''The Between'' (1995) is the first novel by writer

Tananarive Due Tananarive Priscilla Due ( ) (born January 5, 1966) is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel '' The Living Blood''. She is also known as a film historian with expertise in Black horror. Due teaches a cours ...

. It was nominated for the 1996

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

.1996 WORLD HORROR CONVENTION: Bram Stoker Awards and Nominees
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Plot

A middle-class

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

couple's life is shattered when the wife begins receiving death threats. The husband begins to experience an alternative reality so real he has trouble grasping which is real. His psychiatrist diagnosis him as a latent schizophrenic. The family must decide if its schizophrenia, are the dreams a cosmic death threat or has the husband become unstuck from this reality and become stuck between worlds.

Reviews

Part horror novel, part detective story and part speculative fiction, ''The Between'' is a mix of genres. Yet it is no hybrid. It is a finely honed work that always engages and frequently surprises.
-- JAMES POLK, ''The New York Times''

Development of novel

The lengthy autobiographical essay by Due elucidates the history and context of her first novel ''The Between'' among many other works and details of her life. Due also subtly suggests the horrifying thought that pervades the story but is left tactfully unspoken: if each of us creates our own reality, then ultimately we are all alone in the world.

References

1995 American novels American horror novels Novels by Tananarive Due HarperCollins books African-American novels {{1990s-horror-novel-stub