a remote sheep station, Meredith Downs. A million arid acres, it’s an ocean of land, where the weather is a capricious god, and time still roams untamed.
One ordinary day, on a lonely road, under the unending blue sky, patriarch Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo. In seconds the lives of the entire MacBride family are shattered. Then, instead of leaving wounds to heal, Fate comes for them yet again, in a twist of consequences that will cause one of them to lose their life, and another to sacrifice theirs for the sake of an innocent child. Matt, the youngest MacBride, is plunged into a moral and emotional journey for which there is no map, no guide, as he is forced to choose between love and duty, sacrifice and happiness.
A tale of family and belonging, of compassion and hope, A Far-flung Life is about people trying to do their best, each, for private reasons, seeking shelter from the storm of life. Exploring the lives of a handful of isolated souls and the secrets they shield in order to survive, this epic novel stands
as a testament to the enduring power of love.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
- ISBN: 9781529965308
- Number of pages: 448
- Dimensions: 242 x 165 x 41 mm
- Weight: 674g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allEmotional,pacy and engaging
This is an incredible book. It brings to life the McBride family and all their tragedies. The tough life of the early pastoralists in Western Australia is ... READ MORE
Enjoyable read by a well-loved author
A good read that I could appreciate, but probably wasn't the book for me. I felt uncomfortable with the many mentions of farming practices and the shooting... READ MORE
A remarkable and emotional story about family
When tragedy strikes the MacBride family it causes ripples that continue down the decades. Matthew, left with a brain injury struggles with his emotions on... READ MORE
Gorgeous, expansive, immersive
It will take a lot to knock this off the top spot of my favourite read of 2025. It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of it all: the dry, rem... READ MORE
Changes how you think of people
There are a lot of books where secrets tear people apart but this is a rare one that makes the case for privacy being more important than knowledge.
Th... READ MORE
Enjoyable
Join the MacBride family vying to keep their ranch alive . Their trials and tribulations are set against the emerging mineral mining industry in Western Au... READ MORE
Gorgeousness
It will take a lot to knock this off the top spot of my favourite read of 2025. It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of it all: the dry, rem... READ MORE
Fantastic
I only realised after finishing that the author wrote The light between oceans. That explains why I enjoyed the book so much, in my top 3 this year.
A book I was sad to finish
A Far-Flung Life' by M. L. Stedman focuses upon the lives of the MacBride family. Living in remote Western Australia, the family have a vast isolated sheep... READ MORE
Beautifully written family saga.
Thank you to the author, publisher and netGalley for an ARC. I really enjoyed this family saga set in outback Western Australia. We begin when a tragic acc... READ MORE
Absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful!
This beautifully written generational saga is destined to become a best seller. Set in the harsh, isolated sheep farming land of Western Australia, A Far-f... READ MORE
Great read
‘A Far-flung Life’ is a multi-generational family saga rooted firmly in the harsh realities of the Australian outback. Beginning with a devastating acciden... READ MORE
The sins of the father aren't laid upon the children here
Even though I was upset by the details surrounding Andy’s birth, and nearly abandoned the story then, I did continue and am glad I did because the rest of ... READ MORE
Great family saga
Thank you to the author, publisher and netGalley for an ARC. I really enjoyed this family saga set in outback Western Australia. We begin when a tragic a... READ MORE
Vast expanses of the human heart
I hate it when the blurb says exactly what I wanted to say… shimmering prose is exactly what the author uses to bring the feel of the vast sheep station in... READ MORE
Emotionally complex and riveting!
This beautifully written generational saga is destined to become a best seller. Set in the harsh, isolated sheep farming land of Western Australia, A Far-f... READ MORE
A fabulous read
This is a book which brings an array of emotions when you pick this up. It’s one which those who had read it recommended it as a brilliant read and they we... READ MORE
Family issues
A welcome read from this author. Enter the world of thecMacBrude family ranching in Western Australia and follow the trials and tribulations that affect th... READ MORE
A powerful read.
I absolutely loved this book, it is such a powerful and emotional read which I am sure others will enjoy. Set on a sheep station in Western Australia in th... READ MORE
Very moving family drama
This book knocked me out! A Far Flung Life is a very slow paced, character focused, epic family drama that spans decades. The MacBride family have run a mi... READ MORE
Stunning and beautiful
Im a huge fan of Kirstin Hannah and never found an author that tops that descriptive and emotive writing. This is the one!
