Reviews

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

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sydneythekydneybean's review

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I'm so conflicted about what to think about Elsewhere. I absolutely love the concept of this novel. When I first read the synopsis, I got major cult vibes. This town lives a part from the rest of the world and every once in a while a mother would disappear and the town would jsut forget about her. When I started reading the book, I begun to think it was less cult-y and more supernatural. The town, while isoltated, is not volitile to strangers who wander into their town or bar the townsfolk from getting information/books/goods from "elsewhere." And the mothers that do go missing begin to take a supernatural shape rather than human one (though the town taking out and selling every belonging that the mother owned from her house, and BURNING every photo of the mother is very cult-y). For the first third of this book, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the fuck was going on in this town. The second third is slower, but I liked following our main character Vera through her marriage and motherhood. Though the more I kept reading, the less I understood about anything. The final conclusion I came to is that the mothers "disappearing" was a metaphor for how when women become mothers, the rest of their identity disappear. Though this conclusion is still shaky at best because I still don't quiet understand that final third of the book. What does Vera leaving her family instead of "disappearing" mean? Are all the mothers willfully leaving this town and their families when they "disappear?" And even though that final twist that the stranger in the beginning of the book was Vera's mother who returned, just as Vera does, but no one remembers these mothers who return, because I was still left with so many questions, it didn't hit as hard as it could have. I still think this book is beautifullly written, and maybe I will appreciate it more when I become a mother myself, but for now I am left confused and a bit disappointed in what I once believed was going to be a crazy ass Midsommar-like cult story.

novabird's review

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4.0

Did Ms Schaitkin deliberately employ a technique of being smothered? I think so. Because of this, I didn't have enough air to see it through to the end. Although I did peak and it seems like some additional life was breathed back into it and it was reified. Perhaps, if she had more closely touched on the emergent subtheme of estrangement this would have swaddled me more gently. Was this her position? To make being a gendered female represented as a confining experience. Even ghosts want to break out. In this case, ghosts needed to become much more wraith like. They did not. 3.75

sjksjksjk's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

holk's review

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hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I loved both the characters and the plot in this book. I enjoyed the feminine take, the characters reflections and self awareness. The twist was unexpected, but appreciated.
A true slow burn and the most beautiful cover I’ve seen.

thepagelady's review

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3.0

There is an isolated town where the people live their entire lives, isolated from Elsewhere, their only outside contact being the man who delivers their supplies and takes their goods to sell. This place is high up, damp, has a strange fog and everyonce in a while, a mother will disappear forever. Vera is the main character and everything is from her point of view. The writing was beautiful! It'd a story about motherhood. The love of a mother and the identity of a mother. Obviously as a mother I was able to relate in some way with the story. The characters are done well and so is the world building. but the story just wasn't for me so I wasn't really into it. But I can also understand why others will enjoy it! It a speculative fiction and even though I wasn't able to enjoy the story I can still appreciate the the hard work and the beauty in the writing and everything else that I enjoyed!

team_worm's review

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I found this compulsively readable, but in the end haven't yet decided how I fell about this book as whole.
Strengths:

Beautiful prose
A fresh take on a common style of dystopia
I love books about the complexities of parenting
Some great depictions of girlhood friendships

Weakneses:

Lacked subtlety at times - I felt a little hit over the head with the themes and ideas
Plot twists were very obvious, though perhaps that was by design

I would strongly recommend for people who liked: the memory police, the ice palace, the ones who walk away from omelas, klara and the sun.

Content Warnings