AFTER ELIAS
Fall 2020 from Dundurn
"A truly rare and wonderful book"
— Timothy Taylor, author of Stanley Park and The Rule of Stephens
When the airplane piloted by Elias crashes one week before their wedding day, Coen Caraway loses the man he loves and the illusion of happiness he has worked so hard to create. The only thing left behind by Elias is a recording of his final words, and even Coen is baffled by the cryptic message.
Numb with grief, he takes refuge on the Mexican island that was meant to host their wedding. But as fragments of the past come to the surface in the aftermath of the tragedy, Coen is forced to question everything he thought he knew about Elias and their life together. Beneath his flawed memory lies the truth about Elias — and himself.
From the damp concrete of Vancouver to the spoiled shores of Mexico, After Elias braids the past with the present to tell a story of doubt, regret, and the fear of losing everything.
Praise for After Elias
"A truly rare and wonderful book, utterly engrossing throughout. Coen is a hero for our era, darkly struggling amid the aftershocks of loss, but doing so with dignity, humanity, and passion. Tracking Coen’s progress towards answers is a riveting and emotional journey. Watching him in his relationships is a richly rewarding meditation on love, friendship, betrayal and the undying hope for reconciliation."
— Timothy Taylor, author of Stanley Park and The Rule of Stephens
"Eddy Boudel Tan has written an immersive, unpredictable, engaging first novel propelled by mystery, softened by tenderness, and enriched with little wisdoms."
— Patrick Nathan, author of Some Hell
“A dark tale bravely told with great clarity and beauty, After Elias treads nimbly down a dangerous path. Eddy Boudel Tan has crafted a page turner from a set of unlikely ingredients — tragedy, grief, pain and the darker shadows of the human mind. But most of all he has written tenderly, resplendently, about love."
— Christopher J. Yates, author of Black Chalk and Grist Mill Road
"In his heartfelt and highly engaging debut, Eddy Boudel Tan asks us to stare into the dark waters of one man’s personal tragedy and help make sense of the pieces that wash up onto the shore. At times mysterious and surprising, the novel is a compelling and tightly bound examination of grief, shame, doubt and the darkness that conspires to dissolve our most beloved relationships. A joy to read."
— Christopher DiRaddo, author of The Geography of Pluto
“Eddy Boudel Tan's writing is so evocative, he had me not just seeing every magnolia flower as it blossomed, but catching the scent of them too. Maybe this is what distracted me from anticipating the many cleverly crafted reveals. I didn't see even one of them coming.”
— C.S. O'Cinneide, author of Petra's Ghost
“Arresting... [a] deftly crafted novel.”
— Foreword Reviews
