From Here on, Monsters

by Elizabeth Bryer

In a city locked in a kind of perpetual twilight, antiquarian bookseller Cameron Raybould accepts a very strange commission - the valuation of a rare codex.

Within its fragile pages Cameron makes a curious discovery. Although seemingly ancient, the codex tells of a modern mystery: an academic missing for eleven years. Stranger still, as finding the truth becomes ever more of an obsession, Cameron begins to notice frightening lapses in memory. As if, all around, words, images, even people are beginning to fade from sight. As if unravelling the riddle of this book may be unravelling the nature of reality itself. And something frightening and unknown is taking its place...

A noir style mystery, timely work of unbridled imagination from a startling new voice, Elizabeth Bryer.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Australia, Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2019

About the author

Elizabeth Bryer is a writer and translator who divides her time between Birraranga/Melbourne, on the sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri people, and Arequipa, Peru. She is the author of From Here On, Monsters, which was co-winner of the Norma K. Hemming Award. She has translated award-winning books by María José Ferrada, Aleksandra Lun, Claudia Salazar Jiménez, José Luis de Juan and Eduardo Sangarcía.

Reviews

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the frickafrack did I just read??

How did I enjoy it so much when I'm so confused? What even happened? Are any of these people even real? WHAT ABOUT THE MONSTERS???

This book is clearly too clever for me.

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Like,

Where is Felix? Is he okay?

What was the deal with the mirrorpartment?

Was that the end of the codex?

How the heck does SINBAD come into it??

All these questions and MORE. Can someone please read this and tell me all the answers? Thank you.

Is this what they call 'magical realism'? Or just 'batsh*t insane?

Let me be clear though. I actually really enjoyed it. Who'd'a thought it.


I'ma go ahead and recommend all the people looking for something unusual; something the likes of which they've never read. And it's Australian, yay. :)

But seriously, if anyone can explain to me what the heck just happened I'd really, really appreciate it.

Many thanks to Macmillan for a copy to read and review.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noir-y debut, filled with intrigue and dread with a powerful political message at its heart. I wasn't always compelled to keep reading and the mystery was laid on a bit thick at times, but this is a bold and original book - definitely an author to watch.

[Clare Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was fantasy, what with the monsters. It's not, but rather a clever take on our time's willingness to ignore the suffering of others by using words to conceal our true meaning and unsee what is in front of us. eg. refugees designated Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals.

The metaphor of Europeans imagining the unknown great southern land as full of dragons and monsters. After invasion of a land they named Terra nullius, Europeans made a mirror of Europe for themselves. Unseeing the extant inhabitants, their culture and traditions.

I loved the line drawings from a medieval bestiary of what might inhabit the "Antipathies"

"People who inhabited the Antipodes walked on their heads. Their feet turned backwards; they worshipped the mud."

A perfect accompaniment to my concurrent reading of Trim, The Cartographer's Cat: The ship's cat who helped Flinders map Australia and The First Wave.

"Of course, in deciding to manipulate the language of public discussion, they encouraged the unseeing for which some of us have shown such aptitude in times past."

[Bree T · Rating 2 out of 5]

This for me, started off in a really promising way. I love books that revolve around books and the main character Cameron runs a bookstore and values collections and individual pieces. She is approached by an enigmatic woman about a job and from there, a series of quite strange events occur. Her best friend is a journalist becoming concerned by her articles being edited and changed without her permission. The way that this occurs is so normal that it’s almost like no one even notices that it’s happening. The only people that do seem to notice are a mysterious group who gather up the top of the building the bookstore is on.

Parts of this were really good. The very beginning I thought was incredibly interesting and I thought the introduction of the character of Jhon was powerful and a really current and prominent message. Cameron’s concern for his probable predicament is very identifiable and I loved their interactions. Her ‘second job’ which allows her to help Jhon starts off as interesting and then becomes completely and utterly weird and quite a bit ominous. I think the scary way in which everything seems normal is supposed to be an observation on society and the way in which people, incidents and words can be overlooked but instead just came across as bizarre in that why would these people do this/put up with this?

And the ending? I’m just not into books that end that way at all, so the last part of this book was a real struggle for me because it got a bit more and more out there and went in directions I’m just not really a fan of. And the ending is the type which really just frustrates me. So it was like finishing on a really sour note for me.

