I loved Saint X and I was beyond excited to receive an ARC of this book. Now that I've finished it I can safely say that this book was even better than I expected.

Yes, this book has Atwood vibes, but Schaitkin brings her own voice and style to this stunning story.

The isolation, the views on motherhood, and the shocking revelations all come together to make this an incredible read.

I read Elsewhere in anticipation of my book club's May discussion of it. I knew nothing about the book, I thought the cover was a bit strange and didn't understand it, but in I dove. It took me a little bit to get into the book. It is an odd story and a very literary work. I was taking the book far too literal to enjoy it. As I continued I started to notice the gems of quotes, I got into the narrative about mother's and who we are and what we sacrifice to be mother's. When I finished the book I just sat and went, "huh". I literally couldn't not describe how I felt about the strange little book.
I found a friend who had finished the same time as me and we had a lengthy discussion about all the questions we had. We found we had very different answers to some of the questions, and you know what, it didn't matter. We each took the book how we wanted to and there is something special about a book like that. This book leaves a lot open to interpretation, it does not give you clear cut answers for most questions you might have. Sometimes this drives me up a wall, for this book it worked for me.

Read this is you are open to different. Read this if you want a book to make you think and are okay with not everything wrapped in a neat little bow. Read this if you like literary fiction that makes you think deeply into what it means to be a mom.

The narration of this book was well-done. With such long chapters the audio made that not seem like a factor. The narrators accent was pleasant and I enjoyed the audio experience. I recommend this one on audio for anyone considering the format.

This story is strange and not easy to like. I was hoping the audiobook would give it a better light. The narrator ended up the same. Her voice is too posh. Hard to relate too and your brain ends up wanting to wander off.

This book really made me think about life being a mom!

This book takes you on a journey to an isolated town where moms just vanish and no one seems to grasp why. Are they too loving, too distant, or too selfish when raising their children? So many feelings that all moms seem to face. What I felt was so eerie in this book was that when a mom "vanished" all of her photos were burned and possessions dispersed to others. It was like she was never there in the first place.

When Vera journeyed to Elsewhere aka anywhere but the town, the secrets started to unfold and make sense. How did an outsider see things?

The ending was done beautifully to really make sense of it all and I think a lot of fans of other dystopian fiction books will enjoy this one. The best part was that I was able to follow it with ease (not too out of the box for me) and really got hooked as it went along. Total mom vibes throughout!

Thank you to McMillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

Sadly ELSEWHERE fell flat for me. Part of this probably has to do with the fact that I've read a good few new releases in the past year that had similar secluded community aspects in them. Some of these include A History of Wild Places, The Forest, and The Grace Year. All of these were extremely well done five star reads for me.
ELSEWHERE just didn't have the oomph that these novels did.

ELSEWHERE follows a remote community where mothers disappear. The community and book are hyper focused on becoming a wife and mother and becomes the full personality of each woman. We never get an explanation as to why this is occuring. We have an inside look at one mothers' "disappearance" but it is assumed hers is different than the others. I needed the WHY. In the other books I mentioned, we get this and know it throughout,

The book is written with very poetic and literary which sometimes through me off since certain parts of the book are vulgar. The sexual scenes throughout the book are very explicit and made me uncomfortable, especially when normal daily tasks would be described poetically.

Overall, this one was just okay. I would recommend A History of Wild Places, The Forest, or The Grace Year over this novel.

I really enjoyed the narration of this book and the description of the land sounded beautiful, this is a very different genre from what I typically read so I’m not sure how to rate it. ⁣
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I will start with the descriptions of this magical place sound stunning and dreamy, it’s so beautifully depicted it paints a picture in your head. ⁣
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It was a very different read, I was a bit confused at time, and thought the way motherhood was portrayed was very interested but it was a very slow burn and just an unusual story. I finished it in one day because the narration was great but I think if I read a lot of it myself I would’ve stalled a bit. ⁣
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I was unsure why the strangers were so forbidden and confused by why the mothers disappeared. I don’t want to say much more and give the story away.⁣
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Thank you @celadonbooks for an ARC for my honest review. ⁣
3.5⭐️

A haunting tale that enjoys pitch perfect narration -- the ethereal quality of the reader's voice beautifully evokes the otherworldly feeling to this story. There is much to think about here -- what it means to be a mother, the struggle to reconcile past experience with who we are now, and how the ways in which our presence in the world may live on after we are no longer here.

Vera was born and raised in an unnamed town in the mountains that is separate and apart from normal society. The women of the town who becomes mothers sometimes suffer from the “affliction” which makes the women disappear entirely as if they never even existed.. The town then rids all evidence of that woman from pictures to clothing and then everyone (including her husband and child(ren) forget about her entirely. While people speculate as to why the affliction befalls certain women, there is no set criteria for which to know if you will suffer from it. When Vera is grown she marries and has a child named Iris. Vera becomes convinced that she can see the telltale signs of affliction starting to take her away. Will she accept her fate or rage against it?

Candidly literary fiction and speculative fiction are not my favorite genres. This is a story best gone into blind so I've done my best not to spoil anything with this review. I can appreciate that this story is a different lens through which to examine motherhood and all of the doubts, feelings, pressures, responsibilities that come along with being a mom. Certainly a book club kind of book with plenty of things to discuss and you may very well have some unanswered questions by the end of the story. I really enjoyed the narration by Ell Potter and would recommend the audiobook if that is your preferred medium to read books by, Ultimately a 3.5 star rating from me. .

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an digital advanced reader's copy of Elsewhere for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

This novel was unlike anything I've ever read. I was a bit hesitant to dive in, but I was immediately hooked by the lyrical writing style and the intriguing story line.
I will say, the story as a whole was a bit lacking. I found the middle of the book to be a kind of filler and I felt a little like I was wasting time.
I was left with an unsatisfied feeling. But I also thought back on the book a lot. The premise was really interesting and there was a twist I wasn't expecting.

Wow this is different. This book follows a group of people living away from others in society and have their own way of life. Rarely are there strangers, they prick their husbands skin to comingle blood, and oh yeah the moms leave with regularity and never come back.
To me it seemed like a comentary on mother hood, love and who you are apart from that identity, the writing is intense and often uses flowery or very high brow verbiage. That said I think I liked it? This book is so odd I have to ruminate on it but I sus tear through the audio (with shocked eyes whilst listening!).

I really wanted to love this. It's right up my alley, and I went in fully expecting to be amazed. Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. The writing was very lyrical and beautifully written, but I just found myself a bit bored. People are going to love this book, I'm just not one of those people.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Elsewhere is a thinker. A book you listen to and must digest, and, to be honest, recover from for a day or two. I requested this one based only on the cover, and author Alexis Schaitkin’s debut novel, Saint X, which I loved. Going in cold is the best way to experience this novel.

It is deep. I connected emotionally with the main character Vera as a woman and a mother. I honestly do not want to share anything which may be a spoiler, so I’ll only give you what the publisher shared on Goodreads: “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.”

The narrator, Ell Potter, was the perfect choice. She has a deep, evocative voice which brought the story to life. She, like the writing, was hypnotic and I was inside the story and could not stop listening.

As a reader I always feel somewhat guilty when I plow through a book in a day. How long did that author sweat to bring this to life, and, poof, in eight hours I’m now waiting for her to write a third book? But, I guess that is also a huge compliment to the author. Read Elsewhere. Read Schaitkin’s Saint X (completely different genre). Join me in waiting for her to pen the next novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen in advance of the June 28, 2022 release.

I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. It's definitely readable and engaging.

Vera lives in a mysterious, remote village hidden by the mountains. The only outsider to visit regularly is a rotating cast of men they call Mr. Phillips who brings supplies.

The oddest thing about this town is the fact that mothers just randomly disappear. Usually at night, often from the same bed as their spouse or child. The women often feel the signs (changes in their children, in their being) and the townspeople always know when someone has "gone".

When a mother "goes" the town gathers to take all of her belongings to the local Op Shop for other women and girls to purchase and all of her photographs are burned by the men.

After this ceremony she is forgotten and life moves on.

A stranger, Ruth, appears in town suddenly and everyone is intrigued by her, until Vera discovers she is sleeping with her father. She spreads the new around town and Ruth is driven into the river where all outside things are tossed.

Once Vera grows up and becomes a mother herself she notices the signs she might be disappearing. Instead of letting it take her, she leaves.

The outside world is a rude awakening for her, but she finds her own path. Years later she stumbles upon Mr. Phillips and decides to return to her little home town.

No one knows here. Not her husband. Not her daughter. No one.

Spoilery spoilers from here on:

Honestly this book left me with more questions than answers. It's never explained why or how the mothers "go". Not supernaturally or in any other way. Also never explained is the blood drinking during sex thing. I don't get it.

Overall it was a good read and highlights how relationships change over time and how women can disappear into motherhood, but it left me confused and dissatisfied.