The location is almost a secon... READ MORE
A microcosm of life distilled beautifully
A Far-flung Life is a sweeping family melodrama set in the outback of Australia. The isolated setting of a sheep farm provides a cauldron of tragedy as liv... READ MORE
The Australian outback is vast and so is this five star book and a must read.
Western Australia, 1958. The MacBride family live in on Meredith Downs, a sheep station, with a million acres and are pastoralists and not farmers. Phil an... READ MORE
A great family saga
An enthralling saga about generations of a family. I felt I was living on an Australian sheep farm and could imagine the landscape. So much sadness but als... READ MORE
Great writing
Goodness this was such a bleak book- there were times when i almost had to force myself to go back to it because of the sense of doom as to what would happ... READ MORE
Epic novel in Australia
The MacBrides experience a multitude of tragedies in a short time. Lorna, the matriarch, loses her husband and oldest son in a tragic car accident. Her you... READ MORE
A good read
I was sent a copy of A Far-flung Life by M L Stedman to read and review by NetGalley. This story is quite an epic family saga, not that it spans many gene... READ MORE
A compassionate, engrossing novel full of secrets
In 1958, Phil MacBride is taking his sons to the nearest settlement to the million-acre sheep station the family has leased from the Crown for well over a ... READ MORE
A harsh but loving life in the Australian outback
Starts in the 1950s when a father and son had a bad car accident out in the bush. Only son Matt McBride survived. The book relates the story of Matt, his m... READ MORE
Wonderful read
A Far Flung Life
Set in the Western Australia outback with its arid red desert landscapes where large sheep stations stretch across this tough area, hards... READ MORE
A deeply atmospheric and utterly harrowing novel
✨ARC REVIEW✨This book completely swept me away, I was hooked from the very first chapter. It is a beautifully crafted, deeply ATMOSPHERIC novel.?This book ... READ MORE
A far flung life is a hard life!
A far flung life is a hard life. A hard life, full of tragedies and drama, with death lurking at every corner. A race against nature and a race against soc... READ MORE
A Modern Family Saga and a great read
This is a family saga rooted in the Australian outback, and covering three generations of a sheep farming family. The novel starts in 1958 and, like a lot ... READ MORE
An Aussie Tour De Force
To say that I loved this book is something of an understatement, it was absolutely brilliant and a very worthy addition to M.L Stedmans previous work 'A Li... READ MORE
Just Wonderful
This was very special - I haven’t read a book that’s touched me like this one has in a very long time.
Spanning over 40 years, we follow the MacBride fami... READ MORE
A superb read!
'A Far-flung Life' is a sprawling novel about life on a sheep property in Western Australia, beginning in the late 1950s. There’s hard work, isolation, tra... READ MORE
A book to treasure, recommend and enjoy
What an absolutely beautiful story, heartbreaking along the way and full of human failings and fragility. It depicts life in the outback, the hardships, th... READ MORE
Real characters and an enjoyable read
Even though I was upset by the details surrounding Andy’s birth, and nearly abandoned the story then, I did continue and am glad I did because the rest of ... READ MORE
A glorious and emotional read.
Oh my goodness what a wonderful, sad, happy, emotional ride this book has given me. I’ve literally wallowed in it. It has made me curious about Australian ... READ MORE
An engrossing read, full of warmth, angst and secrets. I loved it.
Oh wow, this story had me absolutely enraptured all the way through. I don’t really know how to put into words how much I enjoyed this book. I do know how ... READ MORE
Heartbreaking but full of hope
1958 and a family completely is changed after a truck accident in the Australian outback - the surviving MacBrides have to find a way to live again.
Ma... READ MORE
Beautifully written tragedy
What a beautifully written, tragic, thought-provoking book this is.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, a sweeping family story set on a remote sheep station in ... READ MORE
Epic
An epic evocative novel featuring the Macbride family living in the remote Australuan outback. The tragedies and suffering they face would break many peopl... READ MORE
Very good
A Far- Flung Life by M L Steadman
What an epic book , you feel like you have been on the same journey alongside the characters .
