Somewhere Else, or Even Here

by A.J. Ashworth

A. J. Ashworth captures, with honesty, the collisions that can happen between human beings, whether it's a couple facing up to life after the death of a child or lovers broken apart by infidelities either real or imagined. She explores those moments of realisation, those turning points, which will continue to resonate throughout the lives of her characters - those people who, even in small ways, will be forever changed, forever cut loose from their earlier selves.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

A. J. Ashworth is a prize-winning writer whose debut collection of short stories, 'Somewhere Else, or Even Here', was published by Salt Publishing after she won their Scott Prize.

She has previously had stories published in magazines such as Tears in the Fence, The Warwick Review, The View From Here and more. She has also been longlisted/shortlisted in competitions including the Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition, the Short Fiction Competition and Fish Short Story Prize.

The collection was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize. She is the recipient of Arts Council England funding as well as a K. Blundell Trust Award and Authors' Foundation Grant from The Society of Authors. She is the editor of 'Red Room: New Short Stories Inspired by the Brontes' and has a PhD in creative writing. She is currently working on a second collection of short stories.

Praise for 'Somewhere Else, or Even Here':

'A. J. Ashworth's first collection of short stories displays impressive versatility. She treats each of her characters to their own narrative timbre - and the stories do not progress so much as accrue, collecting incidental detail that enriches the scenarios without pointing towards their resolution.' TLS.

'Success in the short story genre, to my mind, is contingent on the dexterity with which the author wields the primary tool at his or her disposal: the scalpel. A. J. Ashworth does so with the delicacy and precision of the surgeon. Here are fourteen stories from which every irrelevance has been excised, to provide a ruthlessly fine focus on the minutiae that matter...In this collection of short stories Ms Ashworth has peered through life’s keyhole and found all-too-human characters confronting the familiar and the beguiling, creating a series of coruscating cameos that sparkle with simple honesty and intelligent insights. These stories are impeccably crafted and easy to read, and a useful collection for dissection by the reading group.' John Oakley, Newbooks.

'Dark, witty, delicious stories with flashes of terror and tenderness.' Maggie Gee.

'A. J. Ashworth is a writer who creates worlds in a few sentences, and universes in a few pages. She explores our underlying loneliness in all its myriad guises with a steady eye and with great tenderness, whilst investing the everyday with a freshness that comes from a real gift for observation and a delight for language. The stories here really are shooting stars – ‘brilliant sparkling scratches’ against the night. A very gifted writer. One to watch without a doubt.' Vanessa Gebbie

'With beauty, poise and fearlessness, A. J. Ashworth creates worlds that are chillingly real, exploring the raw human need for attachment and the fear of closeness in a way that is both tender and haunting. She is a fierce new talent.' Simon Van Booy.

'Winner of the 2011 Scott Prize. Short story writers have the enviable job of having to create characters and situations in just a few pages and A. J. Ashworth performs this amazing feat, seemingly, effortlessly making her short stories a real joy to read. This is a sublime, award-winning collection of short stories that would make an exciting and alternative selection for a reading group.' Lovereading.

Reviews

[JimZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked a number of the stories. And that’s probably what one should normally expect with a short story collection...liking some and feeling blasé or even disliking others? Isn’t it rare where all the short stories in a collection gob smack you?

1. Sometimes Gulls Kill Other Gulls — 3 stars [features a bully...I hate bullies]
2. The Future Husband — 3.5 stars [unexpected ending]
3. Coconut Shy — 3 stars [weird]
4. Paper Lanterns — 4.5 stars [sad...about a couple losing their 8-year-old son...it was well written, and I didn’t think it was over the top]
5. Bone Fire — 2 stars [too over the top]
6. Zero Gravity — 3.5 stars [a girl is going to have a baby out of wedlock. Her friends are making fun of her, but one of them sticks up for her. It takes a lot of courage to go against the crowd.]
7. Bananas — 4.5 stars [A man is harassing a young woman on a train. He probably doesn’t mean it. He just went through a traumatic event and is not himself.]
8. The Prophecy — 4.5 stars [very reminiscent of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson]
9. Eggshells — 2.5 stars
10. Tattoos — 1.5 stars [stupid, IMHO]
11. Trees — 2 stars
12. Offerings — 3 stars
13. Overnight Miracles — 1.5 stars
14. The Rings of Saturn — 1.5 stars

I picked this book out because I very much liked a short story of hers, ‘Leather’, that was published in a short story collection I read about 8 months ago, Best British Short Stories 2021 (Nicholas Royle, ed., Salt Press...a yearly collection that has come out beginning in 2011....a real treasure trove of some good short stories).

