What do you think?
Rate this book
Birmingham, 35 Miles Birmingham, 35 Miles Birmingham, 35 Miles
In this haunting and poignant debut novel, James Braziel tells an unforgettable story of love, family, and survival across a world that has already begun todie.... When the ozone layer opened and the sun relentlessly scorched the land, there was nothing left but to hope. Mathew Harrison had always heard of a better life as closeas Birmingham, only thirty-five miles away-zones of blue sky, wet grass, and clean breathable air. But to him it's a myth, a place guarded by soldiers, off limits to all but the lucky few. Meanwhile Matworks alongside his father, mining only the red clay that the once fertile Alabama soil can offer. Now, with the killing deserts on the move again and the woman he loves on a Greyhound heading north, Mathas a travel visa and every reason to leave. But his roots in this lifeless soil inexplicably hold him firmly to the past. Torn between hope and resignation, with time running out, Mat must make a fateful choice between anew life and the one that isn't ready to let him go. "From the Trade Paperback edition."
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 8, 2015
Scroll down for the English version.
Una superba prova di scrittura... ma niente più di questo
È una storia triste, senza speranza, tra il sogno e la follia, fatta di un continuo balzare avanti e indietro nel tempo da parte del protagonista, che ne è la voce narrante.
Sicuramente si tratta di una superba prova di scrittura creativa da parte di James Braziel, che guarda caso insegna questa materia all'università.
Ma oltre a questo non c'è molto altro da dire.
Potrei capire se tutto questo dramma, questa tristezza e follia fosse stata usata per vedere tramite gli occhi di un personaggio una situazione realistica, che potrebbe essere accaduta in un contesto reale. Lo sforzo creativo avrebbe avuto anche un che di meritevole, benché io avrei evitato il libro a priori, perché quando leggo voglio divertirmi non deprimermi.
Ma qui si parla di un prossimo futuro post-apocalittico assolutamente improbabile, insomma dramma e tristezza fine a se stessa, allo scopo di deprimere chi legge, tutto il contrario di quello che sembra leggendo la quarta di copertina, che pare volutamente fuorviante (per vendere il libro o forse chi l'ha scritta non l'ha neanche letto).
Nel leggere questo romanzo di Braziel si ha la sensazione più che altro che si tratti di una sorta di lungo triste prologo alla storia vera e propria, che però non c'è.
Sarà forse nel seguito "Snakeskin Road" pubblicato l'anno dopo e che segue le vicende della moglie del protagonista?
Non so se vorrò rischiare e leggere anche questo libro.
Di positivo c'è però che il romanzo è abbastanza corto. Alla fine dei conti l'autore non è affatto prolisso e ci racconta con maestria le vicende passate del protagonista, che l'hanno portato fino all'epilogo, in parte preannunciato già dall'inizio.
La lettura scorre leggera e il romanzo ti prende, questo non posso negarlo, ma quando compro un romanzo di Urania mi aspetto ben altro.
A superb demonstration of the author’s writing skills ... but nothing more than that
This is a sad story, without hope, between dream and madness, made of continuous leaps forward and backward in time by the protagonist, who is the narrator.
Surely this is a superb demonstration of creative writing by James Braziel, who happens to teach this subject at university.
But beyond that there isn’t much more to say.
I could understand if all this drama, this sadness, and madness had been used to see through the eyes of a character in a realistic situation, which could happen in a real context. The creative effort would be worthy, although I would have avoided the book completely, because when I read I want to enjoy myself, not get depressed.
But this is about an absolutely unlikely post-apocalyptic future, in short, drama and sadness for its own sake, in order to depress the reader, quite the opposite of what it seems from the synopsis on the back cover (I’m referring to the Italian edition that I’ve read) which is deliberately misleading (just to sell the book or maybe who wrote it didn’t even read the book).
In reading this novel by Braziel you have the feeling more than anything else that this is a sort of long sad prologue to the proper story, but there’s no other story.
Maybe it is in the following book, “Snakeskin Road”, published a year after and that follows the story of the wife of the protagonist?
I don’t know if I want to take risks and read this book as well.
On the positive side, however, the novel is quite short. Ultimately the author isn’t verbose and tells masterfully the backstory of the protagonist, which led him until the epilogue, in part already predicted by the beginning.
