🌳Belated Pub Day Spotlight 🌳
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Thank you @celadonbooks for sending me a digital and paper copy of the newest release from @alexisschaitkin popular author of Saint X (which I still need to read )! This one sounds totally different and unique from her original. This one was unique and defininitely thought provoking. It was much more of a literary fiction read with very wordy description and imagery but also kind of bent the genre in some ways! Definitely a book worth reading!
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Summary: 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?
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QOTD: do you often read literary fiction or what is your typical genre of choice ?
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#elsewhere #alexisschaitkin #celadon #celadonbooks #celadonreads #bookrecommendation #bookish #bibliophile #bookworm #bookworm_insta #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #booknerd #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bibliophile #bookobsesse

Elsewhere refers to anywhere but the small town where woman disappear with the "Affliction." The creepy place where outsiders are NOT welcome, where tradition is important and life goes on even after your mother is gone.

Elsewhere is an inventive, character driven story about motherhood in a dystopian world. I think I'll be unpacking this story for days. Thank you Celadon books for the opportunity read and review.

Definitely one of the more fascinating books I have read this year. A few times I said out loud "what is happening" or "what am I reading". I simply could not put the book down, I was that captivated. It's strange and gave off Midsommar vibes, but with a strong narrative focused on motherhood. The twist in this towards the end!! I had no words.

TWs: child death, sexual assault, abandonment, death, child abuse

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

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!

Elsewhere, which releases (TODAY) June 28, 2022, has an interesting premise. Imagine a small town near the top of a mountain. Men and women grow up in this small community and never leave, but marry and grow their families. Everywhere else is considered “elsewhere” and the community feels sorry for anyone who doesn’t live and grow up in their town, which they consider an utopia.

But, approximately four times per year mothers disappear. Do they fade into the clouds? What happens to them?

This book mainly explores motherhood and how women experience this transition in life. Do we lose ourselves a little or a lot? Are we all encompassing with our beloved children…or are we aloof to their wants and needs?

A solid good book for Schaitkin. I recommend this one and I liked it a little bit more than Saint X. Still, it’s not one I’d foist off on other readers unless this sounds like your jam.

This clever novel takes on a woman’s place in the world and society with an ingenious conceit: There’s a small, isolated town that suffers through a terrifying affliction. Once the women of the town become mothers, they eventually disappear. One moment they’re there, the next they’re gone forever. The town explains this phenomenon by trying to find just what they did wrong as mothers to deserve their fate: Did they yell at their kids too much? Not take care of them well enough? The way Shaitkin explores motherhood and the judgements, realities, and prejudices that come with it is dark yet intoxicating. This one is a must-read!

Elsewhere, where life begins and then…
What a unique story from the author of SaintX. There is not a proper way to describe Elsewhere, you just need to go read it!

With her fascinating imagination, Alexis Schaitkin has beautifully written this engrossing ELSEWHERE, that would take you on an enchanting, unusual yet horrifying journey that you won’t forget!
Through the viewpoint of Vera, ELSEWHERE depicts the delicate sentiments of motherhood, sometimes contented and accomplished, sometimes frustrating and a bit of hostility. Vera and other mothers live in a serene yet eccentric town where mothers, at some points, would just vanish into thin air, leaving no traces at all!
This is my first book by Alexis Schaitkin, and I’m greatly amazed by her exceptional talent that offers you a very unique and genuine experience about motherhood in ELSEWHERE! I highly recommend it to any readers who love to read something authentic and refreshing!
I would like to thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for this wonderful ARC of ELSEWHERE.
#NetGalley
#Elsewhere

This book gave me total Brigadoon vibes (I’m a bit of a musical theater geek). But instead of the town disappearing 100 years at a time, random mothers vanish forever.

I really enjoyed how unique this story was and I’m honestly still processing it. There’s a LOT to unpack!

Themes included:
🌫 Grief
🌫 Life and Death
🌫 Motherhood: your identity as a mother, expectations and judgement of others, expectations placed on mothers.
🌫 Dealing with major life changes
🌫 Losing everything and still finding a way forward and people who will support you.

