Faraway Places

by Tom Spanbauer

During a fateful summer, 13-year-old Jake Weber witnesses the brutal murder of a Native American woman by the town banker. Jake's parents forbid him to speak of the killing or name its perpetrator, even as the woman's African American lover stands falsely accused. The crime and what follows it forever alter Jake's view of his parents and the world around him. Faraway Places won widespread praise for its vivid narrative and incantatory style, and Spanbauer displays singular skill in inhabiting the mind of a troubled adolescent boy.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT, Historical, Literature, Novels, Queer

124 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 1988

About the author

Tom Spanbauer was an American writer whose work often explored issues of sexuality, race, and the ties that bind disparate people together. Raised in Idaho, Spanbauer lived in Kenya and across the United States. He later lived in Portland, Oregon, where he taught a course titled "dangerous writing". He graduated in 1988 from Columbia University with an MFA in Fiction and has written five novels.

Reviews

[Albert Trajstman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have just finished Tom Spanbauer’s Faraway Places and loved it. If To Kill a Mockingbird is an American classic then so should Faraway Places be one. The cover calls it ‘A Novel’ but in fact it’s really a novella and no worse for that. The length of this tale is just right and the pacing appropriate. I enjoyed the way Spanbauer introduces a passage in the text that leaves you wondering what is that all about and then he later expands on that very same passage deeper in the story with the reveal.
Hard to believe that this was his first bit of published extended fiction as it’s written with such a deft hand. For me, though they explore similar themes – growing up, race relations, and parents - Faraway Places works much better than To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s really a most delightful read!

[Nick Younker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pure lit-fic. Spanbauer has done a fantastic job taking the reader on a world-weaving journey through the eyes of a young boy during a moment in time that can be a life of PTSD for others.

Although I think the book could have been a little lighter than 107 pages, Tom did a great job with what little parchment he used. The witness of a crime and the subsequent fallout of events afterward. The plight of the poor, working-class family used as the backdrop and political overlay for choices that were made, regrettable and never to be refined. How true to life that is for so many.

[ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

the rural idaho vibes were on point

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, deep, tragic, and shows how interconnected we are to one another.

[Anne Dahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

(ja ehkä tiputtaisin neljäsosan vain koska välillä hirvitti se kieli, olkoonkin, että periodille sopivaa)

En ole lukenut Pulitzer-palkitulta Tom Spanbauerilta aiemmin mitään. Nyt luin Kaukaiset seudut ja myös toisen suomennetun teoksensa tulen lukemaan sillä en muista lukeneeni mitään tällaista piiiitkään aikaan.
Teoksen aihe on tuttu, ehkä leffoista, sarjoista, ehkä Harper Leen Kuin surmaisi satakielen - teoksesta, vuodelta 1960, mutta tämä oli vielä voimakkaampi kokemus
ja jotain hyvin elokuvamaista kirjassa oli.

Luin tätä yhden päivän/yön.
En voinut jättää kesken.

Kirja on sekä upea että hirveä, ällöttävä, kauhea.
Kauheaa ja ällöttävää - nyt näin nykyajassa - epäkosher kieli. On n-sanaa (joten jos olet sille yliallerginen, älä lue), on eläimiin sekaantumista, on kouluttamattomuuden mukanaan tuomaa näköalattomuutta.

Ollaan 1950-luvulla, syvässä Amerikan Etelässä, siellä missä ihmiset luokitellaan lajitellaan, osalla ei ole ihmisarvoa lainkaan.

Mutta (kielestä, sanastosta huolimatta) - voi luoja miten voimakas tarina tämä oli, miten voimakkaita fyysisiä tuntemuksia se sai minussa aikaan.


Lähtökohtaisesti siis - ollaan siellä jossain takamalilla, kaukaisilla seuduilla.
On perhe, jossa puhumaton ankaran uskonnollinen väkivaltainen maanviljelijä isä, äiti haaveellisessa maailmassaan tokaisuineen krusifikseineen ja Jake Weber, 13-vuotias rippikouluikäinen poika, joka on teoksen minä-kertoja.
Maatalon jatkuminen on naapurin käsissä, erittäin oudon pelottava miesoletetun taskussa, jolla on viisi verikoiraa, joita mies hallitsee kaulassa roikkuvalla pillillä, sen vihellyksillä.
Naapurustossa metsän keskellä on myös hökkeli jota asuttaa Sugar Babe, intiaaninainen ja mies, Geronimo, josta n- sanalla puhutaan.

