It’s an ambitious premise that works thanks to Zevin’s diligent world-building and her characterization of the contemplative Liz as she grapples with huge questions about humanity, purpose and love. As Zevin reveals the rules of this world, she simultaneously underlines the pain of sudden loss and trauma. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso Swing by one of Elsewheres museums. But the moments when Liz considers her life and those she cared for, particularly the ones still alive on earth, remind readers of the emotional gravity of the protagonist’s plight. It is usually warm with a breeze, the sun and the stars shine brightly, and the beaches are marvelous. Though rooted in death, Gabrielle Zevin’s 2005 novel is full of light, and more focused on the inner-workings of Elsewhere than on the tragedies that brought the characters there. The details of this afterlife are fascinating and rich, from the sleek cruise ship that drops Liz off in her new reality to the people who populate it, including the grandmother she never met.
There, Liz learns she will age in reverse until she becomes an infant and is catapulted back to earth to be reborn.
After 15-year-old Liz Hall is killed in a hit and run, she enters a strange and mysterious pseudo-extension of her world called Elsewhere.
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