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The Disappeared: Stories
A collection of stories that trace the threads of loss and displacement running through all our lives, by the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Theory of Light and Matter
A husband and wife hear a mysterious bump in the night. A father mourns the closeness he has lost with his son. A friendship with a married couple turns into a dangerous codependency. With gorgeous sensitivity, assurance, and a propulsive sense of menace, these stories center on disappearances both literal and figurative--lives and loves that are cut short, the vanishing of one's youthful self. From San Antonio to Austin, from the clamor of a crowded restaurant to the cigarette at a lonely kitchen table, Andrew Porter captures each of these relationships mid-flight, every individual life punctuated by loss and beauty and need. The Disappeared reaffirms the undeniable artistry of a contemporary master of the form.
A husband and wife hear a mysterious bump in the night. A father mourns the closeness he has lost with his son. A friendship with a married couple turns into a dangerous codependency. With gorgeous sensitivity, assurance, and a propulsive sense of menace, these stories center on disappearances both literal and figurative--lives and loves that are cut short, the vanishing of one's youthful self. From San Antonio to Austin, from the clamor of a crowded restaurant to the cigarette at a lonely kitchen table, Andrew Porter captures each of these relationships mid-flight, every individual life punctuated by loss and beauty and need. The Disappeared reaffirms the undeniable artistry of a contemporary master of the form.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 11, 2023
76 people are currently reading
7184 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Porter
6 books360 followersAndrew Porter is the author of four books, including the short story collection The Theory of Light and Matter (Vintage/Penguin Random House), which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the novel In Between Days (Knopf), which was a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, an IndieBound “Indie Next” selection, and the San Antonio Express News’s “Fictional Work of the Year,” the short story collection The Disappeared (Knopf), which was published in April 2023 and longlisted for The Story Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and the novel The Imagined Life, which was published by Knopf in 2025 and is longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Porter’s books have been published in foreign editions in the UK and Australia and translated into numerous languages, including French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Bulgarian, and Korean.
In addition to winning the Flannery O’Connor Award, his collection, The Theory of Light and Matter, received Foreword Magazine’s “Book of the Year” Award for Short Fiction, was a finalist for The Steven Turner Award, The Paterson Prize and The WLT Book Award, was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was selected by both The Kansas City Star and The San Antonio Express-News as one of the “Best Books of the Year.”
The recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from the James Michener-Copernicus Foundation, the W.K. Rose Foundation, and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Porter’s short stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories, One Story, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, The Threepenny Review, The Missouri Review, American Short Fiction, Narrative Magazine, Epoch, Story, The Colorado Review, Electric Literature, and Texas Monthly, among others. He has had his work read on NPR’s Selected Shorts and twice selected as one of the Distinguished Stories of the Year by Best American Short Stories. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Porter is currently a Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Trinity University in San Antonio.
www.andrewporterwriter.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
March 24, 2023
Let me just cut right to the chase. If you’re a lover of short story collections, you must read The Disappeared. It’s about as flawless as it gets. I read it with a growing sense of marvel.
IF there’s a common theme that runs through most, if not all, of these 15 stories, it can be summed up in a line from his penultimate story, Jimena: “Sometimes I find myself so hard to hold on to that idea of who I used to be, you know? It’s painful to let that go.” These are characters who are in the process of experiencing a loss, a disappearance, a need, a defeat, a metamorphosis from a younger self. And each of them is so real you can swear you know them.
In the first story, Austin, a married couple with a young child meet up with a group of old friends who are almost frozen in time. Home early, the husband reflects on how he feels adrift and somehow disconnected with things. Bumps in the night bother him now. As he hears young people shouting outside, he wonders, “When did I become the person who listened to such sounds ant not the person who made them?
In Bees, a man and his young daughter are beset by bees that swarm the back fence of their yard, off the laundry room window. But he has scarier things to think about: his wife has been living part of the time in her own apartment, dealing with depression and dysfunction. He keeps hanging on, even as he feels as if she’s uncovered a shameful secret: “that I was attracted to the part of her that scared me the most.’
In Silhouettes, a professor who was denied tenure believes his friend was the one who cast the defining vote against him, and the once strong friendship veers into disturbing territory. During one last dinner at his friend’s home, he recognizes that it will be the last time they see each other. And in Breathe, one of my favorites, a father of a young son endures one imperfect moment and realizes that the relationship with the boy might be forever altered.
I could literally choose any of these stories to demonstrate the aching moments that uncover our truest emotions and force us to reevaluate how we’re living our lives and what really matters to us. I cannot rave about this collection enough. I owe deep thanks to Alfred A. Knopf, publisher, for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
IF there’s a common theme that runs through most, if not all, of these 15 stories, it can be summed up in a line from his penultimate story, Jimena: “Sometimes I find myself so hard to hold on to that idea of who I used to be, you know? It’s painful to let that go.” These are characters who are in the process of experiencing a loss, a disappearance, a need, a defeat, a metamorphosis from a younger self. And each of them is so real you can swear you know them.
In the first story, Austin, a married couple with a young child meet up with a group of old friends who are almost frozen in time. Home early, the husband reflects on how he feels adrift and somehow disconnected with things. Bumps in the night bother him now. As he hears young people shouting outside, he wonders, “When did I become the person who listened to such sounds ant not the person who made them?
In Bees, a man and his young daughter are beset by bees that swarm the back fence of their yard, off the laundry room window. But he has scarier things to think about: his wife has been living part of the time in her own apartment, dealing with depression and dysfunction. He keeps hanging on, even as he feels as if she’s uncovered a shameful secret: “that I was attracted to the part of her that scared me the most.’
In Silhouettes, a professor who was denied tenure believes his friend was the one who cast the defining vote against him, and the once strong friendship veers into disturbing territory. During one last dinner at his friend’s home, he recognizes that it will be the last time they see each other. And in Breathe, one of my favorites, a father of a young son endures one imperfect moment and realizes that the relationship with the boy might be forever altered.
