An Dantomine Eerly by J.R.D. Middleton

An Dantomine Eerly by J.R.D. Middleton is unique. Going into a local bookstore, this is not the type of book one usually picks up. Gothic, errie, and poetically sound with a lot of the hardcore grit that probably won’t make a best-seller’s list.

Book Description
“You are invited to witness Dallin’s passage into death. The ailing poet distantly recalls his own life through the language of a damaged psyche and the symbols of a spirit upended by violent transformation. In this, memories abound: an old, wind beaten house where a palpable absence suggests a past but somehow still-looming tragedy; vacancy permeates a ghostly barroom and the campus of a condemned university; city streets and desolated forests are populated by no one except the changing formulations of Dallin’s own mind. His inner conflict reigns, and the geography takes on the disorientation and divisiveness at the center of us all. Along with his wife Aìsling, the two flee an obscure political persecution which leads to her graphic, methodically planned murder. The impact of her death afflicts a lone Dallin in ways he cannot comprehend, spiraling him headlong into his meeting with the mythic celestial escort, An Dantomine Eerly.

This intensely original novel is a skillful re-conception of the old Irish poetic form the aìsling, literally meaning “dream vision” or “vision-poem.” As a reader you are personally addressed, called to the role of interpreter and revelator, allowing the story to unfold towards its strange, genre-defying conclusion. Through you, this story affords its telling. Dallin sends his regards.” – An Dantomine Eerly


My Thoughts
In high school, I was the editor-in-chief of our literary/art magazine. I read through a lot of submissions for that, and also the class each week had to come up with new material and we’d critique each other. It was fun and my favorite class I’ve ever had. This book brings me back to those days. There were a couple people in my class who wrote very “dark” and “gothic” pieces - I even wrote a few every now and then.

This isn’t really a “feel good” kind of book. It is raw and makes you feel kind of dirty and weird – but in a good way, if that is possible. An Dantomine Eerly is quite gothic, eerie, and poetically unique. This perhaps may not be a book for everyone, but for those into this type of genre, give it a shot.


Thank you to the publisher of An Dantomine Eerly, Dark Coast Press for providing me with a review copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.