A French teacher who collects fiancés; a fortune-teller who fails to predict the heartbreak of her own daughter; an aging cowboy seduced by a city girl ... these are some of the unforgettable people who live in these pages.
In Vanishing and Other Stories, secrets are both kept and unearthed, and lives are shaped by missing lovers, parents, and children. With wisdom and dexterity, moments of dark humor, and a remarkable economy of words, Deborah Willis captures an incredible array of characters that linger in the imagination and prove that nothing is ever truly forgotten. -- from the back cover
I love collections of stories (fiction and non-fiction) and essays. The reason? If there is one story you do not like, the next chapter is a fresh start and doesn't effect the overall book. Genius, right?
Deborah Willis wrote some great stories, but my favorite was This Other Us. I don't know why this one spoke to me so much, but I personally found it super heartbreaking. I really felt for Lise (was that her real name?) when she was dressing up in Karen's outfits just so that her boyfriend would "like her" even when it was clear he didn't really love her. When Karen came back in the end and it was like nothing even happened, my heart broke. I wish that story was longer though!
Overall, I cannot think of one story that I did not enjoy in some way. The title of the book is Vanishing and I like that Deborah Willis doesn't give us all sunshine and rainbows. There is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy in this book, and it worked in these stories. I personally find it amazing she was able to fully develop these stories of heartbreak and loss in approximately 20 pages at a time, what a gift!
Be sure to check out Deborah Willis' website.
Thank you to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to read this book as part of their program. Here are the stops for the Vanishing TLC Book Tour:
Tuesday, August 17th: Booksie’s Blog
Wednesday, August 18th: Eleanor’s Trousers
Tuesday, August 24th: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, August 26th: Raging Bibliomania
Monday, August 30th: All About {n}
Wednesday, September 1st: In the Next Room
Tuesday, September 7th: she reads and reads
Wednesday, September 8th: Cozy Little House
Monday, September 13th: Rundpinne
Tuesday, September 14th: Confessions of a Bookaholic
Thursday, September 16th: Life in the Thumb
Wednesday, August 18th: Eleanor’s Trousers
Tuesday, August 24th: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, August 26th: Raging Bibliomania
Monday, August 30th: All About {n}
Wednesday, September 1st: In the Next Room
Tuesday, September 7th: she reads and reads
Wednesday, September 8th: Cozy Little House
Monday, September 13th: Rundpinne
Tuesday, September 14th: Confessions of a Bookaholic
Thursday, September 16th: Life in the Thumb
*book was provided by the publisher for review at confessions of a bookaholic...
as part of the TLC Book Tour.
2 comments:
Short stories are a difficult medium to work in because of their inherent "shortness" (is that really a word?!) but it sounds like this author really excels. I can't wait to read this myself!
Thanks for being a part of the tour, and I hope you are able to refocus your blog like you mentioned in your other post so that you can bring the joy back into reading.
I love reading short stories, especially when the "shortness works". I think Deborah Willis did a great job!
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