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The Vanishing Act
On a small snow-covered island—so tiny that it can't be found on any map—lives twelve-year-old Minou, her philosopher Papa (a descendent of Descartes), Boxman the magician, and a clever dog called No-Name. A year earlier Minou's mother left the house wearing her best shoes and carrying a large black umbrella. She never returned.
One morning Minou finds a dead boy washed up on the beach. Her father decides to lay him in the room that once belonged to her mother. Can her mother's disappearance be explained by the boy? Will Boxman be able to help find her? Minou, unwilling to accept her mother's death, attempts to find the truth through Descartes' philosophy. Over the course of her investigation Minou will discover the truth about loss and love, a truth that The Vanishing Act conveys in a voice that is uniquely enchanting.
One morning Minou finds a dead boy washed up on the beach. Her father decides to lay him in the room that once belonged to her mother. Can her mother's disappearance be explained by the boy? Will Boxman be able to help find her? Minou, unwilling to accept her mother's death, attempts to find the truth through Descartes' philosophy. Over the course of her investigation Minou will discover the truth about loss and love, a truth that The Vanishing Act conveys in a voice that is uniquely enchanting.
218 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2010
60 people are currently reading
3309 people want to read
About the author
Mette Jakobsen
6 books45 followersOriginally from Denmark, Mette Jakobsen now resides in Sydney. She is an adventurer, author and playwright.
Mette has a PhD in Creative Writing and has graduated from NIDA’s Playwright
Studio. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize, topped
the Indie Book List, and mentioned on Oprah’s Booklist.
Mette has taught creative writing at universities and several of her plays have been
broadcast on ABC Radio National.
The Tower Series is her first YA title.
Mette has a PhD in Creative Writing and has graduated from NIDA’s Playwright
Studio. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize, topped
the Indie Book List, and mentioned on Oprah’s Booklist.
Mette has taught creative writing at universities and several of her plays have been
broadcast on ABC Radio National.
The Tower Series is her first YA title.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 325 reviews
October 2, 2012
It is relatively rare that my own view differs drastically from general public opinion, but I am thoroughly aware that this is one of those situations. The Vanishing Act has received rave reviews, and it is worth clarifying that I understand entirely why that is. I just disagree with the general consensus.
The Vanishing Act has received those rave reviews because it is short, charming book that stands out both for the strength of its prose and its originality. And it is true to say that it is, fundamentally, written very well.
However, for me there was one utterly fundamental problem with this book, and that is that for all of the fantastic writing, there isn't actually any plot. It's a book about a girl focusing on the disappearance of her mother, but in fact what happens is that the girl considers her mother's disappearance and assesses it, with more than a few references to basic philosophy and with the help of several one dimensional characters. But that is all. There is little in the way of character development once all the characters have been introduced, and even less in the way of plot progression. The one aspect of the plot that could be considered a twist is blindingly obvious (or at least it was to me) long before it is revealed, but without any sort of advancement in the rest of the plot it was difficult to care about that twist anyway.
I could talk more about other positives and negatives about the book, one negative being that the author has a disorientating habit of jumping into flashbacks without any sort of warning, and the clear positive being that, at times, it is very enjoyable to read. But the lack of a plot in the book is a killer blow for me.
It is a real shame, because the potential in this book is clear. But without answering any of the questions that the book poses, it's difficult for me to consider that as a novel there is much overarching merit to be awarded here. It may well be that the book would be a useful educational tool for school children to assess, but as a book in its own right it left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
The Vanishing Act has received those rave reviews because it is short, charming book that stands out both for the strength of its prose and its originality. And it is true to say that it is, fundamentally, written very well.
However, for me there was one utterly fundamental problem with this book, and that is that for all of the fantastic writing, there isn't actually any plot. It's a book about a girl focusing on the disappearance of her mother, but in fact what happens is that the girl considers her mother's disappearance and assesses it, with more than a few references to basic philosophy and with the help of several one dimensional characters. But that is all. There is little in the way of character development once all the characters have been introduced, and even less in the way of plot progression. The one aspect of the plot that could be considered a twist is blindingly obvious (or at least it was to me) long before it is revealed, but without any sort of advancement in the rest of the plot it was difficult to care about that twist anyway.
I could talk more about other positives and negatives about the book, one negative being that the author has a disorientating habit of jumping into flashbacks without any sort of warning, and the clear positive being that, at times, it is very enjoyable to read. But the lack of a plot in the book is a killer blow for me.
It is a real shame, because the potential in this book is clear. But without answering any of the questions that the book poses, it's difficult for me to consider that as a novel there is much overarching merit to be awarded here. It may well be that the book would be a useful educational tool for school children to assess, but as a book in its own right it left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
October 9, 2012
I grabbed this book from my stack of must-reads to take to the hospital because it was light. When my surgery was pushed back and I was left alone in the corner bed with an IV and warm blankets and no phone, I opened this book and escaped into another world. When the surgeon apologized for the delay then left me alone, I hid my delight in returning to this magical island as if it was my own vanishing act. Mette Jakobsen's lovely novel is a sensory poem about a little girl on an island torn between her father's philosophy of reason and her mysterious mother's creative world view. A past war brought these colorful characters together on this solitary island, but it is the presence of a dead boy who brings Minou to question it. The story flows simply and the message is subtle, but I could feel the wind and smell the sea. The next day, as I recovered from surgery, I read the ending and understood. There is great calm and comfort for both Minou and the reader in these pages.
