You Don't Belong Here
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9781590215852
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Jonathan Harper
Morris came to Manderlay Colony to write, to share his truth, and create something literary. But on his last night in the quiet, small town, a series of events unfold that leave him trapped, with shrinking funds and no sure means of escape. As the hours and days pass, as the beer bottles pile up on the bar counter, and as he confronts a man from his past, his sense of self is challenged. Jonathan Harper's debut novel is a snarky, at times brutal, exploration of the modern man who stands at the mouth of a tunnel knowing that what's inside will change him, and not always for the better.
Read an interview with Jonathan from the Bay Area Reporter.
Paperback, 264 pages
Cover and interior design by Ryan Vance
"You Don’t Belong Here reads like a Cheever fever dream — grim, literary, and domestically harrowing. As far as narratives of alcohol go, Harper's book is a chilling revision of The Lost Weekend for a modern era." - L.A. Fields, author of Homo Superiors
"A strange, original, surprising book, like a queer Kafka novel set in a mountain resort town of gingerbread houses, bad memories, and nightmares. Jonathan Harper writes nimbly, observes well, and imagines wildly. This is a terrific first novel." - Christopher Bram, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Lives of the Circus Animals
"With You Don't Belong Here, Jonathan Harper has written a tight, tense novel that grabs you and doesn't let go. His lead character, a writer ending his residency in an artists' colony, finds himself trapped in an idyllic village which becomes decidedly less idyllic as he's stranded by his own self-sabotage and the treachery and manipulation of a shady cast of characters. Jonathan Harper has a fine eye for the damaged people who populate this village and this book, and sprinkles in enough dark humor to break the tension and give the reader an opportunity to breathe." - Rob Byrnes, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of When the Stars Come Out
"A claustrophobic novel about destructive friends and destructive urges." - Kirkus Reviews
"Jonathan Harper's You Don't Belong Here blends the finely wrought horror of a top-tier episode of the Twilight Zone with the observational deftness of Mary Gaitskill. This is a propulsive debut that I absolutely couldn't put down-and the absolute shocker of an ending haunted me for days afterward. Through a tale that is equally terrifying and seductive, Harper captures the highly specific pain of a life unlived with an unflinching eye and a sharp humor. " - Laura Bogart, author of Don't You Know I Love You
"You Don't Belong Here is a booze-soaked bender of a novel, a hauntological examination of second chances, a restless past, and an unlived future that unfolds with all the melancholy and drama of a memory play turned recurring nightmare." - Robert Levy, author of The Glittering World
"A strange, original, surprising book, like a queer Kafka novel set in a mountain resort town of gingerbread houses, bad memories, and nightmares. Jonathan Harper writes nimbly, observes well, and imagines wildly. This is a terrific first novel." - Christopher Bram, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Lives of the Circus Animals
"With You Don't Belong Here, Jonathan Harper has written a tight, tense novel that grabs you and doesn't let go. His lead character, a writer ending his residency in an artists' colony, finds himself trapped in an idyllic village which becomes decidedly less idyllic as he's stranded by his own self-sabotage and the treachery and manipulation of a shady cast of characters. Jonathan Harper has a fine eye for the damaged people who populate this village and this book, and sprinkles in enough dark humor to break the tension and give the reader an opportunity to breathe." - Rob Byrnes, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of When the Stars Come Out
"A claustrophobic novel about destructive friends and destructive urges." - Kirkus Reviews
"Jonathan Harper's You Don't Belong Here blends the finely wrought horror of a top-tier episode of the Twilight Zone with the observational deftness of Mary Gaitskill. This is a propulsive debut that I absolutely couldn't put down-and the absolute shocker of an ending haunted me for days afterward. Through a tale that is equally terrifying and seductive, Harper captures the highly specific pain of a life unlived with an unflinching eye and a sharp humor. " - Laura Bogart, author of Don't You Know I Love You
"You Don't Belong Here is a booze-soaked bender of a novel, a hauntological examination of second chances, a restless past, and an unlived future that unfolds with all the melancholy and drama of a memory play turned recurring nightmare." - Robert Levy, author of The Glittering World