Warehouse Stock Clearance Sale

Grab a bargain today!


Sign Up for Fishpond's Best Deals Delivered to You Every Day
Go
Saunders, P: The Distance ­Home

Rating
Format
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
United States, 7 August 2018

"[Paula] Saunders skillfully illuminates how time heals certain wounds while deepening others. . . . A mediation of the violence of American ambition."-The New York Times Book Review



NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE



"A deeply involving portrait of the American postwar family" (Jennifer Egan) about sibling rivalry, dark secrets, and a young girl's struggle with freedom and artistic desire



In the years after World War II, the bleak yet beautiful plains of South Dakota still embody all the contradictions-the ruggedness and the promise-of the old frontier. This is a place where you can eat strawberries from wild vines, where lightning reveals a boundless horizon, where descendants of white settlers and native Indians continue to collide, and where, for most, there are limited options.

René shares a home, a family, and a passion for dance with her older brother, Leon. Yet for all they have in common, their lives are on remarkably different paths. In contrast to René, a born spitfire, Leon is a gentle soul. The only boy in their ballet class, Leon silently endures often brutal teasing. Meanwhile, René excels at everything she touches, basking in the delighted gaze of their father, whom Leon seems to disappoint no matter how hard he tries.



As the years pass, René and Leon's parents fight with increasing frequency-and ferocity. Their father-a cattle broker-spends more time on the road, his sporadic homecomings both yearned for and dreaded by the children. And as René and Leon grow up, they grow apart. They grasp whatever they can to stay afloat-a word of praise, a grandmother's outstretched hand, the seductive attention of a stranger-as René works to save herself, crossing the border into a larger, more hopeful world, while Leon embarks on a path of despair and self-destruction.



Tender, searing, and unforgettable, The Distance Home is a profoundly American story spanning decades-a tale of haves and have-nots, of how our ideas of winning and losing, success and failure, lead us inevitably into various problems with empathy and caring for one another. It's a portrait of beauty and brutality in which the author's compassionate narration allows us to sympathize, in turn, with everyone involved.



"A riveting family saga for the ages . . . one of the best books I've read in years."-Mary Karr



"Saunders' debut is an exquisite, searing portrait of family and of people coping with whatever life throws at them while trying to keep close to one another."-Booklist (starred review)


Paula Saunders grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota. She is a graduate of the Syracuse University creative writing program, and was awarded a postgraduate Albert Schweitzer Fellowship at the State University of New York at Albany, under then-Schweitzer chair Toni Morrison. She lives in California with her husband. They have two grown daughters.

Show more

Our Price
$37.78
Ships from Europe Estimated delivery date: 16th Apr - 23rd Apr from Europe
  Include FREE SHIPPING on a Fishpond Premium Trial

Already Own It? Sell Yours
Buy Together
+
Buy together with Hirell, by the Author of 'abel Drake's Wife' at a great price!
Buy Together
$88.95

Product Description

"[Paula] Saunders skillfully illuminates how time heals certain wounds while deepening others. . . . A mediation of the violence of American ambition."-The New York Times Book Review



NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE



"A deeply involving portrait of the American postwar family" (Jennifer Egan) about sibling rivalry, dark secrets, and a young girl's struggle with freedom and artistic desire



In the years after World War II, the bleak yet beautiful plains of South Dakota still embody all the contradictions-the ruggedness and the promise-of the old frontier. This is a place where you can eat strawberries from wild vines, where lightning reveals a boundless horizon, where descendants of white settlers and native Indians continue to collide, and where, for most, there are limited options.

René shares a home, a family, and a passion for dance with her older brother, Leon. Yet for all they have in common, their lives are on remarkably different paths. In contrast to René, a born spitfire, Leon is a gentle soul. The only boy in their ballet class, Leon silently endures often brutal teasing. Meanwhile, René excels at everything she touches, basking in the delighted gaze of their father, whom Leon seems to disappoint no matter how hard he tries.



As the years pass, René and Leon's parents fight with increasing frequency-and ferocity. Their father-a cattle broker-spends more time on the road, his sporadic homecomings both yearned for and dreaded by the children. And as René and Leon grow up, they grow apart. They grasp whatever they can to stay afloat-a word of praise, a grandmother's outstretched hand, the seductive attention of a stranger-as René works to save herself, crossing the border into a larger, more hopeful world, while Leon embarks on a path of despair and self-destruction.



