I stood there and played a person as best as I could. It was a strange feeling, as if I was stepping into someone else's shoes and trying to understand their emotions and actions. I focused on every little detail, from my body language to my facial expressions. I wanted to make sure that I was portraying the character as accurately as possible. As I continued to play the role, I found myself getting more and more immersed in the situation. I forgot about everything else around me and became completely absorbed in the moment. It was a unique experience that allowed me to explore different aspects of myself and learn more about human behavior. In the end, I felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that I had given my best performance and had truly brought the character to life.

A short and bittersweet story about a young seventeen-year-old Owen Thomas Griffiths.

The story begins with a short excerpt, torn from the middle, which immediately takes on a confessional tone of a character we know nothing about yet, but that part is enough for us to understand him and connect with him.

Owen is an atypical teenager as he is an outsider, doesn't fit in and doesn't belong to any clique. He is introverted, yearns for knowledge and is very consistent in remaining true to himself. Such a choice is made because he is lonely, and also the only child in the family, in a functional but where the parents have also taken certain positions and roles and, like all parents of teenagers, autistically (as all parents of teenagers) do not recognize the problems and needs of their beloved child.

The other character is a girl and neighbor, a little older and more mature than Owen, a musician Natalie, determined to fulfill her musical dream. Their getting closer starts spontaneously, as a result of chance, but already in the first encounter it is obvious that this seemingly unnecessary conversation has opened the door to something much more and significant for both protagonists.

The plot develops easily and spontaneously, events unfold logically and the impression is created that the reader himself is a witness and an intimate friend of this relationship that raises many painful and always relevant questions for young people: where is my place in this world? Should I accept the positions of the majority and take the path of least resistance or should I fight for my dreams and plans and is it worth it? Where is the boundary that we draw in defense of ourselves and our desires without hurting those we love and their expectations? What is the purpose of human existence when more or less the same fate and sequence of events awaits us all: finish school - find a job - establish an emotional connection and marriage - provide for children and material security - work and retire? The choice that these teenagers have boils down to this: "either you will be like the others or you will be what others want you to be"! The story also deals with stereotypes in male-female gender, family and all other roles and relationships: are male-female friendships possible without the manifestation of sexuality and physical desire?

The novel was created as far back as 1976, but the story is sociologically and culturally very universal, realistic, and relevant, and this is one of its strongest assets. The perceptiveness and analyticity of the heroes who dissect their environment are the second, but they themselves are mostly powerless to realistically see their problems and help themselves. In this lies their inexperience and the thirst to still find understanding, trust and friendship in each other.

Finally, there is also the irresistible author Ursula K. Le Guin whom I know and appreciate for her science fiction novels. I must admit that this decided and that I read this realistic YA miniature. Although the theme is very different from what is the hallmark of this writer, and in this story her "anthropological", "naturalistic" and "psychological" knowledge of the human race as a species and the individual as part of a system is felt. At moments, the positions and thoughts of both protagonists fascinate you and her philosophical and analytical trait is most evident there. The author here also could not resist and left us crumbs of fantasy in the form of the imaginary land of Thorn :)

To conclude, I pose the stanza of Mike Antić's poem that best illustrates Owen's character:

"Leave my scattered boys alone,
you the strongest in the class,
the most important on the street,
you who want everything by force and you who can do everything by force.
Leave my funny and shy ones alone,
my boys with narrow shoulders
and eyes that squint from shortsightedness."

Her Yerden Çok Uzakta is a long story about which I can't say too much. I needed to talk to Le Guin and I found myself reading this book, which I finished in one day. However, I didn't expect such a short book to affect me so much. We are guests in the life of seventeen-year-old Owen and we listen to his thoughts about his family, his surroundings, life, his dreams, and especially Natalie, his friendship with her. It is a very real, very understandable book that contains a lot of emotion despite its size. I have no doubt that I will read it again and again in the years to come.

As for the quote, "I wasn't really thinking much, I didn't feel much of anything. Nothing seemed that important to me anymore. Staying away from pain, it was all about that. There was no point in our meeting. I was alone. I had always been alone. When I was with her for a while, I had acted as if I wasn't alone, but I was. And in the end, I had proven this to her too, and like the others, I had forced Natalie to turn her back on me. It really didn't matter. If I was alone, it would be better if I accepted it in the role I had to play. I was someone who couldn't fit into such a society. It was foolish to expect someone to like me. What would they like about me anyway? My big brain? This showy, big brain that had been through a concussion? No one likes a brain..." It shows Owen's inner turmoil and sense of isolation.