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Long Distance | Introduction

Jane Smiley’s ‘‘Long Distance’’ was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in January 1987 and then published later the same year in Smiley’s shortstory collection, The Age of Grief. Smiley wrote this book after she divorced her second husband, historian William Silag, an event that influenced the content of the stories—all of which deal with marriage and family in some regard. In the case of ‘‘Long Distance,’’ which won Smiley her third O. Henry Award, the story examines one man’s reaction to a failed relationship. During the course of a family holiday gathering, he is forced to confront his views of love, marriage, and responsibility, and in the process he realizes that his selfish actions have cheated others—and himself. Smiley wrote the story during a time when the concept of the American family was changing. Evolving roles of men and women—due in part to the influence of the modern women’s movement and freer sexual attitudes for both men and women—were changing the structure of many families. Although The Age of Grief is not as well known as Smiley’s novels, particularly her Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, A Thousand Acres, it has received overwhelmingly positive criticism. A copy of ‘‘Long Distance’’ can be found in the paperback edition of The Age of Grief, published in 2002 by Anchor.

Long Distance Summary

‘‘Long Distance’’ begins with the main character, Kirby Christianson, in the shower, anxious about a visit from Mieko, a Japanese woman with whom he is having an affair. He finishes his shower and answers the ringing phone, annoyed; it is Mieko, calling from Japan. She tells him that she cannot make it to the United States to visit with him over Christmas because she has to stay with her father, who has lung cancer. This was the only chance that Mieko had to come to the United States because she had lied to her family and said that she was coming for a literature conference, a supposedly onetime event. The realization that Mieko will never be able to come to see him and that their relationship is effectively over has a strange effect on Kirby. He feels relieved because he was not sure that he could live up to Mieko’s expectations, and now he does not have to. Now that their relationship is over, Kirby is no longer annoyed and can be a sympathetic listener.

After the phone call, Kirby gets on the road to drive to his brother’s house in Minneapolis. During the trip he begins to think about the plans that he and Mieko had made to drive out West. Kirby drives into a blinding snowstorm, an event that makes him think about his own mortality. He thinks of several examples of people who have either frozen to death in similar winter conditions or who have overcome great odds to survive the elements. Kirby decides that the weather is not so bad that he should stop off at a rest stop, and, after he passes this exit, he starts to think of Mieko again. The thoughts of Mieko and their failed relationship distract him, and he misses the tourist center that he planned to stop at to ask about road conditions. He decides to drive past another potential stopping point, and, in an... » Complete Long Distance Summary