A French teacher who collects fiancEs; a fortune-teller who fails to predict the heartbreak of her own daughter; an aging cowboy seduced by a c... read full description
reviews
Sep 24, 2010
Gina
rated it: 
I read only the first four stories. Although I enjoyed the writing I found the stories very gloomy. I must be an optimist as I wish the characters had more insight and could create something positive from their situations. However I do appreciate the realism.
Aug 21, 2010
Lydia
rated it: 
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 minu More...
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 minu More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 18, 2010
eb
rated it: 
Holy God, can Deborah Willis write.
Her sentences are jewels, her paragraphs are necklaces--but nothing feels belabored or effortful. There's nothing extra, nothing boring, nothing fatty--but it's all delicious and rich. In the plainest language, Willis surprises. She never shows off. She's always original.
I wonder if this little excerpt will get the gist across:
"Your mother will visit once in these twenty-three years, when you fly her out to meet your It More...
Her sentences are jewels, her paragraphs are necklaces--but nothing feels belabored or effortful. There's nothing extra, nothing boring, nothing fatty--but it's all delicious and rich. In the plainest language, Willis surprises. She never shows off. She's always original.
I wonder if this little excerpt will get the gist across:
"Your mother will visit once in these twenty-three years, when you fly her out to meet your It More...
Sep 13, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
From my book review blog Rundpinne. (4.5 stars)
"Vanishing and Other Stories by Deborah Willis is a beautiful and emotional composition of short stories linked together with a common theme of loss. While not one to usually enjoy short stories, I found myself unable to put the book down as I greedily went from one story to the next in eager anticipation. Willis’ use of prose is both lyrical and deeply emotional, moving the reader in each of her fourteen stories, with the commo More...
"Vanishing and Other Stories by Deborah Willis is a beautiful and emotional composition of short stories linked together with a common theme of loss. While not one to usually enjoy short stories, I found myself unable to put the book down as I greedily went from one story to the next in eager anticipation. Willis’ use of prose is both lyrical and deeply emotional, moving the reader in each of her fourteen stories, with the commo More...
Sep 15, 2010
Staci
rated it:
Descriptive Words: page-turning, gripping, funny, emotional, aggravating, cliff hangers
What worked for me:
* Each story stood well on its own, and it also felt like a cohesive book with loss, disappearing, vanishing as the elements that pulled it together.
* I was amazed at how eloquently Willis could tell a story in such a short amount of words and pages. I was immediately drawn into each story and didn't want them to end.
* There are several stories More...
What worked for me:
* Each story stood well on its own, and it also felt like a cohesive book with loss, disappearing, vanishing as the elements that pulled it together.
* I was amazed at how eloquently Willis could tell a story in such a short amount of words and pages. I was immediately drawn into each story and didn't want them to end.
* There are several stories More...
Sep 01, 2010
Zoë
rated it:
"To let go, to disappear, to forget himself. To exist in another’s skin, and then- on the long drive home- to return to himself, with another’s knowledge. To escape. It was the only way to live."
Vanishing and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Canadian writer Deborah Willis. The book was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and contains fourteen stories, each approximately twenty pages and dealing with some sort of absence, ma More...
Vanishing and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Canadian writer Deborah Willis. The book was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and contains fourteen stories, each approximately twenty pages and dealing with some sort of absence, ma More...
Oct 06, 2011
Kasandra
rated it: 
This collection of stories is very well-connected. By that, I mean the thread of "Vanishing" appears in every story in some way. On the positive side, this makes the stories hang together as a collection. On the other hand, by the end of the book, I felt like the "pow" had gone out of the stories, and I was reading the same basic voice over and over. Though some of these really impressed me (The Weather, Escape, Traces, Remember, Relive), not a few of these left me cold (This
More...
Jul 08, 2009
Tricia
rated it:
Just finished this book from a talented young writer who parlayed a job at Munro's Bookstore a few blocks from my house into an introduction to Penguin by Jim Munro (Alice's ex) and a front cover endorsement by Alice Munro herself. The stories are beautifully rendered and I found one of them to be brilliant: "Caught" starts out, "There's more than one way it could go," and tells the story entirely in the subjunctive. Another favorite was the story of two sisters whose parents
More...
