Eleven-year-old Brian Page spends every waking moment in the forest behind the house where he lives with his father. But forests are always deeper than anyone can know. Secrets are hidden in the eternal twilight of the trees. Those secrets emerge into light when Brian disappears in the forest, as his father did three decades before. His father, however, came home with no memory of the events in the depths of the forest. What has drawn Brian away? Will he emerge, shuddering and broken, as his father did, or will the forests close around him, as they have done so often before?
From Publishers Weekly
Wiersema's haunting novella-whose title aptly references a line in William Butler Yeats' poem "The Stolen Child"-revolves around an 11-year old boy named Brian whose love of the woods behind his father's house in rural southwestern British Columbia leads him to supernatural discoveries-namely Carly, an ethereal girl. Carly shows the boy a breathtakingly beautiful "hidden world" in the forest. When Brian disappears one day, his father is forced to revisit obscure memories from his own youth-memories that involve the mysterious forest and a girl named Carly. Powered by a sublime sense of wistfulness and a setting that is simultaneously natural and otherworldly, Wiersema's novella seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience. The book also includes an essay entitled "Places and Names," in which the author explores the signification of "personal geography" and explains how his fictional town of Henderson (the setting for his story) was created.
Copyright ยฉ Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
With THE WORLD MORE FULL OF WEEPING, author Robert J. Wiersema proves that one can tell an eerie and captivating story without resorting to violence or spilling a single drop of blood. This short novella, about a preteen who goes missing in the same woods that his father did as a child (where they both encounter a strange girl), is graceful and potent, and will appeal to fans of quiet, introspective horror. ----Monica S. Kuebler, Rue Morgue Magazine
Wiersema displays a fascination with hidden worlds, inexplicable phenomena and the ineffable, and a talent for working them into taut and suspenseful narratives. ----Karen Virag, The Edmonton Journal Wiersema's haunting novella-whose title aptly references a line in William Butler Yeats' poem 'The Stolen Child' - revolves around an 11-year old boy named Brian whose love of the woods behind his father's house in rural southwestern British Columbia leads him to supernatural discoveries-namely Carly, an ethereal girl. Carly shows the boy a breathtakingly beautiful 'hidden world' in the forest. When Brian disappears one day, his father is forced to revisit obscure memories from his own youth-memories that involve the mysterious forest and a girl named Carly. Powered by a sublime sense of wistfulness and a setting that is simultaneously natural and otherworldly, Wiersema's novella seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience. The book also includes an essay entitled 'Places and Names,' in which the author explores the signification of 'personal geography' and explains how his fictional town of Henderson (the setting for his story) was created.' --Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly
Wiersema displays a fascination with hidden worlds, inexplicable phenomena and the ineffable, and a talent for working them into taut and suspenseful narratives. ----Karen Virag, The Edmonton Journal
'Wiersema's haunting novella-whose title aptly references a line in William Butler Yeats' poem 'The Stolen Child' - revolves around an 11-year old boy named Brian whose love of the woods behind his father's house in rural southwestern British Columbia leads him to supernatural discoveries-namely Carly, an ethereal girl. Carly shows the boy a breathtakingly beautiful 'hidden world' in the forest. When Brian disappears one day, his father is forced to revisit obscure memories from his own youth-memories that involve the mysterious forest and a girl named Carly. Powered by a sublime sense of wistfulness and a setting that is simultaneously natural and otherworldly, Wiersema's novella seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience. The book also includes an essay entitled 'Places and Names,' in which the author explores the signification of 'personal geography' and explains how his fictional town of Henderson (the setting for his story) was created.' --Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly
Wiersema displays a fascination with hidden worlds, inexplicable phenomena and the ineffable, and a talent for working them into taut and suspenseful narratives. ----Karen Virag, The Edmonton Journal
'Wiersema's haunting novella-whose title aptly references a line in William Butler Yeats' poem 'The Stolen Child' - revolves around an 11-year old boy named Brian whose love of the woods behind his father's house in rural southwestern British Columbia leads him to supernatural discoveries-namely Carly, an ethereal girl. Carly shows the boy a breathtakingly beautiful 'hidden world' in the forest. When Brian disappears one day, his father is forced to revisit obscure memories from his own youth-memories that involve the mysterious forest and a girl named Carly. Powered by a sublime sense of wistfulness and a setting that is simultaneously natural and otherworldly, Wiersema's novella seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience. The book also includes an essay entitled 'Places and Names,' in which the author explores the signification of 'personal geography' and explains how his fictional town of Henderson (the setting for his story) was created.' --Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly