- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Hyperion (Jan 8 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0786867795
- ISBN-13: 978-0786867790
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 16.3 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 513 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,233,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Alternative realities and parallel plot lines coexist in Ursu's surreal but psychologically acute second novel (after Spilling Clarence), in which a boy chosen from a circus audience to disappear during a clown's magic act really does disappear. Hannah and Justin Woodrow bring their daughter, Greta, to the circus for her seventh birthday, along with her five-year-old brother, James. Greta is outgoing, quick-witted and full of energy, while James is so quiet his mother plans to bring him to a specialist for tests. Both parents thrill when James is selected from the audience and responds charmingly to the clown's every request. Then, suddenly, James is gone. The police assign someone to watch over the family, but the officer turns from friend to aggressor while Mike the Clown is transformed from suspect to victim. Hannah dissociates, Justin obsesses and Greta does research. The child is the only one who is able to confront the loss directly. Ursu mixes realistic depictions of police interrogations and domestic tensions with fantastic interludes like a chapter imagining the day after James's disappearance as it would have been if the disappearance had not occurred. She delicately probes the worry and longing, guilt and rage, protectiveness and resentment that characterize parental love. James's "disapparation" is even more a mystery at the end of the novel than at the beginning, but it doesn't seem to matter, since Ursu wins the reader over with her humane wisdom and charming vision of the limitless possibilities of a child's imagination. One only wishes that Greta-the novel's pivotal character-were not quite so cloying.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Hannah and Justin Woodrow are enjoying a night out at a circus show with their two children, Greta and James. They are celebrating Greta's seventh birthday, and she is popping up and down in her auditorium seat unable to control her excitement over the impending show. This is not unusual for Greta, but five-year-old James, who is usually reserved and self-contained, is equally restless, and the Woodrows are quietly pleased by his recent burst of animation. When Mike the Clown makes his way onto the stage for the grand finale, he asks for a volunteer, and James surprises the Woodrows again by eagerly raising his hand. The clown chooses James to help him with a disappearing trick, and before the crowd's disbelieving eyes, little red-haired James Woodrow evaporates into thin air. Ursu maneuvers her characters through the stages of parental grief in a credible and insightful fashion, but does not support James' disappearance with physical or esoteric information, which leaves a void in what is otherwise a very innovative work of fiction. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
James Woodrow's parents have never seen him so excited. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
James Woodrow's parents have never seen him so excited. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
"A tantalinzingly good novel",
By A Customer
This review is from: Disapparation of James, The (Hardcover)
I started the book with the thought that it was going to be completely boring, and the first few pages were a bit tiring, but hey, it's not a kids book. But soon enough the book got interesting and then I found myself reading 100 pages in one night. I just couldn't help it. It was amazing. The bitterness and detail and the actual feelings of the storyline touched my heart, and when I finished the book, I found myself quite sad to be finished with it. But I haven't read Spilling Clarence yet, so I'm definetly going to go for it.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Read Like a Boring Dream,
By
This review is from: Disapparation of James, The (Paperback)
Although the hype on this book was very good, the only thing I can agree with is the statement, "Dreamlike", and a tedious, boring dream at that. It was so surreal and uneventful that I skimmed the last half, just to finish. Boring character development told in the third person.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific, and would make a GREAT MOVIE!,
By
This review is from: Disapparation of James, The (Hardcover)
One can only wish the young author the best success in all her future books! "Disapparition" is simply among the best written, most mesmorizing family loss books ever written. A real page turner, as well as a great look at a successful family which finds its young son suddenly vanished in a magic show. All the protagonists, including the magical clown, the neighbors, the police, and the media are drawn perfectly. And though the end may seem vague (supernatural?) even that is perfect too! Dont miss this one!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
