The title “The Longest Distance” appealed to me as I enjoy travelling and thought this would be an interesting read.
Boy, I certainly was not disappointed! Right at the start, it was an adventure through the African savannah with a life-and-death situation and that started a journey around the world, from the US to Venice, Finland to China, quite reminiscent of “Around the World in 80 Days.”
In essence, it is a book that defies conventional genre and unlike any I have ever read, part adventure, part romance, part inspirational. As the protagonist, Jeremy, embarks on his journey, it opened a door within me that led to my own inner travels.
That was what’s remarkable about this book, as to how through Jeremy’s travels and experiences, it also triggers within me memories of my own past and opens up windows long closed and forgotten as well as shedding new light on dusty recollections. While Jeremy searches for his answers, I am also led along to seek my own answers about life and love. In this sense, the book is rather personal and intimate, and one can easily relate to what Jeremy is feeling and going through. It is about life, after all, and what makes a life worth living.
There are several layers to the book, which is quite ingenious. An exciting physical journey, not unlike an enjoyable travelogue that really makes me want to go on a roundtrip around the world, but also overlaid with a deeper, philosophical journey that provides snippets of Western and Oriental insights along the way, from Descartes to Confucius. Importantly, it resonated with me and I think it asks the most fundamental questions about existence that we all think of from time to time, but never really got to explore deeper as we struggle for breathing space in a concrete, urban jungle.
Overall, this was an immersive and enjoyable read, almost meditative and highly contemplative. The prose is clean and simple, the pacing balanced and steady. I only wished that the book was longer and there could have been deeper explorations of the different cities, people and cultures, as Jeremy travelled around the world. But perhaps, the “Longest Distance” is better off "short."