Owen is seventeen and smart. He knows what he wants to do with his life. But then he meets Natalie and he realizes he doesn't know anything much at...
read full description
reviews
Dec 12, 2007
Andy
rated it: 
The emotional experiences described in this book rang poignantly true and familiar even if a few superficial details didn't. I have great admiration for the author's boldness and skill in articulating the "fog" of teenage psychological turnover without being vague, indirect, or simplifying it out of recognition. I didn't read this when I was a teenager, and I'm not sure what it would have meant to me then, because I hadn't yet really had the experiences it describes. Reading it now, I
More...
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Feb 28, 2009
Kate
rated it:
The characters – Natalie and Owen, the narrator – are a bit. . .incredible. Well, not really incredible. Natalie’s focused in a way that most teenagers aren’t, and Owen – Owen’s very, very smart and very, very stupid.
The story is very beautiful and almost tragic, but not quite. Le Guin captures the confusion and uncertainty of adolescence but the story lacks intensity. It’s told with too much detachment. Le Guin develops this voice of detachment in many of her stories with great effec More...
The story is very beautiful and almost tragic, but not quite. Le Guin captures the confusion and uncertainty of adolescence but the story lacks intensity. It’s told with too much detachment. Le Guin develops this voice of detachment in many of her stories with great effec More...
Aug 23, 2008
Andrew
rated it: 
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else is written by Ursula K. LeGuin, best known for her fantasy/sci-fi books.
But she also writes other material, and this slight novel (a bare 87 pages, more of a novella) is really good. I first read it in 1981, 27 years ago. But time has not diminished this story of a young man who feels different that other high schoolers, and feels quite alone. He finds a friend in a headstrong young woman...someone he really feels himself with. But by his actions, he More...
But she also writes other material, and this slight novel (a bare 87 pages, more of a novella) is really good. I first read it in 1981, 27 years ago. But time has not diminished this story of a young man who feels different that other high schoolers, and feels quite alone. He finds a friend in a headstrong young woman...someone he really feels himself with. But by his actions, he More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2007
Beth
rated it:
From the 1970's, the golden age of the teen novel. Also my first LeGuin book. People have been recommending her to me for years, and I have a feeling this one isn't typical. Still, very good. A short (can be read in under two hours), elegant treatment of a teenage boy who feels like an outsider because he cares more about science than about sports (the book puts this more eloquently) and who discovers how friendship helps him appreciate and understand life better. A worthwhile read for a young t
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 27, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
Read my full review here: http://virtualmargin.blogspot.com/2011/06/very-far-away-from-anywhere-else-24100.html
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is one of the few non-SciFi titles from Ursula LeGuin. I read her novel Malafrena a few years back not knowing it was entirely historical fiction (albeit an imaginary history), and kept expecting wizards or aliens to pop-up at some point.
This short novella is about a teenage boy trying to cope with being an outsider and what his paren More...
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is one of the few non-SciFi titles from Ursula LeGuin. I read her novel Malafrena a few years back not knowing it was entirely historical fiction (albeit an imaginary history), and kept expecting wizards or aliens to pop-up at some point.
This short novella is about a teenage boy trying to cope with being an outsider and what his paren More...
Jun 22, 2010
Hannah
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 30, 2010
Mariel
rated it: 
Have you ever walked down an empty street at night and not be able to help noticing the bright lights inside of the warm houses? It's a cliche but people look sad, or happy, or anything else there is to feel. It's that feeling of knowing that people are feeling something and it's got nothing whatsoever to do with you. You're outside, alone, and no one notices you, or your freaking cute dog. Other times are the best. Listening to music on headphones and getting goosebumps from favorite songs. It'
More...
3 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
Cheryl
rated it:
And this is my favorite YA novel ever -- when it was out of print, I went to the New York Public Library and copied every page of it just so I'd have a copy for myself. There's very little story to it, and it's not for everyone, certainly, but if you were a "sensitive" teenager who loved reading and thinking and felt a little out of step with everyone else, THIS IS THE BOOK. It's criminally underknown.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 04, 2008
Lorelei
rated it:
When I first read this book, in high school, I absolutely loved it. I know I felt like it changed my life. Now, from the distance of something like 30 years, I can't remember what it was that was so great about it. But, I trust myself that if I thought it changed my ilfe, it probably did. It's a good enough book, a good story. Definitely for teenagers and other young people. :-)
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 06, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
I love Ursula Le Guin's writing, usually. Maybe I came to this one a bit too late: maybe it would have said a lot more to me when I was a teenager myself. I think she's got the type of teenagers she's going for down well: so terribly serious about themselves and their relationships and their careers, close to flying the nest but not ready yet.
The problem, I think, was that even though she wrote in first person, her prose always has a slightly distant quality. Often, it works, but her More...
The problem, I think, was that even though she wrote in first person, her prose always has a slightly distant quality. Often, it works, but her More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Aug 30, 2011
Heather
rated it:
It was interesting to read a non-fantasy book by Le Guin. Overall, I enjoyed this story of Owen and Natalie becoming friends, and maybe more. I think Le Guin was successful writing in a teenager's voice, although it was annoying at first because the prose was so stilted--not what I would expect from her. The caricature of the evil, overly-religious father was irritating, and the teens used some words that I'm not sure any young person uses anymore, even in the 70's when the book was written,
More...
May 05, 2011
Phoebe
rated it:
I stumbled across Ursula Le Guin's 1976 realistic young adult novel Very Far Away from Anywhere Else while searching for cheap ebooks. Amidst a sea of self-pubbed young adult paranormal, this quiet title stood out—and stood out even more because I'd never heard of it. I'm a fan of Le Guin, as both a writer and a human being, but I never knew that she dabbled in realist YA.
But dabble she did, and Very Far Away . . . , while more a novella than a novel-proper by modern YA standards, is More...
But dabble she did, and Very Far Away . . . , while more a novella than a novel-proper by modern YA standards, is More...
7 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Oct 04, 2009
Monica
rated it:
In retrospect, it's not surprising that a woman known for writing convincing and anthropological "soft science fiction" would be equally gifted at capturing the experience of teens on the cusp of adulthood. What so many adults have forgotten Le Guin is able to recall and her narration inhabits the skin of a 17-year-old boy perfectly -- or at least in a manner that I perceive as perfect; I have never been a 17-year-old boy, but I was a 16-year-old girl ten years ago and I still remember
More...
Nov 26, 2009
Kim
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 12, 2008
Chris
rated it:
First of all: the cover on this edition is total bullshit. LeGuin goes out of her way to describe the main character as having messy hair and Natalie as err "stocky." The two kids on the cover look straight out of the O.C., which is exactly not the kind of people the book is about.
The problem I have with this story is that it doesn't feel like a teenage boy speaking (at one point, he claims that he is speaking the text into a tape recorder and then typing it out), it feels More...
The problem I have with this story is that it doesn't feel like a teenage boy speaking (at one point, he claims that he is speaking the text into a tape recorder and then typing it out), it feels More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 21, 2008
Ralph
rated it:
In many cases, the term "Young Adult" can serve as a warning label--"ATTENTION: This Book is Simplistic and Didactic. May cause irritation."
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else seemed, at first glance, very much in that mold. But as I read further, I realized two things. First, the simplicity is somewhat deceptive. While it is almost entirely written in simple declarative sentences and filled with very basic observations, the structure becomes more complicated as it p More...
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else seemed, at first glance, very much in that mold. But as I read further, I realized two things. First, the simplicity is somewhat deceptive. While it is almost entirely written in simple declarative sentences and filled with very basic observations, the structure becomes more complicated as it p More...
Jul 14, 2011
Meg
rated it:
It's refreshing to read a romance that isn't all smoke and mirrors. The blossoming friendship and love of the main characters is presented in a realistic way. Their interactions are healthy and slowly build as they grow in their individual maturity. It's something I wish I'd read years ago. I'd recommend it especially for young adults, as it serves as a much healthier relationship template than the other romantic riff-raff floating around these days (*cough*TWILIGHT*cough*).
Dec 31, 2011
Katie
rated it:
I liked this a lot. It felt very recognizable, in a way most YA I read these days doesn't. I talked like these characters did, dreamed like they did, FELT like they did. (And, well, that doesn't need to be past tense! I may be 10 years older than them, but it's still relatable.)
Slight spoiler! <spoiler>I'm not sure I entirely bought--or maybe understood?--their relationship. It felt like a friendship and I thought that was the point, but . . . then it seemed to be something more? More...
