What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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ABANDONED. Woman disappears; husband left wondering
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At the book store the other week I read the jacket of "American Purgatorio" by John Haskell. It's entails a wife disappearing and the husband dealing with it, but I don't know if the ending matches.
Emily --Sounds similar, but the book I'm looking for took place almost exclusively in the apartment. Haskell's sounds like a road trip. I think I'll read it, though, see if he handled the issue more to my satisfaction. Thanks!
This really sounds like The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, written by Japanese author Haruki Murakami (Check here for Amazon's "look inside" feature). The wife disappears, and the husband looks for her. There is a very dream-like quality about this book, though - extraordinary things happen that the husband accepts as normal, and the story cuts away at times to other stories that, at first, seem to have nothing to do with the main story line.If this isn't the book you're looking for, I would certainly recommend it! ;)
Ooh -- I've been meaning to read Murakami, so maybe I'll start with that one. I'm starting to wonder if I dreamed up this book ...
I know you and you will not like 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle' ... I have not read this book you are trying to remember ... sorry
Could it be Anne Tyler's Ladder of Years? It's about a woman who just walks away from her life while on vacation.
Could it be Paul Coelho's The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession"
The narrator of The Zahir is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover.
Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn't have any answers, but he has plenty of questions of his own. Then one day Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to reunite him with his wife. In his attempt to recapture a lost love, the narrator discovers something unexpected about himself. "
I read what I believe to be the same book. The family is on vacation and the mom just walks away down the beach and disappears for about a year. Her kids (who are grown) are amazed that she left. She rents an apartment...that's about all I can remember. So, the book exists and it's out there somewhere, along with someone who knows the title! I don't think it was written by a Japanese author, however.
Dina, I think the book you're talking about is Anne Tyler's "Ladder of Years." However, if Stacy says that the book took place completely in an apartment, "Ladder of Years" doesn't fit the description too well.
I looked the book up online, and it does sound like Ladder of Years. Without having the actual book to leaf through, I would have to agree with you. I remember not caring much for the way the book ended either.
Sounds like Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay to me - wife disappears when they are at a theme park??
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This sounds like a book I read, and the couple didn't have any children, so I don't think it's Anne Lamott's book (though it sounds like one I'd like to read). She disappeared one day, leaving her wallet and keys on the dresser. About a year later, the husband finally accepts that she isn't coming home. Throughout the book, the reader is experiencing what the husband is going through, not knowing what happened. [Spoiler Alert]
The last chapter is from the wife's point of view, where we learn that she did, in fact, just walk away from her life (and why). The husband never knows.
I'm going to go hunting for this title.
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I'm trying to remember the title of this book too. Jennifer (who posted on 14 July) has the right description. Anyone know the title?
I found it! In The After by Ashley Mackler-Paternostro. :)
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I think after 6.5 years you may not hear from the OP!
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That's always a possibility. However she was active in May 2014, her profile says.
Well I hope the book I found is the one she was after :)
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What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
In The After (other topics)Gone Girl (other topics)
I think it was a male author, written fairly recently ...
It's driving me crazy.