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Very Long Way from Anywhere Else
This is a love story unlike any you have ever read. It is about two marvelous people, outsiders. Owen and Natalie are brilliant, talented, quirky. They know what they want. Some of the time. They also know what they don't want. Most of the time. They have their dreams. One wants to be a musician. One wants to be a great scientist. Neither one wants to be the answer to the...more
Hardcover, 96 pages
Published
September 9th 1976
by Gollancz
(first published July 1st 1976)
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Nov 30, 2010
Mariel
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
I is for intellectual
Recommended to Mariel by:
D is for decide
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. Eve...more
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 was able t...more
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 effect, but with...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 effect, but with...more
2 likes · like · see review
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 messes up th...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 messes up th...more
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
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 parents/society expect of...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 parents/society expect of...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A children's literature professor recommended this book in a class I took years ago, and I wish I had read it then. At first, I compared it somewhat unfavorably to newer YA novels I've read, perhaps because the plot starts out relatively slowly. I once took a personality test that determines whether you are a nerd, geek, or dork, and while I'm not going to disclose my results, I'm pretty sure Owen, the protagonist, would have gotten all of the above. And back in the seventies, before nerd pride...more
Esta é a história de um jovem norte-americano durante um dos períodos mais conturbados da sua adolescência. Narrada pela personagem principal, ela marca o leitor pelo cunho emocional, relembrando-nos uma época em que todas as decisões aparentam ser definitivas e em que todas as emoções nos abalam profundamente.
Owen é o típico jovem mas não é o típico adolescente americano, relutante em aceitar as imposições sociais dos colegas e da família, ele deseja perseguir uma formação num dos melhores inst...more
Owen é o típico jovem mas não é o típico adolescente americano, relutante em aceitar as imposições sociais dos colegas e da família, ele deseja perseguir uma formação num dos melhores inst...more
This book never grabbed me, and proceeded on seemingly without caring whether the reader was involved. The story is about an 18 year old boy named Owen living in Oregon (I think), basically telling the story of his last year in high school. The whole book has a depressed feel to it, as if there is nothing to aspire to in life.
Soon after getting a new fancy car (which inevitably he doesn't want), Owen meets a girl named Natalie, who "changes his life." Owen seems to like her as a friend, but wan...more
Soon after getting a new fancy car (which inevitably he doesn't want), Owen meets a girl named Natalie, who "changes his life." Owen seems to like her as a friend, but wan...more
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.
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. :-)
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 here, I expecte...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 here, I expecte...more
"Non parlammo dei nostri problemi, o dei nostri genitori, o di automobili, o delle nostre ambizioni. Parlammo della vita. Decidemmo che non ha senso chiedersi qual è il significato della vita, perché la vita non è una risposta, la vita è una domanda, e tu, proprio tu, sei la risposta. E lì a dieci metri c'era il mare che si avvicinava sempre di più, e il cielo sopra il mare e il sole che declinava nel cielo. Faceva freddo, e fu il momento più straordinario della mia vita."
Un breve romanzo di for...more
Un breve romanzo di for...more
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, suc...more
Le Guin's writing is just so perceptive. Be forewarned, this book is all interior monologue. Nothing really "happens" and some readers could find this irritating and self-indulgent. But it's a book that I wish I'd been given as a teenager and would gladly give to any young person I know. The love story is atypical and awkward and poignantly believable. The larger theme is that certain minds need a period of solitude and hard work/suffering to truly unlock their promise. Yet even in that period o...more
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 an insightf...more
But dabble she did, and Very Far Away . . . , while more a novella than a novel-proper by modern YA standards, is an insightf...more
5 likes · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A very sweet short story that is quietly thought-provoking as so much of Le Guin's work.
17 year old Owen finds himself isolated in a society that worships conformity and the suppression of excellence (excepting that which drives financial success or political power)over individual self-expression. He's lost in a fog that alienates him from his family and peers. And then he meets Natalie, a budding musician, a year older than him.
What follows is an intelligent exploration of friendship, first lov...more
17 year old Owen finds himself isolated in a society that worships conformity and the suppression of excellence (excepting that which drives financial success or political power)over individual self-expression. He's lost in a fog that alienates him from his family and peers. And then he meets Natalie, a budding musician, a year older than him.
What follows is an intelligent exploration of friendship, first lov...more
I think perhaps the close parallels to mine own adolescence might have boosted my appreciation of this book, but, nonetheless, Le Guin does a first rate job telling a story as a first person, male, (albeit a sensitive, intellectual, non-conformist) teenager trying to find his identity and falling in love for the first time.
The it is non-fantasy Le Guin might deter fans of her other work, but this short, stand-alone novel is worth recommending to any teen who feels they just don't or can't fit th...more
The it is non-fantasy Le Guin might deter fans of her other work, but this short, stand-alone novel is worth recommending to any teen who feels they just don't or can't fit th...more
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.
In fact, I just did reread it. It's short, and for somebody older than me. That se...more
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.
In fact, I just did reread it. It's short, and for somebody older than me. That se...more
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 like an older woman's...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 like an older woman's...more
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 progresses. Seemingly banal plot...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 progresses. Seemingly banal plot...more
I had just about given up on books again (modern/popular books = not for me) but after finishing this book I hugged it and felt happy again!
This book isn't perfect and it isn't for everyone, but I felt like it was written just for me :)
If you like Emily Bronte, Chopin, don't/can't conform, worried/had been worried about college, then this is the book for you. I'm a big Le Guin fan and this is very different from everything she has written, but this book is by far my favorite.
This book isn't perfect and it isn't for everyone, but I felt like it was written just for me :)
If you like Emily Bronte, Chopin, don't/can't conform, worried/had been worried about college, then this is the book for you. I'm a big Le Guin fan and this is very different from everything she has written, but this book is by far my favorite.
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*).
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! (view spoiler)...more
Slight spoiler! (view spoiler)...more
This was a nice little story--a realistic novella that is very different from the Wizard of Earth Sea by the same author. There were a few gems of wisdom in it, but I still wish it had a bit more depth. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant read--I think the author really captured the teenage point of view (although there were points that I didn't know if it really sounded like a boy--but then again he was different than the norm).
Mar 12, 2010
Bridget
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
folks toen between Go Ask Alice and Paul Zindel
Shelves:
total-kid-stuff
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!
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.
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.
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As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming...more
More about Ursula K. Le Guin...
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“Maybe when you meet the people you are supposed to meet you know it, without knowing it.”
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“The really terrible thing about being young is the triviality”
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