A gritty absorbing tale…well.written.
Many thanks to Mariner Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I picked this up because of the Florida locale, and the story didn't disappoint. I'll look forward to more by David Sanchez.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper for the ebook. When our lead character is 14 and growing up in the Gold Coast of Florida he tries crack cocaine for the first time. What follows is over ten years of battling addiction, losing family and slowly winning their trust back, rehab, halfway houses and even jail. The book feels very lived in. The lead character has the same first name as the author. The best parts are when the author pulls you along into addiction, with no explanation, this is just what we’re doing now, but also shows you signs of a love of literature, which may ultimately save his life.

A powerful and unforgettable debut novel, The writing is what really stands out the most - brilliant, captivating, and so lyrical.

Thank you Mariner Books and Netgalley for the digital arc.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I have issues with my Netgalley app, so I was unable to access it! I will look for it at my library.

David has a mind that never stops running. He reads Dante and Moby Dick, he sinks into Hemingway and battles with Milton. But on Florida’s Gulf Coast, one can slip into deep water unconsciously; at the age of fourteen, David runs away from home to pursue a girl and, on his journey, tries crack cocaine for the first time. He’s hooked instantly. Over the course of the next decade, he fights his way out of jail and rehab, trying to make sense of the world around him—a sunken world where faith in anything is a privilege. He makes his way to a tenuous sobriety, but it isn't until he takes a literature class at a community college that something within him ignites.

All Day is a Long Time is a spectacular, raw account of growing up and managing, against every expectation, to carve out a place for hope. We see what it means, and what it takes, to come back from a place of little control—to map ourselves on the world around, and beyond, us. David Sanchez’s debut resounds with real force and demonstrates the redemptive power of the written word.

David Sanchez has written an important, compelling, disturbing, sympathetic and at times infuriating novel about addiction. It is written from the perspective and random thoughts of protagonist David, who at fourteen tries crack for the first time. It reads like a dream and reminds us always of Davids humanity, as he steals from family, becomes more and more isolated, ends up on the street, spends time in jail, halfheartedly tries to meet probation requirements while always thinking about drugs. Meth. Cocaine. In flashes we see his middle class childhood, the youngest of five children, his love of reading that continues for awhile in the library where he can find relief from Florida heat. But even that devolves into watching porn at the library computers. He feels worthless. He thinks he is stupid. Every word he writes and every thought he has shows he is far from stupid. He is, however as stuck as anyone in addiction can get and rock bottom does not lead him toward redemption. He reconnects with a man who enabled much of his behavior and used him as a teenager, and that man is now sober. David believes that when people like this get sober, it is a stage and relapse is inevitable. And many of the people that pass through his drug addicted life prove that point. He has periods of sobriety, but no attachment to the idea of sobriety. And then, after years of estrangement from family and living an isolated life on the streets, he takes the first committed step toward sobriety. This book is so beautifully written and tells us so much about the human condition, how each of us struggle, drugs or no drugs. It is not judgmental, although David judges himself and so does everyone around him. It is just a very true story where the ending is necessarily a question mark but a person achieves tremendous progress in caring about himself and making hard choices to change.

Incredible. The writing is so full - electric and sobering. What a debut. I found myself holding my breath while reading at times - so absorbed and invested in the character as he tried and tried and tried. Highly recommend. Brilliant. Heartfelt thanks to Mariner / Harper for the advanced copy. Man, that was good.

The greatest things about this book were the writing style and the atmosphere. This writer is also skilled with character development, but the settings he puts his character in are real and palpable to the reader. I had a visceral reaction to certain scenes. The writing is both beautiful and gritty. It has a poetic feel to it, but it is not "overwrought" in the slightest. As a "quiet" book, this is more character driven than plot-driven. In fact, the whole synopsis that is provided for the book IS the plot, but that does not detract from the novel at all. To me, the first-person narrative and stream-of consciousness writing style made this book read like a personal journal of a teenage boy and the character growth is very apparent. It took a bit to adjust to the writing style for me personally, but it was a very enjoyable read. I could see this classified as a literary coming-of-age story and targeted to new adults. I am so grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC e-book copy! I feel privileged to be such an early reviewer of a lovely book.