American Elsewhere

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by: Graham Winton

Length: 22 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Some places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things.

After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico. And the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people of Wink are very, very different....

From one of our most talented and original new literary voices comes the next great American supernatural novel: a work that explores the dark dimensions of the hometowns and the neighbors we thought we knew.

©2013 Robert Jackson Bennett (P)2013 Recorded Books

You are entering the twighlight zone

A very entertaining trip of weird. The book is described as supernatural but I would say it has many sci-FY elements such as quantum physics, alien beings and parallel worlds. Mona is an ex police officer that has been wandering for a few years after losing her baby and divorce. She inherits a home that belonged to her mother (committed suicide when she was a child) and after finding some info in her dads storage that shows her mom happy and working in a lab feels a great desire to learn of her moms life. The home and lab are located in Wink New Mexico, unfortunately it is not on any map. I don't want to spoil the story so in short she finds Wink, a charming small town and weirdness ensues. People are strange nothing is what it seems including Mona. The book kept me riveted till the end. Narrator was great. If you like Stephan King, or early Dean Koontz you will enjoy the story.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

A Lengthy Disappointment

WARNING: Contains a few SPOILERS.

There might be a very good 250-300 page novel somewhere in American Elsewhere but author Robert Jackson Bennett buries it in a book that's over twice that length. At 22 hours, this audiobook ended up being a slog for me. Jackson s-l-o-w-l-y introduces readers to the unusual town of Wink, then tediously reveals the truth behind it's mysteries, truths that any seasoned reader of weird fiction will grasp long before the book comes close to revealing them. When they were finally revealed, I found it hard not to smirk a bit at the combination of Lovecraftian extra-dimenional beings and mommy issues. The whole thing plays out pretty predictably, all things considered, and similar concepts have been handled more efficiently and effectively. There ARE some good moments in American Elsewhere. There was a section in the middle of the book where things really picked up, became original and interesting and got me enthused about listening further. Unfortunately, in the end, I didn't feel that enthusiasm was rewarded.

I give reader Graham Winton an A for effort. His quality performance actually helped me finish the book.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

A classic!

Would you listen to American Elsewhere again? Why?

Well, truth be known, it took me awhile to get through this tour de force as I was travelling and i kept stopping and starting. That said, it is a remarkable, stunning book that will stick with me for awhile.

What was one of the most memorable moments of American Elsewhere?

Where do I start? The introduction to Mother, and the scene with Gene Kelly/Mr.First, are stunning.
The last few chapters are deep , complex and wrap up many many concepts, but the entire book is littered with sharply wrtten, and performed, scenes and dialogues.

Have you listened to any of Graham Winton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't recall listening to him in the past, but I may have. Notwithstanding,

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any scenes involving Mr. First were amazing. The human trash clean up guys stuff was amazing. Hell, the entire book is amazing! Hard to pull out any one moment.

Any additional comments?

This is a stunning book. I can't recommend it enough. It is full on, sometimes over the top, horrific, fantasy, gory, fascinating, complicated, everything but the kitchen sink. An immediate classic.

I urge you to commit your credits and yourself to this shimmering performance, and to pass it along. You will never be the same after listening to it. Remember, things are never quite as they seem.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Interesting premise but way too long

I liked it, the character development was great but I really felt like it could have been just as good if it shaved off several hours.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hoping for complex and interesting, disappointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

no, just not smart or interesting enough, also not really fun or anything

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

the supernatural elements were not very supernatural, they're just sort of there

Was American Elsewhere worth the listening time?

no

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A fun and different story.

This was well worth the time and money😃 . I now have a new mental definition of what "Gone to Hell in a hand basket" means. Stephen King is good at that sort of thing, but after listening to this, I believe that Robert Bennet is better.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

What would have made American Elsewhere better?

The plot seemed to meander. It seemed like the story was going to be interested, but it ended up like a Hollywood B-movie.

What was most disappointing about Robert Jackson Bennett’s story?

The plot didn't develop into anything new or different.

Which character – as performed by Graham Winton – was your favorite?

I didn't feel a connection to any of them.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from American Elsewhere?

The last two-thirds of the book.

Any additional comments?

It started out promising, but like many modern novels, the author seems to be writing with the hope of a movie deal, and creating a new action hero for a series of bad, but successful Hollywood action films.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent Mythos Delivers

Where does American Elsewhere rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right up there

What other book might you compare American Elsewhere to and why?

At the Mountains of Madness because it engages with similar concepts of beings from another dimension.

Which character – as performed by Graham Winton – was your favorite?

Mona

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

What lives on the other side of the mirror?

Any additional comments?

Loved it - best since Lovecraft and Philip K Dick

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The year's not over but,

American Elsewhere may be the best audiobook I've listened to this year.
I hate reviews that say 'Best Book' etc... But this story was great.
It felt familiar enough for me to enjoy the ride but not so much that it was predictable.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Amazing, plus amazingly long, but very good read!

Any additional comments?

Now this is how you tell a fantasy/sci-fi story! Really, the writing was no less than expertly done, the plot was so original, so inventive, I was just awed. The research that must have gone into the scientific oddities of the plot had to have been monumental. The characters were deeply drawn and believable, and likeable, and frightening. The more horrific parts were truly horrifying, like a well done Stephen King, only more graphic.
The arc of the plot, the rate at which truths were revealed, was very skilful, though I did start to feel like things should have been wrapping up around the point when there were 6 hours left to listen to. There was so much information to the story that I don't know how it could have been shortened, yet at no point did I get the sense that the author was "info-dumping", the prose was clear as a bell. Really entertaining, long term sort of read, and a very, very cool and scary story. Sci-fi nerds will love it, Horror fans will dig it, and anyone who likes "magical reality" will love it.
Oh, and the narration was just as professional as the writer. Well done.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful