“Nothing Ever Happens” reads like a dream, although it is unclear what form of reality the narrative is set in. Is it a dream? Is Elijah dead? The story is injected with myriad colorful images and magical playfulness, sometimes to the story’s benefit, other times working against it. The sequence of events and images give it a strong sense of magical-realism. I like that the story is in present tense and begins with no background or context and just throws the reader into a chaotic world full of color and noise. We, the reader, are experiencing this world just as Elijah is.
While the story demands that the reader suspend their disbelief, I have no trouble doing this as the images and events are so vivid. The saturation of images and similes can be a little overwhelming and at times contrived, running off on long, winding tangents that pluck the reader from the scene and drop them in 12th-century Europe amidst fire and brimstone, giving the reader a strong glimpse into that alternate universe before ripping them right back into the story and Elijah.
I’m a bit torn on the title, as I always feel like lyrics from songs make great titles, but then feel kind of shitty because I can’t come up with one on my own. But then again, I do love Talking Heads. The title fits, and is relevant given what it refers to, and even offers a nice contradiction being that ‘heaven is a place where nothing ever happens,’ but then we see that so much happens to Elijah that it’s overwhelming and at times terrifying.
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