I could literally choose any of these stories to demonstrate the aching moments that uncover our truest emotions and force us to reevaluate how we’re living our lives and what really matters to us. I cannot rave about this collection enough. I owe deep thanks to Alfred A. Knopf, publisher, for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2025
The Disappeared is a quietly haunting collection that explores the emotional terrain of middle age with remarkable sensitivity and precision. Through a series of interconnected yet distinct stories, Porter examines the vanishing points of life - youth, love, certainty- and the lingering shadows they leave behind.
The characters are often middle-aged, caught in moments of reflection and reckoning. They grapple with the disconnection from their own lives, questioning the choices that led them to their present circumstances. In stories like “Rhinebeck,” Porter captures the unsettling sensation of having stepped onto the wrong train, evoking a profound sense of displacement and quiet despair. This metaphor of misdirection recurs throughout the collection, underscoring the theme of metaphorical and literal disappearances.
Porter’s mastery lies in his ability to evoke mood with subtlety. His settings- often subdued and atmospheric-mirror the internal states of his characters, amplifying their inertia and emotional drift. The use of first-person narration is particularly effective, allowing readers intimate access to the characters’ inner lives. These voices are introspective, often tinged with regret, and always searching for some elusive truth.
What makes The Disappeared compelling is not just its thematic cohesion, but its emotional resonance. Porter does not offer easy resolutions; instead, he invites readers to sit with the ambiguity and weight of midlife, to consider the ways in which time erodes and reshapes identity. The result is a collection that feels both deeply personal and universally poignant.
The characters are often middle-aged, caught in moments of reflection and reckoning. They grapple with the disconnection from their own lives, questioning the choices that led them to their present circumstances. In stories like “Rhinebeck,” Porter captures the unsettling sensation of having stepped onto the wrong train, evoking a profound sense of displacement and quiet despair. This metaphor of misdirection recurs throughout the collection, underscoring the theme of metaphorical and literal disappearances.
Porter’s mastery lies in his ability to evoke mood with subtlety. His settings- often subdued and atmospheric-mirror the internal states of his characters, amplifying their inertia and emotional drift. The use of first-person narration is particularly effective, allowing readers intimate access to the characters’ inner lives. These voices are introspective, often tinged with regret, and always searching for some elusive truth.
What makes The Disappeared compelling is not just its thematic cohesion, but its emotional resonance. Porter does not offer easy resolutions; instead, he invites readers to sit with the ambiguity and weight of midlife, to consider the ways in which time erodes and reshapes identity. The result is a collection that feels both deeply personal and universally poignant.
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May 24, 2023Some short story collections can be a struggle because, unlike a novel, you need to reinvest in both characters and plot multiple times to get to the other side. With Porter, who is new to me, this was not the case. Like butter, as they say (if your reading eyes be the hot knife). And he was wise to tie each story around the idea of disappearance, which is a great theme in that it wears the clothes of metaphor as easily as not.
With the exception of "Rhinebeck," which is set in that quaint little Hudson Valley town with a great bookstore and coffee joint (I enjoyed a well-spent weekend there some six years back), all of these stories are set in Porter's stomping grounds, Texas--specifically the San Antonio and Austin areas. Most have 30-something married couples, some with little kids, others without, but in both cases, unease as part of the marriage. Sometimes one spouse is an artist or works in the field. Sometimes one teaches in academia. And in most all cases, cigarettes and booze. These young couples haven't heard of the surgeon general, clearly. Or maybe it's their still-invincible bodies that are deaf to cries of warning.
Two stories, "Vines" and "Jimena," echoed each other in that they dealt with a young married couple fascinated with a young and beautiful woman neighbor who was an artist. In each story, the husband and wife form their separate, secretive bonds with the Siren, making me wonder if Porter was trying to get it right (or make like Paganini with variations on a theme). Too similar, in other words, even though the femme fatales were cut from different cloths.
Overall, though, like easy listening. The author is so good at what he does that you don't even realize he's doing it. Sure, some stories are stronger than others. And yes, there are 3-page "mortar" stories between the larger brick narratives, but still, I can't say I'm disappointed in any way. Usually, with short stories, I have to be satisfied with one or two good stories. In this case, a bit more.
Nice, that.
With the exception of "Rhinebeck," which is set in that quaint little Hudson Valley town with a great bookstore and coffee joint (I enjoyed a well-spent weekend there some six years back), all of these stories are set in Porter's stomping grounds, Texas--specifically the San Antonio and Austin areas. Most have 30-something married couples, some with little kids, others without, but in both cases, unease as part of the marriage. Sometimes one spouse is an artist or works in the field. Sometimes one teaches in academia. And in most all cases, cigarettes and booze. These young couples haven't heard of the surgeon general, clearly. Or maybe it's their still-invincible bodies that are deaf to cries of warning.
Two stories, "Vines" and "Jimena," echoed each other in that they dealt with a young married couple fascinated with a young and beautiful woman neighbor who was an artist. In each story, the husband and wife form their separate, secretive bonds with the Siren, making me wonder if Porter was trying to get it right (or make like Paganini with variations on a theme). Too similar, in other words, even though the femme fatales were cut from different cloths.
Overall, though, like easy listening. The author is so good at what he does that you don't even realize he's doing it. Sure, some stories are stronger than others. And yes, there are 3-page "mortar" stories between the larger brick narratives, but still, I can't say I'm disappointed in any way. Usually, with short stories, I have to be satisfied with one or two good stories. In this case, a bit more.
Nice, that.
June 12, 2023
In a series of 15 stories, all elegantly and straight-forwardly narrated by a wistful man, given different names in different stories, domestic life and partings are spotlighted.
There was a tension in the writing which was nice. A foreboding. But it never played out into anything plot-wise in individual stories. Kleptomania is introduced in one of my favorite stories, but then it was dropped. Another story featured the Alamo, and other than mourning the deaths that took place there, the politics of what happened never made an appearance. However, had a couple of stories connected to the larger world, the cohesion of this collection would have suffered. By the last three stories, I realized that by wondering about this lack of connection to something bigger than the singular couples and triples (other single men or women play important roles in relation to couples in some of the stories), I was doing the same thing Porter’s characters did: looking to the outside for some sense of connection.
