“This Never Happened” by R. Tim Morris

This Never Happened     

R. Tim Morris
Empire Stamp (2019)
ISBN: 978-1999072810
Reviewed by Sandra Cruz for Reader Views (05/2024)

Cepik Small is the protagonist in “This Never Happened,” and he lives in Coney Island. He goes by the nickname “Epic” but there is nothing extraordinary about his life. He works at Brooklyn Whites, a laundry and linen supply company and he has always felt like an outsider, like he was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. It doesn’t help that while growing up, his mother would always tell him that he was “born ten thousand years too late to understand.” Constantly in a state of confusion and trying to find his place in the world, he is under the care of a therapist and taking copious amounts of prescription drugs. When not dreaming about a fantasy life, he tends to daydream and zone out. His life begins to change when he gets a new therapist and Abigail Ayr, a highly unusual girl, unexpectantly walks into his life. It is only after Epic finds a novel on the subway, which strangely mirrors events in his own life, that the truth behind his dreams and identity crisis becomes clear.

In “This Never Happened,” R. Tim Morris gives us an introspective view of Epic’s life by having most of the action take place in his mind. By using the unusual but refreshing 2^nd person point of view, you become absorbed into the action, making it feel like someone is narrating your life. On top of everything that Epic has to deal with, he also suffers from prosopagnosia, so he can’t recall faces and his way of remembering people is to watch for behaviors or ticks that will help his memory. He is so unsure of himself and always questioning his actions, feelings, and life in general, so he lives by the mantra: Identity is not reality. The people closest to him, his co-worker Armand Bester and Abigail Ayr try to help him cope with the curveballs that life sends him but even they have ulterior motives.

I was drawn to this story due to it being a speculative fiction novel with hints of an unreliable narrator and was curious to find out what was really going on in Epic’s life. The first sentence automatically hooked me in:

I shouldn’t be here.

because it sets the general sense of confusion that Epic is experiencing and foreshadows the reality of his life. I related to his outsider mentality and sympathized with him when he regains consciousness after being knocked out and is immediately missing the “white light of unconsciousness.”

Part speculative fiction, part literary fiction, this excellent novel has elements of science fiction and is mostly character driven. The language is beautifully descriptive:

The breeze from the fan behind you catches the stark white tips of her hair, and they tease the space above her like a cat might test a bowl of sour milk with its tongue.

It plunges the reader into its complex and disorienting clutches and doesn’t let go until the final shocking chapter when the narration changes to 1st person point of view and the pieces finally come together for a satisfying ending.

Overall, “This Never Happened” is a truly unique novel that explores the themes of identity, family, death, and redemption. Some of the best books leave you pondering what you just read for days to come, and this one is no exception. The plot twists, character development, and philosophical reflections make it a must read. It is recommended for readers who enjoy character driven literary fiction, with some mystery and science fiction to keep it interesting.

At first, it’s just a ripple. Like a clear, flimsy screen blowing in the wind. Or like the surface of a nearly-still pond. But upon staring for only seconds at the anomaly, you see it more as a shadowy shimmer, stitched into nothing but the air.