***A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review***

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that this book is introspective and far-reaching, however it didn't really work for me as a whole. I liked its 'noir', slightly (Australian) gothic style, and I had fun engaging with Bryers' imagination in this respect. The cast of characters in this novel are also great; I particularly loved Jhon, who felt the most developed and endearing to me. I just couldn't help but feel that the plot got a little too convoluted and opaque, like Bryers herself had made many astonishing connections she doesn't make quite as clear for the reader. It's a story about gaps in our history and our socio-political consciousness, and so it does have a lot of narrative gaps - but I found myself wondering by the end if it had to be that way, and being confused about when those gaps were intentional or not. That said, I'm not usually huge on intensely 'cerebral' fiction, which I think this is (partly... it *is* lot of things), so if you do like to be challenged to puzzle things out a bit then you will probably enjoy this more than I did. Despite this, Bryers' earnestly felt depiction of a country whose asylum seekers and refugees are insidiously forgotten will likely stay with me.

[Corrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m feel like I’m living this story.
The great unseeing.
Everyday blatant corruption, catastrophic climate change, inhuman treatment of poor and destitute. I see it. I hear it but even as it’s made public...the masses are able to simply unsee it. ‘Keep moving, pass it by.’ ‘Oh look there’s a sale at Aldi!’
I too find myself questioning my perception, my sanity...how can this seem so real, so unjust, so horrifying and go largely unacknowledged. Why aren’t we outraged!l? Or better yet, why even when we are outraged does it flare up then dissipate as soon as the media points us in another direction?!
Sadly, I don’t think we in the real world, have a benign egoist to sacrifice to the monster.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It never quite hit the high I expected it to, and the ending felt it would be more effective if it were a short story, but this is noir I can get behind: clever, experimental, socially conscious with striking introspection on books, bookshops and the art of translation.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was weird and went a bit over my head. Not my style of book at all.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lol, what?

[Chris Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a couple of weeks since I finished this book.

I wanted time to process what I read. To think over it. To consider everything that happened.

Never in my life has a book captured my attention like this one has, nor has one ever confused me so much.

This book was an amazing mixture of Lovecraftian horror, mystery, thriller, and scifi all rolled into one.

I especially loved the fact that the author tells you what happens in the beginning of the story, but unless you're paying damned good attention, the ending is going to leave you confused as fuck.

Definitely a book to reread, if for no other reason than to get a better understanding of what happened.

[Clare Rhoden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very smart and engaging. I'm reviewing officially so will post more here afterwards. If you think you'd be interested in intelligent, thought-provoking, well-written dystopia that involves books, bookshops, and the world's conundrum with refugees, look no further.
But beware - there ARE monsters :-)

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Here On, Monsters was a fascinating read. It begins as if a standard piece of contemporary fiction, but gradual events grow stranger, to the point where you, as a reader, question if what's being narrated is actually happening or if it is in the characters' heads. By the time I turned the final page, I didn't know what to think. This is certainly an imaginative and intriguing story. Its strangeness may mean it's not for everyone, but I found it highly entertaining and thought-provoking. In the latter case, I did feel it became a little preachy at times as it pushed a message, but that was a minor gripe, and others may not read it the same way. My advice if you pick it up is to be prepared for the fact it is a story deeply embedded in metaphor. I would definitely read more from Bryer in the future.

I received this book as a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Alanna O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book. Distinct in the presentation of ideas, and storyline but at the same time for Australian’s so very close to home.
I will be thinking this one through for a long time.
There were some very bold choices by the author that reflected the full commitment to their concept and came across completely genuine and submersive .

[Michael Durkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, good story and cultural mystery. Can be read as a strange twisted story or as whiteman dreaming of verisimilitude.

[Peter Holz · Rating 3 out of 5]

What began as strangely compelling ended as just strange. Presumably the whole thing is allegorical, or not? The Tragically Hip said it best, "It's so deep it's meaningless."

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd book, some very interesting musings on translation and the way history and writing about history (and it's dissemination) work, but also feels like a kind of awkwardly forced Kafka-esque (she mentions The Trial several times) story.

