In The Place Of Last Things [Paperback]

Russ Littlebury, 35, is stuck in the middle of his life in a small town on the Canadian prairies. After watching his father's slow death, he agrees to drive his Aunt Jean to her summer home in Arizona. He takes along his adopted brother, Skidder, a 27-year-old loser who lives in absolute squalour. Their dialogue is one of the delights of In the Place of Last Things. When Skidder announces, "when I get down there I'm cashing in my ticket home. Gonna start over somewhere," Russ states the obvious: "You never started here yet." In Montana, Skidder runs off with Lea, a young Christian girl, to help her hunt for Jack Marks, a devious con man who has left her behind and possibly pregnant.

The story consists of Russ's search in the American Southwest and Mexico for Lea and Marks, as well as flashbacks to the time Russ spent teaching at a college in Toronto where he met, and left, Tara, a fellow teacher. A certain density informs the writing, at times rich with insight. At other times, Russ's tendency to ruminate clouds the story. When Helm is on, his writing sparkles: "She had been wrong to think he was heartless. He had more heart than his spine could handle." Too often, however, there appear to be no justifications for the action Russ takes and the story dissolves in suggestion and ambiguity. Russ is a complex character, with an interest in the Greeks and various philosophers yet ready and willing to mash his fist in any obliging face. In the end, Russ's life is unresolved, and so too is the story. --Mark Frutkin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

“In the Place of Last Things is a fine book by a very fine writer. In it, Michael Helm demonstrates that he has become one of Canada’s very best writers.”
—The Literary Review of Canada

“[S]hattering …. a steam train of a novel. Page after page etched with sentences so graceful, so hypnotically rhythmic and internally true to conditions, you’ll find yourself inside that singular bubble of experience reserved for the reading of a fiction marked to remain in the world long after you aren’t."
—Ken Babstock, The Ottawa Citizen

"The writing is funny and incisive, with a terrific newness about it…. Helm rises to the challenge of making our longing and imagining worthy and beautiful."
—Karen Solie, The Globe and Mail

"Occasionally a book comes along that stops you in your tracks. Michael Helm’s In the Place of Last Things … is that kind of book…. A beautiful achievement."
—The Toronto Star

“Helm possesses a terrific cadence of speech and language. He drops dialogue like a dime in a pay phone…. [P]oignant …. the writing soars.”
—The National Post

“In the Place of Last Things – potent, provocative, and stylish – confirms Helm as a major new talent.”
—Border Crossings

“This is the best thing I’ve read in a really long time. It’s totally convincing, a terrific blend of story, tension, humour, and language. . . . An amazing book.”
—Michael Winter

“Michael Helm’s very fine novel is a rarity, an eloquent and passionate appeal to both readers’ hearts and their minds.”
—Guy Vanderhaeghe

“A collision of muscle and sensuality, reason and vision. . . . A beautiful achievement.”
—Toronto Star

“[This book] only magnifies Michael Helm’s position within the handful of our best younger novelists.”
—Ottawa Citizen