In the Distance

De: Hernan Diaz

Narrado por: Peter Berkrot

Duración: 9 h y 17 m

Resumen del Editor

A young Swedish immigrant finds himself penniless and alone in California. The boy travels East in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing West. Driven back again and again, he meets naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, swindlers, Indians, and lawmen, and his exploits turn him into a legend. Diaz defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.

©2017 Hernán Díaz (P)2017 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

doesn't have a proper ending

the main character has a good many interesting experiences along his journey, but in the end they make little sense, and there is no proper ending. a real disappointment.

A Life Observed

Is surviving living? In today's world where we eek out every new memory, every new experience, every Facebook and Instagram post, just surviving seems pointless. Yet the mere act of survival IS the point of this journey. Lyrically written and voiced, it is a journey worth your listen.

Poetic story of life and love and searching for home

Great story and narration. The story is so well told that you get wrapped up and forget where it started until the loop completes at the end. Loved it and Steinbeck analogy in terms of writing style is appropriate.

A Brilliant Reinvention of the Western Fable

Hernan Diaz clearly understood the material from which he drew. In this flop of the classic American western, our hero travels from east-to-west. The landscape remains as majestic and as much a character as ever, but that is all that remains familiar. There are no heroes, but good acts by normal human beings. The villains too are all to human and like the heroes recognizable in all of us.

The prose is poetic at times. The novels structure and use of rhetorical tropes anchor the story and allow the reader to segment what for the hero is essentially never ending and unchanging. Of particular note is how the use repetition of specific passages (usually relating to food) effectively drives home the monotonous existence of our hero.

The ending is the only ending possible. Our hero cannot stop moving, it is all he knows. To expect him to settle in Alaska is yo ask the author to betray the audience and our hero

The narrator was amazing!

This book was compelling and interesting from the beginning. I truly felt so bad for this man, but as he grew and developed, he became quite amazing. He would have been interesting and fun to meet while journeying across the country in the 1800s. The ending left me a little disappointed, however. Just sort of left me hanging. Still, it was worth the read.

An enthralling journey

Haunting and poetic - a masterfully crafted work of art that will remain with me for quite some time

Narrator’s voice too distracting

The narrators voice was too distracting, couldn’t finish the novel. The story is great though.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

This was a read selected by our Book Club. I struggled to finish this novel and the ending was bad. Thank goodness for the narrator who got me through it.

Well written, but...

Beautifully written but because so few good things happen to Hakan I thought the book became tedious. Got to the point where every turn in the story you knew something else bad was going to happen to the poor guy. After about 5 of the 9 hours it becomes difficult to listen when the character really has no pleasure and so little joy in his life. I dislike sappy books and enjoy a good drama but this one was just too depressing.

You feel like you were with Huakan

This book makes you see and feel the old west through the eyes of Huakan.You get a firsthand account of myth versus reality. It's a tale of learning, discovery, belonging and how bad people treat those who are different.