Sep 08, 2010
Nely
rated it:
What a sad, unnerving, yet touching and memorable set of short stories. I cant' really say that I am fond of short stories - although I must confess, that as of late, they have been growing on me more and more.
These 14 stories have a common thread - someone or something is missing. It could be the absence of a loved one or the death of a significant other, even the loss of something - in the end someone vanishes and someone is left behind. These are the stories of those who stay, More...
These 14 stories have a common thread - someone or something is missing. It could be the absence of a loved one or the death of a significant other, even the loss of something - in the end someone vanishes and someone is left behind. These are the stories of those who stay, More...
Aug 05, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
These are the hardest books for me to review, as I am not the most cerebral women in the world. But hey I do know what cerebral means, and I didn't have to spell check it, so I am not completely without intelligence. The writers are fantastic, I do get that, but their stories are just not my thing, and I don't want my review to discourage someone from reading their work. At the same time, I cannot give the book a high rating, if I really didn't enjoy it. Just wanted to give you a heads up and
More...
Aug 01, 2011
This collection of unique stories tackles how people deal with losses of the human kind. Each situation brings us into a tiny window of humanity, and how that person reacts to absence. A farm girl's teenage friend works her way into her divorced father's life - then his bed - before leaving town. A prominent writer steps out of the house and into thin air, leaving his wife and forcing his daughter to seek out her own way. A wife who is losing her husband to another woman uses alcohol to get the
More...
Jul 30, 2011
M
rated it:
This collection of unique stories tackles how people deal with losses of the human kind. Each situation brings us into a tiny window of humanity, and how that person reacts to absence. A farm girl's teenage friend works her way into her divorced father's life - then his bed - before leaving town. A prominent writer steps out of the house and into thin air, leaving his wife and forcing his daughter to seek out her own way. A wife who is losing her husband to another woman uses alcohol to get the
More...
Oct 18, 2010
Matt
rated it:
Very recently, I had to write a conflict piece for my Young Adult Fiction class, and, being the "wannabe nihilist" I am, I ended up submitting a short story wherein absolutely nothing happens. See, what I mean by being a "wannabe nihilist" is that I have developed an unhealthy obsession with the notion of nihilism over the years: I envy the philosophical freedom of it and want to leave behind all of my constricting opinions and beliefs. It just isn't in my nature though; I ha
More...
Jan 13, 2011
Sara
rated it:
This woman can write. She messes with POV (writes in second person in more than one of her stories, which is so hard to do well) and deals with some uncomfortable ideas of sex (across vast age gaps, for example), but she manages to do it in a way where you find yourself completely on board, thinking of course that's the way the story had to be written. I was torn between giving this book 4 or 5 stars, and the subject matter was what pushed it down to 4. The writing alone would easily get a 5.
More...
Oct 06, 2011
T.Y.
rated it:
I can't believe I've never heard of Deborah Willis before. She is truly a force to be reckoned with. The first story was a bit lack luster, but I saw some promise, and once I continued reading, I could not stop. Even though this is a series of short stories, each story seemed to build momentum and force. Willis is amazing. I can't think of enough positive adjectives to describe her writing.
Also, what I liked best about this anthology is that it was cohesive. There was a clear recogni More...
Also, what I liked best about this anthology is that it was cohesive. There was a clear recogni More...
Nov 19, 2011
Steven
rated it:
Vanishing is another nominee for the Governor-General's English Fiction Prize, and certainly for me is a first introduction into the impressive short story writing of Deborah Willis. Alice Munro, the present star of Canadian short story literature, praises Willis highly on the front cover, and one can understand Munro's appreciation for the quotidian themes and poised style that mirror her own work. This is, mind you, a new and younger generation whose lives Willis probes so well, dr
More...
Jun 25, 2011
NerdGirlBlogger
rated it:
Being a huge pop culture junkie, the first thing that pops into my mind to describe this book is that it is dark and twisty, like Meredith and Cristina on Grey’s Anatomy. I am a dark and twisty girl, which is why I can appreciate dark and twisty stories. If you are a bright and shiny girl, I’m not 100% sure this book is for you. But keep reading, I may be able to convince you to go to the dark side.
Vanishing and Other Stories is a gripping and gloomy collection of 14 short stories, More...
Vanishing and Other Stories is a gripping and gloomy collection of 14 short stories, More...
May 27, 2011
Emilie
rated it:
One of the best collections of short fiction from someone other than Alice Munro that I have read in a very long time. Possibly since Melissa Bank's Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Loved it. Found the book again in my suitcase from last summer, and continued where I left off. Haunting, melancholy stories of loss or separation, yet lovely writing. I really enjoyed where each of the stories went. Always unexpected, but just the right amount of surprise. A talent to watch for sure.
Oct 05, 2010
Cindy
rated it:
I am giving it four stars because I'm a fan of short stories. I wait every year for the "Best Short Stories of 20____). Even if you're not a fan you might appreciate the tag that describes the book: "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."
I would read a story over lunch and enjoyed them all. Maybe 3-1/2 but entertaining, thought provoking.
I would read a story over lunch and enjoyed them all. Maybe 3-1/2 but entertaining, thought provoking.
May 13, 2011
Patty
rated it:
I am not sure how to write about this book. It was wonderful, but that word does not seem adequate. Each story was clearly independent from the other stories and all of them were amazing. I was blown away by the title story, by Traces, by Frank, by most of the collection. I found myself going back, trying to figure out how Willis put her words together. She seemed able to take English, the language I have always spoken and show me new ways to string words together.
I am eagerly exp More...
I am eagerly exp More...
Nov 07, 2009
Alexis
rated it:
There were some GREAT stories in here. I loved her use of language and some of the themes in the stories. That said, there were several stories written in second person, which I can't read without getting annoyed. The themes were also extremely repetitive and it became difficult to distinguish one story from another. Still, there was some really wonderful work in here.
Mar 06, 2011
Shan
rated it:
I loved this book! Each of these stories is just a perfect little world. Also, after reading the author interview in the back, I discovered that she works at Munro's bookstore in Victoria, B.C. -- one of my favorite bookstores in all the land. How cool would it be to walk into a bookstore and tell the person behind the desk how much you loved her book?
Jun 29, 2010
MariNaomi
rated it:
What a fantastic book! Nearly every short story was so rich and powerful, I had to put the book down between each one and collect myself. It was like reading mini-novels: every character felt rounded-out to the last detail. It's exactly what a book of short, unrelated stories should be. I think this is supposed to come out in September. I hope she wins lots of awards for it.
Dec 28, 2009
Alice
rated it:
The only reason I read this book is because Deborah Willis went to camp with my friend. That said this was a great read and has completely turned me on to short stories. I have a whole list of other short story books to work through now.
I really liked the majority of these stories, but as I imagine is the case with any collection of short stories, some are going to seem better or weaker depending on the reader. The title story of “Vanishing” was definitely very strong, and I also wou More...
I really liked the majority of these stories, but as I imagine is the case with any collection of short stories, some are going to seem better or weaker depending on the reader. The title story of “Vanishing” was definitely very strong, and I also wou More...
Sep 27, 2011
Casey
rated it:
I think that, if I had read any of these stories on their own, I would have enjoyed them. Each was perfectly melancholy and beautifully written. However, taken as a whole, I felt that there was not enough variation tone. It was just downer after downer. In my head, I added "And then everyone was sad for the rest of their lives" at the end of each story.
Jan 23, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
A collection of beautiful, sad, lonely moments. Could not put the book down if I was in the middle of one of the stories - I needed to know how each and every one wrapped up. I'm typically not a fan of short stories, since they always feel unfinished to me. These were all 100% satisfying. Felt like opening windows on different people's lives and visiting for a while. Completely delightful from start to finish.
Jan 23, 2012
Laura
rated it:
Lots of great stories in here. My personal favorite was the one about the girl who lived with a couple, and how she and the guy dealt with (I think her name was Karen?) leaving, although it was also heart-breaking.
Sep 21, 2010
Tricia
rated it:
Beautifully written. I was easily sucked into each of the stories. But gloomy and somewhat dark. Click here for my full review.
Feb 08, 2011
Alverna
rated it:
Very good book, not in that "I can't put it down" way, but rather as an emotional exploration of loss over the course of 14 short stories. Kind of depressing, but Deborah Willis is an amazing up and coming new author. I will definitely look for her books in the future.
Jan 11, 2011
This is another NPR recommendation. The library wants it back before I have time to get to it so I'm noting it here for later.
