Book review— Davis’ ‘Here Where We Stand’
- Published: August 28, 2026
By Scott Geisel
Those familiar with local author Ed Davis’ work and his 2005 novel, “The Measure of Everything,” will recognize Davis’ love of Yellow Springs and his propensity to write about that. His new work, a collection of linked stories, “Here Where We Stand,” visits the spirit of the village in similar ways.
This work is not strictly a roman à clef — “a novel with a key” that uses real people and places to explore themes in fictionalized ways. These are linked stories, not a novel, and these stories are more fiction drawing from life than a retelling of real life. But local readers will recognize things in Davis’ stories like the village of Shawnee Springs, the Glenora Wood nature preserve, Route 86 and Aha Pizza, as transformations of local entities.
These stories are literary fiction, designed to resonate with readers by depicting elements of life we recognize in ourselves as shared experiences. A thought by a newcomer to the village in the first story of the collection illustrates Davis’ methods and familiarity with the literary fiction genre when that character wonders about others: “Maybe something similar had happened to them.”
Not every line, image or element in the book should resonate with every reader, as is true of any fiction, but on the whole these stories are designed to seek out connection with readers. Davis does this very well: he writes with authenticity to create opportunities for readers to recognize and relate to — that’s what resonance is, and it is the heart of literary fiction.
Reading generates embodied semantics and reinforces empathy. That means neural pathways that are active during actual real-life activity work in similar ways when reading about them, and reading about experiences helps generate understanding and perspective. Those effects are at the core of what Davis accomplishes in these stories, building situations into the fiction that allows readers the opportunity to be transported.
There’s an earthy, mystic, contemplative and ethereal vibe in these stories that will appeal best to those who appreciate or want to experience similar themes. There are heavy doses of faith, religion, spirit figures, visions, symbolism, self-reflection, epiphany and desire for transformation. There is also a very heavy dose of nature and its ability to temper and transmute life experiences. All of that happens in Davis’ fictional Shawnee Springs. Those who know Yellow Springs will recognize the immense importance that this real village means to the writer and his work.
Find Ed Davis’ book at Dark Star and Tesseract book shops in Yellow Springs.
He will be introducing the book at the Yellow Springs Senior Center on Thursday, May 28, and at Tesseract Books on Thursday, June 18, both at 7 p.m.
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