Tapahtuu kamalia. Poika elää voimakkaassa mielikuvitusmaailmassaan,
tarkkailee kaikkea, joutilaana kesänä tutkailee elämää ja joutuu kielletylle joelle mentyään tapahtuminen äärilaidalta kaiken väkivallan kamaluuden pahuuden keskiöön ja lopulta murhan silminnäkijäksi.
Tämän lisäksi ällönaapurimies tappelee isän kanssa, joka ei saa lainaerää kasaan. Isä miltei kuolee tappelussa, mutta hänet pelastaa Geronimon nuoli. Poika ja raakalaismaisella tavalla tapetun intiaaninaisen mies, musta Geronimo peittävät isän osuuden miehen kuolemaan ja Geronimoa jahdataan kuin kettua metsästyksessä.

En paljasta loppua, he, jotka tämäntyyppistä juonta sietävät, lukekaa ! sillä pojan kasvutarina on hieno, tekopyhän ja vainoharhaisen yhteisön kuvaus uskottavaa mutta ennen kaikkea tämän kirjan kieli on magiaa, kaunista, huumaavaa, taitavaa, upeaa ja ne kaikki aiheet, ne pienenpienet motiivit, vihjaukset, ne Hannun ja Kertun pienet kivet, ne kaikki kerätään, laitetaan samaan pussukkaan.

Kaikista outouksistaan huolimatta (siis tuolle ajalle, rockin syntymisen ajoille, paikkasidonnaiselle puheelle, valkoisen rodun ylivallan hallitsemille seuduille ominaiselle elämäntyylille, puheen klangille, sanastolle, jota ei voi enää käyttää) minulle tämä kirja oli upea, ristiriitaisuuksissaan unohtumaton kokemus.

[David Villar Cembellín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela de incitación, casi un relato corto, de Spanbauer donde se ven los mimbres de muchas obras posteriores: la voz infantil, la pérdida de inocencia, un indio nativo como catalizador.

La prosa de Spanbauer sigue siendo una ametralladora capaz de congelarte la sangre —ese desenlace— con su ritmo.

En definitiva, notable alto.

[Mmars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes one hundred pages passes in no time at all, and sometimes they seem to take an eternity. This novella by Spanbauer is of the former, a sort of prairie gothic. And once you begin you cannot stop. It’s a bit formulaic and there are typical first novel giveaways such as blatant foreshadowing and the description of the farm layout (which by the way is astoundingly good) seems lifted from a gifted writer’s exercise book.

Perhaps, as a child growing up on the edge of prairie I could just relate to cottonwoods and the edge of the open prairie. Standing on the top of the hill leading to his family’s farm (I knew one of those hills and we called it “the end of the world”) he describes what he sees.

“There was sky everywhere: outside the windows, under the beds, between the ceiling and the floor there was sky. There was sky between your fingers when you spread them, and sky under your arms when you lifted them up….Besides the sky and the graveled road and the fence with the red triangles hanging on it, and the power lines, and the fence on the other side of the road, this is what you could see from the second flag up there on the plateau: you could see the road, straight as an arrow….”

He goes on (and I’m skipping really important stuff) and gets to the house farmplace.

“…you could see Virginia creeper on the side of the house, and the horses and the Holsteins in the corral, and the gas pump…and in the yard the machinery parked around: the tractor, the plow, the disc, the harrow, and all those things, all of them John Deere.”

If you had grown up on a Midwest farm in the 50s/60s you would know you could classify farmers by the color or their machinery. Red Farmall farmers were Republicans, yellow International Harversters, the independents, and John Deere green stood for Democrats. Well, politics doesn’t really play into this book, but this did indicate that the author knew what he was writing.

This book is about the omen of a Chinook wind and what it wrought. It’s not pretty and there are a couple perverse scenes and one must stretch believability at times, but it is well told. A first books that shows lots of promise.

[Taru Luojola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaunistelematon ja tiivis aikuistumiskertomus Yhdysvaltain takapajulasta 1950-luvulta. Ongelmat ja ratkaisut niihin ovat niitä samoja, joita 1950-luvun Yhdysvaltain kuvauksissa on totuttu näkemään, mutta Spanbauer nostaa selittelemättömään tyyliin esiin yksityiskohtia, jotka vievät tämän tarinan ihon alle.

[Tianna Tagami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts slow. Finishes strong.

[Lillian]

This book doesn’t get a rating from me, not that it will make a difference but it doesn’t even deserve a star at all. I hate I wasted money and time on it. I did not finish as I had enough when the dogs became his sexual pleasure. Into the trash it went! This makes the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” nothing but the truth!

