Vanishing and Other Stories

Mar 06, 2013 Massimiliano Laviola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: americana, racconti

Ho scelto questa raccolta di racconti dopo aver letto una bella recensione sul blog di Paolo Cognetti. Li ho trovati originali e scritti in maniera lineare. Si parla di persone, sentimenti, ricordi che svaniscono e di cosa resta. Il succo sta nell'incipit del racconto "Affidarsi" che dice: “La gente semplicemente scompare. Mia moglie se n’è andata. Mia madre ha raggiunto una vecchiaia robusta. E mia figlia la vedo solo raramente.”
Molti hanno paragonato lo stile di DW alla Munro. Credo sia vero...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Simone Subliminalpop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Notevole l’esordio di Deborah Willis (autrice lodata anche da una pietra miliare come Alice Munro). Un libro compatto, sicuro, essenziale, e uno stile conscio, chiaro e scorrevolissimo (dove spesso si gioca con l’intreccio dei tempi o dei piani narrativi).
Le vicende che vanno a comporre i quattordici racconti della raccolta, sono molto vari nei nuclei che le compongono (giovani coppie, padri e figlie, etc.), ma sono tutte fortemente legate tra di loro, come da titolo, perché c’è sempre qualcuno...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Gina rated it 2 of 5 stars

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.

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Aug 21, 2010 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, fiction, short_stories

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 minutes, read a novel of depth...more

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Jun 18, 2010 eb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 Italian and his two sons. She will sit in y...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 commonality of something...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Staci rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Staci by: TLC Tour Book

Shelves: 2010-reads, tlc-tour

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 that I wanted to continue because I seriousl...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was full of short stories that covered all emotions. I do not usually read books made up of short stories because I feel they lack details of the story. This book was pretty good and I did enjoy reading it for the most part. The book itself was not bad, the stories were well written, it just is not my type of book. I read a book to enjoy plot lines, details, and closure…I just feel short stories don’t do these things very well because they are so short. Not a whole lot to tell about th...more This book was full of short stories that covered all emotions. I do not usually read books made up of short stories because I feel they lack details of the story. This book was pretty good and I did enjoy reading it for the most part. The book itself was not bad, the stories were well written, it just is not my type of book. I read a book to enjoy plot lines, details, and closure…I just feel short stories don’t do these things very well because they are so short. Not a whole lot to tell about this book, except that the stories were better than most I have read in the past. The author did a good job writing the stories, at no time was I thinking that they all were starting to sound alike.

3/5 Stars. Well written just not my cup of tea.

Below is a summary of one of the short stories (for my Versatile Challenge):
This Other Us
This is a short story about 3 roommates that met while in college. They moved in together as a tight group of friends would, even though Karen and Lawrence are a couple and Lise is just a friend. Lise has a hard time making friends and is very glad that they decide, even after college, to stay living together. They just work as roommates. Lise is a shy girl when it comes to clothing she wears and makeup. Karen is very…eccentric and outgoing. Lawrence plans to one day marry Karen. Then one day Lise comes home to a different truck in the driveway and when she enters the apartment she walks in to Karen packing and calling a strange man babe. Within minutes Karen is gone, Lawrence is tempted to commit suicide, and Lise has lost her closest friend. Lawrence and Lise grieve the loss in their own ways and soon, to feel closer to Karen again, Lise starts wearing some clothes Karen left behind. At first she does this only in private, but one day Lawrence comes home and tells her he likes her in Karen’s stuff. Soon Lise is wearing Karen’s stuff more and before she knows it her and Lawrence soon become lovers. One thought plagues Lise though, does Lawrence care for her because she is who she is…or does he care for her because of Karen’s clothes she wears and makeup she wears? And will Karen come back? What will happen if she does?

I think this was my favorite story in this book. I liked the concept of it, reminded me of real life in a way I could relate to.(less)

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Sep 01, 2010 Zoë (In The Next Room) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy, short-stories

"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, maybe physical or maybe emo...more "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, maybe physical or maybe emotional, in the character's life. Like the theme of disappearances Willis' writing has a subtlety and depth to it. It is by no means in-your-face or harsh, but something far more eloquent and lovely. The stories themselves have a definite sense of their Western context, Willis grew up in Alberta afterall, and it was refreshing to read a book where I recognized the names and locations, at one point it even mentioned the town where I currently live. For a Canadian, who rarely reads Canadian authors, Willis was a breath of fresh air not only because of her nationality but because of her calm, controlled and exquisite prose.

