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.
Industry Reviews
"[A] wry, haunting meditation on love, loss and family ties."
"In The Disapparation of James, Anne Ursu takes a terrifying premise and writes about it with a wit, warmth and wisdom that is irresistible."
"Minneapolis native Anne ursu...has given us a fine New Year's gift with her new novel...If other books published in 2003 are as good as this one, we're in for exciting reads."
"This bold novel manages to be tender, harrowing, playful, wild, and full of hope all at the same time."
"Ursu gently teases out the tale of a close-knit family whose youngest child, James, vanishes into thin air--literally...Ursu's storyis sweetly done, her own compelling magic trick."
"Ursu wins the reader over with her humane wisdom and charming vision of the limitless possibilities of a child's imagination."