July 30, 2025
minou’nun hikâyesi bu..
12 yaşında, küçük bir adada yaşıyor ve günün birinde aniden kaybolan annesini hâlâ bekliyor. kimine göre annesi intihar etti, kimine göre gitti ancak minou için bu yalnızca bir 'kaybolma numarası'.
kitapta büyük olaylar yok. her şey, bir çocuğun kalbine sığabilecek kadar küçük ilerliyor. hayat sessiz ve bir o kadar da ağır. baba, kitaplara sığınmış; akıl ve inanç arasında bir yerde takılı kalmış gibi. diğerleri (boxman, papaz) hepsi kendi yalnızlığının içinde, her biri kendi kaybını sessizce taşıyor.
beni en çok minou üzdü. onun gözünden dünyaya bakmak, hem büyümeye çalışan hem de çocuk kalmak zorunda olan bir kalbe tanık olmak gibiydi. annesinin yokluğuyla baş ederken, bir yanıyla çok olgun, bir yanıyla hâlâ küçücük bir kız.
12 yaşında, küçük bir adada yaşıyor ve günün birinde aniden kaybolan annesini hâlâ bekliyor. kimine göre annesi intihar etti, kimine göre gitti ancak minou için bu yalnızca bir 'kaybolma numarası'.
kitapta büyük olaylar yok. her şey, bir çocuğun kalbine sığabilecek kadar küçük ilerliyor. hayat sessiz ve bir o kadar da ağır. baba, kitaplara sığınmış; akıl ve inanç arasında bir yerde takılı kalmış gibi. diğerleri (boxman, papaz) hepsi kendi yalnızlığının içinde, her biri kendi kaybını sessizce taşıyor.
beni en çok minou üzdü. onun gözünden dünyaya bakmak, hem büyümeye çalışan hem de çocuk kalmak zorunda olan bir kalbe tanık olmak gibiydi. annesinin yokluğuyla baş ederken, bir yanıyla çok olgun, bir yanıyla hâlâ küçücük bir kız.
May 15, 2012
This is a gem of a novel. Gorgeous imagery, philosophy, and art combine to make a novel that may be enjoyed by adults, teens, or precocious twelve year-olds. Minou lives on a small island, one that can be walked around in under an hour. In addition to Minou and her lighthouse, there is her father, a priest in the church, Boxman and his dog, No Name, in the barn, and, before she vanished, Minou's mother. One year ago Minou's mother disappeared. Though it is believed that she died, Minou knows she didn't- and can rationally prove it. Her father's devotion to philosophy and her mother's love of art and imagination combine in Minou. When a dead boy washes up on the shore, he brings with him the smell of oranges and questions both physical and philosophical. It will take both her understanding of philosophy and her mother's love of art and imagination for Minou to process the visitor.
Like Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, reading the The Vanishing Act is like peering into a snow globe. Though I can imagine what characters are thinking, I am removed from them, observing their strange, miniature world, my nose pressed right up against the glass. And like an intricate miniature, I want to carry this gem around, to peer into the world Mette Jakobsen has created whenever the mood strikes. The Vanishing Act doesn't disappear with the turn of the final page, but has stayed with me, alternately haunting and niggling my mind.
In the end, I wanted a little more information about the experiences Minou's parents had during the war and about where her mother might have gone. I think the postcard was a wonderful suggestion that Minou has found her philosophy, but I wanted it to (at least momentarily) enlighten her father, too. But despite these desires, I still adore the book and want a copy to carry in my pocket.
Like Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, reading the The Vanishing Act is like peering into a snow globe. Though I can imagine what characters are thinking, I am removed from them, observing their strange, miniature world, my nose pressed right up against the glass. And like an intricate miniature, I want to carry this gem around, to peer into the world Mette Jakobsen has created whenever the mood strikes. The Vanishing Act doesn't disappear with the turn of the final page, but has stayed with me, alternately haunting and niggling my mind.
In the end, I wanted a little more information about the experiences Minou's parents had during the war and about where her mother might have gone. I think the postcard was a wonderful suggestion that Minou has found her philosophy, but I wanted it to (at least momentarily) enlighten her father, too. But despite these desires, I still adore the book and want a copy to carry in my pocket.
February 17, 2019
Give yourself the time to read this charming story in one sitting. This is a finely wrought tale of a child making use of all the influences in her young life to make sense of her mother’s vanishing. Suspend your need to be rational and instead, immerse yourself in the magic that surrounds her. Colored in shades of blue, the color of protection and healing, on an island peopled by an endearing group of folks you just might find your own way of being a child once again. Loved this.
December 10, 2015
perfectly fine little fable of a tale, just not really for me
July 9, 2015
The Vanishing Act is the fairytale-like story of Minou, a young girl who lives on a tiny, remote island with her father, who considers himself a philosopher: her mother has disappeared and is believed by everyone else to be dead. The island is so small that it only has two other residents - a magician (and his dog) and a priest. The story opens with the frozen corpse of a boy washing up on the beach, and as Minou and her father wait for a boat from the mainland to retrieve the body, she examines her memories of her mother and of her own life, questioning both her path in life and her conviction that her mother is still alive.