The meta narrative about a mysterious foreign tome and it's secret histories is quite interesting, but all of the plot points that move it along feel kind of unsatisfyingly reached. A character just pops up, gives the information, and our main character barely seems to react. The plot with the artist started interesting, but really faded out. At about 3/4 way through I thought our main characters life and story was going to be the art project, some meta meta meta thing, but it seemed too obvious and pretentious. In the end, I have no clue what was going on. Was it some suddenly hamfisted thing about Australia and it's media treatment of the vulnerable? Was the mysterious monster a metaphor for the social forces that keep the vulnerable weak? There are lots of questions, and sadly, the ending is abysmal. While I'm all for open ended conclusions to a story, this one feels more like she was having too much trouble figuring out how to answer them well, so offered up that. The only way I can read it if I stretch my mind, is that the ending is the man character is planning to have the monster slanted as an extreme art piece for the artist, thereby giving her the next exhibition, drawing attention to the unseen (and thereby undoing the bad work), and giving her some god status in the art world. It's very awkward and a bit forced but that's all I could think up. Not particularly satisfying.

There's definitely interesting ideas and some talent here, but perhaps there weren't enough pages in this to really flesh them out. As it stands, theres promise but also pretty messy. 5/10 - I was going for 6, but the ending really didn't rub me the right way.

---

Unrelated, but:

It's a small sample size, but of the three books I've read in the last year that were written in the last few years, all of them revolve around books in some way. In two, the main characters were authors, and in this she works in a book shop. Sometimes it feels like masturbatory nonsense when they faux-casually reference some book or author - in this book it was multiple references to Kafka and The Trial (almost acceptable since it has some similarities) and one jarring mention of Joyce, as well as a few others. Is this a trend or just coincidence? Or maybe the other writers do this too but they're just better and I don't notice it?

[Staraice · Rating 3 out of 5]

What did I just read? Very clever concept, but I'm not sure if the pacing quite worked. There were so many interconnecting parts that built up slowly and avalanched into a strange (yet not entirely unexpected) tumble of events in the last third.

The idea that erasing words from a lexicon is the same as erasing ideas from the global consciousness, and then even awareness of physical truths in front of the viewer's eyes is spectacular. And scary. I kind of want to go back and see whether the effect were more noticeable earlier on in the work, however it feels like the symptoms of the conspiracy to erase refugees (was that word ever used even in the beginning?) just snowballed in the last 60 pages or so.

There are many unanswered questions here, which is odd given how predictable some of the text is and how early on the reader picks up the idea of what Cameron is unwittingly a part of in the 'Excise My Heart' project, though the full scope isn't apparent until later.

A very interesting debut.

[Jet Silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked what this book was doing more than I liked how it did it, by which I mean its conceit is bloody brilliant and chilling and entirely correct, and at the same time it isn't the most engagingly written book. The idea is in the way of the execution, but also it doesn't matter because it makes its very good points in a very baroque way that I think is pretty effective, even while some readers will hurl the book across the room in frustration. It does not explain itself to you, and for me, that's completely fine. 

Everyone should read it, and it's going to be confusing to a greater or lesser degree depending on where a person sits in their political leanings and familiarity with Australian political and colonial history - particularly from the Tampa scandal onward. Or any version of Western colonial history, quite possibly. 

Extra props for the best, most subtle and damning sketch of how frustrating 'I don't see race' is to everyone who doesn't get that luxury. 

I'll be thinking about this one for a while. 

[Book Compulsion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sat down to read this tonight and ended up devouring the whole thing in one setting.

But its left me with so many questions. Where is Felix , to begin with? And the mirror-apartment....this book is a total mind- f%#k but it a way that’s quite pleasant.

If I step back for a moment and think about the deeper meaning within the book, it’s a clever political/sociological narrative - an allegory. The play of mirror worlds (England/Europe’s mirrored in the Australia they tried to create; the plight of refugees here, the way words are used to exploit, to propagate desired meanings , is all in here but woven into the story masterfully. I enjoyed the read, but still so many questions.

I think my love of books, libraries, book shops and words helped me to love this book

[Valerie Ratcliff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, intriguing but not fully-formed. This book asked many questions and it felt like there were quite a few bold ideas posed, but many parts of the action were ill-formed, as if I were reading an outline or a sketch of the action. For example, guy wakes up in her bookstore, she invites him to stay. No more questions asked, no backstory, no clarity and no character-building which should explain their seemingly close future relationship. Similarly- lots of abstract information without really bringing the ideas to full fruition. E.g. Where did all the missing art helpers go? Who did she recognise at the mirror place, and why was he copying her, or was he?

