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You Have Never Been Here: New and Selected Stories
Open this book to any page and find yourself enspelled by these lush, alchemical stories. Faced with the uncanny and the impossible, Rickert’s protagonists are as painfully, shockingly, complexly human as the readers who will encounter them. Mothers, daughters, witches, artists, strangers, winged babies, and others grapple with deception, loss, and moments of extraordinary joy.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 8, 2015
"So, sadly, like many a daughter, I learned that my mother had been right after all, and when I returned to her, dripping with saltwater and seaweed, tiny fish corpses dropping from my hair, she embraced me."
One of my most favorite lines I read from this story. This book of short stories rang familiar to me, and after long thought I realized this was because of the writing style. It reminded of Poe. The stories full of deep meaning, but indirectly written, and dark in nature.
Agatha's story was one of my favorites because the above line I quoted from her. She reminded me of every daughter and every mother. So many daughters realizing the love of their mother and every mother's unending love for their child.
I appreciate the short stories, its enough to know the characters and their stories and yet enough time to know others and theirs. Thank you for allowing the readers into their world.
One of my most favorite lines I read from this story. This book of short stories rang familiar to me, and after long thought I realized this was because of the writing style. It reminded of Poe. The stories full of deep meaning, but indirectly written, and dark in nature.
Agatha's story was one of my favorites because the above line I quoted from her. She reminded me of every daughter and every mother. So many daughters realizing the love of their mother and every mother's unending love for their child.
I appreciate the short stories, its enough to know the characters and their stories and yet enough time to know others and theirs. Thank you for allowing the readers into their world.
January 17, 2016
Mothers bear children, relinquished to a world that largely forgets how they were, truly one, a single body carrying two hearts, diminished by the strange mathematics of regeneration.
A collection of 11 stories with a recurring theme of loss
Loss of a loved one
Loss of oneself
Several “ghost” stories but I would not call this a collection of horror or even supernatural stories. These elements are tools to explore our questions of the unknown. Life, death, love….loss
Memoir of a Deer Woman-a woman gradually transforms in to a deer.
Journey into the Kingdom- one of my favorites. A story within a story. A group of paintings is accompanied by an “artists statement” explaining the death of a lighthouse keeper and how the family is visited by the father as well as other ghosts. Ghosts continue their existence by taking our breath.
The Shipbuilder-a son returns home after his father confesses to a crime. A bit of a selkie tale.
Cold Fires-two people in their home during a winter storm tell stories to each other;
The strawberry wife and a mysterious painting.
The Corpse Painter’s Masterpiece-a sheriff and his wife deal with the loss of their son in different ways.
Why else would there be death, after all, if not for revelation?
It is so cold he can see his soul.
The Christmas Witch-children collect the bones of small animals, “the skeleton stage” of child development. One girl has to deal with the bones taking on a life of their own.
Holiday- a grown son tries to come to grips with the accusations against his father. A very uncomfortable story.
The Chambered Fruit- another favorite. A young mother and father deal with the loss of their child and their responsibility for her death.
What rational response can there be? Life is composed of large faiths, in the series of beliefs that sustain us, we little humans whose very existence is a borrowing from the dead.
Now I know what waits at world’s end. Rage is what fills the emptiness. Rage, and it is cold.
The dead are selfish. Jealous. Lonely. Desperate. Hungry.
Anyway- another favorite. A son discovers a secret about his aging parents involving an ancient rite with Bloodstones. A fascinating ending.
What if you could save the world? What if all you had to do was sacrifice your son’s life, Tony’s for instance, and there would be no more war, would you do it?
The Mothers of Voorhisville- a novelette that took some time to warm up. I became more intrigued as the narrative continued and ended up really enjoying the overall story. Several women and girls in town spend time with a blue eyed stranger driving a hearse.
What mother wouldn’t kill to save her babies. The only thing unusual about our story is that our children can fly. (Sometimes, even now, we think we hear wings brushing the air beside us.)
Sylvia was not living the life she’d imagined when she was a high school girl who thought her job at the canning factory was temporary. She used to look at the women working there and wonder why they stayed. Now, Sylvia knew. It just happened.