The book comprises quiet slices of domestic life with an insular point of view, well written, easy and enjoyable to read. And the build from one story to the next, and the final velvet-gloved slug to your heart was all that the foreboding could have promised: you finally realize how disconnected these people are so that, in a sense, they “disappear” . . . as we all do at the end of this human journey.
All the characters smoke and drink. I don’t, but I imagine that this collection has a lot in common with drinking a glass of wine slowly or that slow burn of a cigarette as it disappears down to an ember, then dead ash.
So many short story collections lack cohesion or structure; rather they seem to be a dumping ground for whatever the writer could come up with to fill out a book. This is the opposite of that: a perfectly made, intentional collection that makes sense as a literary work of art.
There was a tension in the writing which was nice. A foreboding. But it never played out into anything plot-wise in individual stories. Kleptomania is introduced in one of my favorite stories, but then it was dropped. Another story featured the Alamo, and other than mourning the deaths that took place there, the politics of what happened never made an appearance. However, had a couple of stories connected to the larger world, the cohesion of this collection would have suffered. By the last three stories, I realized that by wondering about this lack of connection to something bigger than the singular couples and triples (other single men or women play important roles in relation to couples in some of the stories), I was doing the same thing Porter’s characters did: looking to the outside for some sense of connection.
The book comprises quiet slices of domestic life with an insular point of view, well written, easy and enjoyable to read. And the build from one story to the next, and the final velvet-gloved slug to your heart was all that the foreboding could have promised: you finally realize how disconnected these people are so that, in a sense, they “disappear” . . . as we all do at the end of this human journey.
All the characters smoke and drink. I don’t, but I imagine that this collection has a lot in common with drinking a glass of wine slowly or that slow burn of a cigarette as it disappears down to an ember, then dead ash.
So many short story collections lack cohesion or structure; rather they seem to be a dumping ground for whatever the writer could come up with to fill out a book. This is the opposite of that: a perfectly made, intentional collection that makes sense as a literary work of art.
May 30, 2023
I enjoyed these stories tremendously!!!! I mean TREMENDOUSLY!!!!
I like short stories. I can name dozens of wonderful collections I’ve read over the years —
“The Heaven of Animals”, by David James Poissant
“Stay Up With Me”, by Tom Barbash
“Fortune Smiles”, by Adam Johnson
“You Think It, I’ll Say It”, by Curtis Sittenfeld
“Florida”, by Lauren Groff
“If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This”, by Robin Black
“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Swim Back To Me”, by Ann Packer
“Calypso” and other short story collections by David Sedaris
“Suddenly A Knock on the Door” by Etgar Keret
“The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God” by Etgar Keret
Every book collection of short stories by Jacob M. Appel, Alice Munro, and Aimee Bender…….
…….Plus ….many others I’m forgetting at the moment.
And……these stories by *Andrew Porter* …… are the best I’ve read in a few years. A fantastic collection. Fifteen stories in all.
The titles are:
Austin
Cigarettes
Vines
Limes
Cello
Rhinebeck
Chili
Breathe
Silhouettes
Heroes of the Alamo
Bees
Pozole
Jimena
The Empty Unit
The Disappeared
These are contemporary stories — told in first person……(makes the narrative very intimate), with themes of loss, pain, longings, sadness, regret, frustration, anger, guilt, loneliness, betrayal, distrust, puzzlements, sickness, death, love….
….dysfunctional situations, marriages, marriage separation, divorce, artists, academia, kids, friendships, nostalgia, plants, soothing soup comfort, inner thoughts, personal needs, desires…..memories…..
but these stories must be read yourself — to experience the awe-brilliance.
The plotting and ‘tension’ of the stories are rich, fresh, emotionally felt, and character driven with a small cast in each story……. reflecting on the complexities of their lives.
The majority of stories take place in either Austin, or San Antonio but not all. *Reinebeck* takes place in New York……but with plans to move to Austin.
Most involved a lot of wine and cigarettes (not something I do of either), but I loved the ‘feeling’ these devices added to the aura of the stories.
A few tidbits and excerpts ….. hopefully prose teasers too
AS I……
HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to ALL MY FRIENDS! …..a delightful treat book!!!
“Outside I could hear the occasional sound of the car, passing, young people shouting things into the air. When did I become the person who listened to such sounds and not the person who made them? These were the types of questions I often asked myself late at night, as I sat there in this chair, sipping on my drink, feeling at peace, but also somehow adrift, somehow disconnected from things, as if I’ve been untethered from some larger purpose”.
“How were we to know back then all of that would change—that ‘that’ would not be us forever, but after the first child the cigarettes would be gone forever, and after the second, the wine and late nights? It would be the richness of our lives together now, the love and goodness multiplied by two, more bodies in the house, more laughter, more fun, but also, at the end of the day, less of us”.
“I think she left me these meals as a sort of peace offering out of guilt, a way of saying I’m sorry for disappearing every night, but I never minded that she disappeared”.
“It was maybe the only time in my life when I have felt that way in the presence of another person—that I was looking at someone who is already gone”.
“The painting was of a still life from our apartment, that summer, a glass of wine, the tiny black radio we kept above the kitchen sink, a pack of cigarettes, and a few of the succulents from the pot we kept on the windowsill”.
“Maya and I slept together, side-by-side, for almost 2 years of our lives, and yet I wonder, even now, if I ever really knew her. Or if she ever really knew me”.
“I remember the first housewarming gift we received was a Mexican lime tree. It was given to us by our friend Lorena, who was a sculpture of some local renowned, and it was delivered to us in a gorgeous, ceramic pot that Lorena herself had made.
This thing will live forever, she’d said to us the night she dropped it off”.
*Cello*
David and Natalie-
Two kids: daughter Eryn 2
: son Finn 5
Natalie was a cello player (once considered a prodigy and virtuoso) and a newly tenure professor in the department music.
Trembling had started in her right hand. She saw a neurologist. It was a little early to confirm if it was Parkinson’s disease.
A theme in this story about true self, and how people’s actions and behavior relates to their true self….was thought-provoking.
Natalie wondered what happens when a person can no longer control their own body… What was your true self then?
