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Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
Snow babies. Mermaids. Amphibian river monsters. Love. Laughs. Death. It is everything and more. Will you really say no to a most delicious collection of 12 short-stories, woven together by Japanese folktale and contemporary fantastical roots?
- Kai
— From Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone (Staff Pick)Description
"A combination of the mystical, magical, and marvelous, Sequoia Nagamatsu weaves a collection of bold, hysterical, and moving tales into an unforgettable debut. From shape-shifters, to star-makers, to babies made of snow, the characters in WHERE WE GO WHEN ALL WE WERE IS GONE form a community of longing, of the surreal, of wonder. What a joy it is to read each and every story."-Michael Czyzniejewski
"Sequoia Nagamatsu's universe is one in which modern Japan and its ancient folklore play in the same delightful puddle. Creepy, unnerving, and full of heart, these tales of love and demons, death and Godzilla, loss and possibility, will creep into your dreams and enchant your imagination."-Kelly Luce
About the Author
Sequoia Nagamatsu is the author of the story collection, Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone (Black Lawrence Press), silver medal winner of the 2016 Foreword Reviews’ Indies Book of the Year Award. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as Conjunctions, ZYZZYVA, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, The Fairy Tale Review, Tin House online, Black Warrior Review, Willow Springs, The Bellevue Literary Review, Lightspeed Magazine, and One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories, among others. Originally from Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay Area, he was educated at Grinnell College and Southern Illinois University. He co-edits Psychopomp Magazine, an online quarterly dedicated to innovative prose, and teaches at St. Olaf College and the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. He is currently working on a second story collection and a novel.
Praise For…
Sequoia Nagamatsu’s universe is one in which modern Japan and its ancient folklore play in the same delightful puddle. Creepy, unnerving, and full of heart, these tales of love and demons, death and Godzilla, loss and possibility, will creep into your dreams and enchant your imagination.
—Kelly Luce, author of Pull Me Under
These stories deftly breathe new life into the myths and pop culture of an older Japan, bringing them into the modern world and directing them in unexpected ways. It’s hard to tell if Nagamatsu holds nothing sacred, or if he holds everything to be. In either case, the effect is the same: these are deft atmospheric romps that a hell of a lot of fun but also worm their way under your skin before you know it. An addictive and compelling debut.
—Brian Evenson, author of The Warren and A Collapse of Horses