Beyond This Point

by Holley Rubinsky

From award-winning story writer Holley Rubinsky comes a dazzling debut novel that explores, with cleverness and wry wit, the hopes and despair that can surface when we are faced with unavoidable change.

Over the course of one hot summer in the Judith Lake Valley, in the rugged interior of British Columbia, five women find their lives turned upside down by events they could not foresee, or refused to see coming. The long-time lover of a charismatic healer discovers that, this time, an affair will have lasting consequences. A woman on the verge of divorce and fearing the worst about her health tries to go home again and learns she has to go further. A girl who has depended on the sale of her body to get by returns to the valley sick and exhausted, bringing the child no one wants to remember. Just as her husband suffers a sudden stroke, a mother finds that her rebellious teenage daughter has done what she feared most. And when a grieving young widow from the East arrives to stay on the property of old friends, her visit brings surprising upheaval.

As these lives become entwined, a vivid portrayal of a community emerges. Behind it all is the wildness of the land, the threat of approaching forest fire, and a boy’s simmering desire for vengeance, which erupts in a harrowing act.

Intense, riveting, compassionate, Beyond This Point is filled with events and characters we will not soon forget. In this novel, Holley Rubinsky has created her boldest, most captivating work of fiction.

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2006

About the author

Holley Rubinsky, a fiction writer living in the mountains of British Columbia, is the author of four books, most recently her story collection, South of Elfrida.

BC BOOKWORLD chose South of Elfrida for a staff pick. "..[Rubinsky's] the real deal for anyone who enjoys sophisticated storytelling."

Judy LeBlanc wrote in The Coastal Spectator: "In a literary workd where clever verbiage and narrative sleight-of-hand [are] too often celebrated over substance, Rubinsky's voice is wise and straight-up."

Reviews

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a little free library in my area, and was excited to find some Can Lit set in BC. There were parts of this book that I definitely enjoyed, particularly the beginning to middle; certain excerpts were written really beautifully. However, I felt like there were waaaay too many characters in this book, some of which weren't introduced until halfway through. It made the reading of it confusing and muddled; and some of these characters' stories I really didn't care for. This book, in my opinion, would have been a much more enjoyable read if the author chose to focus on just a couple protagonists as opposed to involving an entire neighbourhood of people.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this book a few years ago and liked it very much. I purchased it in Nelson, BC from the local authors shelf and was delighted to see that the author had researched the history of the area around Kaslo (one of my favorite places on Earth) to provide backdrop for the story, though the setting is ostensibly fictional. More recently (today) I finished reading a privately published, marked "Not For Sale in Canada" manuscript entitled Weight of the Bear that includes quite a bit of the same story, something like a draft version of it. Anyway, the psychology of the women at the center of the story, the importance of the spiritual retreat that functions as the narrative center of the story as well all recommend themselves. I enjoyed this not quite as much as the published novel, but a lot.

[Marmot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as I heard it was set in a fictional town that was based off a real town near where I live in the Kootenays of BC. While I found the writing engaging, interesting and hard to put down, I found some of the subject matter depressing and difficult to read about (at least 3 abused children, lots of heart break, and pretty much every male character was a sleaze bag, unreliable or a bit crazy). I wish there had been more closure to the story of Lucinda (the character I sympathized with most), and I'm still puzzling over the ending, whether the bear was an actual grizzly, or some crazy second personality coming out of Milee. Overall, a decent choice to get out from the library.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, possibly her first, impressed me as much as her beloved books of short stories. Interconnecting lives, bold subject matter dealt with honestly and also compassion left me wanting more. I'm not sure if there is anymore as she recently passed away. I will see.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posted a review in my blog

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story of five different women dealing with change in their lives. It was OK,but not great and I don’t think I’d recommend it to anyone.