For the first time in a long time I find myself with absolutely no idea how to categorise a book. Is it magical realism? Perhaps, but nothing magical actually happens when you examine the story, even though it feels very far from any recognisable reality. Is it historical fiction? Possibly, as 'the war' is frequently referenced, and there's certainly no modern technology on the island, but there are no clues to where in the world the story is meant to be taking place, and the war is never directly identified. The most popular category chosen so far on Goodreads is 'fantasy', but it's not truly fantastical in any obvious way, though the book definitely has that feel about it. It could certainly be read by children but feels like it was written for adults, and as far as I know it is being marketed as adult fiction.
The whole story is whimsical and twee almost beyond belief, and I found its quirks really annoying, with the philosophical asides seeming very cursory. The more I think about this, actually, the more I think it would perhaps be better off as a book for children - seen through that lens, I suppose the characters might be considered amusing: I couldn't help but see them as bizarre and ridiculously unrealistic. With so few characters it is hardly difficult to work out what the solution to the 'mystery' is going to be, and I thought the 'twist' was supposed to be obvious from the beginning (again, a younger reader probably wouldn't pick up on this quite as easily). However, despite my reservations, I did want to keep reading - the story has a certain timeless charm.
The Vanishing Act has been praised by Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus: it may also appeal to fans of The Snow Child and The Girl with Glass Feet - though all of those books are better than this one. It's reasonably good for a bit of enchanting escapism, but rather insubstantial and, if it is a fable, then I'm afraid it didn't teach me anything.
For the first time in a long time I find myself with absolutely no idea how to categorise a book. Is it magical realism? Perhaps, but nothing magical actually happens when you examine the story, even though it feels very far from any recognisable reality. Is it historical fiction? Possibly, as 'the war' is frequently referenced, and there's certainly no modern technology on the island, but there are no clues to where in the world the story is meant to be taking place, and the war is never directly identified. The most popular category chosen so far on Goodreads is 'fantasy', but it's not truly fantastical in any obvious way, though the book definitely has that feel about it. It could certainly be read by children but feels like it was written for adults, and as far as I know it is being marketed as adult fiction.
The whole story is whimsical and twee almost beyond belief, and I found its quirks really annoying, with the philosophical asides seeming very cursory. The more I think about this, actually, the more I think it would perhaps be better off as a book for children - seen through that lens, I suppose the characters might be considered amusing: I couldn't help but see them as bizarre and ridiculously unrealistic. With so few characters it is hardly difficult to work out what the solution to the 'mystery' is going to be, and I thought the 'twist' was supposed to be obvious from the beginning (again, a younger reader probably wouldn't pick up on this quite as easily). However, despite my reservations, I did want to keep reading - the story has a certain timeless charm.
The Vanishing Act has been praised by Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus: it may also appeal to fans of The Snow Child and The Girl with Glass Feet - though all of those books are better than this one. It's reasonably good for a bit of enchanting escapism, but rather insubstantial and, if it is a fable, then I'm afraid it didn't teach me anything.
February 11, 2013
I just didn't get this. I'm sure it was one giant metaphor for loss but it just felt overly lengthy and lacking in any kind of plot!
All this philosophical discussion versus imagination. The setting was a horribly isolated and cold island (my worst nightmare - cold and hardly any people!). The father figure seemed a bit less than capable of bringing up a child - what with the indoctrination of philosophical thinking as the only way of seeing the world. Then there was the acquisition of a frozen dead body from which he was supposedly going to discover the Truth - not an ideal environment for a child and having her sit with a dead body was rather bizarre.
The twist was so glaringly obvious and the prose was poetic at times but I have read better and the structure was disorientating to the extent it discouraged engagement with the tale.
As I say, I do believe it was all probably about death and loss of her mother but it felt utterly pointless to me. I love a good metaphor but this was just beyond enjoyable. Definitely not my kind of book.
All this philosophical discussion versus imagination. The setting was a horribly isolated and cold island (my worst nightmare - cold and hardly any people!). The father figure seemed a bit less than capable of bringing up a child - what with the indoctrination of philosophical thinking as the only way of seeing the world. Then there was the acquisition of a frozen dead body from which he was supposedly going to discover the Truth - not an ideal environment for a child and having her sit with a dead body was rather bizarre.
The twist was so glaringly obvious and the prose was poetic at times but I have read better and the structure was disorientating to the extent it discouraged engagement with the tale.
As I say, I do believe it was all probably about death and loss of her mother but it felt utterly pointless to me. I love a good metaphor but this was just beyond enjoyable. Definitely not my kind of book.
December 12, 2012
Melancholic and thoughtful.
This is a strange book filled with fragile characters. It is part-fable, part study of the isolated, and part mystery. Nothing much is resolved or explained and the dreamy prose almost makes up for it. Almost.
Still, I enjoyed the beautiful language and details of island life. I liked the limited perspective of twelve year old Minou and how it allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions.