The premise of Elsewhere is totally unique. It is set in an isolated town, high in the mountains. This place is cultish (or is it an utopia?!) in its devotion to its traditions and citizens - they have no outside communication with anyone except the man who comes to buy/sell goods from "elsewhere." In this spooky town, mothers suddenly vanish into thin air - just poof, gone. This is called "the affliction." In an effort to explain the affliction, the townsfolk determine that those women who vanish must be lacking in some way - and of course that "lack" is completely related to her role as wife and mother. Once the woman disappears, the town comes together to erase all proof she ever existed.

The main protagonist is a young woman named Vera whose own mother was "afflicted" when she was a young girl. As she and her peers begin to marry and become mothers, they speculate about who might be afflicted. They are hyper focused on each other and their own performance of womanhood and motherhood. When Vera herself becomes a mother, she must personally grapple with the intense love she has for her child and her fear that it will not be enough and she, too, will be afflicted.

This book was a bit difficult to read after the recent events in the US - I think all of us are examining our roles as potential mothers more closely. It is a powerful examination of the ways in which we judge mothers, the role of motherhood in our society, and the impetus to desire motherhood.

This book is also incredibly lyrical and beautiful and the foggy, oppressive atmosphere is just chilling - it is the perfect illustration of the isolation of motherhood.+

(Actual: 3.5 ⭐️, rounded up) I love dystopian tales & yet for some reason was a bit nervous to read this one, mainly bc of the complicated feelings I have toward my own mother & motherhood. That said, I did like this one.

The premise is simple: In an isolated town, mothers are vanishing, leaving their families behind, though it’s not clear why. Our MC, Vera, wonders if she’s destined for this same fate.

This is definitely more character-driven than plot imo, but I never really mind that, and I loved the overarching themes of identity/choice, what it means to be a “good” mother (as measured by society & ourselves), what is the “correct” path we’re expected to take as “good” women, and how we cope with unexpected loss.

🌟ELSEWHERE🌟 by Alexis Schaitkin ~published June 28, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Think Margaret Atwood or The Giver — a bit dystopian, very eerie, and just begging to be discussed afterwards.

Many thanks to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the complimentary advance review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Elsewhere’s unique premise grabbed me immediately. If you’ve seen the show The Leftovers, the idea is similar. In an isolated, cloud-covered mountain town, every so often some mothers just vanish – in the middle of the night, or while they’re feeding their baby, or when they briefly step away – they’re just gone. The townspeople, trying to make sense of the disappearances after-the-fact, always find some fault that must have caused the mother to be “chosen.” Perhaps she was overparenting, or perhaps she was underparenting. Maybe she let her child wear her shoes on the wrong feet once. Maybe she let dinner get cold. After each disappearance, the townspeople burn all photographs and possessions of the mother, and eventually forget that she ever existed. They find ways to normalize their “affliction,” as they call it, and no one considers leaving this mysterious place to go elsewhere, where mothers might not be taken.

As a piece of speculative fiction, it’s very successful. I appreciated how atmospheric it was, and there were some bone chilling moments and a quiet mystery element that was resolved in a way that I was absolutely not expecting and really LOVED! I’m having trouble taking it beyond that, into an area that would give me pause or cause me to reassess my own actions. Surely, it is meant to be an examination of the ways in which we judge mothers, including ourselves, as well as an interrogation of tradition and blind acceptance of one’s lot in life. But it’s missing something for me, something that I can’t quite put my finger on, that would propel it into five star territory.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it, particularly to fans of Atwood, dystopian novels, or anyone looking for something to liven up their book club discussion.

This review will be published on Goodreads now and on Instagram — @sanfranliterarygal — on publication day (I will update with a link once it’s up).

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Elsewhere is the story of an isolated mountain village that is almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. It’s residents have no knowledge of what the outside world is like and have their own customs and traditions that are unique to themselves. For as long as anyone can remember the village has been affected by an “affliction”. Mother’s disappear completely at random and with no trace of what has happened to them. It is such an accepted reality that the women in the village have accepted that this is what they are destined for and don’t look at the “affliction” as a curse but almost as a blessing.

