By John Cei Douglas (Liminal 11)
ISBN: 978-1-912634-23-1 (PB)
We’re all been locked up in our own heads as much as in our homes recently, constantly in search of solutions to ease anxiety, however we can. Here then – in timely fashion and most serendipitously – is a sublime gem in the conceptual mould of Tove Janson, laced with oblique yet helpful ruminations on healing mindfulness and enjoyed as a voyage of genuine inner discovery.
Not only is the message calming and helpful – and delivered in beguiling imagery guaranteed to restore your weary disposition – but it also guarantees a solidly entertaining mystery journey helping to moderate your hunger for physical travel and fresh experience.
Crafted in dreamy, silent passages, All the Places in Between follows a pensive girl by a barren seashore as she fretfully, nervously but determinedly passes from ‘All the places we’ve been’ to ‘All the places we’re going’
On the way she meets her exact opposite and is cast ‘adrift’: occupying ‘the lighthouse’ before finding civilisation drowned and devastated. Time drags ‘between’ before isolation draws her to ‘the city’ where she finds ‘a companion’ to care for. Eventually that temporary relationship sunders, ‘buried’ in the wreckage of the world and dwarfed by insurmountable chasms and a ‘tsunami’ that brings resolution of sorts as ‘the lighthouse returns’, prompting a revelatory resolution in ‘space’…
Not a book to summarise, but definitely one to look at and wonder, John Cei Douglas’ oneiric ramble is a calming and enticing trip we can all benefit and draw comfort from.
Filled with delightful human moments.
© 2020 John Cei Douglas. All rights reserved.
All the Places in Between is scheduled for release on April 29th 2021 and is available for pre-order now.