Here are 100 books that The Distance fans have personally recommended if you like
The Distance.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
As an African author, I find that my books end up on the āAfrican fictionā shelf in the bookstore, which can be a disadvantage if my novel is, say, about Henry James or the Trojan War, both of which I've written novels about. As a lecturer in English literature, I've become acquainted with a vast and varied array of literature. So, whereas of course there are many wonderful African novels that deal with specifically African themes, I think the label African novel can be constricting and commercially disadvantageous. Many African novelists see themselves as part of a larger community, and their novels reflect that perspective, even though they are nominally set in Africa.
Damon Galgut recently won the Booker Prize for his riveting, satirical The Promise, but, much as I admire that novel, Galgutās earlier (also Booker-nominated) semi-autobiographical novel, In a Strange Room, remains my favourite. It comprises three long short stories, all centred on a character called Damon, alerting us to the autobiographical element of the stories. And yet Galgut resists the total identification of autobiography, partly by his device of switching disconcertingly between first and third-person narration (sometimes āDamon,ā sometimes āIā), and present and past tenses. But the novel is more than technical trickery: the shifting perspectives allow us different angles on the complex relationships depicted in the different sections, rather as a cubist painting affords us a multifarious perspective on its subject. And like other books on this list, this one features a protagonist who travels: something of a trope in South African writing.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2010 MAN BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2010 ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE ONDAATJE PRIZE
A young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way - including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge - he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life.
As an African author, I find that my books end up on the āAfrican fictionā shelf in the bookstore, which can be a disadvantage if my novel is, say, about Henry James or the Trojan War, both of which I've written novels about. As a lecturer in English literature, I've become acquainted with a vast and varied array of literature. So, whereas of course there are many wonderful African novels that deal with specifically African themes, I think the label African novel can be constricting and commercially disadvantageous. Many African novelists see themselves as part of a larger community, and their novels reflect that perspective, even though they are nominally set in Africa.
The novel contains vivid accounts of life in a āsquatā in London, as well as the grim atmosphere of an East German film school under Russian occupation ā contrasting with the hedonistic excess ofā¦
Shortlisted for The Sunday Times Literary Awards (South Africa)
Twenty-two-year-old Etienne is studying film in London, having fled conscription in his native South Africa. It is 1986, the time of Thatcher, anti-apartheid campaigns and Aids, but also of postmodern art, post-punk rock, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Adrift in a city cast in shadow, he falls in love with a German artist while living in derelict artists' communes.
When Etienne finds the first of three reels of a German film from the 1930s, he begins searching for the missing reels, a project thatā¦
As an African author, I find that my books end up on the āAfrican fictionā shelf in the bookstore, which can be a disadvantage if my novel is, say, about Henry James or the Trojan War, both of which I've written novels about. As a lecturer in English literature, I've become acquainted with a vast and varied array of literature. So, whereas of course there are many wonderful African novels that deal with specifically African themes, I think the label African novel can be constricting and commercially disadvantageous. Many African novelists see themselves as part of a larger community, and their novels reflect that perspective, even though they are nominally set in Africa.
This is at heart a coming-of-age novel, unshrinkingly autobiographical in its depiction of what is clearly the authorās own family and background: the privileged upbringing on a prosperous farm in the centre of South Africa, the elite schools she and her beloved brother, Paul, attend, the tensions between her stern father and the rebellious brother. All recounted in a deadpan faux-naĆÆve voice, which is often hilarious but also needle-sharp in its puncturing of the posturings and pretensions of upper-middle-class white South Africans. But at the centre of the largely satirical account is the tragic story of the decline and fall of the beautiful, talented, hyper-sensitive Paul and his early death from a drug overdose. A masterpiece of controlled perspective and flexible tone.
āYou are too close to the water,ā Paul whispered. āThere are barbels in the mud. They will wake up if you step on them.ā When Paul and Dominique are sent to boarding schools in Natal, their idyllic childhood on a Free State farm is over. Their parentsā leftist politics has made life impossible in the local dorp school. Angry schoolboy Paul is a promising poet, his sister his confidant. But his literary awakening turns into a descent. He flees the oppression of South Africa, only to meet his death in London. Dominique Bothaās poignant debut is an elegy to aā¦
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: āAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā¦
As an African author, I find that my books end up on the āAfrican fictionā shelf in the bookstore, which can be a disadvantage if my novel is, say, about Henry James or the Trojan War, both of which I've written novels about. As a lecturer in English literature, I've become acquainted with a vast and varied array of literature. So, whereas of course there are many wonderful African novels that deal with specifically African themes, I think the label African novel can be constricting and commercially disadvantageous. Many African novelists see themselves as part of a larger community, and their novels reflect that perspective, even though they are nominally set in Africa.