This is a strange book filled with fragile characters. It is part-fable, part study of the isolated, and part mystery. Nothing much is resolved or explained and the dreamy prose almost makes up for it. Almost.
Still, I enjoyed the beautiful language and details of island life. I liked the limited perspective of twelve year old Minou and how it allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions.
December 22, 2020
The Vanishing Act is a fable-like story about twelve-year-old Minou who lives on a snow-covered island that features on no map, and that only has four inhabitants, a dog and a turtle. It is a story that will remain with you. Utterly unforgettable and beguiling.
February 8, 2013
“You might not believe my story. You might read it as a fairytale, a fable straight out of my imagination.”
So says twelve year-old Minou. She lives on a small, remote, nameless island Minou with her Papa, who is a philosopher and a fisherman. The island has only just two more residents. Priest and Boxman. A holy man and a magician.
Why they are there, what happened in the past isn’t clear, isn’t clear. And there are other questions in the air.
What happened to Minou’s Mama?
She set out for a walk in her very best shoes, and she didn’t come back. The grown-ups said that she must have had an accident, that she must be dead. But Minou knew better. She knew that Mama had set out to have a grand adventure, and that she would be back soon.
And where did the boy come from?
The body of a young boy washed up the shore, and his body had been brought up and laid out to wait for the supply boat to take him back to the mainland. Minou where he has come from, what he has seen. And she tells him stories, sure that he has come to help her to put together all the memories and all the clues that will lead her to her Mama.
Minou is an engaging narrator and a charming child: a rational seeker of truth, like her Papa, and an imaginative, creative artist, like her Mama. It is so easy to empathise with her, to understand her moment of loneliness, to warm to her relationship with Papa, to be touched by her unfailing hope that Mama will come back to her, to love her joy in the world around her.
She tells her story in beautiful, clear prose, full of ideas and images. It illuminates her stories, the remoteness and loneliness of the only home she has ever known, and the sadness that haunts the adults around her. Minou is, of course, too young to grasp all of the implications of what is happening around her but her words say more than she knows.
So much in this little book is irresistible.
“It is in the heart and not in the words – not even in the most beautiful ones – but in the heart, in the skeleton bird pushing against your chest, wanting to fly, that we know for certain who and what we love. That is all we have, and all there is.”
But it’s not quite perfect.
The story is too slight and the characters are too simply drawn to catch all of the images and ideas that are thrown into the air. Some of the simplicity is, of course, the result of Minou’s youth, there were moments when I felt that the characters were only there to present those images and ideas.
And the story of Minou’s Mama didn’t quite work: it was predictable, and in a ‘she’s that sort of woman and so this will be her destiny’ kind of way.
It was still lovely: Minou, the pictures she painted, the ideas she explored.
Just not quite as lovely as I’d hoped.
So says twelve year-old Minou. She lives on a small, remote, nameless island Minou with her Papa, who is a philosopher and a fisherman. The island has only just two more residents. Priest and Boxman. A holy man and a magician.
Why they are there, what happened in the past isn’t clear, isn’t clear. And there are other questions in the air.
What happened to Minou’s Mama?
She set out for a walk in her very best shoes, and she didn’t come back. The grown-ups said that she must have had an accident, that she must be dead. But Minou knew better. She knew that Mama had set out to have a grand adventure, and that she would be back soon.
And where did the boy come from?
The body of a young boy washed up the shore, and his body had been brought up and laid out to wait for the supply boat to take him back to the mainland. Minou where he has come from, what he has seen. And she tells him stories, sure that he has come to help her to put together all the memories and all the clues that will lead her to her Mama.
Minou is an engaging narrator and a charming child: a rational seeker of truth, like her Papa, and an imaginative, creative artist, like her Mama. It is so easy to empathise with her, to understand her moment of loneliness, to warm to her relationship with Papa, to be touched by her unfailing hope that Mama will come back to her, to love her joy in the world around her.
She tells her story in beautiful, clear prose, full of ideas and images. It illuminates her stories, the remoteness and loneliness of the only home she has ever known, and the sadness that haunts the adults around her. Minou is, of course, too young to grasp all of the implications of what is happening around her but her words say more than she knows.
So much in this little book is irresistible.
“It is in the heart and not in the words – not even in the most beautiful ones – but in the heart, in the skeleton bird pushing against your chest, wanting to fly, that we know for certain who and what we love. That is all we have, and all there is.”
But it’s not quite perfect.
The story is too slight and the characters are too simply drawn to catch all of the images and ideas that are thrown into the air. Some of the simplicity is, of course, the result of Minou’s youth, there were moments when I felt that the characters were only there to present those images and ideas.
And the story of Minou’s Mama didn’t quite work: it was predictable, and in a ‘she’s that sort of woman and so this will be her destiny’ kind of way.
It was still lovely: Minou, the pictures she painted, the ideas she explored.
Just not quite as lovely as I’d hoped.
February 25, 2013
As I was reading this book I initially found it interesting, unique, and written with a consistent atmosphere of magic. However when I made it to the final page of the book I found myself puzzled.
Jakobsen narrates the book from a 12 year olds point of view, Minou, who resides on a tiny island with a band of misfit characters: a philosopher, a priest, a magician, a dog and a dead boy.