You have never been here- a strange, dream fever type of story
The bodies are coated with a faint gray film and maybe this isn’t love, maybe it’s only desire, loneliness, infatuation, maybe it’s just the body’s need, maybe it isn’t even happening, maybe you have already been cremated and you are bits of ash creating this strange dream but maybe you are really here, flesh to flesh, ash to ash, alive, breathing, in the possibility of love.
I believe most of these stories have been published before (three are new) but this is my first time reading any of them. These tales from Rickert are exactly what I look for in a collection, new ways to look at familiar human emotions. The writing was evocative, moving, emotional, poignant and at times, dark.
Highly recommended.
9/10
A collection of 11 stories with a recurring theme of loss
Loss of a loved one
Loss of oneself
Several “ghost” stories but I would not call this a collection of horror or even supernatural stories. These elements are tools to explore our questions of the unknown. Life, death, love….loss
Memoir of a Deer Woman-a woman gradually transforms in to a deer.
Journey into the Kingdom- one of my favorites. A story within a story. A group of paintings is accompanied by an “artists statement” explaining the death of a lighthouse keeper and how the family is visited by the father as well as other ghosts. Ghosts continue their existence by taking our breath.
The Shipbuilder-a son returns home after his father confesses to a crime. A bit of a selkie tale.
Cold Fires-two people in their home during a winter storm tell stories to each other;
The strawberry wife and a mysterious painting.
The Corpse Painter’s Masterpiece-a sheriff and his wife deal with the loss of their son in different ways.
Why else would there be death, after all, if not for revelation?
It is so cold he can see his soul.
The Christmas Witch-children collect the bones of small animals, “the skeleton stage” of child development. One girl has to deal with the bones taking on a life of their own.
Holiday- a grown son tries to come to grips with the accusations against his father. A very uncomfortable story.
The Chambered Fruit- another favorite. A young mother and father deal with the loss of their child and their responsibility for her death.
What rational response can there be? Life is composed of large faiths, in the series of beliefs that sustain us, we little humans whose very existence is a borrowing from the dead.
Now I know what waits at world’s end. Rage is what fills the emptiness. Rage, and it is cold.
The dead are selfish. Jealous. Lonely. Desperate. Hungry.
Anyway- another favorite. A son discovers a secret about his aging parents involving an ancient rite with Bloodstones. A fascinating ending.
What if you could save the world? What if all you had to do was sacrifice your son’s life, Tony’s for instance, and there would be no more war, would you do it?
The Mothers of Voorhisville- a novelette that took some time to warm up. I became more intrigued as the narrative continued and ended up really enjoying the overall story. Several women and girls in town spend time with a blue eyed stranger driving a hearse.
What mother wouldn’t kill to save her babies. The only thing unusual about our story is that our children can fly. (Sometimes, even now, we think we hear wings brushing the air beside us.)
Sylvia was not living the life she’d imagined when she was a high school girl who thought her job at the canning factory was temporary. She used to look at the women working there and wonder why they stayed. Now, Sylvia knew. It just happened.
You have never been here- a strange, dream fever type of story
The bodies are coated with a faint gray film and maybe this isn’t love, maybe it’s only desire, loneliness, infatuation, maybe it’s just the body’s need, maybe it isn’t even happening, maybe you have already been cremated and you are bits of ash creating this strange dream but maybe you are really here, flesh to flesh, ash to ash, alive, breathing, in the possibility of love.
I believe most of these stories have been published before (three are new) but this is my first time reading any of them. These tales from Rickert are exactly what I look for in a collection, new ways to look at familiar human emotions. The writing was evocative, moving, emotional, poignant and at times, dark.
Highly recommended.
9/10
December 30, 2017
I was a little disappointed in this one. It's on the creepier end, as I'd expected - there is a lot of death. Upon rereading a few stories and finishing the rest, I realized most of them did not capture my attention. The style reminds me of Kelly Link's short stories. A little too weird, meandering, and nonsensical, ending with no real conclusion. I really enjoyed "Cold Fires" and "The Christmas Witch" held my attention fast. I skim read "The Mothers of Voorhisville" (the longest story, probably a novella) because I was bored out of my mind.