Eben Venter, though born in the heart of the South African āplattelandā (the South African equivalent of āfly-over countryā), has spent much of his adult life in Australia, and the novel poignantly straddles the two locales: the constricting conservatism of the protagonistās farm background, and the bewildering freedoms and opportunities of a more cosmopolitan setting. Here that conflict is heartbreakingly acted out and in a grim sense resolved in the main characterās losing battle against AIDS, and his death-bed reconciliation with his hitherto unbending father. Venter gives us a harrowing account of what it is like to die of a disease that wastes your body, blinds you, and makes you mad before killing you. It is all the more remarkable that the experience is registered from the inside, as it were, in a subjective stream of consciousness. The poignancy of the novel is intensified for me by knowing that theā¦
Konstant Wasserman rebels against his people, culture and country. In his own words: Iām going to get the hell away from here and make the life I want somewhere else.
Thus he migrates to Sydney, Australia where he slips into a new way of life: a vegetarian diet, a crazy hairstyle and an adventure with the sexually ambivalent Jude. With this ādark horseā of his he arrives at places where heād never wanted to go.
In the Wollondilly wilderness west of Sydney he discovers the first symptoms of a terminal disease. Now his real journey starts.
Iāve always believed in magic, the kind thatās just around the corner, out of view. I loved books and libraries. So, it was no surprise that I became a teacher, and later, a poet and novelist. Now, as the author of four novels, I want my books to capture what I love best from poetry and teaching: beautiful, unexpected language, a touch of wonder, and themes that probe the big questions of life. A library shows up in most of my novels along with a bit of the fantastic.
Wow. The voice in this book takes my breath away. Iāve never read anything else quite like it.
Thereās a plot full of adventure, tragedy, and healing, but mostly, there is Rueben Land and his sister Swede, two of the most compelling characters in literature. The story begins with a miracle when Ruebenās father commands his newly stillborn son to breathe.
Questions about miracles, hope, faith, and redemption pepper the story with no easy answers, again asking: What does it mean to be human? Thatās a question all great literature grapples with.
When Israel Finch and Tommy Basca, the town bullies, break into the home of school caretaker Jeremiah Land, wielding a baseball bat and looking for trouble, they find more of it than even they expected. For seventeen-year-old Davey is sitting up in bed waiting for them with a Winchester rifle. His younger brother Reuben has seen their father perform miracles, but Jeremiah now seems as powerless to prevent Davey from being arrested for manslaughter, as he has always been to ease Reuben's daily spungy struggle to breathe. Nor does brave and brilliant nine-year-old Swede, obsessed as she is with theā¦
Raised alongside three feral younger brothers in the rash-inducing, subtropical climate of Cairo, Georgia, I am a lifelong resident of the South. A circumstance, no doubt, leaving an indelible mark on my voice as a writer. At this point in my writing career, I write what I know. As a reader, I enjoy exploring the rich stories woven by Southern authors, capturing other places, people, and experiences beyond my own frame of reference. Ultimately, as a Southerner, I endeavor to reconcile the Southās troubled past of racial and social oppression with the romanticized notion others have of this place I call home.
This 2002 novel follows young Harriet Cleve Dufresnes in 1970s Mississippi during the aftermath of the death of her nine-year-old brother, who was killed by hanging in the shadow of unexplained circumstances. I am particularly enamored by the novelās focus on the customs and dynamics of Harrietās extended Southern family.
Tartt best describes in her own words why I love this novel: It is āa frightening, scary book about children coming into contact with the world of adults frighteningly.ā
NATIONAL BESTSELLER ā¢ From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch comes an utterly riveting novel set in Mississippi of childhood, innocence, and evil. ā¢ āDestined to become a special kind of classic.ā āThe New York Times Book Review
The setting is Alexandria, Mississippi, where one Motherās Day a little boy named Robin Cleve Dufresnes was found hanging from a tree in his parentsā yard. Twelve years later Robinās murder is still unsolved and his family remains devastated. So it is that Robinās sister Harrietāunnervingly bright, insufferably determined, and unduly influenced by the fiction of Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson--setsā¦
Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life togetherāsheās determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuseā¦
When I was in school, I often struggled to figure out where I āfitā. Yeah, I know thatās a common struggle among angsty teens. But as a biracial, bisexual kid who loved basketball and books, I didnāt feel totally at home in any of the stereotypical Breakfast Club-style categories that showed up even in many of the books I read: jock, nerd, prep, etc. Now, as a dad, coach, and writer, I know those boxes arenāt real. Iām passionate about giving kids stories that challenge old ideas about what boys are āsupposedā to be and help them explore the full range of who they can be.
Between his cruel older brother and his rigid, overbearing father, Alan Cole doesnāt have it easyāespecially when his brother discovers he has a crush on a boy. But with some help from his friends, Alan learns to stand up for himself and challenge his familyās expectations. This is the kind of book I wish I could send back in time to my younger self, and I know a lot of kids will relate to Alanās strugglesāand celebrate his triumphs.
Perfect for fans of Tim Federle and Gary Schmidt, this is a hilarious and poignant tale about the trials of middle school when youāre coming of ageāand coming out.
