The Distance

By Ivan Vladislavic,

Book cover of The Distance

Book description

In the spring of 1970, a Pretoria schoolboy, Joe, becomes obsessed with Muhammad Ali. He begins collecting daily newspaper clippings about him, a passion that grows into an archive of scrapbooks. Forty years later, when Joe has become a writer, these scrapbooks become the foundation for a memoir of hisā€¦

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Distance as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Taking stock of my selections, I realise that they are all to some degree autobiographical or semi-autobiographical. Just why I am attracted to this genre I donā€™t know: perhaps I am fascinated by the technical challenge of finding a narrative voice that is both personal and detached, of impersonalising emotions that could easily just be self-indulgent. Humour is often useful here, and Vladislavicsā€™s novel is richly humorous, in its (lightly fictionalised) account of a culturally challenging boyhood in Pretoria, at the time the whitest and most conservative city in South Africa (interestingly, also the setting for Galgutā€™s The Promise).ā€¦

If you love The Distance...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

Want books like The Distance?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Distance.

Browse books like The Distance

Book cover of In a Strange Room
Book cover of The Third Reel
Book cover of False River

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,008

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š If you like The Distance, you might also like...

Book cover of Drawn from Life

Drawn from Life by Sarah P. Blanchard,

A life-changing tragedy. Conflicting memories. Is she a killer or a victim? Drawn From Life tells the story of a young woman driven to seek the truth about her traumatic past. As she sifts through the real and not-real landscapes of memory, she must re-examine her own agency in theā€¦

Book cover of Then The Trees Said Hello

Then The Trees Said Hello by HJ Corning,

Two women separated by time learn what happens when they embrace their inner magic in this inspiring environmental fiction novel. 

Although Sara's college degree provided her an out, she always knew sheā€™d return home to the small logging community that is like family to her. But when she learns theā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in coming of age, bildungsroman, and brothers?

Coming Of Age 1,411 books
Bildungsroman 331 books
Brothers 114 books