In the Distance

By: Hernan Diaz

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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.

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.

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.

Great Anti Western

Really enjoyed it. Diaz is very descriptive. I agreed with other reviews that sometimes the descriptions take over the storyline, but it kept my attention.

A Sense of Place

This novel explores what it means to have a sense of place from different perspectives. Anyone who has an immigrant background can probably relate to and appreciate the feelings of a character that will occupy your mind for the duration of the story and maybe even beyond.

Very unusual story

Enjoyed this epic like tale of a very unique character’s life. The author’s words painted his experiences and his emotions. I thought the narrator did a good job of contributing to the mood. At the end, it was not really the end.