I kept looking for connections, hidden meanings, or for Minou to explain things. No answers came. Despite this, the book stuck with me, mainly because I thought there was a mystery to unravel. I suppose I related to Papa, the Philosopher of the book who spends his days looking for answers in life’s greatest mysteries. After thinking about it for quite some time, I suppose Jakobsen wants the readers to acknowledge that there will be mysteries and forces we will encounter in life that cannot be explained. Circumstances that we can pick apart and still not discover satisfying answers. Instead we should look at the big picture and not get caught up in the fine details that make up art.
Overall I will give the book a 3/5. It is written beautifully almost in a poetic style, and has an unusual but charming setting. There are also some good lessons and quotes to be found in the book. However I found the plot inconsistent and without needed development to tie some lose ends. Additionally I think this book was written with a younger audience in mind (tweens/teens) which may be why I didn’t find it as inspiring as other readers have.
Happy Reading.
Jakobsen narrates the book from a 12 year olds point of view, Minou, who resides on a tiny island with a band of misfit characters: a philosopher, a priest, a magician, a dog and a dead boy.
I kept looking for connections, hidden meanings, or for Minou to explain things. No answers came. Despite this, the book stuck with me, mainly because I thought there was a mystery to unravel. I suppose I related to Papa, the Philosopher of the book who spends his days looking for answers in life’s greatest mysteries. After thinking about it for quite some time, I suppose Jakobsen wants the readers to acknowledge that there will be mysteries and forces we will encounter in life that cannot be explained. Circumstances that we can pick apart and still not discover satisfying answers. Instead we should look at the big picture and not get caught up in the fine details that make up art.
Overall I will give the book a 3/5. It is written beautifully almost in a poetic style, and has an unusual but charming setting. There are also some good lessons and quotes to be found in the book. However I found the plot inconsistent and without needed development to tie some lose ends. Additionally I think this book was written with a younger audience in mind (tweens/teens) which may be why I didn’t find it as inspiring as other readers have.
Happy Reading.
September 17, 2012
This story felt magical from Every now and again, a book whisks me away into a magical world. Within the first chapter of The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen, I felt drawn to the novel’s tiny island.
Seemingly frozen in time, the tiny island is home to a handful of people. At first glance, these folks escaped to the island because they couldn’t take the regular world anymore. There’s Priest who bakes incessantly, a magician who makes magic boxes, Papa the philosopher (who claims to be a descendant of Descartes), and Minou, the philosopher’s daughter.
Minou stumbles upon a dead boy in the snow. Her father brings the boy to their home until the next shipping boat is scheduled to arrive. Her father, who is on a journey to discover the truth, encourages Minou to talk to the boy. The frozen, dead boy is a catalyst for Minou as she comes to terms with her mother’s disappearance. All the adults on the island is convinced that her mother is dead, but Minou reasons that it’s the opposite.
Read the rest of the review on my blog: http://www.fromlefttowrite.com/book-r...
Seemingly frozen in time, the tiny island is home to a handful of people. At first glance, these folks escaped to the island because they couldn’t take the regular world anymore. There’s Priest who bakes incessantly, a magician who makes magic boxes, Papa the philosopher (who claims to be a descendant of Descartes), and Minou, the philosopher’s daughter.
Minou stumbles upon a dead boy in the snow. Her father brings the boy to their home until the next shipping boat is scheduled to arrive. Her father, who is on a journey to discover the truth, encourages Minou to talk to the boy. The frozen, dead boy is a catalyst for Minou as she comes to terms with her mother’s disappearance. All the adults on the island is convinced that her mother is dead, but Minou reasons that it’s the opposite.
Read the rest of the review on my blog: http://www.fromlefttowrite.com/book-r...
September 6, 2012
3.5 A frigid island, an abandoned lighthouse and some very strange characters; the heartbroken magician, the pretzel baking priest, a dog called "no name" a father who is said to be the descendant of Descartes and a woman who somehow or another came to shore one day. Yet it is their child Minou who stole my heart. Twelve years old, trying to make sense of her mother disappearance, using the philosophical thinking of her father and the imagination that her mother prized so highly. All centered around a dead boy who comes ashore and is kept in the lighthouse for three days. This is a hard novel to classify, it is a little bit magical, a little mystical and a little bit sad. It is about loneliness, isolation and secrets and discovery. It is a quietly deceptive novel done well.
September 21, 2012
I saw some amazing reviews of The Vanishing Act. When we received an advanced reader copy at my library, I had to give it a try. I do not see what the fuss is about. There’s not really anything about this book that I thought was good. I didn’t find it magical, delightful, spellbinding, life-changing, or anything else. It’s supposed to be a fable of some sort (the dog is named No Name, the turtle is named Turtle, the priest is named Priest, and so on) but I didn’t get it. It starts with a dead boy being fished from the sea and doesn’t get much better after that.
It’s a rare book that I rate so low because normally I don’t finish books I'm not enjoying, but The Vanishing Act was short and I kept waiting for the magic. I’m still waiting.
It’s a rare book that I rate so low because normally I don’t finish books I'm not enjoying, but The Vanishing Act was short and I kept waiting for the magic. I’m still waiting.