*Rhinebeck*……[one of my favorites in this collection - but no spoilers]
“For the past few years, my daily routine has been pretty much the same: I wake up around six, make myself a large pot of coffee, read the morning paper, go for a run, shower, and shave, then work on my freelance assignments until around five. After that, I open a bottle of wine, answer emails for about an hour, then head over to Fontaine.
I always sit at the same place at the wine bar. Rebecca is always there, standing behind the bar, and we usually share a couple of glasses of wine, and then Colette, or one of the other waitresses, will begin to bring me things— sample plates of whatever they are serving that night—and David, or one of the other chefs will come out from time to time to check on me and ask me what I think. Delicious, I will always say”.
David and Rebecca are the owners of the restaurant Fontaine. They are Richard’s oldest and closest friends, and the reason he lives in Rhinebeck.
For the past 20 years, Richard has been living near his best friends. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, or a regular job, or a house he owns….but he’s happy and he’s not about to change.
I got so sad at one point - and I’m not really even sure what I was feeling.
*Chili*
“If you live in San Antonio long enough you begin to develop a tolerance for heat; not just the outdoor kind— jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, and chilies”.
Artist: Teresa-close to eighty years in age had a whole garden of chilies in her backyard.
“el diablo” was the hottest chili she grew — not edible—way too hot.
*Breathe*
Ian was 5 years old and had never taken swimming lessons in his life….
…..a teenage girl pulled him out of the swimming pool at a birthday party with kids and parents.
This story twisted my own thinking on every page. I had to remind myself ‘to breathe’……
Parenting is sooooo hard to do. Does anyone get it right?
*Silhouettes*
Paul is French Canadian. His wife Elaine is from somewhere just north of Windermere. Elaine comes from money. Enough to purchase a large house in the Westlake Hills, a five bedroom arts and craft style house, overlooking a wet weather creek on one side and a canyon on the other.
Amy and Steve (much less wealthy) than their friends Paul and Elaine — visited often. They were served delicious dinners, lots of wine — while enjoying the private beauty of the surroundings….
But …. (lots of buts)….
Steve and Paul have history….from the time they were both professors in the psychology department.
Steve lost tenure—and thought Paul betrayed him …..
One could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
Steve started stealing inconsequential small objects from his friends….
“If you had asked me, then, if I thought what I was doing was wrong, I would’ve said no. In my mind, I think I believed, I would eventually give it all back, that I was simply keeping it for now, or other times I tell myself that it was a kind of retribution for what Paul had done to me. I had ways of justifying it to myself, and Amy herself never questioned it. We believed ourselves to be good people”.
“Around Jimena, however, I always felt seen, and maybe that was part of it. She was young, or at least younger than me, and she was seeing me, maybe not in a romantic light—not that I was thinking along those lines either— but as a human being, a person, walking the earth like her, full of fears and regrets, trying not to mess up”.
These stories resonated with me — I think they would most people because they are so darn human —written seamlessly—riveting—full of yearning….. and full of energy……
daily life is complicated, dangerous, funny & sad, absurd, intense, shocking……filled with love, loss, and art every say.
Almost all the characters in these stories are artists (Paul and our two daughters are artists)….as well as many of my good friends….
Simply wonderful… a favorite….
I like short stories. I can name dozens of wonderful collections I’ve read over the years —
“The Heaven of Animals”, by David James Poissant
“Stay Up With Me”, by Tom Barbash
“Fortune Smiles”, by Adam Johnson
“You Think It, I’ll Say It”, by Curtis Sittenfeld
“Florida”, by Lauren Groff
“If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This”, by Robin Black
“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Swim Back To Me”, by Ann Packer
“Calypso” and other short story collections by David Sedaris
“Suddenly A Knock on the Door” by Etgar Keret
“The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God” by Etgar Keret
Every book collection of short stories by Jacob M. Appel, Alice Munro, and Aimee Bender…….
…….Plus ….many others I’m forgetting at the moment.
And……these stories by *Andrew Porter* …… are the best I’ve read in a few years. A fantastic collection. Fifteen stories in all.
The titles are:
Austin
Cigarettes
Vines
Limes
Cello
Rhinebeck
Chili
Breathe
Silhouettes
Heroes of the Alamo
Bees
Pozole
Jimena
The Empty Unit
The Disappeared
These are contemporary stories — told in first person……(makes the narrative very intimate), with themes of loss, pain, longings, sadness, regret, frustration, anger, guilt, loneliness, betrayal, distrust, puzzlements, sickness, death, love….
….dysfunctional situations, marriages, marriage separation, divorce, artists, academia, kids, friendships, nostalgia, plants, soothing soup comfort, inner thoughts, personal needs, desires…..memories…..
but these stories must be read yourself — to experience the awe-brilliance.
The plotting and ‘tension’ of the stories are rich, fresh, emotionally felt, and character driven with a small cast in each story……. reflecting on the complexities of their lives.
The majority of stories take place in either Austin, or San Antonio but not all. *Reinebeck* takes place in New York……but with plans to move to Austin.
Most involved a lot of wine and cigarettes (not something I do of either), but I loved the ‘feeling’ these devices added to the aura of the stories.
A few tidbits and excerpts ….. hopefully prose teasers too
AS I……
HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to ALL MY FRIENDS! …..a delightful treat book!!!
“Outside I could hear the occasional sound of the car, passing, young people shouting things into the air. When did I become the person who listened to such sounds and not the person who made them? These were the types of questions I often asked myself late at night, as I sat there in this chair, sipping on my drink, feeling at peace, but also somehow adrift, somehow disconnected from things, as if I’ve been untethered from some larger purpose”.
“How were we to know back then all of that would change—that ‘that’ would not be us forever, but after the first child the cigarettes would be gone forever, and after the second, the wine and late nights? It would be the richness of our lives together now, the love and goodness multiplied by two, more bodies in the house, more laughter, more fun, but also, at the end of the day, less of us”.
“I think she left me these meals as a sort of peace offering out of guilt, a way of saying I’m sorry for disappearing every night, but I never minded that she disappeared”.
“It was maybe the only time in my life when I have felt that way in the presence of another person—that I was looking at someone who is already gone”.
