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Cover of The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca SolnitThe Faraway Nearby
Modern · Nonfiction, Biography

The Faraway Nearby

by Rebecca Solnit
2013 · 259 pages · Nonfiction
68.4Must-Read
Score Modern
Critics' pick
≈ 6 hours to read · about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

Rebecca Solnit explores how people construct their lives from stories and connect to one another through empathy, narrative and imagination, weaving together anecdotes about historical figures and members of her own family.

Why it's worth reading

It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. It's a beautiful, wandering meditation on storytelling.

You'll love it if you liked

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Good to know

It's essayistic, built in linked chapters, rather than a straight memoir.

By the numbers

68.4Must-Read Score
  • Readers76 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics21 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Bestseller0 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Buzz1 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Why it made the list

Shortlisted
NBCC Award (Memoir) finalist (2013)

Reads as

True story

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

More by Rebecca Solnit

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Hope in the DarkRebecca Solnit

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Explore the best-of lists

All 36 best-of lists →
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedModern booksTop 25 · 1,573 rankedBooks of the 2010sTop 25 · 736 rankedFantasy booksTop 25 · 459 rankedMysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 555 rankedLiterary novelsTop 25 · 309 rankedScience fiction booksTop 25 · 313 rankedRomancesTop 25 · 233 ranked

Quick answers

Is The Faraway Nearby worth reading?

Yes. It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. It ranks #1,487 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 68.4 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is The Faraway Nearby about?

Rebecca Solnit explores how people construct their lives from stories and connect to one another through empathy, narrative and imagination, weaving together anecdotes about historical figures and members of her own family.

How long does it take to read The Faraway Nearby?

About 6 hours (259 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after The Faraway Nearby?

If you liked it, try Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion or H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.