Like another commenter, I was so excited to see you talk about this book. I really, really liked this one. I rarely hear/see people talk about it and that's a darn shame.
I absolutely loved In the Distance. So glad to hear two other fans discuss it. I always love a book with a strong sense of place and Diaz had it in droves; The sun, the dust, the miles of emptiness... perfect. I'm still bitter that my son crashed my car the day I was supposed to hear Diaz discuss Trust in person forcing me to miss the event. I'm looking forward to reading everything that Diaz publishes.
Leaving now as you are moving into spoilers, but I'm sold on the book. I think I might read it next year alongside These Hills Are Made of Gold which is already sitting on my shelf. Great discussion.
I loved this discussion. I’m such a fan of Bernie & his Instagram acct. I’m interested in Diaz now, like many of us, after reading Trust. So this was wonderful.
I always think I’m not into Westerns and then I remember Paulette Jiles News of the World and West by Carys Davies. A non traditional Western is something I could get behind. Great chat Bernie and Shawn!
I stopped before the spoilers because I think I want to read this one. I also loved Lonesome Dove so I am intrigued by the discussion of how it compares and contrasts!
This was super fortuitous. Just getting ready to buddy read In the Distance. I absolutely loved Trust, it was my favorite of the Booker longlist and my second-favorite book of 2022 and I hope to have a similar experience with In the Distance. I watched your entire video without regard to spoilers as I am interested in the themes, structure and character study, not the plot. Thanks for a great analysis!
Just finished reading the novel and enjoyed your commentary. Regarding the ending, I saw his emergence from the ice bath to be symbolic of Hawk’s rebirth. With the telling of his story, he is now free from the burden of his misunderstood past and ascends into the icy, white purity of the Alaskan waters (an almost celestial terrain, Hawk is now walking on water). This also aligns well with Loimer’s radical, at the time, theory of evolution.
I also saw many parallels to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. The questioning of God’s creation of man, along with a wrongfully accused and misunderstood monster, roaming the land, culminating in an Arctic scene drew me to this comparison. The scene at novel’s end when Hawk encounters the crying baby girl also gave me a flashbacks to Boris Karloff’s scene with the “flower girl” in the Universal film. Upon reflection, do you see any similarities?
I was very interested in your comments; unfortunately, it's been so many decades since I last read Frankenstein that I remember very little about it. Your analogies certainly intrigue me!
Great book, great conversation. BTW I would say that westerns that are so un-reflective on violence are not treating violence as 'frivolous' - this is too generous. I think unreflective violence is about identity - it's an essential, foundational, defining characteristic. A western including settlers must involve violence - American (Canadian) history is clear. It's not frivolous.
I am also amazed that you guys did not make more of his separation from his brother - Diaz's other novels depend like this on those sibling relationships. The solitude which the professor did such a good job of calling out is defined, bounded by his separation from his brother - it is a solitude that is lost in the wilderness. He is the younger brother - BTW the separation from the brother was devastating.
Like another commenter, I was so excited to see you talk about this book. I really, really liked this one. I rarely hear/see people talk about it and that's a darn shame.
I absolutely loved In the Distance. So glad to hear two other fans discuss it. I always love a book with a strong sense of place and Diaz had it in droves; The sun, the dust, the miles of emptiness... perfect. I'm still bitter that my son crashed my car the day I was supposed to hear Diaz discuss Trust in person forcing me to miss the event. I'm looking forward to reading everything that Diaz publishes.
Leaving now as you are moving into spoilers, but I'm sold on the book. I think I might read it next year alongside These Hills Are Made of Gold which is already sitting on my shelf. Great discussion.
I loved this discussion. I’m such a fan of Bernie & his Instagram acct. I’m interested in Diaz now, like many of us, after reading Trust. So this was wonderful.
I always think I’m not into Westerns and then I remember Paulette Jiles News of the World and West by Carys Davies. A non traditional Western is something I could get behind. Great chat Bernie and Shawn!
I stopped before the spoilers because I think I want to read this one. I also loved Lonesome Dove so I am intrigued by the discussion of how it compares and contrasts!
This was super fortuitous. Just getting ready to buddy read In the Distance. I absolutely loved Trust, it was my favorite of the Booker longlist and my second-favorite book of 2022 and I hope to have a similar experience with In the Distance. I watched your entire video without regard to spoilers as I am interested in the themes, structure and character study, not the plot. Thanks for a great analysis!
Just finished reading the novel and enjoyed your commentary. Regarding the ending, I saw his emergence from the ice bath to be symbolic of Hawk’s rebirth. With the telling of his story, he is now free from the burden of his misunderstood past and ascends into the icy, white purity of the Alaskan waters (an almost celestial terrain, Hawk is now walking on water). This also aligns well with Loimer’s radical, at the time, theory of evolution.
I agree very much that the emergency from the ice bath signified a type of rebirth! And you've expressed it very eloquently.
Did you guys watch Ozark? That woman sounds like the older woman character in that show.
I also saw many parallels to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. The questioning of God’s creation of man, along with a wrongfully accused and misunderstood monster, roaming the land, culminating in an Arctic scene drew me to this comparison. The scene at novel’s end when Hawk encounters the crying baby girl also gave me a flashbacks to Boris Karloff’s scene with the “flower girl” in the Universal film. Upon reflection, do you see any similarities?
I was very interested in your comments; unfortunately, it's been so many decades since I last read Frankenstein that I remember very little about it. Your analogies certainly intrigue me!
Great book, great conversation. BTW I would say that westerns that are so un-reflective on violence are not treating violence as 'frivolous' - this is too generous. I think unreflective violence is about identity - it's an essential, foundational, defining characteristic. A western including settlers must involve violence - American (Canadian) history is clear. It's not frivolous.
I am also amazed that you guys did not make more of his separation from his brother - Diaz's other novels depend like this on those sibling relationships. The solitude which the professor did such a good job of calling out is defined, bounded by his separation from his brother - it is a solitude that is lost in the wilderness. He is the younger brother - BTW the separation from the brother was devastating.