Reading Vanishing and Other Stories, I was very concerned that the theme which tied the stories together would become dull and predictable by the end. Fortunately, Willis manages to have a fresh take on absence with each story and I enjoyed almost the entire collection. My favourite was "Traces" in which a wife addresses her husband's mistress, a woman she knows only because of the traces she leaves behind:

the musky smell of lavender and molasses in the house, his rushed phone calls when he thinks I’m not listening, the look on his face. Maybe if we met, I could explain my situation. Explain my situation. As if situations can be folded into the neat boxes of words, as if the word situation can define this. Define this: you are fucking (fabulous word, perfectly shaped box!) my husband, and for four months, you have occupied my mind, a presence I can’t place.

"Traces" also has a twist, which is usually the sort of device I dislike but in this case was both perfect and unexpected for the story. I also loved "The Weather" in which an aging cowboy is seduced by a friend of his daughter's after his wife leaves them for the city. The story is told in alternating perspectives of the daughter and the father, although it is is the portion told by the daughter which touched me most. She reflects on her mother's departure and what that absence has meant for their family.

"My mother squeezed my hands until her knuckles went white. Her face was empty. It was like something my father once described, a blankness he’d seen on some animals. An injured horse determined to stand and survive, or a calf too scared to wait before slaughter."

The most interesting and unique storytelling device Willis uses is her ability to shift between the present and the past, explaining what happened but also why the story is significant at the same time. For example in "Escape", a doctor who spends his time at casino's, intrigued by a carddealer who was once a traveling magician, also describes what life with his wife was like and how losing her felt. Willis also does this in the title story, "Vanishing" where a girl's father simply disappears, a playwright for whom vanishing "was the smartest thing he ever did." Although "Vanishing" is a beautiful story, at times I did wish that Willis had fleshed it out slightly more, but perhaps the power of her writing lies in the restraint she has.

In "Caught" Willis returns to the topic of affairs again, but this time from the perspective of individual who is committing the infidelity and the different ways things could have occurred- or how she could have been caught. Willis retells the story in different ways, restarting the story, how it could have happened. Even in other stories, Willis often makes the reader doubt the truth of what she is saying, the faith that we have in the narrator, and it is a powerful and conflicted relationship. Vanishing and Other Stories is a collection where the writing is pared down to the minimum, to the necessary and Willis peeks into the ordinary with extraordinary ease and expertise. I can't wait to see what she has to offer next. (less)

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Oct 06, 2011 Kasandra rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 Other Us, The Fianc...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Tricia Dower rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 are separated; one...more

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Sep 08, 2010 Nely rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

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, how they live...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Jennifer Rayment rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 al...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: canadian, short-stories

I noted the blurb by Alice Munro on the cover of this book: "The emotional range and depth of these stories, the clarity and deftness, is astonishing." And the promise conveyed in that sentence was not disappointed. This is a very engaging collection of stories that all surprised me in some way and made me read more closely.
Willis brings out so many realistic stories from so many disparate characters that I am indeed astonished. I have always loved short stories, but these really grabbed me. Th...more

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Aug 01, 2011 M added it · review of another edition

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

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Jul 30, 2011 M rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Jan 13, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

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. I...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-bitten, squeemers

Every once in a while I'll come across a book with such stunning writing that when I get to the end of it I can't help but heave a great big sigh of relief. There is hope. There is talent. There are WORDS.

I like reading anthologies but they're usually a compendium of stories from different writers so each work is, by default, going to be different. Different styles, different prose, different methods. Personally I find it a lot harder for an author to write a single anthology composed entirely o...more Every once in a while I'll come across a book with such stunning writing that when I get to the end of it I can't help but heave a great big sigh of relief. There is hope. There is talent. There are WORDS.

I like reading anthologies but they're usually a compendium of stories from different writers so each work is, by default, going to be different. Different styles, different prose, different methods. Personally I find it a lot harder for an author to write a single anthology composed entirely of their own stories and have each story differentiate itself from the last. My experience in that is pretty even keel; one working out not so well and the other I ended up loving. VANISHING? Yeah, I pretty much loved it.