September 19, 2015
You'll never go wrong reading anything by this author. Simply one of the most interesting and one of the best.
October 1, 2019
He leído algunas cosas de Mary Rickert, pero mi relación con ella ha sido principalmente las ganas de leerla sin encontrar sus libros.
Me gusta mucho su estilo, es desorganizado y evocativo pero creo que hay que encontrar los momentos para leerla porque a veces me aburría o no me podía concentrar hasta que tenía tiempo para dejarme llevar por las palabras y volvía a empezar una historia y fluía perfectamente.
La mayoría de los cuentos incluidos aquí son oscuros con temas emocionalmente deprimentes, lo que supongo también es un factor a considerar, más aún que la parte no tan realista (que sin llegar a ser fantástico definitivamente se sale de lo común).
Me gusta mucho su estilo, es desorganizado y evocativo pero creo que hay que encontrar los momentos para leerla porque a veces me aburría o no me podía concentrar hasta que tenía tiempo para dejarme llevar por las palabras y volvía a empezar una historia y fluía perfectamente.
La mayoría de los cuentos incluidos aquí son oscuros con temas emocionalmente deprimentes, lo que supongo también es un factor a considerar, más aún que la parte no tan realista (que sin llegar a ser fantástico definitivamente se sale de lo común).
December 24, 2021
I enjoyed this a lot. Great prose and neat ideas and themes of motherhood, loss, childhood, growing up, all the good stuff. I think my fave story was Anyway.
Ratings below.
Memoirs of a Deer Woman - 7
Journey Into the Kingdom - 5
The Shipbuilder - 6
Cold Fires - 8
The Corpse Painters Masterpiece - 5
The Christmas Witch - 8
Holiday - 6
The Chambered Fruit - 7
Anyway - 9
The Mothers of Voorhsville - 7
You Have Never Been Here - 5
Ratings below.
Memoirs of a Deer Woman - 7
Journey Into the Kingdom - 5
The Shipbuilder - 6
Cold Fires - 8
The Corpse Painters Masterpiece - 5
The Christmas Witch - 8
Holiday - 6
The Chambered Fruit - 7
Anyway - 9
The Mothers of Voorhsville - 7
You Have Never Been Here - 5
November 24, 2015
Most of these works have been in past compilations by Rickert. There are three new ones here. This worked out well because I'm new to Rickert's work myself; I really have never been here.
"Journey into the Kingdom" is a standout, amazing work of art. Of course, it has the award pedigree to back that up. It reminds me, in some ways, of Neil Gaiman plot and structure told with a more poetic, flowing voice. I don't mean to suggest there is anything derivative about this work. I am a huge fan of Gaiman. He writes some of my favorite short fiction. I loved this story, and place it high on my list of favorite short works. Period.
The stories are not straightforward. They wind around, meander through realistic emotions. The sentences are lush, extended, multifaceted. I read "The Shipbuilder" three times, seeking the thread I had missed. I asked so many questions, marked the story up with highlighter, read passages to my wife and sought confirmation of my perspectives.
This is the perfect compilation of stories for English majors, those who like analyzing every word, and those who like stories that don't hold the reader's hand. Highly recommended.
*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher, who hoped I would review it. My review was in no way influenced by the manner of book acquisition.
"Journey into the Kingdom" is a standout, amazing work of art. Of course, it has the award pedigree to back that up. It reminds me, in some ways, of Neil Gaiman plot and structure told with a more poetic, flowing voice. I don't mean to suggest there is anything derivative about this work. I am a huge fan of Gaiman. He writes some of my favorite short fiction. I loved this story, and place it high on my list of favorite short works. Period.
The stories are not straightforward. They wind around, meander through realistic emotions. The sentences are lush, extended, multifaceted. I read "The Shipbuilder" three times, seeking the thread I had missed. I asked so many questions, marked the story up with highlighter, read passages to my wife and sought confirmation of my perspectives.
This is the perfect compilation of stories for English majors, those who like analyzing every word, and those who like stories that don't hold the reader's hand. Highly recommended.
*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher, who hoped I would review it. My review was in no way influenced by the manner of book acquisition.
