In the Distance

By: Hernan Diaz

Narrated by: Alexander Skarsgard

FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD
WINNER OF THE WHITING AWARD
WINNER OF THE SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING
WINNTER OF THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD
WINNER OF THE NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARD
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR

The first novel by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Trust, an exquisite and blisteringly intelligent story of a young Swedish boy, separated from his brother, who becomes a legend and an outlaw

A young Swedish immigrant finds himself penniless and alone in California. The boy travels east in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing west. Driven back again and again, he meets criminals, naturalists, religious fanatics, swindlers, American Indians, and lawmen, and his exploits turn him into a legend. Diaz defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.

Critic reviews

Praise for In the Distance:

“A gorgeously written novel that charts one man’s growth from boyhood to mythic status as he journeys between continents and the extremes of the human condition.” —Pulitzer Prize finalist citation

“Strange and transporting . . . In the Distance [is] an uncanny achievement.” —The New York Times

“The prose is as unbroken as the horizon. . . . It’s as if Herman Melville had navigated the American West, instead of the ocean.” —The Nation

“This suspenseful novel is a potent depiction of loneliness, a memorable immigration narrative, and a canny reinvention of the old-school western.” —Publishers Weekly

“Plainspoken and wildly, even cosmically, evocative . . . In the end the reader understands the country’s twin potential for horror and hope.” —Whiting Award citation

“A singular and deeply affecting portrait of one man’s life in a rapidly changing world.” —The Guardian

“An ambitious and thoroughly realized work of revisionist historical fiction.” —Kirkus Reviews

“In the Distance did something new . . . raising important questions about cultural attitudes made evident by assumptions we make about art, particularly toward guns and immigrants. It’s also just a great story.” —The Paris Review

“[In the Distance] excels in creating a sense of disorientating foreignness. The result is richly drawn and something like Huckleberry Finn written by Cormac McCarthy: an adventure story as well as a meditation on the meaning of home.” —The Sunday Times

“Stitched through with humor, this often-unpredictable novel will keep readers running along with every step of Håkan’s odd escapades.” —Booklist

“Diaz is bound to join ranks with Borges on the literary scene with this mythical personality, still at large in our consciousness long after we’ve put down the book.” —BookPage

“While set in the American West, this is no conventional Western, as it turns the genre’s ste­reotypes upside down, taking place on a frontier as much mythic as real with a main character traveling east.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“[An] extraordinary epic tale of a lone man’s journey into the heart of the American frontier.” —Financial Times

Beautifully Written

I enjoyed “In the Distance” and recommend it. Diaz has a tremendous gift with composition and story-telling. The events are surreal and the protagonist more symbolic than believable, but his odyssey is compelling. My only real criticism is related to its beauty. Diaz describes the natural world in marvelous detail, but the plot bogs down at times, becoming a meditation rather than a story.

Wonderful Book

Beautifully written and read. I listened to this book 3 times and got more out of it each time!

A man’s journey from Sweden to the United States

I loved the story about a lone man’s adventure leaving Sweden and coming to America. The reader was wonderful

A tough read

In the Distance is a beautifully written novel with a haunting, almost mythic quality. Hernan Diaz’s prose is poetic and deliberate, painting the American frontier not as a land of promise but as a vast and isolating expanse. The story follows Håkan, a young Swedish immigrant separated from his brother, as he wanders the wilderness in search of reunion and meaning.

While the premise and setting are compelling, I found the pacing of the book to be challenging. The lack of dialogue, though perhaps intentional to reflect Håkan’s solitude, often left the narrative feeling static and slow. Without the rhythm that conversation can bring, much of the novel felt internal and meditative—but at times to a fault.

Moreover, the unrelenting series of tragic and tormenting experiences Håkan endures began to feel overwhelming. Diaz seems committed to stripping his protagonist down to the rawest form of human survival, but the constant suffering left little room for moments of relief or emotional contrast. The weight of it all made it difficult to stay engaged, even though the story itself had strong thematic foundations.

In short, In the Distance is an ambitious and often powerful book, but one that may test the patience of readers looking for momentum, dialogue, or a more balanced emotional journey.

absolutely amazing

great storytelling using poetic language while still feeling very real. mixes epic and westerns for one unique story