Miles from nowhere, which is by firsttime novelist nami mun, covers everything from joons stint living in a homeless shelter to her coming to grips with the eyeopening reality of escort work in a night club. Le nouvel obsavateur fr a book of exceptional emotional power edmonton journal canada impressive debut novel mun writes with a masterful. Miles from nowhere, by nami munreturnreturni received miles from nowhere, by nami mun about a week ago, and decided to glance over the first few pages on saturday. Listen to miles from nowhere by nami mun, ali ahn for free with a 30 day free trial. Id left a bed and a mother to sleep under storefront awnings right beside men who thought a homeless girl was a warm radiator they could put their hands to. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream. Rendered in spare but deeply evocative prose, miles from nowhere is an unforgettable debut from awardwinning writer nami mun. Well talk about the novels structure, our favorite passages, and what. She has received a pushcart prize, as well as scholarships and residencies from. When i receive an arc i thumb through the book, read a little and try to obtain an overview before i sit down and read it. Teenage joon is a korean immigrant living in the bronx of the 1. For her first book, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award and a pushcart prize, and was shortlisted for the orange award and the asian american literary award. Her parents have crumbled under the weight of her fathers infidelity. Miles from nowhere by nami mun, 9781594483981, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Miles from nowhere is a depressing if realistic book, but there were times when joons innocence and the people she encountered made me smile. Sad and shocking but i found myself laughing out loud at times. I found myself reading passages out loud to friends, passages i thought were hallucinatory and funny, only to find myself choking back real tears. Click to read more about miles from nowhere by nami mun. Her stories have been published in granta, pushcart prize anthology, the iowa. Miles from nowhere by nami mun and ali ahn audiobook. Miles from nowhere paperback the elliott bay book company. For her debut novel, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award and a pushcart prize, and was shortlisted for the orange award and the asian american literary award. Ive said it once and ill probably say it again, but i dont understand my moms reading list. In miles from nowhere, a tale of misspent adolescence. Listen to unlimited audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. Nami muns first novel initially appears to fall into this trap, but it eventually escapes.
Nami mun was born in seoul, south korea, and grew up there and in bronx, new york. Considering that i also left home for good at an early age, and that ive held some of the jobs joon does in the book, i think its very. Nami mun is a refreshing new voice in asianamerican literature. In the process, mun creates one of the most indelible characters in recent fiction and establishes herself as an extraordinarily talented new voice. Read miles from nowhere by nami mun available from rakuten kobo. Joon is an almostlikable protagonist, but i found myself getting more and more frustrated every time she made the wrong choice. A major voice in fiction debuts with the story of a teenage runaway on the. Miles from nowhere was selected as editors choice and top ten first novels by. Sign me up to get more news about literary fiction books.
Miles from nowhere by nami mun in epub, fb2, rtf download e book. Miles from nowhere, published in 2008 by riverhead, is nami muns first novel. After earning her ged, she graduated from uc berkeley. Muns first novel is a 1980s urban odyssey in which joonmee, a 12yearold koreanamerican, leaves her troubled bronx family for the life of a. Brief, balanced and gritty, nami muns debut shows much promise. A conversation with nami mun fiction is my default writing mode.
Miles from nowhere hardcover the vermont book shop. Befitting the confessions of its opiateeating narrator, nami muns first novel has a junkies jumbled sense of chronology. The visceral power of nami mun s miles from nowhere sneaks up on you whatever heartache or humor you find within these pages is embodied in her shimmering prose, distilled to the bone. Then theres her addiction to drugs and her love affair with a fellow addict that results, somewhere down the line, in an abortion. Miles from nowhere by nami mun free mobi epub ebooks download. A korean immigrant, she acculturates to america but her parents flounder. She graduated from university of california, berkeley, and from the university of michigan, with an mfa. For her first book, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award, a pushcart prize, the chicago public librarys 21st century award, and was shortlisted for the orange prize for new writers and the asian american literary award. Read nami muns exclusive essay on the kernel of truth in her fiction on omnivoracious, the amazon books blog.