VANISHING has stories told of life. They're not all that action-packed. In many not much really happens outside of a character's internal monologues. But the way they're all written Willis just sinks her claws into each and every one of her characters and forces them off the page so that you can't help but see them as their own individuals. And that's exactly what they are. From the grieving scientist in ESCAPE to the lonely teacher in THE FIANCEE to the boy-turned-man in AND THE LIVING IS EASY, each are individuals, each are wholly separate and each are as vivid in my mind as if they were all given their own books.

VANISHING is one of those books that one SHOULD read because it's that kind of book. These are the stories that would get taught in literature classes, dissected for meaning, subtext, intent. To some that's a bad thing but I loved reading good short stories when I was in school. It was how I was introduced to the likes of Flannery O'Connor. And she's pretty awesome. But just because people SHOULD read it doesn't make it bad or dull. They're all engaging stories, each and every one of them, with a range of protagonists, a range of ages and a good mix of both sexes. There is literally something for everyone in VANISHING and the writing is so good all the rest would just suck you in anyway.

All of the stories are inherently real, spun golden by words that would make any writer envious (including this one). But it's not a high falutin, overtly showy type of writing. It's glorious, simple enough to hook the resistant but intricate enough to ensnare the more well-read, those with noses held higher than others. When literary does it right, it REALLY does it right. Willis's writing is effortless. She doesn't come across as trying to impress or show off her writing prowess. Her words are for the stories and the stories are for you. It's that simple. And they're wonderful.

There may not be anything supernatural in VANISHING but that doesn't make it any less engaging. It still hooks, it still drags you in and then spits you out, leaving you reeling in your book hangover because the writing . . . THE WRITING. It stuns. It really does.(less)

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Oct 06, 2011 T.Y. rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 recognizable link i...more 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 recognizable link in all of them: loss, usually of a person, either through death, divorce, etc. I am not a fan of anthologies full of random bits of pieces of unrelated work, so this made me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Each story stood could stand on its own two literary feet, easily. Her word choice is concise, deliberate, and gripping. I found myself stopping every now and again, just re-reading certain turns of phrase and writing them down, so I can plagiarize her expressions and sound more awesome LOL!

You're probably wondering why I didn't give this 5 stars.

First, although her writing skills are formidable, I really kind of hated most of the characters in the book. It seemed like most everyone was in these fucked up sexual relationships (cheating on spouses with much younger students, sleeping with daughter's friends or girls young enough to be dating your own teen sons, screwing your roommate while dressing up as his former girlfriend... you get the idea).

And, even worse, it seems like none of these characters do a damn thing to change the fucked-uppedness (yeah, that's a word, shut up) of their own situations; they just passively allow things to happen, never improving their depressing and dark lives, nor even attempting to. There was no redemption. Just a lot of pathetic and sad people who can't deal with loss and don't even try, and just spiral into different self-destructive behaviors, and the end. I guess it's definitely realistic, but in a way it was infuriatingly so, because we've all seen this happen with our own friends and family. It's like trying to help an alcoholic who just doesn't care and you just want to bang your head against a wall... but an entire book of it.

I still highly recommend this anthology of short stories, even if I thought it was replete with strange, inappropriate (and sometimes motiveless) sexual relationships that made no sense to me, and people who just want to throw eternal pity parties, because THE WRITING WAS THAT GOOD.(less)

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Nov 19, 2011 Steven Langdon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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, drawn more fro...more

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Apr 25, 2011 NerdGirlBlogger rated it 4 of 5 stars

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, carefully wov...more

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May 27, 2011 Emilie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian, short-fiction

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.

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Oct 05, 2010 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

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.

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Mar 25, 2012 Janet Adams rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very good prose. It's clear that the author can write a good sentence, but the subject matter struck me as more of that bourgeois boredom I see so much in literary fiction -- by which I mean, a lot of hand-wringing over which heirloom tomato to purchase. Nothing much is at stake, so nothing challenges the reader. It's all very lovely. After about six stories, I realized that I just didn't care enough to keep turning the pages.

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May 13, 2011 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, short-stories, fiction, women-writers

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 expecting Deborah...more

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Nov 07, 2009 Alexis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

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.

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Mar 06, 2011 Shan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-library, short-stories

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?

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Jun 29, 2010 MariNaomi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

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Dec 28, 2009 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Alice by: Shelley Kryger

Shelves: 2009

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 would list “Thi...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Casey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, adults

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.

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