Blessed Nowhere

by Catherine Black

It’s the late nineties, when it is still possible to disappear, and Abby is at an impasse between self-destruction and dissolution. Just months after the death of her son, in a last-ditch effort to escape her reality, Abby buys a $500 car, tucks a buck knife in her glove box, and makes one impulsive move: she takes an exit south and keeps driving. It’s in a small town in central Mexico that Abby’s physical journey comes to an end, and it’s there amongst other outcasts and expats that Abby might finally choose to see beyond her own grief.

Genres: Canada

250 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2024

About the author

Catherine Black is an Associate Professor at OCAD University, where she was a co-founder of the Creative Writing BFA program. She has published two collections of prose poetry: Lessons of Chaos and Disaster, and Pat Lowther Award-nominated Bewilderness. Her lyric nonfiction novella, A Hard Gold Thread, was nominated for the ReLit Award. Her first novel, Blessed Nowhere won the Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction and is forthcoming in fall, 2024.

Reviews

[K.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman running from unimaginable tragedy finds herself in a run down Mexican hotel. Blessed Nowhere is compelling, heart-hollowing, and fabulously written, with deeply human characters and a poet’s care for imagery and language.

[nura! · Rating 4 out of 5]

real and stunning, 4.5 stars.

[Stephanie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was heartbreaking. The feelings that Abby experienced just bled off the pages into the world. The random bursts of grief, catharsis, everything was so visceral. The other characters were equally as interesting and the book still left the reader wanting more even though it was just so hard to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Guernica for a copy of this book.

[Theodora Colinares · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely beautiful!

[Enid Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a breathtakingly beautiful little book - and I mean little as it’s just over 200 pages all in.

As a study in grief, this excels. The rawness of Abby’s experience is on full display from the start. We, the reader, live in the kind of in-between world that Abby resides in.

As a character study, this also excels. As a reader I am with Abby right from the very start. Even the secondary - and peripheral - characters were welcome and necessary additions to the story… adding both colour and compassion. Mexico itself - as characterised in the fictional town of San Judas Tadeo, named for Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes - takes on the role of character as much as it serves as the setting

As a study in patience, this also excels… the author being in no hurry to reveal everything. Rather it’s like a literary equivalent of Ravel’s Bolero… slowly peeling back the layers, exposing just a little bit more every time we re-visit the refrain that is Abby’s grief. Neither does she feel the need to define the ending - to wrap everything up in a neat little bow. The reader, and Abby, are both left with possibilities for what the future holds.

And then there is the writing, the prose. Also exquisite.

This paragraph - from page 86 - is a great example of all of the above: The afternoon slipped away in bells ringing and traffic sounds and I dreamed of home. I dreamed of the half-frozen rivers where the missing always surface in the spring. I dreamed that I was waist-deep in water, trying to break ice with my elbow and all around were Joseph's things: his clothes, his books, his toys, all trapped under just an inch of impenetrable ice.

I really don’t want to say too much more about this one ahead of anyone reading it. But do read it.

Highly recommended.

[The Idea Shop · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is often said that the defining feature of all Canadian Art is a sense of space – and as if to prove the point this intoxicating debut novel by Canadian author Catherine Black is all about space – both needing it, and travelling it.

Blessed Nowhere centers around Abby, a single mother making a living as best she can to support herself and her son in late 1990’s Toronto. Her precarious but functioning world is turned upside down when her son dies tragically. Though she does her best to carry on, it becomes clear that she needs some space to find the grounding needed to move ahead with her life.

Encouraged to take a vacation by her co-workers, Abby buys a beat-up car for $500 and heads south across the border into the US.

These are the last things that Abby does in Blessed Nowhere that could considered to be logical acts.

Invariably she finds herself heading further and further south, driven by a need for space in her head, space away from the place she had called home and a chance to take in the space around her.

A skilled writer, Black does a tremendous job bringing Abby’s “wicked escape” to life for the reader, bringing the realities of someone coping with extraordinary loss into focus in a clear, non-judgmental and highly readable fashion.

The latter half of the novel unfolds in Tadeo, Mexico where a magnificent cast of small-town characters and outcasts each offer Abby unexpected insights into her own life and place in the world.

When Abby’s concerned mother shows up hoping to talk sense to her and bring her home Abby is forced to face the realities of the choices she has made.

The undeniable quality of Catherine Black’s writing makes Blessed Nowhere a memorable and transcendent read, and in Abby’s untypical pilgrimage, there are some lessons for us all.

Blessed Nowhere is well worth any space you can give it.

[Kerry Whitbread · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for review from Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book is definitely not my style. I found it difficult to follow for the first 80% and I guess this is supposed to reflect the state of mind of the MC. I can imagine this book could be used in English Lit classes where the readers discuss the motives and mindset of the characters so if this is the kind of reading you like, then you'd probably love this book.

The MC lost her child but we don't know the details until the 80% mark. She's struggling to cope (understandably) and one day, starts driving and doesn't stop until the car breaks down. Then she walks, hitches and takes a bus, ending up in Mexico. This is where she starts to process her grief but it's still quite abstract. One of her new friends asked her what happened and that's where we get the full story.

I will admit to teary eyes at this point because we get to see her raw grief. The arrival of her mother is where the MC starts to show some real growth and the book ends with her moving towards a better future.

[Ivan Lesay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought I would read a book like this. When I first learned about the central theme—a mother grieving the loss of her child—I, as an anxious parent myself, immediately thought, No way. Why would I willingly put myself through that kind of pain? But something compelled me to give it a try. I started reading—and never stopped.

The plot is relatively simple, yet the main character’s impressions of her road trip and time in Mexico are absolutely mesmerizing. Catherine Black’s writing holds you captive through the sheer power of her words, her finely crafted sentences, and her keen, almost hypnotic, observations. Though the novel is undeniably sorrowful, it’s laced with sharp moments of humor that catch you off guard in the best way.

Ultimately, I think the true mark of exceptional writing is when a book makes you read it despite your own reluctance. This is that kind of book—simply brilliant.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blessed Nowhere by Catherine Black is a beautifully written novel that immerses readers in the story of Abby, a mother running from an unimaginable tragedy. Seeking to escape, Abby finds herself in a rundown hotel in a small Mexican town, where she encounters a cast of vibrant and sometimes troubled characters.
The novel’s strength lies in its evocative depiction of both the setting and its inhabitants. Catherine masterfully weaves together Abby’s journey with the rich, emotional lives of the hotel’s residents, creating a deeply moving narrative about human connection and resilience.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blessed Nowhere is a lovely and thoughtful book with beautiful writing. The story is about Abby's unbearable loss and her journey to figure out how to continue in the face of such loss, how to survive. The book is sad, but not a total tear jerker, which means you can read most of it while in public! The exception to this is when you learn the details of her son's death.

I found the sights and characters of the trip to Mexico to make the story interesting and enjoyable. The characters are flawed, but likeable and, in many ways, relatable. Overall, a good read!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blessed Nowhere has been my favorite book of the summer. This book is able to portray the decimation of self that grief can manifest but the collection of parts left over, that is the main character, is able to escape, blindly and connect with the beauty, horror, truth and her own bravery. Blessed Nowhere is so beautifully written. One of those books that you try to read more slowly as you come to the end. I love this book and highly recommend it!

[Sean Briere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was truly touching, and I could not put it down. It read incredibly cinematically, where I felt like I was watching what I read. A woman loses her son tragically, and gives up everything, and just moves to a small town in Mexico. This one is going to stay with me for weeks.

[Jerry Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my full review in the Sept edition of the Ottawa Review of Books