The reading goes on smoothly and the novel is compelling, I cannot deny this, but when I decide to read a science fiction novel I expect something different.
Una superba prova di scrittura... ma niente più di questo
È una storia triste, senza speranza, tra il sogno e la follia, fatta di un continuo balzare avanti e indietro nel tempo da parte del protagonista, che ne è la voce narrante.
Sicuramente si tratta di una superba prova di scrittura creativa da parte di James Braziel, che guarda caso insegna questa materia all'università.
Ma oltre a questo non c'è molto altro da dire.
Potrei capire se tutto questo dramma, questa tristezza e follia fosse stata usata per vedere tramite gli occhi di un personaggio una situazione realistica, che potrebbe essere accaduta in un contesto reale. Lo sforzo creativo avrebbe avuto anche un che di meritevole, benché io avrei evitato il libro a priori, perché quando leggo voglio divertirmi non deprimermi.
Ma qui si parla di un prossimo futuro post-apocalittico assolutamente improbabile, insomma dramma e tristezza fine a se stessa, allo scopo di deprimere chi legge, tutto il contrario di quello che sembra leggendo la quarta di copertina, che pare volutamente fuorviante (per vendere il libro o forse chi l'ha scritta non l'ha neanche letto).
Nel leggere questo romanzo di Braziel si ha la sensazione più che altro che si tratti di una sorta di lungo triste prologo alla storia vera e propria, che però non c'è.
Sarà forse nel seguito "Snakeskin Road" pubblicato l'anno dopo e che segue le vicende della moglie del protagonista?
Non so se vorrò rischiare e leggere anche questo libro.
Di positivo c'è però che il romanzo è abbastanza corto. Alla fine dei conti l'autore non è affatto prolisso e ci racconta con maestria le vicende passate del protagonista, che l'hanno portato fino all'epilogo, in parte preannunciato già dall'inizio.
La lettura scorre leggera e il romanzo ti prende, questo non posso negarlo, ma quando compro un romanzo di Urania mi aspetto ben altro.
A superb demonstration of the author’s writing skills ... but nothing more than that
This is a sad story, without hope, between dream and madness, made of continuous leaps forward and backward in time by the protagonist, who is the narrator.
Surely this is a superb demonstration of creative writing by James Braziel, who happens to teach this subject at university.
But beyond that there isn’t much more to say.
I could understand if all this drama, this sadness, and madness had been used to see through the eyes of a character in a realistic situation, which could happen in a real context. The creative effort would be worthy, although I would have avoided the book completely, because when I read I want to enjoy myself, not get depressed.
But this is about an absolutely unlikely post-apocalyptic future, in short, drama and sadness for its own sake, in order to depress the reader, quite the opposite of what it seems from the synopsis on the back cover (I’m referring to the Italian edition that I’ve read) which is deliberately misleading (just to sell the book or maybe who wrote it didn’t even read the book).
In reading this novel by Braziel you have the feeling more than anything else that this is a sort of long sad prologue to the proper story, but there’s no other story.
Maybe it is in the following book, “Snakeskin Road”, published a year after and that follows the story of the wife of the protagonist?
I don’t know if I want to take risks and read this book as well.
On the positive side, however, the novel is quite short. Ultimately the author isn’t verbose and tells masterfully the backstory of the protagonist, which led him until the epilogue, in part already predicted by the beginning.
The reading goes on smoothly and the novel is compelling, I cannot deny this, but when I decide to read a science fiction novel I expect something different.
December 6, 2012
If you want to know what the world might be like in 50 years with global warming, try reading this book. It's a solid story of the failure of the ozone layer over a part of the United States, but should be read by everyone in the current climate, political and otherwise, the way people read On the Beach during the era of The Bomb.
August 3, 2021
Un romanzo sicuramente ben scritto. Pecca forse nella trama, che è decisamente statica e con pochi spunti narrativi.
August 7, 2008
Birmingham 35 Miles is set in an intriguing near-future--southern Alabama, rendered virtually lifeless by a hole in the ozone layer. The main character, Mat, is at a crossroads where he must choose between the woman that he loves and a dream of a "saved world" and the life he has always known which, though horrific, is at least familiar.