“The painting was of a still life from our apartment, that summer, a glass of wine, the tiny black radio we kept above the kitchen sink, a pack of cigarettes, and a few of the succulents from the pot we kept on the windowsill”.
“Maya and I slept together, side-by-side, for almost 2 years of our lives, and yet I wonder, even now, if I ever really knew her. Or if she ever really knew me”.
“I remember the first housewarming gift we received was a Mexican lime tree. It was given to us by our friend Lorena, who was a sculpture of some local renowned, and it was delivered to us in a gorgeous, ceramic pot that Lorena herself had made.
This thing will live forever, she’d said to us the night she dropped it off”.
*Cello*
David and Natalie-
Two kids: daughter Eryn 2
: son Finn 5
Natalie was a cello player (once considered a prodigy and virtuoso) and a newly tenure professor in the department music.
Trembling had started in her right hand. She saw a neurologist. It was a little early to confirm if it was Parkinson’s disease.
A theme in this story about true self, and how people’s actions and behavior relates to their true self….was thought-provoking.
Natalie wondered what happens when a person can no longer control their own body… What was your true self then?
*Rhinebeck*……[one of my favorites in this collection - but no spoilers]
“For the past few years, my daily routine has been pretty much the same: I wake up around six, make myself a large pot of coffee, read the morning paper, go for a run, shower, and shave, then work on my freelance assignments until around five. After that, I open a bottle of wine, answer emails for about an hour, then head over to Fontaine.
I always sit at the same place at the wine bar. Rebecca is always there, standing behind the bar, and we usually share a couple of glasses of wine, and then Colette, or one of the other waitresses, will begin to bring me things— sample plates of whatever they are serving that night—and David, or one of the other chefs will come out from time to time to check on me and ask me what I think. Delicious, I will always say”.
David and Rebecca are the owners of the restaurant Fontaine. They are Richard’s oldest and closest friends, and the reason he lives in Rhinebeck.
For the past 20 years, Richard has been living near his best friends. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, or a regular job, or a house he owns….but he’s happy and he’s not about to change.
I got so sad at one point - and I’m not really even sure what I was feeling.
*Chili*
“If you live in San Antonio long enough you begin to develop a tolerance for heat; not just the outdoor kind— jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, and chilies”.
Artist: Teresa-close to eighty years in age had a whole garden of chilies in her backyard.
“el diablo” was the hottest chili she grew — not edible—way too hot.
*Breathe*
Ian was 5 years old and had never taken swimming lessons in his life….
…..a teenage girl pulled him out of the swimming pool at a birthday party with kids and parents.
This story twisted my own thinking on every page. I had to remind myself ‘to breathe’……
Parenting is sooooo hard to do. Does anyone get it right?
*Silhouettes*
Paul is French Canadian. His wife Elaine is from somewhere just north of Windermere. Elaine comes from money. Enough to purchase a large house in the Westlake Hills, a five bedroom arts and craft style house, overlooking a wet weather creek on one side and a canyon on the other.
Amy and Steve (much less wealthy) than their friends Paul and Elaine — visited often. They were served delicious dinners, lots of wine — while enjoying the private beauty of the surroundings….
But …. (lots of buts)….
Steve and Paul have history….from the time they were both professors in the psychology department.
Steve lost tenure—and thought Paul betrayed him …..
One could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
Steve started stealing inconsequential small objects from his friends….
“If you had asked me, then, if I thought what I was doing was wrong, I would’ve said no. In my mind, I think I believed, I would eventually give it all back, that I was simply keeping it for now, or other times I tell myself that it was a kind of retribution for what Paul had done to me. I had ways of justifying it to myself, and Amy herself never questioned it. We believed ourselves to be good people”.
“Around Jimena, however, I always felt seen, and maybe that was part of it. She was young, or at least younger than me, and she was seeing me, maybe not in a romantic light—not that I was thinking along those lines either— but as a human being, a person, walking the earth like her, full of fears and regrets, trying not to mess up”.
These stories resonated with me — I think they would most people because they are so darn human —written seamlessly—riveting—full of yearning….. and full of energy……
daily life is complicated, dangerous, funny & sad, absurd, intense, shocking……filled with love, loss, and art every say.
Almost all the characters in these stories are artists (Paul and our two daughters are artists)….as well as many of my good friends….
Simply wonderful… a favorite….
May 1, 2023
I thought these stories were perceptively written. They center around younger men's lives living in Texas. The male characters tend to be either dating women or starting young families. Some have children. They or the women in their lives tend to be involved in creative pursuits (ie. art, music) or academia. Their careers are just getting started. Disappearance of objects, people or time past is threaded through the stories as a unifying theme. There is a haunting feeling to many of the stories - a feeling that something is amiss.
Three stories stand out to me:
*In 'Cello', a young wife (who is the musician) develops tremors that threaten to derail her career as well as the life she shares with her husband and young children.
* In 'Breathe', a young father is anxious both about his own panic attacks and his 5 year old son's well-being. Unfortunately, the father freezes at a crucial moment for the boy, affecting them both.
* A lighter story is 'Pozole'. In the story, a bar that serves the best pozole in town undergoes a change. Its regulars come just to eat the pozole. It tickled me, because I happen to like pozole too, and a similar thing happened to the little restaurant that I frequent. (I wish I had a bowl of it to eat right now!)
Three stories stand out to me:
*In 'Cello', a young wife (who is the musician) develops tremors that threaten to derail her career as well as the life she shares with her husband and young children.
* In 'Breathe', a young father is anxious both about his own panic attacks and his 5 year old son's well-being. Unfortunately, the father freezes at a crucial moment for the boy, affecting them both.
* A lighter story is 'Pozole'. In the story, a bar that serves the best pozole in town undergoes a change. Its regulars come just to eat the pozole. It tickled me, because I happen to like pozole too, and a similar thing happened to the little restaurant that I frequent. (I wish I had a bowl of it to eat right now!)
November 20, 2024
This is a fine collection of short stories. Written in lucid, unadorned prose, there is a sameness to the narratives, which appears to be intentional. All are written in the first person voice of a man in early middle age, confronting the losses of youthful dreams and identity, friendships, and relationships. Similar details and patterns crop up in many stories, linking them, and giving the impression that they’re really about one man trying on several lives. The characters are often university sessional instructors or have work related to the arts. A few are unemployed and directionless. Most struck me as quite passive. There are many couples presented, and, the men, for the most part, appear to be strangely incurious, sometimes frankly obtuse, about what is going on in their female partners’ minds. There’s a lot of wine drinking, cigarette smoking, succulent gardens, art, and Mexican food (all but one story are set in San Antonio or Austin, Texas). A sense of anxiety and vague foreboding pervades many of the narratives.
I appreciate Porter’s clear writing. No pretentiousness here. The prose does not obfuscate but allows one to enter the situations of his characters. I hope to read more by this author.
I appreciate Porter’s clear writing. No pretentiousness here. The prose does not obfuscate but allows one to enter the situations of his characters. I hope to read more by this author.
September 15, 2023
Loved, loved, loved this one.What a surprise and wonder of a book! Beautifully written stories dealing with the passing of time, memories, relationships, the anxieties and fears of our times. Loved the tone and the mood of the stories. Although I read many good books, it’s rare for me to have an experience like this, having the certainty that this one will stay with me for a long time. I hope more people pick this one, especially lovers of short stories.
April 8, 2023
You cannot miss the opportunity to read a collection of short stories so wonderful that you will want the book to never end, to become a constant and infinite source of stories.
The construction of the characters, each one more fascinating than the next, is sublime. These are stories of ordinary people, faced with ordinary problems but with an admirable level of introspection, which makes each situation an excuse to reflect. The reader witnesses these relationships
that in most cases need to be reframed, that do not meet what is expected of them, and that seem to not work within the established canon. They are stories of disagreements and also of unexpected encounters, where conflicts materialize and fade just as quickly because that's what life itself is all about. Those conflicts that affect us and that seem endless and occupy the entirety of our conscious life, are really only a moment until they are replaced by others. Andrew Porter seems to be aware of this, and sometimes so are his narrators, who choose to show us the photograph of a pivotal moment in their lives to then be moving on to the next.
I loved each and every story and I can't recommend this book enough!
The construction of the characters, each one more fascinating than the next, is sublime. These are stories of ordinary people, faced with ordinary problems but with an admirable level of introspection, which makes each situation an excuse to reflect. The reader witnesses these relationships
that in most cases need to be reframed, that do not meet what is expected of them, and that seem to not work within the established canon. They are stories of disagreements and also of unexpected encounters, where conflicts materialize and fade just as quickly because that's what life itself is all about. Those conflicts that affect us and that seem endless and occupy the entirety of our conscious life, are really only a moment until they are replaced by others. Andrew Porter seems to be aware of this, and sometimes so are his narrators, who choose to show us the photograph of a pivotal moment in their lives to then be moving on to the next.
I loved each and every story and I can't recommend this book enough!
June 15, 2023
Andrew Porter's book of short stories, The Disappeared, knocked my socks off. Every story in this collection is a winner and it was difficult to put the book down once I started reading it.
Thematically, the stories deal with a lot of grief and loss, people leaving relationships, and relationships ending. The characters are often confused about life and lacking direction even though many of them are well-educated and creative. Virtually all of the characters attempt to bury their pain in alcohol, and drinking plays a definitive part in every one of the stories. Interestingly, many of the characters smoke cigarettes which is a rarity in this day and age.
All of the stories read fluidly and the characters are well-developed, which is often not the case with short stories. This collection is one of the best I've read. I highly recommend this book.
Thematically, the stories deal with a lot of grief and loss, people leaving relationships, and relationships ending. The characters are often confused about life and lacking direction even though many of them are well-educated and creative. Virtually all of the characters attempt to bury their pain in alcohol, and drinking plays a definitive part in every one of the stories. Interestingly, many of the characters smoke cigarettes which is a rarity in this day and age.
All of the stories read fluidly and the characters are well-developed, which is often not the case with short stories. This collection is one of the best I've read. I highly recommend this book.
April 25, 2023
This story collection was well worth the wait. Several years ago, I read one of Andrew Porter’s previous books and loved it. This does not disappoint. These stories beautifully portray the bleakness of life after reaching a certain age, tension in relationships, fears of mortality and mediocrity, and conflict in adult friendships. I’ll be thinking about many of these stories for the rest of my life.
April 18, 2023
I don't usually like every story in a collection, but I loved every story in Andrew Porter's The Disappeared. These are beautifully written stories about loss, transition, and the difficulty of accepting the changes that occur as we age. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
May 22, 2023
I think this might be a perfect book
April 15, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5+/5.
Why haven’t I heard of this glorious book before?! What a wonderful surprise. This will most certainly be a favorite of the year. Sincere thanks to knopf for the gifted finished copy.
Restrained, perceptive, and utterly flawless. That really could be my whole review. The common thread in each story is a loss of some kind, a disappearance of something that once was. All of the stories are narrated by a reflective, sometimes nostalgic, thirty-something man – it feels like it could be the same man each time, although his wife’s name is always different and his career and domestic circumstances change slightly – perhaps the stories are meant to be different versions of the lives he could have lived?
It’s always hard for me to describe short story collections like this where the atmosphere and feeling that the author evokes is the main draw. There is a foreboding that is ever-present, but it’s the type that we all encounter in our everyday lives. I know this guy, and you know this guy, and maybe we haven’t experienced these exact circumstances, but the feelings are so relatable. Porter’s writing style is quite similar to Rachel Cusk, but dare I say it, even better?!!!
I’m kicking myself for not requesting Porter’s new book, THE IMAGINED LIFE, out tomorrow April 15th, when I had the chance! I would really love to explore more of his work.
Love, love, loved. THE DISAPPEARED is out now in paperback.
Why haven’t I heard of this glorious book before?! What a wonderful surprise. This will most certainly be a favorite of the year. Sincere thanks to knopf for the gifted finished copy.
