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When I Return to You, I Will Be Unfed
Semi-Finalist for the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Novella Competition. An exploration of mental illness and one man's search for safe haven.
- GenresFiction
52 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
2478 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Bowen
3 books32 followersChristopher Bowen is the author of the chapbook We Were Giants, the novella When I Return to You, I Will Be Unfed, and the non-fiction Debt. He was a semi-finalist in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Novella Competition and honorable mention in the 45th New Millennium Writing Awards in the non-fiction category. His short story collection, The Things They Forgot to Tell Us When They Left, is forthcoming from Cervena Barva Press.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 29, 2017
This book is like getting run down by an unassuming freight train. It's straightforward yet conveys that confusion and skewed reality, dulled in some places while overwhelmingly intense in others. Amazing to see it all happen in so short a space. It leaves you breathless and raw, yet smiling.
December 29, 2016
Bowen's work is beautiful and mysterious. There is longing and fractured reality. The saddest mix.
"I think of college and miss it. I miss everything bright." (35)
Out of context, it sounds like everything I miss about college. The brightness, the potential. In context, it is much more: defining the self while within mental illness.
As Mendelsohn writes in their review, the book is memorable and unclear, but sings complexity.
The reader and writer weave: "She moves over me, takes control, and submits. I kiss her mouth, the opening like a cave-heart. My heart is empty. She is with me when she reaches the island. Cold winter coming, her hair like twigs and bare branches." (43)
Also shouts to David McNamara for his beautiful layout. Check out Sunnyoutside Press.
Tyler Mendelsohn's review <3: https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2016/0...
"I think of college and miss it. I miss everything bright." (35)
Out of context, it sounds like everything I miss about college. The brightness, the potential. In context, it is much more: defining the self while within mental illness.
As Mendelsohn writes in their review, the book is memorable and unclear, but sings complexity.
The reader and writer weave: "She moves over me, takes control, and submits. I kiss her mouth, the opening like a cave-heart. My heart is empty. She is with me when she reaches the island. Cold winter coming, her hair like twigs and bare branches." (43)
Also shouts to David McNamara for his beautiful layout. Check out Sunnyoutside Press.
Tyler Mendelsohn's review <3: https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2016/0...
May 19, 2024
Thank you Goodreads for the free book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very short book (51 pages). I read through it in under an hour. I understood that it is about a severely depressed man. The writing style is unlike any other book I've read. Very simplistic, yet incredibly poetic. I had such a sense of sadness reading through it, but also a sense of respect for the people who helped the author through his mental illness.
It is such an admirable thing to write about one's mental illness from the perception of receiving help without bashing those who are helping you. I feel like the author could have expanded on so much more, but I also believe it was his intention to keep it simple. He is simply giving the reader a small glimpse into his world. Well done.
This is a very short book (51 pages). I read through it in under an hour. I understood that it is about a severely depressed man. The writing style is unlike any other book I've read. Very simplistic, yet incredibly poetic. I had such a sense of sadness reading through it, but also a sense of respect for the people who helped the author through his mental illness.
It is such an admirable thing to write about one's mental illness from the perception of receiving help without bashing those who are helping you. I feel like the author could have expanded on so much more, but I also believe it was his intention to keep it simple. He is simply giving the reader a small glimpse into his world. Well done.
April 11, 2024
A personal and intimate read about one person’s experience with mental health. Nice use of metaphor.
July 31, 2019
This is a daring tale that explores a topic many have endeavored but few have rendered with such audacity and grace. Mental illness is hard to write about, even harder to endure. But Christopher Bowen lays it bare for us in a condensed form that is as much poem as story, as much novel as poem. You don’t encounter such a gem on a daily or even yearly basis, but when you do, it makes you grateful for a great number of things. This story made me give thanks, as a reader and as a human being who often feels he’s treading water at the best of times. I can only hope we see more and more from this strong, genuine voice.
February 12, 2023
So many fine balances are struck in this coming of age novella.
The story, as a coming of age story should, sometimes hits very close to home, but never slips into being sappy or melodramatic.
Likewise, the characters are developed to the point where they are more than the abstract archetypal symbols, but the reader still has plenty of space for imagination to fill in the blanks. A balance that's difficult to pull off, and unfortunately all too rare these days.
Again and again, Bowen's care is displayed as he maintains these balances. Perfectly moderated moments of poetic language, difficult comedic relief, just the right level of attention for each essential plot element, and so on.
A pleasure to read.
The story, as a coming of age story should, sometimes hits very close to home, but never slips into being sappy or melodramatic.
Likewise, the characters are developed to the point where they are more than the abstract archetypal symbols, but the reader still has plenty of space for imagination to fill in the blanks. A balance that's difficult to pull off, and unfortunately all too rare these days.
Again and again, Bowen's care is displayed as he maintains these balances. Perfectly moderated moments of poetic language, difficult comedic relief, just the right level of attention for each essential plot element, and so on.
A pleasure to read.
May 5, 2022
Sadly I did not enjoy this at all. I won this book in a giveaway and I was excited but I have no idea what the point of this was. I didn't like any part of this and it took me over a week to read even though it was only 51 pages because I wasn't interested at all. I wanted to dnf multiple times but it was so short I figured I might as well finish. Made no sense and I will be passing this along to somebody else who will hopefully enjoy it more.
April 17, 2022
This is a tiny booklet, not a book. I am a psychiatric nurse and I did not care for it. The inclusions with definitions, treatments, etc. were correct, but the story didn't make sense.
May 15, 2022
A view inside mental illness, usually not conveyed. Excellent writing, giving you the feeling of walking through the journey yourself.
January 28, 2023
Even though this book is only 51 pages I was unable to get into it at all. I tried to read it on 3 seperate occasions. I did however pass along to someone else who may appreciate it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews