IN THE DISTANCE by HERNAN DIAZ (2017)

In the Distance was named one of the two finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Unlike the other finalist, The Idiot, this novel is original in concept and execution and is highly memorable. I have never read a more evocative account of loneliness.

Haken Soderstrom arrives alone in California from Sweden around the time of the Gold Rush, having become separated from his beloved brother when he mistakenly took the wrong boat. He knows no English, and when he gives his name it sounds to English-speaking ears like "Hawk can," so he becomes known as Hawk. He knows he must head east, because he was supposed to be on a ship to New York and he will find his brother there. His first encounters include an obsessed gold prospector, a naturalist, a wagon train of settlers, and an unusual ally, but the loss of these only intensifies his aloneness when he retreats to the desert to avoid capture for a crime he didn't commit.

Hawk is separated from his fellow men by his language, by the fear his great height inspires, and, finally, by his undeserved fierce reputation. His life becomes a circle, with day after day repeating itself. The featureless landscape echoes his isolation.

I tremendously admire the writing skill of Hernan Diaz. The most impressive parts of the book are the times when nothing happens -- that's not easy to accomplish. Most novels depend on events to propel attention, but Diaz immerses the reader in primal emotions. The ending brings to mind the final pages of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Thank you to the Pulitzer Committee for drawing attention to this most excellent novel.