Restrained, perceptive, and utterly flawless. That really could be my whole review. The common thread in each story is a loss of some kind, a disappearance of something that once was. All of the stories are narrated by a reflective, sometimes nostalgic, thirty-something man – it feels like it could be the same man each time, although his wife’s name is always different and his career and domestic circumstances change slightly – perhaps the stories are meant to be different versions of the lives he could have lived?
It’s always hard for me to describe short story collections like this where the atmosphere and feeling that the author evokes is the main draw. There is a foreboding that is ever-present, but it’s the type that we all encounter in our everyday lives. I know this guy, and you know this guy, and maybe we haven’t experienced these exact circumstances, but the feelings are so relatable. Porter’s writing style is quite similar to Rachel Cusk, but dare I say it, even better?!!!
I’m kicking myself for not requesting Porter’s new book, THE IMAGINED LIFE, out tomorrow April 15th, when I had the chance! I would really love to explore more of his work.
Love, love, loved. THE DISAPPEARED is out now in paperback.
July 22, 2023
Reading Andrew Porter’s The Disappeared was a rare, distilled experience for me. The thematic through-line of disappearance in the collection is direct and bright in each story, and the landscape and language reveal characters caught inside a kind of inertia or imbalance or even helplessness central to their respective situations. In the top five of the books I’ve read this year and, to be honest, in a long while, and one that will stay with me and call me to read the stories again and again.
May 22, 2023
The stories in this book read like poetry. Each one is written in a gentle and elegant way and each adds to the whole. It is rare to read a short story collection in which every story is poignant and necessary.
May 29, 2023
What an amazing collection - each story so beautifully written and heartbreaking. If I could give it more than five stars, I would.
October 25, 2023
The Disappeared by Andrew Porter is a book of short stories categorized as literary fiction. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “A husband and wife hear a mysterious bump in the night. A father mourns the closeness he has lost with his son. A friendship with a married couple turns into a dangerous codependency. With gorgeous sensitivity, assurance, and a propulsive sense of menace, these stories center on disappearances both literal and figurative--lives and loves that are cut short, the vanishing of one's youthful self. From San Antonio to Austin, from the clamor of a crowded restaurant to the cigarette at a lonely kitchen table, Andrew Porter captures each of these relationships mid-flight, every individual life punctuated by loss and beauty and need. The Disappeared reaffirms the undeniable artistry of a contemporary master of the form.”
Fifteen stories are told in this collection, most taking place between San Antonio, Texas to Austin and back. There are a few intriguing questions that run through this collection. What happened to who I used to be? What ever happened to the interesting people I used to hang out with when I was younger? What happened to those weird neighbors I used to live next door to at that shabby apartment complex? If there is a theme song for this book, then it would be “Somebody That I Used to Know.”
For instance, in the first story “Austin,” the narrator begins the story at a party where some old college buddies are hanging out and getting drunk. They’re reminiscing and telling stories, although the narrator feels disconnected from them. One friend tells a story about an acquaintance who killed a home invader and asks the narrator if he was justified in doing it. Instead of answering this moral dilemma, the narrator simply leaves the party; he disappears. At home, his wife worries about a possible intruder in their own laundry room. Late one night as he stays up worrying, he muses:
“Outside I could hear the occasional sound of a car passing, young people shouting things into the air. When did I become the person who listened to such sounds and not the person who made them?”
Another story finds a man wondering if an artist he used to date was having a relationship with an older mentor who painted nude portraits of her, but because she dies later, he never finds out. Another story finds a couple dealing with the future of a Parkinson’s diagnosis, the female partner seeing her current life eventually disappearing into the incurable disease. A brief story finds a man reminiscing about a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where he enjoys an astounding pozole soup, but the restaurant changes owners overnight and the remarkable soup vanishes as well as the unusual patrons who all enjoyed their exquisite meals there. Life changes in an instant sometimes. Where do these people and things disappear to?
Porter handles all of these stories with a command of his craft. His writing is fantastic and the stories move along like a ship in the ocean but without a hint of how these stories will end up. There are several places where Porter plays with the reader’s expectations, putting clues in place that don’t play out the way the reader would expect. Some stories unfurl with a candid placidity; others lurch with a creeping dread. The final story crackles with sexual tension, yet ends with such a thoughtful denouement that I felt consoled instead of tantalized.
When looking back on one’s life, many events don’t play out how you’d have guessed at the time and I feel Porter revels in this conundrum. When people in your life disappear, where do they go? What happens to them? What happened to the person you used to be? Wouldn’t we all want to know.
I really, really enjoyed this book of stories and I highly recommend it. I would give this book six stars out of five, if I could. It’s that good!
Fifteen stories are told in this collection, most taking place between San Antonio, Texas to Austin and back. There are a few intriguing questions that run through this collection. What happened to who I used to be? What ever happened to the interesting people I used to hang out with when I was younger? What happened to those weird neighbors I used to live next door to at that shabby apartment complex? If there is a theme song for this book, then it would be “Somebody That I Used to Know.”
For instance, in the first story “Austin,” the narrator begins the story at a party where some old college buddies are hanging out and getting drunk. They’re reminiscing and telling stories, although the narrator feels disconnected from them. One friend tells a story about an acquaintance who killed a home invader and asks the narrator if he was justified in doing it. Instead of answering this moral dilemma, the narrator simply leaves the party; he disappears. At home, his wife worries about a possible intruder in their own laundry room. Late one night as he stays up worrying, he muses:
“Outside I could hear the occasional sound of a car passing, young people shouting things into the air. When did I become the person who listened to such sounds and not the person who made them?”
Another story finds a man wondering if an artist he used to date was having a relationship with an older mentor who painted nude portraits of her, but because she dies later, he never finds out. Another story finds a couple dealing with the future of a Parkinson’s diagnosis, the female partner seeing her current life eventually disappearing into the incurable disease. A brief story finds a man reminiscing about a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where he enjoys an astounding pozole soup, but the restaurant changes owners overnight and the remarkable soup vanishes as well as the unusual patrons who all enjoyed their exquisite meals there. Life changes in an instant sometimes. Where do these people and things disappear to?