I had to speed read the last half of this book because it's taken me forever and a day to get through it, and it needed to get back to the library. Now that I've made it to the end, I have to say that the journey was hardly worth it.
This is a debut novel from James Braziel, and it is painfully obvious that this is the fist time he's put together a piece of long fiction. He may have used this story as a catharsis to some deeper problem as well. (If not and perhaps even if so, he has a lot to learn about successfully threading a storyline.)
The story jogs all over the place with flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks, stacked upon back story and more back story. The way the plot unfolded was confusing at best, and wholly unsatisfying. I read another review online which said it best, "Great concept; this is a time in need of cautionary tales. Still, Birmingham, 35 Miles somehow misses the mark. For one thing, there is the non-linear telling of the story. Time is shuffled like playing cards. Is Mat’s dad alive in this chapter or is Mat having a fevered illusion? Yes, Mat we learn has a loose grip on reality. But by the end, it is to the distraction of the reader." (www.scifidimensions.com, Carlos Aranaga © 2008)
I was hoping that the ending would redeem all the bizarre dips into the past and dreams, but alas, this wasn't the case. I won't give it away, but let's just say there isn't much of a payoff after all the wandering is said and done.
Fortunately, Braziel does seem to have great potential for writing a wonderful novel. His writing style was sparkly and unique, but overall, the journey through "Birmingham 35 Miles" was sadly disappointing.
I had to speed read the last half of this book because it's taken me forever and a day to get through it, and it needed to get back to the library. Now that I've made it to the end, I have to say that the journey was hardly worth it.
This is a debut novel from James Braziel, and it is painfully obvious that this is the fist time he's put together a piece of long fiction. He may have used this story as a catharsis to some deeper problem as well. (If not and perhaps even if so, he has a lot to learn about successfully threading a storyline.)
The story jogs all over the place with flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks, stacked upon back story and more back story. The way the plot unfolded was confusing at best, and wholly unsatisfying. I read another review online which said it best, "Great concept; this is a time in need of cautionary tales. Still, Birmingham, 35 Miles somehow misses the mark. For one thing, there is the non-linear telling of the story. Time is shuffled like playing cards. Is Mat’s dad alive in this chapter or is Mat having a fevered illusion? Yes, Mat we learn has a loose grip on reality. But by the end, it is to the distraction of the reader." (www.scifidimensions.com, Carlos Aranaga © 2008)
I was hoping that the ending would redeem all the bizarre dips into the past and dreams, but alas, this wasn't the case. I won't give it away, but let's just say there isn't much of a payoff after all the wandering is said and done.
Fortunately, Braziel does seem to have great potential for writing a wonderful novel. His writing style was sparkly and unique, but overall, the journey through "Birmingham 35 Miles" was sadly disappointing.
November 7, 2013
Frankly, this book was a mess. The problems began with the quote on the front cover, the one proclaiming that we need a hopeful book like this in times such as ours. I'm not sure what book they were reading but it wasn't this one. Between a bleak view of the future of America (including global warming that's causing the planet to die and a gestapo like government complete with rampant censorship) and the washed out, pathetic characters that inhabit that country, there is no hope to be found. Unless you count the "revelation" on the final page that one of the poor souls in this story is pregnant. I do not find the mere fact that someone is pregnant to be hopeful, especially when the obvious family history of mental illness pretty much dooms the child from the start and said child is going to have to live in the world described in "Birmingham, 35 Miles". This pregnancy is not a hopeful incident, it just makes me feel bad for how horrible that child's life is going to be.
The second (and biggest) problem is the narrative itself. The book constantly jumps between several different time periods and sometimes a chapter will have no apparent grounding in any of them. I think the frequent shifts are supposed to heighten the drama somehow but they really just end up confusing and irritating the reader. And maybe it's just me, but I found it harder to keep the different periods straight in my mind because they all take place in the future. Or maybe it was just because the date kept changing too damn often.
Not being terribly well written, I still managed to slog my way to the end simply because I wanted to see if the guy would come to his senses and stick with his girl. Let's just say that if he had, I would have given a rating of two stars instead of one.
The second (and biggest) problem is the narrative itself. The book constantly jumps between several different time periods and sometimes a chapter will have no apparent grounding in any of them. I think the frequent shifts are supposed to heighten the drama somehow but they really just end up confusing and irritating the reader. And maybe it's just me, but I found it harder to keep the different periods straight in my mind because they all take place in the future. Or maybe it was just because the date kept changing too damn often.
Not being terribly well written, I still managed to slog my way to the end simply because I wanted to see if the guy would come to his senses and stick with his girl. Let's just say that if he had, I would have given a rating of two stars instead of one.
February 18, 2010
I liked the prose style of Snakeskin Road but did not go beyond a fast browsing so far and then recently I got reminded by this one, the debut of the author and the first novel in the universe that Snakeskin Road takes place, so I decided to give it a try.
I really liked the style of this one and a lot of the stuff in it (internal passports, "deserters"..) reminded me strongly of my first 21 years spent in a communist hellhole, but I really could not connect with the characters' decisions; to me having the chance to gtf out and not taking it, is absolutely stupid and the heroes deserved all they got; in a sense this novel shows clearly how each book is a cultural artifact of its time and place - which sometimes it's easy to forget in the name of a fake universality -
So overall great style and a haunting novel, but one very out-of-place culturally for me.
I really liked the style of this one and a lot of the stuff in it (internal passports, "deserters"..) reminded me strongly of my first 21 years spent in a communist hellhole, but I really could not connect with the characters' decisions; to me having the chance to gtf out and not taking it, is absolutely stupid and the heroes deserved all they got; in a sense this novel shows clearly how each book is a cultural artifact of its time and place - which sometimes it's easy to forget in the name of a fake universality -
So overall great style and a haunting novel, but one very out-of-place culturally for me.
April 4, 2016
forse sono troppo buono ma la sufficienza piena la do. Questo non toglie che il libro non mi sia piaciuto. Ma si tratta di due piani diversi. Riconosco allo scrittore uno stile diverso, un piano temporale a cui bisogna abituarsi ma che poi è relativamente semplice, una idea tutto sommato diversa. Certo il ritmo lento e quasi intimista non aiuta. Non mi è piaciuta l'illogicità scientifica di un buco dell'ozono SOLO sull'Alabama (posizione improbabile) ed il non avere osato di più nella descrizione della zona devastata. Non sto qui a disquisire sul genere catastrofista (puo' essere uno molto più stimolante il pensiero di un libro del tipo "tutto ok"). Per questa assenza di coraggio direi che siamo ben lontani da "La Strada" o da "Terra Bruciata" di Ballard.
May 14, 2011
Post-apocalyptic books entice me to read them, particularly global-warming caused, but this one was a lousy book. I should have stopped reading it instead of actually finishing it. I kept thinking it has got to get better, but it didn’t. Waste of time. It was not interesting. The timeline jumped around way too much, I suppose in attempt to create suspense for the story, but it didn’t work, it just got in the way. I was barely interested in what happened to these people, or why, the big question why was Mat staying there when he could get out, when the people closest to him said to leave, the question is never answered satisfactorily. All in all save yourself and skip this one.
April 14, 2014
What could have been a great thriller ruined by not having enough detail or plot. The story flicks back and forward, which is ok when it adds depth to the current plot, but this does it for the sake of it. It misses out lots of details and interjects with song lyrics (mostly for no reason). Was really hoping that this book would be a diamond in the rough - but it left me wanting more and a slight regretting feeling for starting it in the first place.
In a way I hope there is a second novel to follow on, just so that I don't feel like I've wasted part of my life reading this.
In a way I hope there is a second novel to follow on, just so that I don't feel like I've wasted part of my life reading this.
October 14, 2008
A look at a post-greenhouse-apocalypse world where Birmingham represents one of the southern outposts of the "Saved World." I thought the idea was excellent, but the execution left much to be desired.
June 26, 2009
Not bad. Cool to read a book with a setting in South Alabama (where I'm from), even Dothan! But I have two criticisms: too many similes (I'm a songwriter and love them, so there must have been a lot!) and the ending is so disappointing unless there's a sequel on the way.
March 5, 2008
Literary sci-fi. Great prose and a tangible setting. Very readable.
April 4, 2008
A good debut. I'm going to look for more from this author in the future.
November 15, 2010
A father and son endure after ozone depletion scorches the earth. This was OK but it was no "The Road" which was a much better treatise of the same genre.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews