When We Disappear: A Novel by Lise Haines

When We Disappear: A Novel by Lise Haines. Unbridled Books. Copyright June 2018.; hb. 304 pp.; ISBN: 9781609531478.

Mona and her father, Richard, are out driving when the unthinkable happens.  They are in a car accident, which we don’t discover until well into the novel, caused by Richard and a mother and child die because Richard panics and leaves the scene.  The rest of the story fleshes out the consequence of those few minutes of inaction.  In one sense, they are horrific for the victims who die.  In another sense they are tragic as Mona and her father live day after day with that event coloring their every thought, word and deed.  It’s almost beyond words to explain!

Yet this event coincides with Mona’s teenage years and Richard’s life as the economy causes him to lose his job.  His answer is to leave home, “looking for a job” and wandering from state to state.  He meets people of all kind, no spoilers here, who represent various personalities, careers, etc., including circus people, and other normal and different types.  Mona’s Mom, who is extremely talented in making sculptures that sell and show in galleries with great acclaim until the failing economy forces her to put her artistic career on hold.  Now they must sell their home, move into a small apartment and make do with whatever money they can make with occasional small amounts sent by Richard.

Mona is basically rebelling against it all.  She develops her own artistic senses as a photographer, sleeps with the man training her in her future career and other guys.  Yet there’s a sense of responsibility that endearingly holds her to monitor the well-being of her Mom and her sister Lola, as well as expressing her teenage angst with snipes of irony and more.

You will have to wait for the incredible ending of this poignant story to experience the surprising quality of closeness and separation that abide together in this unique priceless family. 

Lise Haines is a phenomenal writer.  This is not a bleak book despite its tragic circumstances.  It’s a story of loss, lies, betrayal, deep love and rehabilitation which makes every one of its characters grow into true human richness!  This is a potent, unusual and memorable read that this reviewer highly recommends!

A Dozen Truths: 12 Works of Fiction by Editors Lou Aronica and Aaron Brown

A Dozen Truths: 12 Works of Fiction. Lou Aronica (editor) and Aaron Brown (editor). The Story Plant. March 2017. 230 pp. ISBN #: 9781611882513.

Truth is redeeming but may not always lead a person where he or she imagined.  The short stories within these pages, three of which won first short story awards, deal with perceptions of reality that startle the reader.  The collection begins with “Join” by Eric Andersson in which a young man’s grief over his pet which becomes obsessive voices in his head that haunt his days and nights, increasing on an evening that should have been a break from his seclusion to join his long-neglected friends.  The end of the story has a shockingly eerie, Ray Bradbury quality that is unforgettable.  In Marcia Gloster’s “Losing Will,” a young woman knows her boss is a “lady’s man” who hits on every woman who works for him only this is not just a love ‘em and lose ‘em scenario; payback is probable and darn uncomfortable (tongue in cheek). 

“Howard and Pablo” by Earl Javorsky pulls two of the most incomparable characters together – Howard Hughes and Pablo Casals.  Hughes is rich enough to get whatever he wants and he wants the passionate music of Casals, but neither is ready for what emerges from the initial demand.  In “Ollie” by Carmen Siegers, what gives that a child is more upset about the cat who has disappeared than the fact that the parents announce they are getting divorced?

My favorite story, “Lost” by Steven Manchester, is from the novel Ashes about two estranged brothers who travel together on a long trip and truly get to know each other in ways they never knew.  It’s funny, poignant and life-changing!

Many of these stories seem to be about “loss,” losing which is part of every life, but often being of our own making rather than arbitrary events.  It’s about affecting events rather than only being a victim of events.  This reviewer can truly say that all of these writers have great skill.  The reader is also provided with introductory sections to each story where one reads the biography, related works and thoughts about the thoughts behind each story.

Great contemporary fiction that this reviewer highly recommends! 

All The Time In The World: A Novel by Caroline Angell

All The Time In The World: A Novel.  Caroline Angell. Holt, Henry and Company, Inc.. July 2016. 336 pp.  ISBN#: 9781627794015.

Charlotte is a musician who is currently unemployed and wondering what she’s to do with her degrees and talents in music.  She has a sometimes on and sometimes off boyfriend who is also a composer but for now she’s taken a job as a babysitter of the two McLean boys, Matty and George, in the upper East Side of Manhattan.  She has no intention of making this a permanent job but she, like the reader, is quickly enamored of these two funny and caring little boys.  Their parents, Scotty and Gretchen, are also unusual people who treat Charlotte as more than an employee, indeed a family member.  The two boys are typical boys who keep this tale from seeming too good to be true.

The normal day-to-day events come to a devastating halt when Gretchen dies and the remainder of the story becomes very complex as each character attempts to deal with this searing loss.  Charlotte knows she is only an employee but also knows she is such an integral part of this broken family that she cannot just walk away from them, adding another traumatic loss to the experiences of these lost little boys and their father.  Some other characters, like Scotty’s brother, add to the humorous, edgy and sexy textures woven into this memorable story.

Caroline Angell has written a beautiful novel about loss and love that shows exceptional skill in exploring the multi-layered reactions to a family’s coping skills. No, it’s not depressing because the scenes are presented with remarkable sensitivity that also includes irony, laughter, and other “normal” scenes because life does go on in spite of the most grievous pain accompany loss. It’s also made even more fascinating as it weaves back and forth between the present, past and future. The reader never knows what to expect and this skillful presentation of time adds to the connected elements that weave together to form one unique story.

Very nicely done, Caroline Angell – highly recommended contemporary fiction!