Arresting... [a] deftly crafted novel.
Foreword Reviews
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 The Rule of Stephens
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 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, [After Elias] 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 has written an immersive,unpredictable, engaging first novel propelled by mystery, softened bytenderness, and enriched with little wisdoms.
Patrick Nathan, author of Some Hell
Intriguing... The novel has plenty of rewards
Publishers Weekly
It's rare to find a book that works well as a deeply emotional exploration of grief and as a suspenseful thriller, but After Elias manages this feat.
Booklist
One of the most anticipated LGBTQ books of October 2020
Lambda Literary
After Elias promises from the start to be a puzzle. This is no simple mystery, and the layered psychological struggles and revelations kept me furiously turning pages until the very end. With chapters that shift through time along with the narrator's emotions, a cast of very real but relatable secondary characters, and a haunting sense of the past, After Elias gifts the reader with gorgeous, economic prose and the pace of a thriller. I couldn't put it down.
Natalie Jenner, author of The Jane Austen Society
The novel is sad, beautiful, and haunting.
Midwest Book Review
In After Elias, [Eddy Boudel Tan] challenges normative perceptions of grief and healing, he reiterates the harm of keeping secrets, and he advocates the importance of mental health…I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in a psychological rollercoaster.
The British Columbia Review