As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back
In Alle C. Hall’s candid novel-in-stories As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, a teenage runaway flees an incestuous situation to pursue a new version of herself.
Armed with survival ideas from Lonely Planet, Jen vows to backpack her way to escape. She steals money until the opportunity to leave arises. She arrives at a hostel in Hong Kong; encounters an addict in the Philippines whom she allies herself with in hopes of finding safe companionship; and meets a French academic with whom she trysts in Malaysia. Alcohol and smoking underpin Jen’s attempts to pretend that she’s “American Mary,” or sometimes “Carlie,” a more blasé alter ego. But then a disorienting, drug-induced sojourn in Bangkok forces a reckoning.
There are straightforward depictions of the effects of sexual abuse throughout. Jen’s boundaries erode; she becomes bulimic. She contends with simultaneous shamed naïveté and knowledge about self-harm. Her scenarios abroad replicate themselves in similar guises and with interchangeable men. She deals with harsh memories of her father’s sensational betrayals and unsubtle signs of her fleeting lost innocence. She finds solace in tai chi, falling into a stereotypical trap of searching for herself through Eastern culture. And finally, she meets former social workers who invite her to Tokyo, where she forges a disciplined routine and gains surer footing. Still, she is reluctant to be open with her new friends, even as she yearns for change.
With a slow, realistic redemption arc, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a novel in which a survivor of abuse achieves a gritty, tender coming-of-age and reinvents herself.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
