Disappearing Ingenue

by Melissa Pritchard

This wildly imaginative collection presents the misadventures of unlikely heroine Eleanor Stoddard as she tries to lead an exemplary life but finds that things just keep going awry. In the summer after sixth grade, she dreams of being as courageous as Anne Frank. As a teenager, her sudden devotion to Catholicism coincides with her crush on a nun. As a suburban housewife who suspects her husband of having an affair, she imitates Nancy Drew to try to solve her own personal mystery. And as a middle-aged woman, she embarks on a trek through Central America accompanied by a rescued laboratory gorilla. While Eleanor makes her way through a whirlwind of adventures with life and love in which she is constantly reinventing her identity and rethinking her priorities, she manages to become a first-rate student, a published poet, and a loyal mother. Each story offers a glimpse into her familiar and charmingly odd journey, and she comes hilariously to life in these disarming tales.

257 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

FLIGHT OF THE WILD SWAN, Bellevue Literary Press,
March 2024, RB Media audiobook

- Book Award Finalist: Last Syllable, Longform Literary Journal (winner announced 12/25)
- A Favorite Book of 2024: The Washington Independent Review of Books
- 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Finalist, Literary Fiction
-* Portland Book Review, "The writing is beautiful, stark and luxuriant by turns."
_ New York Times, "Best Historical Fiction"
_ New York Sun, "A standout."
- NPR/GPB's Peter Biello, All Things Considered: "...an amazing book. Just an incredible book."
- Denver Post, "An awe-inspiring story."
_ *Publishers Weekly, starred, Featured Fiction.
_ *Kirkus Review, starred.
_ *Foreword Reviews, starred, "An inspiring novel."
- Atlanta Journal Constitution, "An addictive read..."
_ Historical Novel Society, "Powerful...a significant tribute."
_ LibraryThing Review
_ Booklist, "A compelling human portrait of an extraordinary woman."
_ Historical Novels Review, "Powerful."
- Atlanta Journal Constitution, "An addictive read..."
_ Midwest Book Review, "Exceptional."
_ BookBrowse TOP PICK, "...a tremendously written novel...a story to read, reread, and share with others."
- A "Reading with Arizona PBS selection"
- Southern Literary Review: "Rich and detailed...exceptional!"


AWARDS: 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Finalist, Flannery O'Connor, Carl Sandburg, Janet Kafka, NEA, five Pushcart and O.Henry Prizes, Barnes & Noble Great Writers Award, Carson McCullers Fellow. Fiction, non-fiction in Paris Review, Ecotone, A Public Space, Conjunctions, LitMag, Southern Review, O the Oprah Magazine, Wilson Quarterly, the Nation, Chicago Tribune, NYTBR, others. Frequently anthologized. Fiction editor: IMAGE

Reviews

[Agnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

On Goodreads at this time only 52 people have read this, and only 5 could be bothered to write a review,
that's a big red flag!
I liked 3 out of the 8 stories and her writing style was fine but the 5 took it from 3 stars to 1.

No one else mentioned "Virgin Blue" it made me uncomfortable (was it supposed to? I'm not sure)
at the end the guy she likes is killed so she climbs in the window of their friend with cerebral palsy (the one they took to a hotel with a girl and helped them so they could have sex) and climbs on top of him.
Kinda rapey- (I'm hoping that's the last time I use that phrase in a book review)
maybe I'm a prude, but if that sounds good to you ........here's a book you will enjoy

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oy. Oy. Oy.

I guess I was in a 'short story' mood--although while the last book of short stories I read was good; this was sorely lacking.

All of the short stories DO revolve around the same character (Eleanor Stoddard) but while the first couple were interesting, as they went on they either got boring, or they lost me, or I just stopped caring about her. By the time I read the last story, I basically said 'enough already' and just skimmed it.

Had promise at the start, sorely disappointing by the end :(

[Cathe Fein Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of short stories all about the same character taking her from girlhood through adulthood. Good, if you like short stories. I enjoyed it. (Note: the paperback cover is misleading. I thought this was a kids book and bought it for my daughter, only to find that it is written for an adult audience.)

[Laurie Stoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was worth the .49 I paid for it. I'm glad I didn't pay much more than that.

[Sara Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous. Intelligent, painful, and beautiful. Take a walk through one woman's someone botched childhood sexual adventures to her equally botched adulthood. Love.

[Michelle]

Picked it up on a whim, and now putting it back down-just bored with it