Reviews
• https://saracrowley.com/2012/03/14/so...
• There are a number of ‘reviews’ that are actually interviews of the author such as this one) http://laurabesley.blogspot.com/2012/...

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

everybody - well a couple of people I rate - is raving about this book, so I shall be getting it.
Have now got it, and about to read. Think I've read the first story in Warwick Review..
..very enjoyable. More later..

I enjoyed these stories a lot, they are all beautifully composed and get you into the heads of the protagonists quickly and without fuss. These varied from girls on the brink of adolescence and boys with an arson fixation to mothers grieving lost babies and an exploited house painter. Ashworth displays considerable gifts as a writer, with a transparent, light style that nevertheless burrows deep. An astronomy/ gravitational pull theme runs through many of the pieces, and mostly that works well, giving the collection its own pull and presence, but I did feel it strain a little in 'Paper Lanterns'. However all the characters are individuals and the relationships and dialogue all rang true. Some stories revisit well trodden ground, but the author does it very well, for example the girl falling for the fairground 'busker' (as opposed to her cautious boyfriend)in Coconut Shy made me feel all the excitement and danger freshly. And there are some quite original pieces too, eg A woman sees a stranger in a museum and knows he will be her husband; an odd encounter between a girl and an older man on a train. And many lovely images, eg Branches were like black cracks against the white sky, the negative of a lightning strike; Tracing paper frost (on a windshield).

A writer to look out for, I think.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did read parts of this book last year and first was introduced to AJ Ashworth's work when I was in Blackburn. Then I bought my own copy and meandered through the stories I didn't know.

Anyway, preamble over.

The influence of astronomy seems to connect these often darkly beautiful stories. Sometimes this is more overt, such as with Rings of Saturn and Zero Gravity, sometimes more subtly, in the theme of connections. Zero Gravity is one of my favourites (though there are many) in the collection. It's about a young pregnant woman who wants to name her child Armstrong. Her friends are not convinced. Their sniping is cleanly delivered and has an horrific momentum. One of the group undergoes a change, moved by the moon, some epiphany that sees her trying to make things right. Except it's too late now. Yet there's a section in this story, an acknowledgement about the gravitational pull of their group. A really clear judgement about our connections to people.

This collection seems to be about that gravitational pull. The lengths people go to when that pull is broken, a lover or relative has died, or left or not yet arrived and is hoped for.

With its original writing and observations (I have sections highlighted) and it's varied, clever (but not gimmicky techniques), this collection makes me want to say something corny like: each story is a unique planet in an irresistible solar system of stars...

Oh.

[Laura Besley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the best word to describe this collection is struggle. There is some form of struggle within every short story, whether it be struggling to cope with the loss of a child, with the deterioration of a spouse, or with finding that people or the world around you are just not what you thought they were. Beautifully written, Ashworth quickly builds up an entire world within each story which is compelling throughout.

For an interview with the author, please go to my blog: http://laurabesley.blogspot.hk/2012/1...

[Rachel Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first collection from a talented writer. The worlds portrayed by these stories are diverse but wonderfully conjured. The style is spare, characters beautifully etched. Ashworth draws on an interest in astronomy, which runs like a thread throughout. Powerful, intense and linguistically dense, these stories linger long after the pages have been closed.

[kylajaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars

Why do people have to write about harming animals? It makes me very sad. It took me out of this book of stories, which I found just okay anyway. But I'm not the greatest fan of short stories. I did like the one about the cult. But I wish it wouldn't have opened with a story about hurting a dog, because it put me off immediately.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable collection of stories.

[Armel Dagorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good collection, full of simple, stricking images.

[James Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.J. Ashworth