Going the Distance

Michael Joyce is Professor of English and Media Studies at Vassar College. He is the author of many books, including Disappearance, Liam's Going: A Novel, and Moral Tales and Meditations: Technological Parables and Refractions, also published by SUNY Press. He lives along the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York.

"…[a] marvelous tour de force … Although it is interested in broader ideas, the book surely succeeds amply as baseball fiction." — Nine"What is fascinating about Going the Distance is that Joyce is resisting a simple opposition between statistics and poetry, between life as a professional athlete and life after the game." — Electronic Book Review"…the sheer power and talent of Joyce's ambitious project deserves recognition … This is not a breezy confection, but a dense, engaging, and poetic psychological journey … Joyce has crafted a truly inventive, fabulously written work of fiction, and Going the Distance belongs on any list of upper-echelon baseball novels." — Spitball"Dig deep into this experimental novel, and discover the pleasure of strategically implemented phrases and words … Those who savor the exploratory, as opposed to the traditional, approach to narrative will discover a feast in Joyce's writing. His messages are like hidden spices in an unusual dish … This latest novel of his will delight not only fans of baseball but also fans of the great American love story." — ForeWord Reviews"Going the Distance is a deftly written, intelligent, articulate, involved and involving novel that acquires the reader's total attention from beginning to end. Populated with memorable characters and unexpected story twists and turns, Going the Distance is a rewarding read." — Midwest Book Review"I read it in two huge gulps, which should tell you something. I think it's terrific, moves, moves me, and I love it! Flynn and Emma are marvelously there, and everyone comes alive as well. I'm jealous. Poets can do lots of things, but not this!" — Joel Oppenheimer, author of The Wrong Season"A fever dream about how the past, one's homeland, and the national pastime can beguile and bewitch the best of us." — Tim Wendel, author of Castro's Curveball and Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball—and America—Forever