The Distance is an excellent debut novel. It is an emotional powerhouse, a compelling story that is far from a cute, fuzzy, warm, feel good romance. It is certainly no fairy tale and definitely not a happily ever after story. Instead, it is a human drama, that while fictional, is a very realistic depiction of the countless bad decisions made by multiple people and the consequences of those actions on your life, as well as the lives of those close to you. While I wanted to rush to judgment berating our main protagonist in the story, Mini; I bit my tongue and thought of some of the ill conceived decisions I have made in the past and realized that's what humans tend to do on a regular basis.

Mini grew up in the crowded, poverty stricken city of Calcutta in India. As you might expect, she was nonetheless fond of her country--the culture, the food, the people, the closeness of large, tight-knit families and multitudes of friends. She attended college and fell in with a radical, Amitav with whom she fell in love. This caused a rift between her and her family and friends. She felt hemmed in, in the small, decrepit apartment in which she and her family lived. The patriarchal society surrounding her was quite suffocating and controlling. Her father was easily angered and became domineering and verbally abusive. All of the male main chracters in this book are deplorable exhibiting abusive behavior, which seems to work in with the patriarchal society.

When Armitav does not return Mini's affections, she becomes listless and sick at heart. After a time, she gives in to her parent's wishes and consents to an arranged marriage, as their tradition dictates. As you might expect, this arrangement leads to many heartaches between the groom, Neel, and Mini. Though they were both born and raised in India, their lives have been very different and they have completely different feelings on many matters of importance. Neel is from a well-to-do family and is studying for a Ph.D. in Canada. Mini, therefore must uproot from not only her home, but her family, friends and country, as well. She finds she can never embrace her new country, even after living there a few years. Her heart is constantly aching for her mother land, its customs and peoples, and especially her family.

In the meantime, her parents are being evicted from the apartment in which her father was born and in which they have spent their entire 30 years of married life. Her father, though aged and decrepit refuses to give in to the landlord's demands for eviction and vows to fight it. This comes to a culmination during a visit of Mini's and Neel's. Between his poor decisions and Mini's own, the climax of the story quickly unfolds.

As I mentioned, this story was powerful and disturbing, which I consider a testament to its ability to portray such realistic characters in a drama full of the flaws we display in real life and with which we can relate. ( )

What a wonderful story, full of longing and regret, the yearn for a better future which is cloaked i regrets about the past ( )

This book grabbed my attention from the get-go. The author does an amazing job with imagery, and not only could I get into Mini's head, but I could see through her eyes as well.
This book evoked many emotions in me, such as sorrow, anger, excitement, and happiness. Like another reviewer already mentioned, it's a nice romance story that takes a detour to get to the "happily ever after" part. ( )