I was drawn into their... READ MORE
Completely worth the wait!
A sweeping, multi generational story of a family’s life in rural Australia, where isolation, buried secrets, and past choices echo across decades.
This wa... READ MORE
endurance
Reading A Far-Flung Life felt like stepping into a softer rhythm of living — one that doesn’t rush to impress, but quietly unfolds.There is something deepl... READ MORE
Verified Purchase
well worth the wait.
“In the homestead at Meredith Downs, silence is a canvas on which each sound trails like a colour. The wind; a single fly; the clatter of a pan; the distan... READ MORE
An engaging epic of rural Australian life
In Western Australia, 1958, a moment’s inattention while driving shatters the lives of the MacBride family. A Far-flung Life explores the lives of the Mac... READ MORE
Truly Epic
This didn’t feel so much like reading a book as it did watching a family, up close and personal, over decades of heartbreak, hardship, love, and life event... READ MORE
I loved it.
I absolutely loved this book, it is such a powerful and emotional read which I am sure others will enjoy. Set on a sheep station in Western Australia in th... READ MORE
Electric!
In the slow, barren, wide setting of Western Australia, M. L Stedman has created a narrative that sparks with energy.
This is my book of the year - I wi... READ MORE
Verified Purchase
Fantastic
I only realised after finishing that the author wrote The light between oceans. That explains why I enjoyed the book so much, in my top 3 this year.
Beautiful and heartbreaking
I absolutely loved The Light Between Oceans and can’t believe it’s been nearly a decade between books. This must be the very definition of “long-awaited”.
... READ MORE
Another Great Novel From M.L. Stedman
I loved M.L. Stedman’s best selling novel ‘A Light Between Oceans’ and was interested to see how she would follow it up.
‘A Far Flung Life’ is completely ... READ MORE
A book to relish!
What an absolutely beautiful story, heartbreaking along the way and full of human failings and fragility. It depicts life in the outback, the hardships, th... READ MORE
Engrossing, moving, a great read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
When I started this I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, I did not warm to t... READ MORE
Deep secrets and family bonds
This is a book full of great characters, deep secrets and family bonds. The hot dusty lives of Australian sheep farmers and their families , tempered with ... READ MORE
Epic story!
Epic in scale, this is an all-engrossing story that tells us of the MacBridges, pastoralists in Australia living on an enormous sheep farm. The book manage... READ MORE
Australia, love, loss and determination
Such a great story and read, quite the page turner. Set in a time and area of Australia that I didn't know much about, Western Australia in the early and m... READ MORE
Engrossing, moving, great characters
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
When I started this I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, I did not warm to t... READ MORE
Five stars!
A Far-flung Life by M L Stedman is a beautifully written and deeply emotional book set in the remote outback of Western Australia in 1958. It begins with a... READ MORE
A Generational Family Saga that will break your heart
This is a great story. A small town with some big characters. Filled with all the little dramas you find in a family and those bigger ones too. One of thos... READ MORE
A good read.
Having read The Light Between Oceans I was curious to read this book. ML Stedman certainly likes to challenge her readers. Both books raise moral and eth... READ MORE
Worth The Wait
A Far-flung life follows the MacBride family, who live and work on a sheep station in Western Australia, the story is a beautifully written family saga tha... READ MORE
bleak but beautiful writing
Goodness this was such a bleak book- there were times when i almost had to force myself to go back to it because of the sense of doom as to what would happ... READ MORE
Beautiful, evocative writing
Beautiful, evocative writing but a desperately sad story. If only there had been a chink of light in the never-ending gloom of the family's lives I would ... READ MORE
A Far Flung Life
This was an absorbing book, capturing the extremely tough life of pastoralists running a remote sheep station in Western Australia in vivid detail. The sca... READ MORE
Slow burn family saga. Tragic and compelling
Set in the Australian outback in 1958, on a remote sheep station called Meredith Downs where the MacBride family have lived for generations, this novel beg... READ MORE
Five stars!
A Far-flung Life by M L Stedman is a beautifully written and deeply emotional book set in the remote outback of Western Australia in 1958. It begins with a... READ MORE
Hooked from the first pagr
Hooked from the first page.
Loved this book, what richness and depth.
Characters were well described including their thoughts and motivations.