January 25, 2013
Erin Morgenstern's ( author of The Night Circus) review of this book is what made me want to read this. She said, "This book is a precious thing. I want to keep it in a painted box with a raven feather and sea-polished stones, taking it out when I feel the need to visit Minou on her island again. The best stories change you I am not the same after The Vanishing Act as I was before."
Being an Erin Morgenstern fan and loving her review of this book wasn't enough for me...
The Vanishing Act for me was a jumbled mess. It did not flow very well because the story kept changing to many times from past to present. The main story wasn't bad and every once in awhile I was like "okay now that was described kind of beautifully..."
But overall not a very good book in my opinion.
Being an Erin Morgenstern fan and loving her review of this book wasn't enough for me...
The Vanishing Act for me was a jumbled mess. It did not flow very well because the story kept changing to many times from past to present. The main story wasn't bad and every once in awhile I was like "okay now that was described kind of beautifully..."
But overall not a very good book in my opinion.
September 28, 2016
A charming but slight little novel in which the chance washing up of a dead boy on their island home enables young Minou, eventually, to come to terms with the disappearance of her mother. This sweet book made me think, ruminating as it did on the nature of philosophy, imagination and creativity. I enjoyed it.
October 8, 2012
“Philosophers step back and look at the big picture.”
“That is not what Mama does.”
“No,” Papa agreed.
“She says the tiniest brush stroke matters.”
“But sometimes, my girl, when you look in such detail, you lose the big picture.”
Minou lives on a tiny isolated (and nameless) island alongside her wannabe philosopher-fisherman Papa, the heartbroken magician Boxman, the pretzel-making Priest and the dog No-Name. Only one person is missing: Minou’s Mama, who disappeared one year earlier after she left the house for a walk wearing her best shoes. Everybody thinks Mama is dead but Minou believes she will be back soon.
One day the body of a young boy washes up the shore and Papa decides to bring the body inside their house where it will wait for the supplies boat, three days away. Her father thinks the boy will help him – finally – to find the Absolute Truth. Minou thinks the dead boy can explain her mother’s absence if only she can put together all the memories and all the clues leading up to that fateful day.
The Vanishing Act is one of those books there are really hard to pin down. Perhaps the best metaphor would be “smoke and mirrors”: the poetic prose and the engaging philosophical core disguising an extremely common-place plot with stereotypical characters.
At first glance, it seems a magical little story about a girl’s coming-of-age as she comes to terms with her mother’s disappearance. The prose is beautiful, clear and often disguises a poignancy surrounding the lives of the adults within the story that the narrator – being a young, green girl – can’t quite grasp but which is painfully clear to the reader. It is quite easy to infer for example, that her father’s nightmares about “hiding in a cellar” through “the war”, hints at him being a WWII survivor. The author also skilfully presents the remoteness and the sense of isolation of its setting.
The story unfolds slowly as Minou relives her memories of her mother and the moments that have shaped her life so far. As such, we see how she has always thought herself to be just like her father whom she often sided with: a logical truth-searcher. But in reality she is also just like her Mama: an imaginative, creative artiste. Perhaps the best aspect about The Vanishing Act is exactly the fact that Minou embodies a combination of traits that dismantle the false dichotomy that you can only be a logical thinker OR a creative soul but not both. As such, Papa is portrayed as quite the sad figure – trying so hard to explain what happened to him during the war by attempting to go at it via an extremely logical route, believing that scholars’ ideas are unquestionable.
The book loses much of its appeal when we look at its small details though. These are very hard to avoid in the very controlled, small environment of the novel. There is a clear attempt to present these characters and their lives as perhaps “universal” truths in themselves or at least that’s how one could interpret the fact that none of the characters apart from Minou have actual names or personalities. As such, the Priest doesn’t do much beyond “Priestly” things and “Boxman” is a mysterious magician whose allure proved to be too much for Mama. This brings me to the biggest problem I had with the novel – which is Mama’s portrayal as a quirky bunch of stereotypes that Lead to Her Death.
Beware: we are about to enter slightly spoilery territory now.
Because of course Mama is a Mysteriously Exuberant Woman with her Bright Red Hair and her Creativity Soul. Even the story of how she arrived on the island reinforces this with her surprising arrival carrying a live peacock, wearing flowers on her hair and being object of Papa’s love at first sight. And of course, she is also the only soul that cannot bear the confinement of the island, who ends up having a run-of-the-mill affair with the man-next-door and who ends up obviously Tragically Dying because of her Anguished Sadness (her death either suicide or Dramatic Fall off a Cliff).
One could easily argue though that these aspects are portrayed as such because of Minou’s limited narrative as a young girl. But I did not feel that the text itself questioned this portrayal in any way. I also can’t help but to feel that we are perhaps to feel more sympathetic toward the father and his sadly pathetic life rather than the cheating Mama who dared going for a walk and never came back.
All of that said, The Vanishing Act is a charming fast read. I enjoyed reading it to a certain extent but do not, in any way, shape or form feel that my life has been altered for doing so (points at Dramatic Front Page Blurb).