Alan Cole canāt stand up to his cruel brother, Nathan. He canāt escape the wrath of his demanding father, who thinks heās about as exceptional as a goldfish. Andāscariest of allāhe canāt let the cute boy across the cafeteria know he has a crush on him.
But when Nathan discovers Alanās secret, his older brother announces a high-stakes round of Cole vs. Cole. Each brother must complete seven nearly impossible tasks;ā¦
As someone who grew up agnostic and somehow ended up an Episcopal Church lady, Iām intrigued by writers who deal with Christian belief respectfully without leaving their sense of humor behind. I donāt believe that faith is required to be moralāmy nonreligious parents are more principled than many Christians I knowābut I like to see characters work out that tension between what weāre taught in Scripture, what we believe or want to believe, and how we actually live it out in daily life (sins and all). I especially enjoy watching this happen in that peculiar petri dish of personalities that is any local church.
Tyler is reliably warm and witty, and here we get to see her apply her trademark abilities to the story of a family of kids who are largely raised by their young Uncle Ian, who cuts short his own college education when he feels responsible for them losing their parents. Ian seeks redemption in raising them within the embrace of the entertainingly funky Church of the Second Chance. Ian is such a good member, the minister eventually tries to recruit him as his successor, which of course, would mean yet more responsibility. I couldnāt help but root for these incredibly vivid characters. And in its treatment of churches and church folks, Saint Maybe manages to be extremely funny and yet not at all disparaging.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā¢ The beloved Pulitzer Prizeāwinning author brings us the story of Ian Bedloe, the ideal teenage son, leading a cheery, apple-pie life with his family in Baltimore. That is, until a careless and vicious rumor leads to a devastating tragedy.
Imploding from guilt, Ian believes he is the one responsible for the tragedy. No longer a star athlete with a bright future, and desperately searching for salvation, he stumbles across a storefront with a neon sign that simply reads: CHURCH OF THE SECOND CHANCE.
Ian has always viewed his penance as a burden. But through theā¦
My family moved around a lot when I was younger, which may explain why Iām fascinated by the experience of being an outsider. To me, itās not a bad thing; being on the outside can sometimes help a person to see things more clearly, to think more critically and creatively. The year I spent living in a country where English wasnāt the main language was one of the most stimulating periods of my life, because I was so attuned to all the tiny details that other people took for granted. Plus, as teenagers, everyone feels like theyāre on the outside looking in ā which is probably why all of my books have contained some coming-of-age element.
I stumbled across this coming-of-age story by one of my favourite South African writers in a second-hand bookshop in Oxford when I was an undergraduate. I hadnāt been able to lose myself in fiction for a couple of years because I was so immersed in academic reading (history, mostly) ā but this novel got me back on the wagon. It was the first novel Iād read in a long time that really made me want to write, to tell a story that could move a reader in the same way. In it, a white, middle-class girl growing up in a small colonial town in 1940s South Africa starts to see the world around her as it really is. Definitely one of those books that deserves a much wider audience.
Nadine Gordimer's first novel, published in 1953, tells the story of Helen Shaw, daughter of white middle-class parents in a small gold-mining town in South Africa. As Helen comes of age, so does her awareness grow of the African life around her. Her involvement, as a bohemian student, with young blacks leads her into complex relationships of emotion and action in a culture of dissension.
Vivian Amberville - The Weaver of Odds
by
Louise Blackwick,
Vivian AmbervilleĀ® is a popular dark fantasy book series about a girl whose thoughts can reshape reality.
First in the series, The Weaver of Odds introduces 13-year-old Vivian to her power to alter luck, odds, and circumstances. She is a traveler between realities, whose imagination can twist reality into impossibleā¦
All these pugilistic narratives touch on people in hardship moving through dark spaces in their lives. I care about people on the fringes. Iāve known many people who have little or nothing. For a lot of my life, Iāve had little. I used to box. When somethingās in your blood, you think about it every day. I canāt remember a day I havenāt thought about boxing. Once youāve done it, itās hard not to want to go back. You try to just pretend it away, but when itās in you, itās got hold. Because I understand this so well, feel it, have lived it, I absorb these boxing stories in a different kind of way.
The mantra for this novel could be that the effort matters more than anythingāthe attempt, the trying. Winning is something, but itās not everything. Brooks, a high-school dropout, has to find his way in a world where his closest friend is dying from drug addiction, his household is broken, and street thugs are after him. Against all odds, if you love something and want it, the pursuit of that dream can help those who chase it with enough intensity to possibly overcome the hardship. When so many boxing stories are written with utter bleakness, there is light here.
The breakthrough modern sports novel The Contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero.
This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter Robert Lipsyte, the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in YA fiction, is the story of a young boxer in Harlem who overcomes hardships and finds hope in the ring on his path to becoming a contender.
Alfred Brooks is scared. Heās a high-school dropout, and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didnātā¦