[Gonzalo Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha sio interesante leer la primera novela de Spanbauer en último lugar. Corta, menos cruda que las demás, pero se nota el inicio de la esencia que tanto le caracteriza. Me parece sorprendente que su siguiente novela sea 'El hombre que se enamoró de la luna' francamente, el progreso de la primera a la segunda se palpa en cada página. Un maquinón, si es que no tiene más.

[Aina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llegir Spanbauer és com tornar a casa. Per desgràcia, ja no em queden més novel·les seves. Com vaig dir a la última que vaig llegir: ni un llibre de Tom Spanbauer sense les seves cinc estrelles.

[Álvaro Martín Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Casi un relato corto. Bien escrito pero que no me llegué a creer con esos personajes tan forzados que parecen caricaturas.

[Joseph Longo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I read "The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon, I became a fan of Tom Spanbauer. This advocate and teacher of Dangerous Writing has a unique style and take on how to tell a story, especially a coming-of-age story. This short novel, only 102 pages, deals with the murder of an Indian woman in an isolated, poor farming community. The murder was committed by a white man who set his pack of five dogs on her and the black/Indian man that she lived with. The story is told in the first person by a young boy who witnessed the murder and concerns how he, his devotedly Catholic mother and violent, alcoholic father deal with the crime. The boy also has short encounters with the negro/Indian that escaped.

"Faraway Places" is not as good as "The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon," but it is worth the short time spent on it. And if you haven't read "The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon," you have to put that novel on your must-read list. Briefly, it is about a bi-sexual Indian boy growing up in a whore house run by a strong, loving white woman. It takes place in the Old West at start of the last century. Great characters. Involving, with unique relationships and situations.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I have finally read all of Spanbauer's books and I am able to see some concurrent themes across his works - Catholicism, overbearing and brutish father archetypes, odd pious mothers, indigenous love affairs, etc...This novella starts out quaint and descriptive, building up to an accidental crime-scene that rips the family apart, and yet brings them back together in a new and improved format. Disturbing and gripping. Spanbauer has an amazing love and use of the English language.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tom Spanbauer. I think he's my favorite writer.
This book is little, some might even spurn sensitivity to claim it's imperfect. I found it immensely satisfying, and very fine.
I read it back to back with Neon Bible - another astonishing first novel, and found both books had similar achievements. Foremost among these for Tom is a great vision that makes for some fine storytelling, and a delightful voice that makes almost anyone feel related.
I loved this book.

[MarjaHannele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuoren miehen kasvutarina olettaen Amerikan etelävaltioista. Tässä on jotain samaa kuin kirjassa "Kuin surmaisi satakielen". Roturistiriidat ja ennakkoluulot saavat ihmiset käyttäytymään tavalla, joka vaikuttaa monen ihmisen elämään.
Nopealukuinen kirja jossa, alun muutamaa kapulakielistä lausetta lukuunottamatta, oli mukava kieli.

[Caleb Tankersley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was gut wrenching, tragic, and beautifully written.

[Luis Le drac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lugares lejanos, de Tom Spanbauer.

Lugares lejanos es una novela breve que se merecería una reseña importante, pero va a ser que no. Lo resumo así: Medio Oeste. Una familia. Conflicto “americanos puros” (que se creen americanos puros, mejor dicho) frente a indios y negros. La visión del hijo es pura. Se avecina lo peor. La cascan los de siempre. El espíritu de Faulkner está por aquí. Me gusta el apellido Spanbauer. Me suena a Spandau Ballet o a Agromenauer. Buena lectura, condensada y con muchos interrogantes.

[Karl Kraus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there anyone alive today who writes more devastatingly powerful novels than Tom Spanbauer? Having read one of his already, I slogged through the first pages (which require visual imagination; I have none) but was more than amply rewarded after that. Other reviews will go into details. I’ll just leave it at 5 (at least) stars.

[Dana Jerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

🤦🏼Agee and Faulkner do it better.

Interesting images in a crummily told story. But hey, maybe they can’t all be winners?

What else have we read in modern fiction that seems to be an overfreighted excuse to drop the n-w0rd?

Details in Holmes intro remind me this is the last T.S. I need concern myself with reading.

[Dorothy Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

When 13 year old Jake Weber's father warns him from the river and forbids him from interacting with three specific people, the intense and disturbing events that follow are life-changing. The story set in rural Idaho in the 1950's is a companion piece for To Kill a Mockingbird, but condensed (and brutal).

[Sandra Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparse and intense. LOVED it!

