Jan Carson: Few And Far Between

Send us Fan MailA plan to drain a lake sounds like a punchline until you remember it was real. In this episode, I’m joined by Belfast novelist Jan Carson to talk about Few And Far Between, her brilliant alternative history that asks what might have happened if a Northern Irish politician had actually tried to reshape Loch Neagh and “solve” unemployment and conflict with one giant engineering fantasy. From that single archival spark, Jan builds an archipelago, a would-be utopia, and a home that’s about to disappear again. We get into why Loch Neagh functions like a character and a warning. Jan connects the story’s blue-green algae crisis to the real environmental disaster unfolding on the loch today, and we discuss the messy triangle of farmers, politicians, and environmental campaigners, plus the uncomfortable question of who is expected to pay for cleanup. The conversation also moves into the novel’s deeper currents: toxic masculinity, generational trauma, and what Northern Ireland tries to submerge when moving on feels easier than facing what happened. Jan talks about writing parables without turning fiction into a lecture, grounding magical realism so it feels emotionally true, and structuring a book with multiple timelines plus a textbook thread packed with footnotes. She shares what 29 rewrites taught her about editing and what it was like recording the audiobook when footnotes refuse to behave. If you love literary fiction, climate fiction, Irish literature, and authors discussing the highs and lows of their writing process, this one is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a fellow reader, and leave a review wherever you listen.Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links