September 20, 2012
The Vanishing Act was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize 2012. Its opening is striking as Minou finds a dead boy in the very first sentence. The novel is written in the first person, with Minou as narrator and we are introduced to life on the island through Minou's eyes. It is nearly a year since her mother disappeared, and Minou believes that her mother will come back to the island. The island is remote; the only other persons on the island are Minou’s father, Boxman (and his dog No Name) and Priest. Minou's father enjoys philosophy whereas her mother placed imagination above the realm of rationality; Minou attempts to use philosophical reasoning to construct a watertight theory that her mother will return. As the novel touches on philosophy with mention of Descartes and Kant, it would provide a gentle introduction to philosophy for curious Year 6 readers, and open up conversations about reason and imagination; different skills we use to interpret the world. Minou speaks to the dead boy and writes down what is happening so that she will be able to update her mother when she returns. The novel explores the different ways Minou is coming to terms with the disappearance of her mother; speaking to the dead boy, writing stories and writing a diary. It would enable a class to explore the different ways we untangle events - thinking, speaking to others, writing things down, recording events, and the values of being good listeners. It deals sensitively with loss and surprise. The tone is quite understated in which the author creates an atmosphere of remoteness and potential loneliness. An interesting activity would be to discuss the book’s title, both before and after reading the novel, as it has more than one meaning. I would recommend the book for Year 6 readers.
September 26, 2012
I wasn't quite as enchanted by The Vanishing Act as some other reviewers.
It's short, sparsely worded and sparsely populated, giving it an airy, magical feel. Given the limited canvas that Jakobsen was working with then, it's a little disappointing that her characters are lacking in depth, adhering more to the rough shapes and outlines in a children's book.
At the same time, Jakobsen, a student of philosophy, seems to be trying to broach very adult topics. I have a suspicion that this novel was intended to persuade fans of Descartes' pure reason to step back from their notion of logic and embrace their hearts to a greater degree. But then, the heartfelt artists in the book are also deeply and profoundly flawed, so perhaps we're intended to fall somewhere in the middle.
I don't know that I would recommend this book to many people, because how many people do you know that are interested in essentially YA fiction that also name drops Descartes every other page? Still, a good first effort. I'd like to see her next work attempt a narrative of greater substance.
It's short, sparsely worded and sparsely populated, giving it an airy, magical feel. Given the limited canvas that Jakobsen was working with then, it's a little disappointing that her characters are lacking in depth, adhering more to the rough shapes and outlines in a children's book.
At the same time, Jakobsen, a student of philosophy, seems to be trying to broach very adult topics. I have a suspicion that this novel was intended to persuade fans of Descartes' pure reason to step back from their notion of logic and embrace their hearts to a greater degree. But then, the heartfelt artists in the book are also deeply and profoundly flawed, so perhaps we're intended to fall somewhere in the middle.
I don't know that I would recommend this book to many people, because how many people do you know that are interested in essentially YA fiction that also name drops Descartes every other page? Still, a good first effort. I'd like to see her next work attempt a narrative of greater substance.
August 6, 2013
3/3.5 Gosh, this book, I can hardly organize my thoughts. I finished reading it this morning and simply could not stop thinking about it. I mean, all day. It is not a fairy tale, and there is no real magic, per se, so I can't easily describe what it is that has me so gripped. The story is mysterious and melancholy and I think most readers will not be happy with the ending. I had the story figured out when I was half way through. I spent the last half of the book trying to visualize how the author was going to play it out rather than letting myself enjoy it. So I decided to read it again tonight. And I am so glad I did. Reading it in one sitting made for a better experience for me. I still really like this book for some reason I can't completely pinpoint; however, this quote may help sum it up: 'Sometimes' explained Boxman, 'sadness has a sweet, enchanting edge. It pulls at your heart and you can't get enough.'
I'll be reading it again, no doubt.
I'll be reading it again, no doubt.
April 9, 2012
Fable-like tale set on a tiny, freezing island which has an out of commission lighthouse. Young Minou lives in the lighthouse cottage with her philosophising fisherman father. Their neighbours are a gentle but mad priest (called Priest), Boxman who makes boxes for magicians and the sanest of them all, the dog called No-name. Minou's mother, a beautiful redhead, has disappeared. The others all believe she has drowned but Minou won't accept it. Minou discovers a dead boy washed up onto the beach and the novel covers the three days during which he lies frozen in Mama's bedroom, waiting for the supply boat to comes. A whimsical, sad, amusing and bleak little story. Too many parts to it though, which don't get explained, for example, the aroma of oranges which clings to the dead boy and the fact that Mama cooked with oranges.
August 4, 2014
I picked this book off the Staff Picks shelf of the library, and chose to take it home because it had a lovely review by Erin Morganstern, author of The Night Circus, on the back. I thought it was odd that the back of the book didn't have any kind of a summary of the plot, but after reading the book, I understand why.
There was no plot.
Parts of the book were written beautifully, and I can see why some people would love the whimsical fable aspect of it. But I found it disconcerting that the characters had no names, that the story skipped around in time, and that the adults on the island were incapable of raising a child. And more importantly, nothing happened. I kept thinking Minou was going to come to some philosophical discovery, but I got to the end of the book, and she didn't. Unless I was too clueless to pick up on it....