Slight spoiler! <spoiler>I'm not sure I entirely bought--or maybe understood?--their relationship. It felt like a friendship and I thought that was the point, but . . . then it seemed to be something more? More...
Nov 10, 2010
I have only the vaguest memories of this book. It seems that others were more impressed. Perhaps this is because I was zero interested in the emotional hangups of the protagonists, and peering over their shoulders at the landscape, which seemed a bit foggy to me.
I doubt if I'd reread it, which is a strange thing to say about a LeGuin book. Most of them I've read many times. Well, they can't all be gems, I suppose.
I doubt if I'd reread it, which is a strange thing to say about a LeGuin book. Most of them I've read many times. Well, they can't all be gems, I suppose.
Mar 12, 2010
Bridget
rated it:
If I'd read this at 17, it might have resonated with me soundly. As it was, it felt like I was reading a workshop exercise called "Unreliable narrator." It seems like and I hate to disparage Le Guin in any way but a way to cash in on the novel trope of lost teens in the 70's.
E.g.: Owen makes a big fuss about how he's transcribing the words from an audiotape he made at the beginning of the work. This is never mentioned again. Not acceptable missus!
E.g.: Owen makes a big fuss about how he's transcribing the words from an audiotape he made at the beginning of the work. This is never mentioned again. Not acceptable missus!
Feb 04, 2009
Heidi
rated it:
A teen boy wants to go a different direction than his parents would have him go, and he finds the confidence through a good friend. He falls in love with her, but has the analytical frame of mind that recognizes that he created that when he didn't need to. He chose the obsession of love. Ursula wrote this in 1976, and had this teen boy understand things of himself I didn't know of myself until my 30s.
Oct 18, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
There's some interesting character development in this book, but it never goes anywhere. It reads more like the first chapter of a book, rather than the whole thing. Too bad, because I kept hoping something would happen and I could enjoy the book, because it IS well-written, with rich characters. But there's nothing for them to do, and that makes this book more or less a waste of time.
May 29, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
4+ stars
recommended by cheryl klein
of scholastic during our diversity in ya
nyc stop, this short story is quiet, thoughtful
and insightful, with laugh out loud moments.
touches on coming of age and growing into your
own, and sharing that with someone who matters
and means something to you.
le guin is probably one of my favorite writers
and i'm in awe of how wide ranging her writing
abilities and storytelling skills are.
r
recommended by cheryl klein
of scholastic during our diversity in ya
nyc stop, this short story is quiet, thoughtful
and insightful, with laugh out loud moments.
touches on coming of age and growing into your
own, and sharing that with someone who matters
and means something to you.
le guin is probably one of my favorite writers
and i'm in awe of how wide ranging her writing
abilities and storytelling skills are.
r
Apr 03, 2011
eva
rated it:
read this in september but can't remember it terribly well, which isn't a great sign. there were some nice moments of insight into what it's like to be an uncertain & somewhat alienated kid. something felt off about it, though. didn't really sound like a teenager's writing - even an unusually smart & thoughtful one.
Feb 25, 2009
Julie
rated it:
Interesting coming of age book, which is really more of a short story than a book. It's about an intellectual, teen-aged boy who has no friends, who meets up with a musical, teen-aged girl, and they uncover their strengths while discovering more about themselves.
May 31, 2011
Mauve
rated it:
Surprisingly amazing. I would definitely recommend this to teenagers, especially ones about to graduate. Inspiring in a kind of sideways manner, it bears a great resemblance to what I went through at that time. A great short read, telling us that we are not alone.
Jan 24, 2010
Ashley
rated it:
"...but that we were no good without love. So the best we could do was just go on as we were together. It was a very good best." If you've ever felt alone in the crowd, romantically speaking, you'll really relate to this great quick read.
Jul 12, 2010
Matt
rated it:
This was a good book to read because it was short. The drama that the main character undergoes seems self inflicted, which is something I don't like about 'young adult' type books. On the other hand it was a fine piece to read.
Dec 16, 2010
Rachel
rated it:
This wasn't at all what I expected from an Ursula le Guin - no magic no aliens just American teenagers. It was pretty good though as a story of growing up when you feel different to everyone else.
Mar 25, 2009
Alisa
rated it:
I loved this book. It gives a very good viewpoint on the difference between love and lust and what is happening and what we think should be happening and peer pressure, even pressuring ourselves.