A hard bu... READ MORE
Tragedy in the Australian outback
A superbly written, heart wrenching novel. M.L. Stedmab portrays life on a remote sheep farm in the 1950s so evocatively you can almost smell it. The McBr... READ MORE
Loved it!
Western Australia 1948. The McBride family manage their huge sheep station as they have been for an age. The future is never assured in this vast land alth... READ MORE
Loss, Loyalty and the burdens people carry
Set in Western Australia in 1958, this is a moving family saga about loss, loyalty, and the burdens people carry in silence. At the heart of it is Matt, th... READ MORE
masterful story
In A Far-flung Life, M. L. Stedman returns with a sweeping, emotionally resonant novel that captures the fragility of family and the quiet heroism of survi... READ MORE
A vivid, emotional and moving story that will live long in the memory
A Far Flung Life really does feel like one of those big sweeping tales and boy was I swept up!
The MacBrides are sheep farmers in rural western Australi... READ MORE
Tragic but hopeful story
Set in Western Australia and starting in 1958, “A Far-flung Life” follows the fortunes of the MacBride family (who have been sheep farmers on their land fo... READ MORE
Wonderful evocative page turner
A Far Flung Life
Set in the Western Australia outback with its arid red desert landscapes where large sheep stations stretch across this tough area, hards... READ MORE
A book that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it
This was very special - I haven’t read a book that’s touched me like this one has in a very long time.
Spanning over 40 years, we follow the MacBride fami... READ MORE
1950s outback Australian family saga
This is the story of an outback Western Australia family in the late 1950s we meet the family who run a remote sheep farm on thousands of acres of Australi... READ MORE
Well Portrayed Characters
I loved M.L. Stedman’s best selling novel ‘A Light Between Oceans’ and was interested to see how she would follow it up.
‘A Far Flung Life’ is completely ... READ MORE
A wonderful family saga set in Western Australia
I remember really enjoying ML Stedman’s first novel, The Light Between Oceans, which I read when it was published in 2012. It’s been a fourteen year wait f... READ MORE
Five stars!
A Far-flung Life by M L Stedman is a beautifully written and deeply emotional book set in the remote outback of Western Australia in 1958. It begins with a... READ MORE
Heartbreaking but full of hope
1958 and a family completely is changed after a truck accident in the Australian outback - the surviving MacBrides have to find a way to live again.
Ma... READ MORE
Brilliant story
Set in the Western Australia outback with its arid red desert landscapes where large sheep stations stretch across this tough area, hardship and drought a... READ MORE
Utterly devastating and beautiful in equal measure
Utterly devastating and beautiful in equal measure, A Far-flung Life is a sweeping family saga in which so much happens, yet nothing ever feels forced or o... READ MORE
Almost unbearable to read, but how enriching to have done so
Stedman did exactly what I want a writer to do – take me so deeply into other lives, other times, other places, so very different from my own experience, y... READ MORE
Fantastic
I have never visited Australia and cannot begin to wonder at living in such a vast landscape, but the writing of this book brought it to life. The MacBride... READ MORE
One of the best novels I've read recently
Delicately knitting together a web of emotion, A Far-Flung Life is as heart breaking as it is heart warming. A rare novel rich in time and place - 1950s We... READ MORE
Epic!
Epic in scale, this is an all-engrossing story that tells us of the MacBridges, pastoralists in Australia living on an enormous sheep farm. The book manage... READ MORE
A deeply moving and very well written book.
The long awaited second novel from M L Stedman doesn't disappoint. It is completely different from the marvelous The Light Between Oceans but it touches th... READ MORE
A brilliant multigenerational Family Saga
This is a really great book, if you're looking for a book
that has realistic, interesting characters, has all the
big and little dramas you find in famil... READ MORE
An emotional family saga
A Far-Flung Life is a sweeping family saga set in Western Australia. The author transports the reader there with beautiful writing and description. The Mac... READ MORE
Remarkable, I loved it!
A Far Flung Life is an epic, multi-generational story centred on the MacBride family, whose lives are bound to a vast sheep station in a remote part of Wes... READ MORE
Compelling read
A Far-Flung Life is the captivating and compelling story of the MacBride family who reside at a sheep station known as Meredith Downs in Australia 1958.
... READ MORE
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