Elsewhere

A Novel

By: Alexis Schaitkin

Narrated by: Ell Potter

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

"The audiobook narrated by Ell Potter is riveting." -- Buzzfeed on Elsewhere

Richly emotive and darkly captivating, with elements of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and the imaginative depth of Margaret Atwood, Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin conjures a community in which girls become wives, wives become mothers and some of them, quite simply, disappear.

Vera grows up in a small town, removed and isolated, pressed up against the mountains, cloud-covered and damp year-round. This town, fiercely protective, brutal and unforgiving in its adherence to tradition, faces a singular affliction: some mothers vanish, disappearing into the clouds. It is the exquisite pain and intrinsic beauty of their lives; it sets them apart from people elsewhere and gives them meaning.

Vera, a young girl when her own mother went, is on the cusp of adulthood herself. As her peers begin to marry and become mothers, they speculate about who might be the first to go, each wondering about her own fate. Reveling in their gossip, they witness each other in motherhood, waiting for signs: this one devotes herself to her child too much, this one not enough—that must surely draw the affliction’s gaze. When motherhood comes for Vera, she is faced with the question: will she be able to stay and mother her beloved child, or will she disappear?

Provocative and hypnotic, Alexis Schaitkin’s Elsewhere is at once a spellbinding revelation and a rumination on the mysterious task of motherhood and all the ways in which a woman can lose herself to it; the self-monitoring and judgment, the doubts and unknowns, and the legacy she leaves behind.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2022 Alexis Schaitkin (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Incredibly Compelling

This book is beautiful and mournful. It's like if Wyeth's "Christina's World" was a book instead of a painting.

Was there a plot?

Lots of unanswered questions and open plot holes. Such an interesting start to the book, but then it fell really flat. This could’ve been a masterpiece but overall it felt rushed yet insanely boring at the same time.

Thought provoking

This was an enjoyable book. Both thought provoking and accessible, touching down on humanity in a way that is, at times, uncomfortably accurate.

Poignant and heartbreaking

I am not a mother but this story broke my heart. I felt connected yet so confused and so many questions. After a while, you just go on the Journey with these characters and accept the story for what it is.

Hauntingly Beautiful

It's hard to describe and if described, a study in contradictions: simple and complex, epic and unimposing, specific and relatable. A story about the future we plan vs. what is lived so very well done.

Wonderful story

This was recommended on a podcast I listen to and I’m so glad I took that recommendation. Wow. Sci-fi about motherhood and so much more.

Heartbreaking and Thought-Provoking

This book was very interesting, but definitely left me disappointed with the unanswered plot holes. We’ll never know why she couldn’t see her feet and fingers before she left for the city. Maybe mental illness? Also, she was never forced to leave their town, she just simply followed the fear of not staying and did what was expected of her, which seemed to be a continuous cycle. Why did they want mothers to leave their families? Lots of unanswered questions and disappointment, but still an overall good read

so imaginative and beautiful

I enjoyed it. What an interesting & different story. So clever this writer is. What an imagination she has to conjure up such lives and characters. The story makes you think about different ways societies and cultures are set up, What their sensibilities are and how we see each other. What we like, what we think is good or bad, and what is it that we really want from life. The narration was also very well done.

Wonderful piece of writing and speculative fiction

Very thought-provoking and well-written book. There are many questions to ponder over, but I really appreciated how the book courageously raises the topics that our society is often afraid to talk about: the mother-daughter relations, the mother's right to her own path in life outside of her duties, and so many more. The setting is great and so is the language and imagery of which the book is full.

boring

This story is really boring. Nothing really happens, nothing to engage the listener. I can't recommend this one.