The Disappeared

by Adam Braver

The Disappeared traces a pair of casualties who emerge from the ashes of separate acts of political a woman whose husband is missing in a terrorist attack, and a man who believes his sister was an unidentified victim of the '93 World Trade Center bombing. As the survivors face their own private terrors under the demanding watch of the public eye, each moves forward while working to uncover mysteries that may never be solved. Addressing conspiracies, cataclysm, and the fragile yet resilient nature of the human psyche, Braver excavates the post-trauma experience with a nuanced precision, where hope, understanding, and determination are the building blocks for making sense of what otherwise seems senseless."Adam Braver's vivid characters move through a haunted landscapethe world forever changed by terrorthat has become all too familiar to many of us. This compelling and elegantly written novel charts the intersections of individual and collective grief, unfolding in unexpected ways. It is both profoundly personal and smartly political, a memorable page turner with urgent, resonant themes." Alix Ohlin, author of Signs and Wonder"Braver's novel is rich and humane, a tightly controlled, beautifully orchestrated portrait of contemporary terrors and the feedback loops of fear and paranoia they create that mesmerize us and, tragically, sometimes drive us mad. There are those that disappear in the violence, and those that disappear searching for them in their wakes, trying to make sense of insanity." Paul Harding, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Genres: Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 10, 2024

About the author

ADAM BRAVER is the author of Mr. Lincolns Wars, Divine Sarah, Crows Over the Wheatfield, November 22, 1963, and Misfit . His books have been selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover New Writers program, Borders Original Voices series, and twice for the Book Sense list. His work has appeared in journals such as Daedalus, Ontario Review, Cimarron Review, Water-Stone Review, Harvard Review, Tin House, West Branch, and Post Road. He teaches at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, and at the NY State Summer Writers Institute."

Reviews

[Neika Seibold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the tension in this book, but at the same time I felt like it made me read it too fast, although I'm not any worse off because of it. It was an interesting perspective on people dealing with tragedy, but I find it hard to tolerate main characters I want to shake for their timidness/stupidity. But then what would we have read in this case? A soliloquy on the evils of the Republican party? and sorry, but I feel like the obvious disgust the author has for Republicans is unmerited in the book. In my opinion, everything they accuse Republicans of can be just as fairly hung on a Democrat. Its sad but the whole lot of politicians are untrustworthy anymore. The book did have it's moments. I'd say it's worth the read, but not sure how it's topping the charts on the NYTs bestseller list. However, I am dying to read the book "Crows over the Wheatfield" by the same author.

[R.J. Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many of Braver's works, and this one is a good read. But, the very first Braver book I read still remains his best, Mr. Lincoln's Wars

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 stars

I really enjoyed the way these two people's lives and grief overlapped and how they fed off of each other, both positively and negatively. I think it was a really insightful look at grief, especially the events in the current timeline. The themes got a bit heavy-handed at the end and I wanted more from Edgar as Lucy definitely dominated the narrative, but overall a solid, engrossing read.

[Daniel Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing treatment of grief. The dead in this case are the sister of Edgar the male protagonist and the husband of Lucy the female protagonist. In neither case can grief run its course. Edgar's sister disappeared in NYC in the early 90s; Lucy's husband disappeared in a terrorist bombing in LA in the recent past. How do you get past the event of death when there is no confirmation of death? Edgar and Lucy take different paths, and for a short while their paths converge.

[Leanna James Blackwell]

Ingenious, thoughtful, sensitive exploration of the aftermath of violence. Timely and engrossing.