Porter handles all of these stories with a command of his craft. His writing is fantastic and the stories move along like a ship in the ocean but without a hint of how these stories will end up. There are several places where Porter plays with the reader’s expectations, putting clues in place that don’t play out the way the reader would expect. Some stories unfurl with a candid placidity; others lurch with a creeping dread. The final story crackles with sexual tension, yet ends with such a thoughtful denouement that I felt consoled instead of tantalized.
When looking back on one’s life, many events don’t play out how you’d have guessed at the time and I feel Porter revels in this conundrum. When people in your life disappear, where do they go? What happens to them? What happened to the person you used to be? Wouldn’t we all want to know.
I really, really enjoyed this book of stories and I highly recommend it. I would give this book six stars out of five, if I could. It’s that good!
August 18, 2023
What is lost, all of it. Friends, family, lovers, the like. Short stories all surrounding in and out of Texas.
In Carver-esque sparseness, Porter has a naturality to his landscape and characters. I've seen them before, met them before. Eavesdropped, at parties, cafes even. We are all doing something, not knowing if it's what we're supposed to be doing. If we actually know what we want to do.
It reminds me of that one 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘏𝘢 exchange:
𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 : 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘌𝘩... 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 : 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘌𝘩... 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵.
And a few lines after:
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵.
Porter understands the human condition in the small little ways we move around each other. Through petty arguments or silly thoughts. Entirely unremarkable. But these amount to something, amount to some insecure part of ourselves that are begging to be seen, to be heard, to be attended to. Whether or not his characters surface these insecurities is the brilliance of his stories. They don't feel too long or too short, don't linger on for too long. They exist in this Goldilocks-just-right kinda way that makes me think this is a collection every American needs on their shelves. There's something contemporary yet classic about this collection.
*will note that I think Porter loses himself in the Carver-ness too much. There are moments in which his characters will repeat lines or perform actions so mundane that they could be better replaced by moments that itch to better color his characters, give into their interiority. Porter writes at a distance that sometimes works in his favor plot-wise, but give us little in speculation for his people.
In Carver-esque sparseness, Porter has a naturality to his landscape and characters. I've seen them before, met them before. Eavesdropped, at parties, cafes even. We are all doing something, not knowing if it's what we're supposed to be doing. If we actually know what we want to do.
It reminds me of that one 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘏𝘢 exchange:
𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 : 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘌𝘩... 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 : 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘌𝘩... 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵.
And a few lines after:
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 : 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵.
Porter understands the human condition in the small little ways we move around each other. Through petty arguments or silly thoughts. Entirely unremarkable. But these amount to something, amount to some insecure part of ourselves that are begging to be seen, to be heard, to be attended to. Whether or not his characters surface these insecurities is the brilliance of his stories. They don't feel too long or too short, don't linger on for too long. They exist in this Goldilocks-just-right kinda way that makes me think this is a collection every American needs on their shelves. There's something contemporary yet classic about this collection.
*will note that I think Porter loses himself in the Carver-ness too much. There are moments in which his characters will repeat lines or perform actions so mundane that they could be better replaced by moments that itch to better color his characters, give into their interiority. Porter writes at a distance that sometimes works in his favor plot-wise, but give us little in speculation for his people.
May 29, 2023
The writing is good, I think, but the stories were a little flat, and also they mostly seemed pretty similar: childless married people in their forties, living in Texas, mostly low-level artists and academics, who haven’t grown up much since their twenties and are nostalgic about that time in their life, and having trouble with their marriages. Any of the stories would be pretty good by itself but the collection felt a little redundant.
April 29, 2023
One of my favorite short story collections ever. About that youth that has disappeared and marriages, jobs, parenthood have either worked out or they haven’t but time is surely not coming back.
June 30, 2023
These are haunting stories, gorgeous and poignant. A master class in short story writing.
July 4, 2023
Skillful rendering of the subtleties of mundane lives, but storylines lack variety and every story has a first-person narrator indistinguishable from the next.
July 13, 2023
What a gorgeous book. These stories are written with such sensitivity and grace. Each one feels like a little novel.
August 7, 2023
a perfect short story collection if i’ve ever read one
September 18, 2023
This was just fascinating! One of the best short story collections I've read in a while.
October 14, 2023
2.5 stars
I respect the author's gifted craft from a literary perspective: each story is woven through a theme and the reader can dig deeply to pull the metaphor of loss from several vantage points: material, emotional, self-concept, hopes and dreams, physical, loss of control and loss of purpose.
However, I personally felt frustrated with the characters' passive acceptance of their situation. There is a concurrent theme of the lack of taking control of one's own choices (even the tough ones). The characters either coast along by others' decisions or blame others' for their present emotional state. As a reader, I found this uninteresting and dreary.
I respect the author's gifted craft from a literary perspective: each story is woven through a theme and the reader can dig deeply to pull the metaphor of loss from several vantage points: material, emotional, self-concept, hopes and dreams, physical, loss of control and loss of purpose.
However, I personally felt frustrated with the characters' passive acceptance of their situation. There is a concurrent theme of the lack of taking control of one's own choices (even the tough ones). The characters either coast along by others' decisions or blame others' for their present emotional state. As a reader, I found this uninteresting and dreary.
May 1, 2023
This is one of the best short story collections I have read in many years. Fifteen beautifully written stories. Some are very short and some are long, all are filled with longing and subtle, quiet beauty. I connected so strongly with all of the characters and enjoyed how they connected to each other. Highly recommend this one.
October 7, 2024
Read these over the course of several days, interspersing with a novel.
These are wonderful stories. I love the voice of the first person narrator. Without being repetitive, the men seem similar to each other. So you’re never taken aback by the choice made in one story based on what you know about this guy from previous stories.
These are wonderful stories. I love the voice of the first person narrator. Without being repetitive, the men seem similar to each other. So you’re never taken aback by the choice made in one story based on what you know about this guy from previous stories.
June 12, 2025
Took me a while to get into this author’s style. I almost didn’t finish the book, but I’m glad I picked it back up. The stories are character driven, and the narrative is a bit meandering. This author is more verbose than I prefer, but once I got acclimated to that I did enjoy reading the collection.
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