BEAUTIFUL SOMEWHERE ELSE
by Stephen Policoff

In BEAUTIFUL SOMEWHERE ELSE, Stephen Policoff has created a gorgeous novel which erases the line between domestic realism and something grander.  Under the cover of a hurricane, protagonist Paul Brickner, his much younger Asian girlfriend, her best friend from college, her ex-boyfriend, and Paul's debauched folksinger friend are contacted, played with, and ultimately abandoned by mysterious forces from beyond.

Policoff is clearly intrigued by magic in all its forms, from Houdini-esque illusionism to theosophy to the dark mysteries of alien abduction.  It is to his credit that he does not try to solve the mystery, but instead focuses on the intriguing human mystery of why we love and why love fails.

BEAUTIFUL SOMEWHERE ELSE is described in its cover blurbs as "charming," "fun," "sweetly rueful," all of which give the impression that it's a literary trifle.  It could easily be mistaken for one, because Policoff avoids bombast, and is, at times, a bit more shy that he needs to be.  But this is a book that stirs up deep waters, and I feel that Policoff is after something extremely deep, although he may not be sure exactly what it is he's hunting.  The whole book is pointing at something that can't quite be seen, and I suspect that what the book is about may only become clear decades from now.

If you don't mind a book that doesn't have a pat conclusion, that hints at deeper mysteries than it actually explores, and which raises more questions than it answers, you've got to read this one.

 --C. B. Coble