| The Disapparation of James Contributor(s): Ursu, Anne (Author) |
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ISBN: 0786886633 ISBN-13: 9780786886630 Publisher: Hachette Books OUR PRICE: $20.89 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2004 Annotation: Prolific and Talented Young Writer--Thisis Anne's second novel in two years, and she's well into her third. Similar Themes of Loss and Vulnerability and Joy--Anne continues to mine the rich territory of family bonds and how they are broken and mended. The Woodrow family is going to the circus. It's Greta's seventh birthday, and this is the main event. Greta has always been smart, chatty, and vivacious. Her 5-year-old brother James, though is a different story. Shy and a little removed, James is deeply loved by his sister and his parents, Hannah and Justin. Hannah has always been a little worried about James, though, and she's calling in the specialists. Buck back to the circus. Hannah and Justin couldn't be more surprised when shy little James sticks his arm straight in the air, an eager volunteer for the magic act. His parents glow with pride and relief as they watch their son climb the stage and come quite alive alongside the clown performing the magic tricks. The trick is spectacular and applause rings throughout the auditorium when James goes poof at the end, seeming to disappear before their very eyes. The trouble is, he really did disappear. Justin and Hannah find this out when they go backstage to retrieve their son after the performance and find out that their sun is utterly gone. The clown doesn't know how he did it, but he really did make little James go poof. The police arrive, and James quickly becomes the face on the milk carton. Devastated, Justin and Hannah learn that when you lose your child, the laws of the universe come into question. Secretly, sheepishly, Justin and Hannah admit that they really do believe that James has not been kidnapped, but that he did indeeddisappear into thin air. In the aftermath of James's disappearance, his mother becomes lost in dreams, his father becomes obsessed with the clown who performed the trick, while his big sister, Greta, sets about to figure out what happened to her brother using the only tools she has. Meanwhile the police officer assigned to the house begins to find the rules of his own previously reliable world altered. A novel peppered with dreams, premonitions, and possible realities, The Disapparation of James explores the perils of loving and the meaning of loss, and the beauty and uncertainty inherent in familial bonds. It is a work of enormous sensitivity, tenderness, and with from the highly praised author of Spilling Clarence. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary - Fiction | Psychological |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2002027324 |
| Physical Information: 0.72" H x 5.85" W x 8.96" (0.80 lbs) 278 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - Family |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: From the highly praised author of Spilling Clarence, a luminous novel about the joy of family and the perils of loving. The Woodrow family is going to the circus to celebrate Greta's seventh birthday. When five-year-old brother James eagerly volunteers to join the magic act, his parents watch with pride as he climbs onto the stage alongside the clown. The trick is spectacular and applause rings through the crowd as James disappears--vanishing before their very eyes. The trouble is, James really did disappear . . . into thin air. In the aftermath of James's disappearance, with the police investigation providing no clues, the laws of the universe come into question. His mother becomes lost in her dreams and his father becomes obsessed with the clown, while his big sister Greta sets out to figure out what happened. A novel peppered with dreams, premonitions, and possible realities, The Disapparation of James is a work of enormous sensitivity, tenderness, and wit. |