The World More Full of Weeping

by Robert J. Wiersema

Eleven-year-old Brian Page spends every waking moment in the forest behind the house where he lives with his father. But forests are always deeper than anyone can know. Secrets are hidden in the eternal twilight of the trees. Those secrets emerge into light when Brian disappears in the forest, as his father did three decades before. His father, however, came home with no memory of the events in the depths of the forest. What has drawn Brian away? Will he emerge, shuddering and broken, as his father did, or will the forests close around him, as they have done so often before?

The book also includes an essay by the author called "Places and Names."

Reviews - What's Being Said About The World More Full of Weeping

With The World More Full of Weeping, author Robert J. Wiersema proves that one can tell an eerie and captivating story without resorting to violence or spilling a single drop of blood. This short novella, about a preteen who goes missing in the same woods that his father did as a child (where they both encounter a strange girl), is graceful and potent, and will appeal to fans of quiet, introspective horror.
– Monica S. Kuebler, Rue Morgue
(H)aunting . . . seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience.
– Publishers Weekly
(A) moving character study about grief and lost possibilities, and also a love song to the Canadian wilderness off British Columbia . . . The resolution is heartbreaking, without devolving into obvious horror cliches or offering easy solutions. Wiersema is a writer of great delicacy."
– Tim Pratt, Locus Magazine
Who hasn't stared out into the trees and wondered what magic still lingered within their depths? In Robert J. Wiersema's novella . . . the wonder and dread of the wilderness are firmly on display.
– Chadwick Ginther, McNallyRobinson.com
Wiersema displays a fascination with hidden worlds, inexplicable phenomena and the ineffable, and a talent for working them into taut and suspenseful narratives.
– Karen Virag, Edmonton Journal
When the dividing line between self and fiction blurs it is something that is truly wonderful and it is something that The World More Full of Weeping achieves in spades.
– King of the Nerds!!!
Named One of 2009's Best Reads
(A) creepy little story here (literally got chills), that not only drew me in completely but made me wish that it had been a full length novel. The writing was not only rich but also powerful. It touched on a subject close to my heart and experience. Great read!
– The Novel Blog
It's a compelling read, a heartfelt one, and it flies by like the best bits of Stephen King. The ending is perfect and crystal-clear, part and parcel of a literary wonder that clutches your heart in the dearest way imaginable . . . This one is a stunner and as recommended as it gets.
– Bookslut
The novella's rich language, true-to-life characters, setting so alive you can feel it on your skin (even the fantasy parts) and a plot that drags your legs out from under you as a reader, keeps the pages turning.
– Barbara Hunt, Reading as Writers
This short, but beautiful, fantasy work takes up only 68 pages, but tells a deep story about a world that can only be entered through the deep forest, and only a very few have ever been invited . . . an elegant piece of prose that fans of the author's first novel, Before I Wake, will want to enjoy.
– SFRevu
Wiersema takes readers to a new and unnerving place, complete with spine-tingling chills.
– Jillayna Adamson, The Martlet
A spellbinding novella . . . like fantasy but is not really fantasy. It is more like a dream. Wiersema's writing is cool and clear, a stream deep in the woods . . . This book is a mysterious gem.
– Page247
There are no wasted lines here, no distracting tangents or subplots . . . It is focused, straight forward, clean, and above all, full of depth and meaning . . . Wiersema captures the father's desperation, as well as the mother's, and the awkward state between them. When the story focuses on Brian, we are lost in an 11-year old's world and the voice for both narratives is strong and true.
– Steve Lowe, Assorted ShitzenGiggles