November 10, 2015
Gorgeous, meticulous writing. I had the pleasure of seeing the author read recently, and she chose several pieces that were thematically linked; she also shared some things that had inspired her, thoughts from other writers, which underscored the themes. It was one of the most thoughtful readings I've attended. Well worth exploring.
July 12, 2017
Full disclosure: Mary Rickert is one of my favorite authors.
For those new to Mary Rickert's work, this collection from Small Beer Press is an excellent representation of, introduction to, her eclectic style. I love Mary's work because it's all about the story and not about squishing that story to fit inside a particular (genre) box. Only reason I rated You Have Never Been Here 4 instead of 5 stars is that it contained only 3 new stories: "The Shipbuilder," "The Corpse Painter's Masterpiece," and "The Mothers of Voorhisville." Now, if like me you don't read online, this collection is the first time you'll have a chance to read the latter, which alone is worth the book's purchase price.
Highly recommended for hardcore fans (like yours truly) of Rickert's and those looking for a unique voice in SFF, especially dark fantasy. Chances are, if you like Neil Gaiman, Shirley Jackson or Angela Slatter, you'll fall head-over-heels for Rickert's stories.
4 stars
Note: You can read "The Mothers of Voorhisville" on Tor.com.
Is it totally selfish that I'm jonesin for another novel by Mary?
For those new to Mary Rickert's work, this collection from Small Beer Press is an excellent representation of, introduction to, her eclectic style. I love Mary's work because it's all about the story and not about squishing that story to fit inside a particular (genre) box. Only reason I rated You Have Never Been Here 4 instead of 5 stars is that it contained only 3 new stories: "The Shipbuilder," "The Corpse Painter's Masterpiece," and "The Mothers of Voorhisville." Now, if like me you don't read online, this collection is the first time you'll have a chance to read the latter, which alone is worth the book's purchase price.
Highly recommended for hardcore fans (like yours truly) of Rickert's and those looking for a unique voice in SFF, especially dark fantasy. Chances are, if you like Neil Gaiman, Shirley Jackson or Angela Slatter, you'll fall head-over-heels for Rickert's stories.
4 stars
Note: You can read "The Mothers of Voorhisville" on Tor.com.
Is it totally selfish that I'm jonesin for another novel by Mary?
January 15, 2021
This story its own such conundrum, where a middle-aged woman deals with her mother’s Alzheimer’s in a care home, her brother’s erstwhile death, her lately broken marriage, her son’s own wish today to become a soldier thrown in the path of danger, and her own inescapably strange behaviour when given her mother’s bloodstones by her father, a gestalt, a story that is possibly the most oblique and most off-key I have ever read while being otherwise disarmingly meaningful and straightforward, a work now ever-resonating because of its mutual synergy with the blend of three authors whom I have also real-time reviewed in recent years: Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield and Ursula Pflug. Literature works anyway it can. Almost autonomously.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
December 29, 2018
If you like weird, off-beat stories that are way outside the box, you will love You Have Never Been Here: New and Selected Stories by Mary Rickert. These are stories that on the surface are unrealistic, but upon reflection are dangerously realistic and insightful. Rickert is a master of words and a master at telling a story. These stories will keep you turning each page with anticipation and you will never know exactly what is going to happen next. Part poetry, part suspense, part love story, part supernatural, the end result is a group of stories that will impact you and make you think and feel.
May 10, 2020
Surprising
Each of these stories is a masterpiece of imagination. The writing flows almost poetically. I read this on my kindle, but I will be buying a hard copy; this a book I know I will read again and again.
Each of these stories is a masterpiece of imagination. The writing flows almost poetically. I read this on my kindle, but I will be buying a hard copy; this a book I know I will read again and again.
July 31, 2020
This is my first exposure to Mary Rickert but it won't be my last. Every story pulls the reader in and doesn't let go until the final word.
December 9, 2020
The kind of stories I’ve been looking for. Some were very similar in theme, but I enjoyed them.
January 3, 2023
An eerie and gorgeous short story collection. Good for fans of Kelly Link or Stephen Graham Jones.
July 9, 2023
One story--Journey Into the Kingdom--managed all three: eery, beautiful, and believable. Most did two, which isn't bad.