Nami mun is a korean american novelist and short story writer. The main character, joonmee, is a twelveyearold koreanamerican. One of the millions of books i read over my holiday break five is like a million, right. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Nami muns debut novel is a series of episodes in the life of joon, a korean american living in the bronx during the 1980s. For her first book, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award, a pushcart prize, the chicago public library s 21st century award, the hopwood award, and was shortlisted for the orange prize for new writers and the asian american literary award.
Without knowing much about this book, why do you think she chose this quote to start her book. Miles from nowhere by nami mun free ebooks download. Miles from nowhere by nami mun brief, balanced and gritty, nami muns debut shows much promise, says catherine taylor. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the authors best ideas. This grim account of the life of a young runaway on the streets of new york made me so angry i was beside joon every step of the way hoping against hope that she could be safe. The alcoholism and mental illness they suffered from in korea comes with them to their new home, and joon is the consistent victim. Miles from nowhere, by nami mun, is the tale of a teen runaway living on the streets of new york in the 1980s. A major voice in fiction debuts with the story of a teenage runaway on the streets of 1980s new york. Unfolding in the new york city of the 1970s and 80s, miles from nowhere contains a surfeit of period references eighttrack tapes and riunite on ice, but the narrative moves back and forth in time so fluidly that it seems to take place, as the title suggests, in. Nami mun, quote from miles from nowhere lifes only as bad as you make it out to be. Nami muns miles from nowhere deserves attention because it is such a compelling story, and it is such an unusual one, too. She has received a pushcart prize, as well as scholarships and residencies from yaddo. Brutally honest, linguistically inventive, and profoundly moving, miles from nowhere is a work of fiction.
Mun relays it all with a jarring honesty that makes the book both difficult to read and. For her first book, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award, a pushcart prize, the chicago public librarys 21st century award, the hopwood award, and was shortlisted for the orange prize for new writers and the asian american literary award. Alexander chee, author of edinburgh a starkly beautiful book, shot through with grace and lit by an offhand street poetry. Her parents have crumbled under the weight of her fathers infidelity and mental illness has rendered her mother nearly catatonic.
Miles from nowhere by nami mun and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Nami mun discusses her first novel, miles from nowhere. Brutally honest, linguistically inventive, and profoundly moving, miles from nowhere is a work of fiction that will haunt and inspire a generation of readers. Teenage joon is a korean immigrant living in the bronx of the 1980s. Miles from nowhere became a national bestseller within first weeks. Joon is the dysfunctional and likable protagonist of nami muns debut novel, miles from nowhere. In the process, mun creates one of the most indelible characters in recent fiction and establishes herself as an extraordinarily talented. So joon, at the age of, decides shes better off on h.
Miles from nowhere by nami mun by nami mun by nami mun by nami mun. For her first book, miles from nowhere, she received a whiting award, a pushcart prize, the chicago public librarys 21st century award, the hopwood award, and was a finalist for the orange prize for. Joon is a young korean immigrant living in the bronx of the 1980s. Nami mun grew up in seoul, south korea and bronx, new york. Considering that i also left home for good at an early age, and that i ve held some of the jobs joon does in the book, i think its very.
People four stars, pick of the week emotionally upending. Nami mun takes a cast of junkies and runaways and brings them fiercely and frankly to life. Nami mun fleeing her 1980s bronx family home in the wake of her unfaithful fathers abandonment and her mothers mental illness, korean teen joon struggles through an adolescence marked by homeless shelters. Nami mun miles from nowhere riverhead by ari messer january 6. Many readers might well regard miles from nowhere as interrelated stories featuring the same character rather than a novel and, in fact, most of the chapters were previously published as standalone stories. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Whenever i witness something odd on the streets or hear intriguing dialogue on the trains, my first impulse is to drop these things into my fiction bank.
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