Tender, searing, and unforgettable, The Distance Home is a profoundly American story spanning decades-a tale of haves and have-nots, of how our ideas of winning and losing, success and failure, lead us inevitably into various problems with empathy and caring for one another. It's a portrait of beauty and brutality in which the author's compassionate narration allows us to sympathize, in turn, with everyone involved.



"A riveting family saga for the ages . . . one of the best books I've read in years."-Mary Karr



"Saunders' debut is an exquisite, searing portrait of family and of people coping with whatever life throws at them while trying to keep close to one another."-Booklist (starred review)


Paula Saunders grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota. She is a graduate of the Syracuse University creative writing program, and was awarded a postgraduate Albert Schweitzer Fellowship at the State University of New York at Albany, under then-Schweitzer chair Toni Morrison. She lives in California with her husband. They have two grown daughters.

Show more
Product Details
EAN
9780525511694
ISBN
0525511695
Dimensions
23.5 x 15.5 x 2.1 centimetres (0.35 kg)

About the Author

Paula Saunders grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota. She is a graduate of the Syracuse University creative writing program, and was awarded a postgraduate Albert Schweitzer Fellowship at the State University of New York at Albany, under then-Schweitzer chair Toni Morrison. She lives in California with her husband. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

“The Distance Home is a deeply involving portrait of the American postwar family: its promises and disruptions—surrounded by a rich, shimmering, sensuous South Dakota landscape.”—Jennifer Egan

“[Paula] Saunders skillfully illuminates how time heals certain wounds while deepening others, and her depiction of aging is viscerally affecting. . . . The Distance Home becomes a mediation of the violence of American ambition—and a powerful call for self-examination.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Saunders’ debut is an exquisite, searing portrait of family and of people coping with whatever life throws at them while trying to keep close to one another. . . . The Distance Home will leave readers eager for more from this extraordinarily talented author.”—Booklist (starred review)

“The author’s compassion for her characters shines through in this honest story.”—Library Journal

“Penetrating and insightful . . . This debut wonderfully depicts the entire lifespan of a singular family.”—Publishers Weekly

“Paula Saunders has given us a riveting family saga for the ages. The Distance Home is fresh, with a seductive Midwestern innocence, though the book’s outwardly ideal clan holds dark secrets that kept me turning pages into the wee hours. This is one of the best books I’ve read in years—destined to become a classic.”—Mary Karr

“In The Distance Home, a family’s story—its past, its present, and (most surprising) its future—traces the intricate, often subterranean lines that connect damage to redemption, creation to dissolution, and the everyday to the eternal, just to name several of its moving and startling aspects. It’s a true, and rare, accomplishment.”—Michael Cunningham

“The Distance Home is a bracing and beautiful novel about a fierce struggle for love and understanding in a South Dakota family, and about aspiration (both thwarted and encouraged) in an unforgiving place. Read it—it will break your heart and open it up.”—Maile Meloy, author of Do Not Become Alarmed

“The Distance Home is the coming-of-age story of an artistically talented girl who grows up amid the emotional turmoil of a dysfunctional family she yearns to save. Set in the isolation of South Dakota prairie towns and then the provincialism of Rapid City, The Distance Home is an exemplary story of what hardworking people suffered in Middle America in the late twentieth century while striving to achieve dreams. This soul-searching first novel offers everywhere that most mysterious and essential of artistic achievements: heart.”—Douglas Unger, author of Leaving the Land and Voices from Silence

“An extraordinary debut. Paula Saunders writes beautiful, evocative prose that engages you in every aspect of this world. The Distance Home is heartbreaking and full of compassion while also managing to be exacting, precise, and truthful. It accomplishes what great fiction should: we get a glimpse of our own humanity—a hard-won clarity—through the story of this particular haunted family and the woman who moved on, survived, but never exactly left.”—Dana Spiotta, author of Innocents and Others and Stone Arabia 

Show more
Review this Product
What our customers have to say
Ask a Question About this Product More...
 
Look for similar items by category
People also searched for
How Fishpond Works
Fishpond works with suppliers all over the world to bring you a huge selection of products, really great prices, and delivery included on over 25 million products that we sell. We do our best every day to make Fishpond an awesome place for customers to shop and get what they want — all at the best prices online.
Webmasters, Bloggers & Website Owners
You can earn a 8% commission by selling Saunders, P: The Distance Home on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!
Authors / Publishers
Are you the Author or Publisher of a book? Or the manufacturer of one of the millions of products that we sell. You can improve sales and grow your revenue by submitting additional information on this title. The better the information we have about a product, the more we will sell!
Item ships from and is sold by Fishpond World Ltd.

Back to top