Lots of good ideas, therefore the two stars. Little of it coming together in a cohesive way.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*contains spoilers* Gripping the entire way through, I finished it in one sitting. However, I was very disappointed with the ending. I really wish the whole dream sequence had allowed her to see exactly how she had been manipulated into being a part of the "unseeing", and that she had managed to somehow counteract it. Perhaps with the help of her reporter friend? I feel as though the creature is great metaphor for the depression and dread felt by the asylum seekers, and that it would have been powerful to face it in some manner or allow their "visibility" to destroy it. I would also love to see Maddison get brought down and find out where her other employees are. Perhaps there will be a sequel?

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing was wonderful - only a couple chapters in and I wanted to give it 5 stars already. Very original, and some ideas thought provoking and directed straight at YOU personally (check out pp. 232-233; social-conscious powerful!), yet the end section was so confusing.. I kept waiting to be enlightened, but I guess it’s not going to be spelled out for us, we have to somehow do the work ourselves here. Or are we being manipulated by the author like Madeline Worthington manipulates? I definitely feel the Reader is a participating character in this novel. Confusing, but despite this, I really liked it! Would like to see more from this author.

[Alison Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘From here on, monsters’ gets off to a great start with wonderful, intriguing elements and lovely prose. A riddle manuscript, a stranger, a painted library, eerie sounds at night. From there Shaun Prescott says in a cover endorsement of the book that it ‘traverses the chasm between truth and history.’ Falls into a chasm, more like. The plot free falls into uncertainty, eaten up by the monster, which is also colonialism, which is is also the big Lie of history. Or something like that. I was disappointed.

[idreamofallthebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this story.
Was it intense? Yes.
Was it dark at times? Yes.
Was it like a mirror being held up against our own society? Yes.
However…
Were there moments of disjointedness? Yes.
Did the characters seem two-dimensional at times? Yes.
Overall… I still felt like something was missing. I wanted more from the final act.
Bryer’s writing style was skilful and I enjoyed the read.

Thank you @macmillanaus for gifting me a copy to review!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost really loved this book... And then it ended.

This is an entertaining and somewhat gripping tale that leaves the reader desperate for answers they will never receive. By the last page, Bryer has you questioning not only your interpretation of the book; but also whether you read the book correctly to begin with.

A story that will haunt the reader long after the final page has been turned

[Peter Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing and quirky book lousy non ending

[Darelle Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a unique plot I would give it four stars.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I didn't understand where this book wanted to go. I found the history interesting but ultimately found the book unsatisfying.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the......

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 22 - From Here On, Monsters by Elizabeth Bryer.

This is a literary thriller of sorts, a mystery about books and words and history and art and...many other things. It's the story of Cameron Raybould, antiquarian book seller, who is given the task of valuing a strange codex - this is part one of our mystery. We also meet Maddison Worthington, superstar artist who Cameron starts working for after a rather odd interview (mystery part two). And then there's Jhon - a lost soul that Cameron provides refuge to after he breaks into her bookshop looking for shelter (yep, mystery part three).

From Here On, Monsters is set in a city, which I think is Sydney or Melbourne, but it could just as easily be London or Chicago. It's our world but it's not quite our world - there's a little more strangeness in Bryer's creation. The hint of a sinister plot - that Cameron seems just on the edge of discovering - is like a fog over everything.

Bryer plays with so many themes in this book - the power of language, and art (for good and bad); societies willingness to be manipulated; the reality of 'monsters'; history; colonialism; illusion; mirrors; how stories spread... and there's also a constant play between what's really real and what's not quite real (possibly). All of which sounds exactly like the kind of book that should completely, utterly frustrate me. But this one did not, at all.

I actually really enjoyed reading this. It's clever without being unreachable or pretentious, plus - perhaps best of all - it has a message or three but is in no way heavy handed in delivering the message. It's a bit of literary fun, but with some serious thoughts underpinning it.

I'm giving this four furtive browsers in a bookstore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️