This Is How You Start to Disappear

by Astrid Blodgett

These twelve new short stories from Astrid Blodgett explore the consequences of grief and denial and single moments that change perceptions, lives, and attachments forever. Crisp prose and unexpected plot twists move relatable characters through vivid outdoor settings and interior depths. A child negotiates adult behaviour when an injured dog is put down. An older sister bribes a younger one to go on her first date. A family canoe trip launches from Disaster Point. A woman wants to hurl her granddaughter's birthday cake out the window. This Is How You Start to Disappear shows all the heartbreaking ways we evolve when coping with change or trauma.

Genres: Short Stories, Canada

264 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2023

Reviews

[Jane Cawthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are deep, well-crafted stories that consider the echo of childhood experience and trauma in adulthood. Characters come face to face with their own denial. Some things are harder to face than others. There is grief in these stories and lots of it, but there is also hope and strength. Blodgett’s stories are plotted perfectly. Her characters are revealed brilliantly through small gestures and what they do and do not remember. The details Blodgett chooses to reveal are spare and careful. Every story is a gem.

[Betty Hegerat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astrid Blodgett's short stories are polished to a sheen, and each one perfectly contained. She explores the seemingly small moments that can dramatically change the trajectory of lives. Compassionate, and yet honest to the bare bones. Each story has a life of its own, and the collection is consistently brilliant.

[Enid Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a radical move - I am going to copy - verbatim - the review that I wrote recently about another Short Story collection - Cocktail by Lisa Alward.

Here goes:

This is a very Alice Munro-esque like collection of stories focusing on everyday life and domesticity.

Sparingly written - like Alice at her best - these stories resonate because they take the normality of everyday life and turn it on its head… sometimes even turning them into little horror stories. One is reminded how differently life can turn out - but for the path taken - and how easily things can go wrong, how life can go sideways in a moment.

What makes these stories work is the keen eye to detail - to documenting the familiar - the things, feelings and relationships that are the measure of our everyday lives… and which we can all relate to but certainly don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on thinking about.

[Erica]

This book includes twelve short stories and I always find a collection like this so challenging to review. There were always be stories that stand out - The Golden Rice Bowl or How To Read Water - and stories that don't work for you. I also struggle with wanting more from the story or feeling like I was left hanging.

I moved through these stories slowly - not because I wasn't enjoying them - more because there are some heavy topics included and I found myself need to flip to something a little lighter in between stories.

The stories are beautifully written, challenging, and heartbreaking. I read a review that said the events in these stories divide the characters lives into a distinct before and after and it feels like the perfect description.

If you enjoy short stories and are up for the challenging content, check this one out.

Thank you @ualbertapress for this gifted copy!!

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful and thought provoking collection of stories, mainly about relationships. I love how the author put many of her characters in natural settings- there was a lot of canoeing involved. I loved that this book was set mainly around Edmonton, and used many familiar locations.

[Michele]

Ottawa Citizen Aug 2023

[Lori Lupul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astrid Blodgett is a master at delving into the unpleasant memories that shape the lives of her characters. She gifts the readers with a subtle connection between two of the stories.

[morowa · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUMMARY:

This Is How You Start to Disappear is a new collection of engaging, tension-filled stories interested in the ways we don't understand each other and how we respond to each other, especially in the midst of change and uncertainty. Focusing on relationships, especially among family and friends, Astrid Blodgett's stories explore the consequences of grief and denial and single moments that change perceptions, lives, and attachments forever. Crisp prose and unexpected plot twists move relatable characters through vivid outdoor settings and interior depths, orbiting feelings, consent, and care for themselves and one another. A child negotiates adult behaviour when an injured dog is put down. An older sister bribes a younger one to go on her first date. A family canoe trip launches from Disaster Point. A woman wants to hurl her granddaughter's birthday cake out the window. This Is How You Start to Disappear shows all the heartbreaking ways we diminish and evolve when coping with change or trauma.

[Sam - Spines in a Line · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I’ve got to say, I have a slight grudge against this book and the publisher for not offering any content warnings. The blurb mentions an injured dog being put down but not that the very first story, on the first page of the book, in the first sentence, begins with detail of a dog’s death. It’s hard to come back from that and want to finish the rest of the stories.

While the opener wasn’t a favourite, I did enjoy some of the stories but it was a pretty tepid short story collection for me. I enjoyed a lot more of the stories nearer the end of the collection. Heads up that the mention of trauma in the blurb is a continuing theme throughout, there is a lot of delving into death and sexual assault. Thanks to ZG Stories for a copy to review.