Customer Reviews

The Distance Between Us

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, I get all the haters who are pissed that Bart didn't "deliver" another over-the-top gay book. You're right. No arguments. What we get instead is an author stretching his wings. Sure, the content is different... sure it's not stereotypical or predictable... but, for crissakes, this is Yates we're talking about. He's never given his readers an easy book, mostly 'cuz he knows you're all smarter than that. Yeah, TDBWU is a different direction, a different story, but ultimately, it's all Yates. And Lord, the man can still rock a story.
This is a guy stretching his wings, don't clip them. Read this book. The writing is top notch, the characters--despite their awful and too human tendencies--are real. Yates doesn't sugarcoat, but we're a a better reading public for it.

Alex, a shy, gay college student, answered an ad for an apartment to rent in a stately old house near school in the small river town of Bolton, Illinois. Alex thinks his potential landlady, frail-looking but feisty 70-something Hester Donovan, a former concert pianist now separated from her violinist husband, estranged from her two living adult children, and living alone in that big three story house, is a bit of a hoot, with her sarcastic, dry sense of humor and habit of saying exactly what is on her mind. He decides to take the apartment, and the two of them gradually become familiar with each others' past life, although both have secrets they don't wish the other to know, quite yet. He learns that one of her sons committed suicide, and that her other children, Caitlan (who happens to be his writing professor at the college) and Paul (a musician, like his parents), somehow blame her for the death. Meanwhile, her husband Arthur, who left her for a younger woman with whom they had both worked at the music school adjacent to the college, is threatening to take the house away from her. Her son, Paul, seems to have a particular problem with Alex living there, as evidenced by the scene he made when he came to the house in an alcoholic rage, demanding that Hester evict him.

In his previous works, "Leave Myself Behind" and "The Brothers Bishop," Yates has established himself as a master of telling a story carried by unique but realistic, strong characters, and that is even more evident in this totally engrossing novel about how stunted communication and petty jealousies can turn a loving family into a highly dysfunctional one. With most of the story told in flashbacks (a strategy I usually don't favor, but it works remarkably well in Yates' skilled hands here), we become privy to the loving relationship the family once had with each other, and exactly how this evolved to the point where none of the four survivors wanted anything to do with each other. It's an amazing, emotional journey for Hester and her family, as well as for Alex, and much recommended. Five bold stars out of five!

Any classical music lover should find pure enjoyment in this book. I found Yates to be exquisitely talented at creating a sense of character, place, time -- this book reaches so many senses. 'The Distance Between Us' offers every emotion ranging from funny/witty [Hester's acerbic tongue is a 'stand alone performance!'], poignant, moments of outright sobbing, wisdom, insight -- you name it, it's here! I found several parts especially touching. When Hester fully realizes & expresses the depth of her feelings towards Arthur, I was was so moved that I kept reading these passages over & over. Fragile Jeremy steals the heart. Then, of course, there is this glorious music pulsating from almost every page. [What a quartet/quintet these characters are!!] I could picture, as well as hear Hester at her piano, Arthur playing the violin, Paul on the cello, etc. Then, there is, what I refer to as, the 'joy in life' moment -- I trust that any 'baby-boomer plus' will totally relate to this. I must admit that the Boccherini/Manilow connection, this had me reeling, 'hooked' me! Yes, indeed, gratitude, humility, forgiveness & more -- are a must! Pity Caitlin, at least, for the time being... Moms & Dads out there should heed some advice on the potential damage we may [hopefully, not] inflict. Beware of your expectations! Highly recommended reading.

I have maybe 25 pages left and I just don't want this book to end! I have read, and fallen in love with, his other two novels, and this one just the same.

The book is told from the first person point of view of a 70+ year old Hester. How would a 26 year old (me) be able to connect with her? Brilliant storytelling and witty insights and dialogue that make this a real page-turner.

I first read Bart Yates' other books because they were gay fiction and I had no idea what to expect with this book. But I think I like this one even more than his first two. Maybe I just love dysfunctional family type books, because that is definitely what this family is. Poor Hester. She messes up so much, despite trying to be good.

I dread finishing this book. It will be like saying goodbye to these characters that I have grown to love over the past few weeks (yes, despite being a page-turner, I have been forcing myself to slowly turn those pages).

I can only say that I can't want to see what this guy comes up with next!

I just finished this book, and as a warning, I should start off by saying that the first person narative is a bit off-putting at first. However, once you get into the book, it is hard to put down. I started it several hours ago, and just finished it now. In between I cried more times than I can recall (granted, I have been prone to crying lately, but I cannot imagine reading this book without falling pray to such emotions). Read this book with caution, it tugs at many emotions you didn't know you were grappling with at the time, but read it. It is well worth the investment.

I bought this book because I loved Yates' first book, "Leave Myself Behind". I love this book just as much, if not more. It's mostly about the realization and acceptance that some broken relationships cannot be mended, even in a family that truly loved each other once. Some parts are truly heartbreaking, but Yates has a talent for making the reader laugh through some of the hardest parts. I was laughing and crying at the same time, it was pretty neat. Some reviewers have commented that this isn't a gay novel, but who cares? As a gay reader, I'm thrilled that Yates is reaching out to a wider audience, because everyone needs to read some Yates. Eagerly awaiting his next novel.

Hester Donovan is a complex character. At the same time she is a sympathetic character trying to keep her life from spinning out of control and a vengeful harpy getting revenge on those family members - everyone by now - who do not do as they are told. I wanted to slap her and I wanted to hug her; that's always a good sign.

After reading Yates' novel, The Brothers Bishop, I was expecting a complex gay novel with well-written characters and unexpected storylines. Well, there is nothing gay in this book but everything else is there - musical talent, sacrifice, depression, death, divorce and the joy of youth.

This book has a 'happy' ending. However, the entire universe is not wrapped up in bright ribbon and put on a shelf. There are still the messy strings that can be examined and accepted but never completely put away and forgotten.

Read this novel.

Best-selling authors such as Dan Brown and Tom Clancy should take writing lessons from this accomplished author. His latest is a story so real that just about anyone who reads it can relate to it in more ways than one. Maturity and wisdom are definitely Mr. Yates' stock in trade. In this novel, that showcases his mastery of the craft beautifully, the story weaves an intricate web of emotions that have been suppressed senselessly for too long by every main character.

If "Running With Scissors" was made into a film, there is absolutely no doubt as to why either "The Distance Between Us" or any of his other two novels couldn't be made into films as well for his writing has such a cinematic quality that it is nearly impossible not to visualize his stories on the big screen.

It is refreshing and reassuring to know that Bart Yates writes stories with characters in it rather than the other way around. After all, he writes about life with such insight and command that it is hard not to enjoy his complex tales of, above all, love.

Set in the river town of Bolton, Illinois, the home of The Carson Conservatory of Music, Hester Parker lives in her church-like ramshackle house with its high ceilings and large oval windows. She spends her days guzzling wine and ruminating over the disintegration of her marriage to Arthur and the sudden animosity of her children Paul and Caitlin. Her grand piano "a glorious dinosaur" is her only source of pleasure and the only remnant of her life once lived as a famous concert pianist. When Alex, a young student who is studying at Pritchard comes to visit, he's immediately in thrall to Hester and trusting her instincts, she allows him to move into the upstairs loft, once the home of Hester's lost son Jeremy. But it is Alex's presence in Hester's house that suddenly becomes the catalyst for all of the pent-up animosities between Hester and with Arthur. Overwhelmed by her circumstances and all hope and promise shattered with the pain in her left hand overwhelming, Hester is appalled when her still "terribly handsome husband" turns up and accusing her of destroying his priceless antique chair and then threatens to take the house from her. Arthur also has not taken kindly to Hester taking on another tenant without his consent. But as the ghost of Jeremy, constantly reappears phoenix-like in Hester's life, the older woman is surprisingly drawn to Alex, finding a measure of succor in his positive outlook.

Thus the daily dramas unfold, playing out within Hester's talented family, the far too sensitive Alex stepping into a hornet's nest of pent-up fury and familial ill-will, while also battling his attraction to his school-mate Eric. With her career behind her, Hester is left to spend her days trying to dodge the violence from Paul and his anger at her. Paul is a man who now has few friends, his brother Jeremy was one of the only people in the world he actually loved and he blames his mother for everything that happened and thinks his mother could have changed the outcome and prevented Jeremy from doing what he did. Hester remains at the core of Bart Yates intuitive character study, a victim of a life she considers is a disaster and her prospects for tomorrow just as grim: "I'm still at war with my family, I'm still tired old and angry." Although relief may once have come through a crippled, tenuous sort of love between Hester and her children, but it is the passion she shares with Arthur for music that provides the strongest bond, the delicate notes from the great sonatas and symphonies providing comfort and a delicate counterbalance to all of Hester's hatred and vitriol at both herself and her family.

In the end nothing in Hester's life has ever mattered to her more than her musical ability, not her parents, not her children not even Arthur. While Alex provides an outlet for her pain, music remains her god. Although some of the clashes between the characters are a bit contrived, particularly that of Hester and her dealing with Arthur's mistress Martha, a "malicious blue jay" who took her husband, her life and her happiness, mostly the author portrays a vulnerable Hester who remains unable to cope with the unhappiness of her family. Yates focuses on the good and bad moments in one's life where we all have to do what we can to get by and make sense of the world and those with an artistic calling do this because they know no other way to live. Arthur, Caitlin and Paul are just as lost as Hester. Together at last they come together in a stunned and nightmarish silence to face the reality of what happened to Jeremy, but the sad reality is that none of them seem to able to bridge the distance between them, the delicate notes of music proving to be the only healing force in this sensitive and often melancholy drama. Mike Leonard 2008.

If you're a fan of Yates then you'll know that he favors sarcastic/witty dialogue and the main character is always the wittiest of them all. The trend continues here; however, he takes a detour and decides to go behind the eyes of an elderly woman rather than the usual gay male protagonist.

The switch mostly works and I found myself relating to Hester as I have many of the elderly people I've met who seem to have lost their social filter. The problem is that throughout most of the first half, I felt the dialogue was forced and written to be witty rather than natural. On top of that, Yates hints early that something happened to Hester's youngest son but takes so long to reveal the incident that I became frustrated. The incident is so integral to the plot that I don't feel like the story truly begins until we start to learn about it.

Luckily, both of these issues are remedied in the second half and things start coming together. Soon characters start exploring their emotions and show what all the sarcasm was meant to hide. This is where Yates' story telling and dialogue shine. The characters become extremely relatable and you can emphasize with their actions. Everything doesn't wrap up perfectly in the end, but that's often true in real life.

Bart Yates' appel extends outside the relm of gay fiction and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for something with more depth than a beach read, but still with a witty and digestible flow.