December 4, 2024
One of my favorite writers. "The Chambered Fruit" is an all time favorite. Very difficult to read as a parent, but I prefer art that exposes my fears so intensely.
December 8, 2015
There are short stories in ‘You Have Never Been Here’ that are unsettling and disturbing, odd and brilliant, strange and weirdly beautiful, all at the same time. All the short stories share an ever-present vibe of dark suspense and skewed reality that keeps you on edge throughout, and some of the stories are so skillfully executed in their madness that I know they will stick with me for a long time.
Rickert’s tales teem with death and ghosts and bones, love and loss and haunting imagery. There are dead children, winged children, ghost children, and children collecting bones. There are drowned women who work in coffee shops, a shoe-box full of stones that hold memories of past lives, men building boats in their backyards, a corpse painter, and a strange place that might or might not be a hospital, and a train that might or might not really be a train taking patients to that hospital.
The stories that appealed to me most were ‘Memoir of a Deer Woman’, where a woman is slowly turning into (back into?) a deer; ‘The Shipbuilder’, where a man named Quark tries to understand his own past and his abusive father (or is it really his father?); and especially ‘The Christmas Witch’.
‘The Christmas Witch’ perfectly crafted: a complex weave of witchcraft, weirdness, family, childhood, grief, fear, and loss; with a child at its center who is just as complicate and ornery and powerful and strange as real children can be.
This is a strange and often wonderful collection of stories, even though there are a couple of tales (‘Holiday’ and ‘The Chambered Fruit’ come to mind) that I found so unsettling that they were almost difficult to read. That said, I have a feeling that different readers will find different tales to be the most unsettling.
If you’re into twisted tales that veer off into suspense and even a dab of restrained horror, then this is a book for you.
Rickert’s tales teem with death and ghosts and bones, love and loss and haunting imagery. There are dead children, winged children, ghost children, and children collecting bones. There are drowned women who work in coffee shops, a shoe-box full of stones that hold memories of past lives, men building boats in their backyards, a corpse painter, and a strange place that might or might not be a hospital, and a train that might or might not really be a train taking patients to that hospital.
The stories that appealed to me most were ‘Memoir of a Deer Woman’, where a woman is slowly turning into (back into?) a deer; ‘The Shipbuilder’, where a man named Quark tries to understand his own past and his abusive father (or is it really his father?); and especially ‘The Christmas Witch’.
‘The Christmas Witch’ perfectly crafted: a complex weave of witchcraft, weirdness, family, childhood, grief, fear, and loss; with a child at its center who is just as complicate and ornery and powerful and strange as real children can be.
This is a strange and often wonderful collection of stories, even though there are a couple of tales (‘Holiday’ and ‘The Chambered Fruit’ come to mind) that I found so unsettling that they were almost difficult to read. That said, I have a feeling that different readers will find different tales to be the most unsettling.
If you’re into twisted tales that veer off into suspense and even a dab of restrained horror, then this is a book for you.
June 17, 2023
This is another collection where I think that I'd have liked the stories more if I came across them one at a time rather than all together. It wasn't that they didn't fit into a collection together so much as bouncing from story to story about child death and/or abuse was just a bit much for me. The writing is generally good but I came away from a lot of the stories feeling like they either needed to be a bit less out there or a bit more, like the author couldn't quite settle on the right level of surreality. There was also frequently an ironic dryness that I felt sometimes didn't serve the stories well, but was great in those stories where it did work. And some of the stories felt a little half-baked, like the endings or the oddness were there to deal with the fact that the author didn't know where to go with the story. But, overall, I'd say that most of the stories were reasonably well conceived, well told, and worth reading.
February 15, 2018
A beautiful, haunting (pun-intended) collection of stories and a perfect beginning-of-Fall read. All of the stories were enchanting but you need to stop what you're doing and read "The Chambered Fruit" RIGHT NOW. It's the best modern ghost story I've ever read. Ever.
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December 11, 2015Some good ideas here. But this is the kind of prose that I have a lot of trouble with.
April 26, 2016
A dark and beautiful collection of haunting stories that will linger in your mind.
May 15, 2016
Loved it. The stories were all devastating and beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews