You Don't Belong Here

by Jonathan Harper

Morris came to Manderlay Colony to write, to share his truth, and create something literary. But on his last night in the quiet, small town, a series of events leave him trapped, with shrinking funds and no sure means of escape. As the hours and days pass, the beer bottles pile up on the bar counter, and as he confronts a man from his past, his sense of self is challenged. Jonathan Harper's debut novel is snarky, at times brutal, exploration of the modern man who stands at the mouth of a tunnel, knowing that what's inside will change him, and not always for the better.

264 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2023

Reviews

[James Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morris, a writer, joins a remote community in the hope of producing something literary. Instead, he finds himself unable to leave the small and unremarkable town. Finding himself at the mouth of a personal tunnel, Morris turns to drink in despair, a haunter of bar, club and party, surrounded by folks who may or may not wish him ill. Soon, the writer is caught up in a web of bad memories and loss that take on a nightmarish aspect. How will he ever get home?

While serving up a kind of intellectual isolation Horror, author Jonathan Harper delves deep into questions of selfhood and identity with caustic humour, savage self-regard and increasing claustrophobia. Ultimately, ‘You Don’t Belong Here’ presents an excellent anti-journal to the dream artistic trip of ‘finding oneself’. With sharp prose and a compelling pace, Harper leads readers through a glass darkly into a sinister wonderland. Off-beat, original and harrowing, ‘You Don’t Belong Here’ is a modern American tale reminiscent of ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and portrays a journey that this reader fully recommends.

[Jan Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect by the title and the summary of this book, but what a wild ride. I think it’s true we get stuck in places with unpleasant people or can see ourselves getting stuck during a brief visit to a time or place with a bad vibe. The car breaking down, a sudden illness, the theft of all money, cards, phone, and ID—what if you had to stay there?
The author takes the story another step further—what if you couldn’t leave? What if staying served a darker purpose?
This is a very well written angsty dark speculative novel with an underlying dread and despair. The main character’s trip to this weird town for a writing retreat is also punctuated by the unstable state of his homelife. An endlessly spiraling loop, very well plotted.
By the end of the story, I was shouting at the main character to go, go, go!

I highly recommend this off-beat novel from Lethe Press.

Thank you BookSirens for a copy of this novel to read and review.

[Eric Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot of Harper’s book is simple: an aspiring writer is trying to get home after a week at a writer’s retreat and is thwarted at every turn. Most of this is because of his own poor choices, and turns the book into a character study about someone who is indeed stuck, in every sense of the word. To spice things up, he’s surrounded by some colorful characters, some of whom border on evil. The strange town and its stranger inhabitants give the book a David Lynch vibe as mysteries are introduced and only sometimes solved.

[Tara Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

devoured it in one day. One of the blurbs says it "reads like a Cheever fever dream," which I think is a great way to describe it! Amazing descriptions of food/consumption/self-destructive spirals. An extended queer Twilight Zone where the world around the main character constricts slowly to haunting effect.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great queer horror novel though I think some of the pacing could have used a bit of fine-tuning, especially when it came to the climax of the story. Especially great if you enjoy Kafkaesque horror and want a queer twist. Though honestly this book is most horrifying for airport dads like myself.

[Beka Wueste · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrative hooked me right away. The atmosphere was dense and at times it felt like a nightmare from which the main character couldn’t wake up. At times it was chokingly claustrophobic, but I was so invested in his escape I couldn’t stop reading.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

anonymous

[L.A. Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morris goes to a writing retreat to find an even keel. Instead he finds insular and increasingly sinister locals, each more willing than the last to watch him flail or help him unravel. He takes drink after drink to cope, then to forget, until ultimately the drink takes him to places he ought not to be.

A domestically harrowing read as each thread of one man's sanity frays, thins, and snaps one by one.