Elsewhere

Bookseller recommendation

“Alexis Schaitkin's Elsewhere is an eerie, suspenseful dystopia taking place in a cloud-covered village in the mountains where an 'affliction' resides that causes mothers to mysteriously disappear. The residents of the village don't know why this happens, but solemnly accept these disappearances as the possible outcome for experiencing the beauty of motherhood. Cult-like and chilling.”

— Maxwell • Paragraphs Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“This novel gripped from start to finish. Breathy and fresh, the comparisons to Atwood and Jackson are apt, but I think Schaitkin is doing something really interesting with the genre. Schaitkin maintains this incredible sense of place throughout, using lush sensorial experiences that breathe life into this imagined place. While on the surface, Elsewhere is a fantasy story about an odd affliction affecting the women of an almost magical hamlet isolated in the woods, it unspools deliciously into a deep reflection on the inherit tragedies of motherhood, belonging, family, home and of truly being known to others, and to ourselves. ”

— Charles • Malaprop's Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“Beautiful and unsettling, Elsewhere is a novel I can't stop thinking about. Not usually one for dystopian fiction, I started listening and soon was captivated by this haunting, cloud-covered place and close-knit community from which women occasionally disappear. (Ell Potter's narration perfectly captures its eerie atmosphere.) The families who live here wonder about the world beyond, known only as 'Elsewhere,' especially when a stranger comes to visit. But, no matter how uncertain the future is for mothers in this place, they wouldn't consider leaving. Why, you'll wonder, as you're drawn in by the mystery of this place and its people. How deep is devotion, and much should motherhood require of a woman? I can imagine book clubs debating this one at length!”

— Lady • The Snail on the Wall