Panic Grass Farm: A Novel

The acclaimed author of Apologize, Apologize! takes the art of the tragicomedy to new heights in Panic Grass Farm, a witty and electrically original story of true love, found family, musical genius, and kidnapping—for fans of Madeline Cash and Kevin Wilson.

When Ferdia Guerin and Rosie Fagan meet as teenagers in the wildflower pasture of their small town, it’s love at first sight. She’s a brilliant, cherubic, aspiring writer, whose high voice belies a stubborn sense of self; he’s a seemingly carefree music prodigy whose preternatural charisma hides a dark secret. And then life takes them in different directions. So when Rosie and Ferdia reunite by chance in New York City after years spent apart, just as Ferdia is about to launch into stratospheric stardom, it makes perfect sense to elope to ensure they’ll never be separated again... Until one morning, after several (mostly) blissful years of marriage, when Ferdia kisses Rosie goodbye, hops on his bike and disappears.

The victim of a kidnapping attempt gone violently awry, Ferdia wakes up on a farm in the Canadian wilderness with a serious head injury and a chain around his ankle. Held captive by a trio of guards, each obsessed with him for their own twisted reasons, Ferdia sets himself to the familiar task of charming his way out of trouble. But when his captors turn out to be just as insatiable as the demons he’s been running from for so many years, the past and present collide with a force powerful enough to eclipse everything—even music, even Rosie.

Animated by larger-than-life characters, and sentences that shock and sing, Panic Grass Farm careens from exuberant highs to profound lows, from swanky skyscraper parties to frigid nights in a cinder block shed. Elizabeth Kelly’s uncategorizable feat is alive with all that love and art makes possible, even when the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out.