It took me a good while to get into this book. The premise was quite intriguing but I felt like the story took a little too long to really get going. By the second half though I started to enjoy it. The ending, while not wrapping everything up completely, did feel earned and did explain things in a satisfying way I felt.

Overall this book was good but was just missing a few ingredients to make it great for me personally.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Celadon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I was looking forward to Elsewhere by
Alexis Schaitkin because I really enjoyed Saint X. Elsewhere exceeded my expectations. The writing was lyrical and complex. I stopped to think many times during this. This would be really great for a book club discussion. I haven’t read much speculative fiction before and it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story and once I did, I was fascinated with the characters and the way they lived. Elsewhere is a unique read.

Synopsis: 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?

#elsewhere #celadonbooks #ebooks #ebooksofinstagram #bookcommunity #booklife #readersofinstagram #booksofinsta #readingfiction #fictionreads #speculativefiction #fictionbooks #genres #nycreaders #alexisschaitkin #bookclub #bookclubbook #bookclubdiscussions

WONDERFUL Story! WOW! I really loved this book. It really makes you think about all of the sacrifices our mothers make for their children.

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

Elsewhere is not the type of book I usually read, but I was drawn to it by the blurb.
Once I started it, I was motivated to keep reading to figure it out...unfortunately I never really did. But then I realized figuring it out wasn't the point of the book. It was deeper than that.

In a small secluded town, where outsiders never come, something happens. And it seems to be accepted as normal. Mothers disappear. On some random morning, a mother in the town is just gone...vanished. Then, the town gathers, and within a short time, it is as though she never existed.

So I was caught up in the why and the where do they go and why hasn't the town figured out how to stop this? It was about halfway through the book I realized that the disappearing wasn't the point. The love of the mother was the point. In this case, the main character, Vera.

Engaging, hard to put down, I'm still pondering! Great book, well-done.

I was given this book to read and review.

A very well written, unique story of motherhood. Reminded me a lot of Margaret Atwood's dystopian world, and also, it gave me a big M. Night Shyamalon's THE VILLAGE vibe. At first I wasn't too sure if I enjoyed what I was reading, but it definitely kept my interest and I wanted to keep reading. I toggled between the audiobook and the ebook. The audiobook was very well done. Definitely check this one out... It surprises you!

*Thank you @celadonbooks for the #gifted ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

Alexis Schaitkin’s powerful imagination deploys the genre of speculative fiction to explore the dystopian, cult-like world that that Vera inhabits with her family. As we enter her world, a stranger named Ruth enters it and starts to question Vera’s world. Though speculative fiction is still an emerging genre, it allows the author to have the freedom to create themes, circumstances, and explore issues that realism/fantasy would not, as it happens to be a mix of all genres including mythology, fantasy, and so on. This novel is also difficult to read at a personal level not only because of the theme of mysterious “disappearance” of mothers given current events @katiegutierrez tweeted about this novel, but this coming weekend is the 7th year when my mother left us. If you are unfamiliar with the genre of speculative fiction, Schatkin’s novel is a great entry point because the themes are so familiar even in an unfamiliar world.

I found Schatkin’s writing familiar and accessible - a powerful work of speculative fiction!

Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. Overall, I thought the concept of this book was super interesting. There was also a twist I didn't see coming. The writing was so profound and intense which made it all the more captivating. I don't think this genre is specifically for me and it falls mainly into speculative or literary fiction. Parts of it just didn't stick. Even though there were no chapters, the content did keep my attention to keep reading and I think that is also a success. I liked this one, just not something I'd necessarily go for again.

This book was so good! From the plot, to the great characters, and the wonderful writing, I found Vera to be a very subdued narrator. I would have to say that this is a slow-burn type of a book, but the plot didn't feel like it dragged much. This world that the author created was very interesting. I also thought the ending was done very well!