Vanishing and Other Stories by Deborah Willis
Short Summary:
Vanishing and Other Stories explores emotional and physical absences, the ways in which people leave, are left, and whether or not it’s ever possible to move on. Readers will encounter a skinny ice-cream scooper named Nina Simone, a vanishing visionary of social utopia, a French teacher who collects fiancés, and a fortune-telling mother who fails to predict the heartbreak of her own daughter. The characters in this collection will linger in the imagination, proving that nothing is ever truly forgotten.
My Review:
There may have been a little bit of magic in this book.
VANISHING and OTHER STORIES is a collection of short stories written by Deborah Willis. Every story deals with an absence of some sort; a missing father, a dead wife, a lover parted, childhood lost.
The writing in this book is phenomenal. Incredibly beautiful and moving and by the time I finished each short story I felt as if I’d been sucked into some kind of time warp and, in the process of just a few real-time minutes, read a novel of depth, length and substance. From the first sentence of each of these stories I was drawn into a world that needed no building because that sentence gave me a true sense of the history behind the story before it even really began.
This Other Us is one of the stories that seems to catch everyones attention and, while interesting and.. disturbing in its own way, it was Traces that really enraptured me. Focusing a story on senses and thoughts, the thoughts of a woman toward the woman who is usurping her in her husbands affections – and the twist.. oh the twist had me curling my toes and feeling the heat of anger inside of me wanting to erupt.
I’m not usually a fan of short stories (and this is the second collection I’ve read of them) but this book is a beautiful, perfect example of just how perfect they can be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Willis was born and raised in Calgary, AB. Her fiction has appeared in Grain, Event, Prism International, and is forthcoming inThe Walrus. Her first book, Vanishing and Other Stories, was named one of the the Globe and Mail’s Best Books of 2009, and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award and the BC Book Prize. She has worked as a horseback riding instructor and a reporter, and currently works as a bookseller in Victoria, BC.
To learn more please visit Deborah Willis’ website.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