[L.A. Chalmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

darkly humorous

[Saltfeend · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeah, my first TS book. I liked it (sorry for being too specific)

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dobermans on the cover scared me off reading my copy for years…wisely so.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone I really respect recommended this author to me. I was looking to read In the City of Shy Hunters, but wound up picking up The Man Who Fell In Love With the Moon and this book. It took me a while to get through the other novel, but this book read like taking a shot of whiskey. It is all the things I found in Man Who..., but sharpened, distilled, and condensed. It is a super quick read, but chalk full of serious thematic material like racism, family conflict, the danger of secrets, and other such taboo topics.

It is basically a coming-of-age story of the teenaged protagonist. His family lives through a strife-filled year or so. The narrator's name doesn't come up in the story much; it is pretty downplayed, which gives that "everyman" universal sense to the story. It could be any of us readers in his place.

The blurb for this novel simplifes the storyline and leaves the intricacies and details of what unfolds to be discovered. There are some very graphic elements in the story, but they do not overpower the narrative. Actually, the narrative is characterized by verisimilitude, I would say. The narrative unfolds the way that a person would orally tell a story, complete with tangents, off-shoots, and the circular way of coming back to where the narrator left off.

I enjoyed and was impressed with this novel, especially because of its relative brevity (just over a hundred pages or so) and the fact that it was Spanbauer's first. To me this story is reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, but, of course, it is its own story and a valuable one at that. Another thing I found especially valuable about this edition is the introductory elements, including a letter by Spanbauer that gives some context and depth to the writing of this novella.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for just about any only child growing up in the 1950s on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. It captures the inner world of a boy entering adolescence, with a strong religious upbringing, no extended family or friends, four miles from the road to town, with nothing but a drying-up river running nearby and flat land in all directions. Jacob, the central character of this short novel, spends his days alone with his wondering mind and vivid imagination, poised between his dreamy mother and his rough father. As if to fill the void of the family's routine, isolated existence, in which a trip to the Idaho state fair is a highlight of the year, an intense and violent melodrama unfolds around them and draws them all into its vortex.

The title is from a Perry Como recording of the period, and that softly romantic song and singer represent the untroubled surface of a time marked also by McCarthyism, racism, and social hypocrisy. Spanbauer pulls out all the stops as his young hero discovers both the fierce ugliness and the hidden beauty beneath his schoolboy illusions. In the end, after bloody fistfights, hard drinking, domestic abuse, bestiality, killings, a lynching, and arson, a very different song, the Ventures' rock and roll classic "Walk, Don't Run" is playing loudly on a car radio. Finally, the reader is left to wonder how much this coming-of-age story is itself an illusion filling the fevered imagination of a lonely farm boy. I recommend this one for anyone who believes that nothing is what it seems to be.

[Redd Deveraux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is remarkable. It tends to get marked down a bit, being Spanbauer's first book, starting off with a lot of imagery-laden scene setting, and, sure, it's not as massive and expansive as his following novels--Now is the Hour is like Faraway Places exploded and stretched out; just as good, exploring more deeply the themes set up in the novella--but Faraway Places is still a real whirlwind of a story. Tom's masterful in how he lays all his cards on the table from the start, informing you who will die, how things will change, and then he takes you through all of it without boring you, making you forget what you already know. His language just gives me the chills. His sentences glow. The prose is forked and lyrical. I love the way he reuses description in different ways to set up choruses that build and shift. And the characters, they're vivid. Even Jake's hardass, racist father ends up tugging at your heart, something that doesn't happen as strongly in the aforementioned Now is the Hour.

Coming of age when you don't know how to, the tradition of religious faith becoming hard to swallow, the ugliness of America's past, the beauty of the natural world in contrast to the frequent cruelty of people. I can't even do it justice, trying to name themes, sum it up. It's just a really well-written, well-crafted story that'll surprise you with almost more emotion than one can take if you read to the end.

[kates · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about Tom Spanbauer's writing: It’s less about disassociating from myself as a reader and more about going deeper into myself. By looking out at the world as [the narrator] Jake for a while, I notice different things. I feel like the characters live inside of myself and my experience as a reader is about tapping into my inner [character name] rather than looking in on them from the outside. That is SO RICH, and what I really seek by reading fiction.

This is a great, quick read. It's a great place to start for someone wondering if they might be curious to read more of his work -- which tends to be longer and a much more significant investment (400+ pages). Although it's his first book published (chronologically), it's the last of his work that I've read. It stands on its own two legs, though IMO, it can't be fairly compared to the opus that is The Man Who Fell In Love with The Moon.