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A review by littlebirdbooks
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
5.0
After reading, and loving, All These Things I’ve Done I knew I just had to read more of Zevin’s work. I found Elsewhere in a library book sale and wasted no time in buying it.
Elsewhere begins with the death of Liz Hall, as narrated to us by her pug Lucy. We then take a trip on the S.S Nile eventually ending up at our ‘final’ destination, Elsewhere. Here we learn that everyone that dies ages backwards until they’re ready to be ‘released’ and reborn again on Earth. The reader is shown how Liz struggles to cope with her own death and tries to begin a new ‘life’ there. Despite the novel revolving around death, it isn’t as morbid as you might think!
Sometimes I struggle to get into a novel with a teenage girl protagonist. I often find the author makes them whiny, which in turn makes them insufferable to me. But I loved Liz. I loved how Zevin portrayed her and how she struggled to cope with her death. Liz’s reactions and behaviour for her first year in Elsewhere felt so genuine and human. It was as though it was taking place right in front of you rather than reading a fiction novel. Seeing how she progressed and developed through the novel was wonderful.
I also enjoy it when a novel doesn’t have that many characters. For a novel that is just under 300 pages, it contained the right amount of characters that you’re able to develop a bond with. I loved all the minor characters and learning about their lives before they died. There wasn’t a character that I didn’t like!
The book is neatly spread over three parts with chapters that are fairly consistent, that is until we begin to reach the end (where they become a lot shorter). This made the book a breeze to read and simply impossible to put down. Zevin’s writing is entrancing and completely captivates you. I just didn’t want the novel to end.
Although you know pretty early on how the book is going to end, you still can’t help but get emotional. The final part of the novel took me by surprise with the way the characters interacted with each other, particularly Liz. The ending is sad yet comforting. The succinct epilogue left a smile on my face.
When I bought the novel, it wasn’t what I was expecting but now that I have read it… I wouldn’t have wanted it to be anything else. I feel this is a book everyone should read, it’s a fascinating take on the afterlife. I cannot wait to read more of Zevin’s novels. Because It Is My Blood will be coming up in the near future!
Elsewhere begins with the death of Liz Hall, as narrated to us by her pug Lucy. We then take a trip on the S.S Nile eventually ending up at our ‘final’ destination, Elsewhere. Here we learn that everyone that dies ages backwards until they’re ready to be ‘released’ and reborn again on Earth. The reader is shown how Liz struggles to cope with her own death and tries to begin a new ‘life’ there. Despite the novel revolving around death, it isn’t as morbid as you might think!
Sometimes I struggle to get into a novel with a teenage girl protagonist. I often find the author makes them whiny, which in turn makes them insufferable to me. But I loved Liz. I loved how Zevin portrayed her and how she struggled to cope with her death. Liz’s reactions and behaviour for her first year in Elsewhere felt so genuine and human. It was as though it was taking place right in front of you rather than reading a fiction novel. Seeing how she progressed and developed through the novel was wonderful.
I also enjoy it when a novel doesn’t have that many characters. For a novel that is just under 300 pages, it contained the right amount of characters that you’re able to develop a bond with. I loved all the minor characters and learning about their lives before they died. There wasn’t a character that I didn’t like!
The book is neatly spread over three parts with chapters that are fairly consistent, that is until we begin to reach the end (where they become a lot shorter). This made the book a breeze to read and simply impossible to put down. Zevin’s writing is entrancing and completely captivates you. I just didn’t want the novel to end.
Although you know pretty early on how the book is going to end, you still can’t help but get emotional. The final part of the novel took me by surprise with the way the characters interacted with each other, particularly Liz. The ending is sad yet comforting. The succinct epilogue left a smile on my face.
When I bought the novel, it wasn’t what I was expecting but now that I have read it… I wouldn’t have wanted it to be anything else. I feel this is a book everyone should read, it’s a fascinating take on the afterlife. I cannot wait to read more of Zevin’s novels. Because It Is My Blood will be coming up in the near future!