Haunting and Thought-Provoking

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Elsewhere is about a small, unnamed town that stays secluded from the rest of the world. In this town, things are just a bit off. The seasons don't change, the clouds stay low to the ground and keep the town damp, and outsiders never visit. This "idyllic" town is one where motherhood is prized above all else, thanks to the town's unique affliction. That is, that all mothers someday disappear into the clouds. No one knows why, exactly, just that it is the greatest sacrifice one can make.

However, when a woman goes, the town doesn't honor her memory. They simply remove the pieces of her that made her unique, absorbed into the amalgam of motherhood in this town. In this odd ritual, they speculate what may have caused her to go, for no one truly knows why. Is it because a mother loved too much? Too little? Did she lose herself or find herself?

Elsewhere is an odd, offbeat work of speculative fiction that invites the reader to examine the role of motherhood and how mothers are at once treated, and treat themselves. As a non-parent (but someone closely affected by what's happening in the real world with Roe v. Wade), this hit close to home.

The book is a character study, and we follow Vera as she grows up in this town and is confronted with the affliction herself. We watch Vera move through her life as a child, teen, and eventual mother, and it's fascinating to watch her growth through the story. If you like a character-driven book, this is a fairly quick read, and one I think is worth reading.

By the third act of the book (out of five, I believe) I was fully engrossed and couldn't put the book down. It took an interesting turn that I didn't expect, and reading those final 100 pages was like piecing together a very elaborate and creepy puzzle. Not all of my questions were answered, but I don't think that was the point. This is a book you're meant to ponder long after you put it down, and a few of the things I read will haunt me for a time to come. I want more, somehow, but I'll probably reread and see what I can glean from that.

This book isn't going to be for everyone. It's not plot-heavy, nor particularly plot-driven. It remains a bit detached from the characters, while still managing to provide insight with unsettling clarity. It leaves you with more questions than answers, in the best way (and all the necessary questions are answered...depending on who you ask). It borders on unsettling without being remotely horror. But I genuinely loved the book, even so.

TW: non-graphic murder, mentions (in passing) of animal death, sexual assault (unsettling), infant death, dental harm/neglect. All of this is mentioned in a sort of detached way, which is the narrative voice.