Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Release Date: April 25, 2009

Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun is a chaotic narrative that reflects the disordered life of a junkie who runs away from home. Joon's tale of her life is not in chronological order. Instead, it feels like she is with us, telling us her life to the best of her ability. Joon's life is the tragic story of a family crumbling apart because of parents that never stopped to think of their daughter. We witness a pre-teen Joon running away from home and experiencing drugs for the first time in an abandoned building. A section later we watch Joon sit with a book while she should be working as a hostess in a sleazy club. There are also moments in which Joon dreams of having her own apartment with her very own toaster. Her humble fantasy of a toaster and a place to lay her head truly excite the emotions of the reader. Miles from Nowhere allows us to watch through a swarm of memories a lonely battle on the streets for one girl's attempt at finding peace.

Nami Mun does a fantastic job of teasing her readers – just as soon as we think we know Joon, the narration ends and we're brought to another chapter of her life. It is impossible to form an intimate relationship with the narrator. We only get to see what Mun and Joon want us to see. One walks away from Miles from Nowhere with a sense of frustration and sorrow. It is a well written book with an experimental style that I would like to see used in other novels. Often times, it feels as if we are simply peeking into Joon's life from a fire escape window. This is a great book and it reads very quickly. It would best suit those with a strong stomach.