The Distance Home by Paula Saunders (debut)
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Length: 304 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

The life story of René, middle daughter of a South Dakota family battling to find ways to love one and other.

From the Publisher

“Tender, searing, and unforgettable, The Distance Home is a profoundly American story spanning decades—a tale of haves and have-nots, of how our ideas of winning and losing, success and failure, lead us inevitably into various problems with empathy and caring for one another. It’s a portrait of beauty and brutality in which the author’s compassionate narration allows us to sympathize, in turn, with everyone involved.”

The Draw

• I liked the idea of a family story spanning decades, encompassing entire lives.
• Dysfunctional family stories are among my favorites.
• High praise from Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves.

{My Thoughts}

What Worked For Me

Beautiful Writing – Debut author Paula Saunders truly has a way with words. Her phrasing often came across as lyrical even in the midst of a gritty story; plus, her use of similes was textbook perfect.

“What comes together falls apart. Parties are planned, celebrated, then disperse and dissolve as though they were no more than dreams; seasons come and go like magic tricks, flowers blooming then fading, snowbanks swelling then melting away. How could it be different for families?”

“As far back as René could remember, it seemed like she’d been riding a stormy, disordered team of horses – Eve and Al, Leon and Jayne, school and ballet – standing astride as many saddles as her legs could manage, clutching a fistful of tangled reins, balancing in jerks and starts like an untrained circus performer.”

René – Though The Distance Home is the story of an entire family, it is fully told from René’s perspective and I found her to be a very relatable, if not always likeable, character.

• René was a keen observer of the world around her, and not just her own family.
• A child born into dysfunction René developed startlingly wise insights into the behaviors of others, as well as herself.
• Not yet a teen, René witnessed a horrific family event, and blamed not the perpetrator, but the silent witness. I loved how René’s conflicted feelings served to dramatically shift the trajectory of her life.

“And as René sat in her bed that night, looking across the hall at Leon’s closed bedroom door, she couldn’t help but wonder where all the hurt and anger went after something like that. Did it just disappear, as a person grew older, dissolving in a mist of resignation and forgetfulness?”

• As René grew older, her family relationships grew more and more complex with only a fine line between love and hate, condemnation and forgiveness. Saunders did a commendable job having René walk that line in ways that felt very real.

“Now get yourself something to eat and go straight to bed.” And René leaned in for a hug that felt mainly like a metal restraining device closing in around her.”

Ballet in South Dakota – I don’t want to offend anyone from South Dakota, but ballet just isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a small town in The Mount Rushmore State. Yet, ballet played a huge role in The Distance Home. Leon, René’s older brother, was the first to start in ballet in the hunt to find a place for him to succeed. And, succeed he did. He was soon joined by René, later by younger sister, Jayne and finally even their mother, Eve. Ballet became a huge part of their lives, very nearly taking over. It was an escape that offered freedom and a sense of normalcy sadly missing from their lives. But, for Leon especially, it came with very high costs. René watched Leon’s demise as her own status rose.

What Didn’t

Uncomfortable Attitudes – This isn’t exactly something that didn’t work, in fact it was key to the story, but it made me uncomfortable and may be a trigger to some. A factor of the times, both Al and Eve had very harsh things to say about their Native American neighbors. Prejudice wrapped in fiction doesn’t typically bother me, but here I squirmed.

Bible Verses & Mythology – The author used both at different times as a means to explain what René thought and felt. I thought they were overdone.

{The Final Assessment}

For me The Distance Home was the best sort of dysfunctional family story. Harsh at times, it was a slow building saga of a family trying, and trying again, and trying again. Poor, cruel, unkind choices pulled René’s family apart over and over again, and still under all the drama, all the raw emotion love never quite let go. Grade: B+

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:

• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett – The story of two families melded into one and the rings of dysfunction that ensue. (my review)
• The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer – Also spanning decades, in this a California family’s complex relationships take a lifetime to understand.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Random House (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.