There was no plot.
Parts of the book were written beautifully, and I can see why some people would love the whimsical fable aspect of it. But I found it disconcerting that the characters had no names, that the story skipped around in time, and that the adults on the island were incapable of raising a child. And more importantly, nothing happened. I kept thinking Minou was going to come to some philosophical discovery, but I got to the end of the book, and she didn't. Unless I was too clueless to pick up on it....
September 29, 2012
The writing was lyrical, mystical, poetic, just gorgeous. The setting evoked an aura that fascinated me. Minou was a well rounded young protagonist. I liked the magical feel that anything was possible.
The plotting just left me cold. I got really bored with the characters and their slow paced interactions. I kept thinking that I was missing all sorts of symbolism. When I read something like The Great Gatsby, I want to go back and rethink the symbols. Here, I didn't care enough.
What was up with that dead boy who was being kept cold in the mother's bedroom? Why did the dog have to be No Name? Oh, I know, the setting was also not named. The universality of it all? Who cares? Not me.
The plotting just left me cold. I got really bored with the characters and their slow paced interactions. I kept thinking that I was missing all sorts of symbolism. When I read something like The Great Gatsby, I want to go back and rethink the symbols. Here, I didn't care enough.
What was up with that dead boy who was being kept cold in the mother's bedroom? Why did the dog have to be No Name? Oh, I know, the setting was also not named. The universality of it all? Who cares? Not me.
July 30, 2016
3.5/5
You can tell right of the bat that the writer ia heavily influenced by Philosophy,which I personally am a fan of.
While this is a really nice read and the writing style is outstansing,it just feels unfinished and has as open an ending as they come,a lot of questions are left unanswered and unresolved.
You can tell right of the bat that the writer ia heavily influenced by Philosophy,which I personally am a fan of.
While this is a really nice read and the writing style is outstansing,it just feels unfinished and has as open an ending as they come,a lot of questions are left unanswered and unresolved.
June 30, 2012
Loved!
December 9, 2022
Do you also read these kinds of books that hold within them so many questions and you as the reader have to puzzle the pieces together; Do you also read these kind of books and cling onto every word and every letter to get the kind of answers you need? And you never get a direct answer and the clinging doesn‘t help so you only have your mind to do all the work for you.
After finishing this book my thoughts are that this is about a girl grieving the death of her mother, being mostly in denial at first but coming to terms with it. It is a book about grieving and accepting death (what seems like her mother’s suicide?) and a girl processing a world shaped of only adults surrounding her through her own lense with her very creative and clever mind/fantasies. The book is about love, human connections, finding the truth, a sense in living and it is embroidered with recurring themes and motives and blurred lines between what was in the past and what is present as the author plays with using many flashbacks and then jumping to the present again to weave the story she has to tell…
After finishing this book my thoughts are that this is about a girl grieving the death of her mother, being mostly in denial at first but coming to terms with it. It is a book about grieving and accepting death (what seems like her mother’s suicide?) and a girl processing a world shaped of only adults surrounding her through her own lense with her very creative and clever mind/fantasies. The book is about love, human connections, finding the truth, a sense in living and it is embroidered with recurring themes and motives and blurred lines between what was in the past and what is present as the author plays with using many flashbacks and then jumping to the present again to weave the story she has to tell…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2020
A charming book that warms your heart and bursts with creativity. 12 year old Minou, lives on a small wintery island with her father, a priest, and an ex-magician with a dog named no-name. Her spunky mother was once counted as one of the inhabitants but she vanished one night and all the adults on the island are positive that she is dead. Minou however is not convinced - a fan of the philosophers that her father loves - she makes a list containing all the reasons that support her theory. When they find a frozen dead boy on the beach and bring him to the house to await the next boat shipment - both Minou and her father start to reflect on her mother and the circumstances that led to her disappearing from the small island. Filled with fun, quirky characters - this adorable story told through a child's eyes is not one that readers will forget.
October 27, 2019
A könyvtárban pillantottam meg, a borítója miatt figyeltem fel rá (előtte nem hallottam róla egyáltalán). A fülszövege alapján kicsit mást vártam – no nem azt, hogy „kis herceges” lesz, hanem én az első mondat feléig abban a hitben éltem, hogy ez az ismeretlen fiú él :) Tetszett a hangulata, beszippantott teljesen. Szívesen megtudtam volna többet arról, kivel mi történt, mielőtt a szigetre jött – főleg Minou mamájával és a halott fiúval –, de azt hiszem, miután elolvastam, nem volt hiányérzetem. (Ezeket a kérdéseket leszámítva, persze; de ha úgy fogom fel, hogy egy különös szigeten élő kislány életének egy fejezetét ismerhettem meg és ennyi, akkor már ez sem zavar.)
December 29, 2025
This story was so sad! It’s quite creative but at it’s heart it’s about a little girl learning to cope with the grief of missing her mother and there’s less magic than i was expecting other than the magic of denial. I did enjoy the island setting but it also felt like a very isolating life for a little girl and when i finished i couldnt help but wonder what i got out of the story. That’s not to say this story doesn’t have value, i just dont think it hit the spot for me.
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