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Still Missing
Susan Selky struggles to maintain her sanity during the ordeal following the disappearance of her son, Alex
364 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
22 people are currently reading
1716 people want to read
About the author
Beth Gutcheon
30 books249 followersBeth Gutcheon grew up in western Pennsylvania. She was educated at Harvard where she took an honors BA in English literature. She has spent most of her adult life in New York City, except for sojourns in San Francisco and on the coast of Maine. In 1978, she wrote the narration for a feature-length documentary on the Kirov ballet school, The Children of Theatre Street, which was nominated for an Academy Award, and she has made her living fulltime as a storyteller (novelist and sometime screenwriter) since then. Her novels have been translated into fourteen languages, if you count the pirate Chinese edition of Still Missing, plus large print and audio format. Still Missing was made into a feature film called Without a Trace, and also published in a Reader’s Digest Condensed version which particularly pleased her mother. Several of her novels have been national bestsellers, including the most recent, Leeway Cottage. All of the novels are available in new uniform paperback editions from HarperPerennial.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
February 7, 2018
This is a very modern offering from the Persephone publishers, having first been published in 1981, and that was what intrigued me into picking up this book! It reads very much as a modern thriller/mystery and feels much more relatable than some of their other titles and I think that is what made it such a tense and thrilling read.
It is the story of 6 year old Alex who disappears on his way to school one morning, and the anguish and torment that his family go through in the coming days and months of his disappearance. How could a little boy just vanish into thin air? His mother, Susan, torments herself daily as to his whereabouts and how she could have done things differently, and this book reveals how the not knowing tears apart his family, and the friendships around them.
As the days go by and the media frenzy begins to die down, Susan keeps pushing to keep the memory of Alex in the public eye but she is confronted with the absurdity of tv appearances, people making comments on how she's keeping herself together and the judgements that people make about those involved in a high profile missing child case - very much like cases we've seen over recent years play out for real! Susan is a very determined character and doesn't like to be told how to behave or accept how others see things which can come across as being quite obtuse and difficult at times.
I loved the way the book is written - the way it delves into the human reaction to such ordeals, looks at the families involved in cases like these who are just expected to carry on as normal after a while when the police find no leads etc. The book does take a very weird twist quite a way in to the story which I wasn't expecting which does add to the drama and talking points of this book and made for an enthralling read.
This book has been made into a film - Without A Trace - so I will be interested to see that and watch this story bought to life and I highly recommend picking up this book if you are looking for a Persephone with a very modern feeling.
It is the story of 6 year old Alex who disappears on his way to school one morning, and the anguish and torment that his family go through in the coming days and months of his disappearance. How could a little boy just vanish into thin air? His mother, Susan, torments herself daily as to his whereabouts and how she could have done things differently, and this book reveals how the not knowing tears apart his family, and the friendships around them.
As the days go by and the media frenzy begins to die down, Susan keeps pushing to keep the memory of Alex in the public eye but she is confronted with the absurdity of tv appearances, people making comments on how she's keeping herself together and the judgements that people make about those involved in a high profile missing child case - very much like cases we've seen over recent years play out for real! Susan is a very determined character and doesn't like to be told how to behave or accept how others see things which can come across as being quite obtuse and difficult at times.
I loved the way the book is written - the way it delves into the human reaction to such ordeals, looks at the families involved in cases like these who are just expected to carry on as normal after a while when the police find no leads etc. The book does take a very weird twist quite a way in to the story which I wasn't expecting which does add to the drama and talking points of this book and made for an enthralling read.
This book has been made into a film - Without A Trace - so I will be interested to see that and watch this story bought to life and I highly recommend picking up this book if you are looking for a Persephone with a very modern feeling.
Want to read
September 21, 2019The movie of this book, 'Without a Trace' makes me cry like a blubbering idiot every single time.
November 4, 2022
nobody owns grief
Tell us you're afraid, Mrs. Selky. Break down and cry. Let us feel that warm wet wash of pity, that prurient grief, that thrills because it's happened to you and not us. Give it to us, Mrs. Selky.
A touching shocking (almost) unbelievable story.
How can you tell a little about your whole child?
Besides the main thread, we were confronted with questions about marriage, friendship, media, law, society. I am surprised that a novel labeled with a 'crime story' can be so deep. I don't read such books but this one made me consider the genre.
How quickly a person in pain whom you can't help becomes a reproach. And then, no doubt, a thorn.
I was also fascinated with the image of the 70s/80s. Drugs, prejudice about sexualities, how media worked then, hypnotists, the oil crisis and many other small aspects - today unremembered.
But the greater truth is that life is not something you can go into training for.
This book is proof that I should be trying also books outside my favourite genres. I am glad I belong to GR groups that suggest such gems.
February 20, 2012
“It may be true that one loss helps to prepare for the next, at least in developing a certain rueful sense of humour about things you’re too old to cry about. There’s plenty of blather, some of it true, about turning pain into growth, using one blow to teach you resilience and to make you ready for the shock of the next one. But the greater truth is that life is not something you can go into training for. There was nothing in life Susan Selky could have done to prepare for the breathtaking impact of losing her son.”
That paragraph, on the very first page, made catch my breath and touched my heart. I had to breath again, but the emotion, the concern, that those words created stayed with me as the story unfolded. And they have come back to me again as I am thinking of it.
“Alex Selky, going on seven, so eager to grow up, kissed his mother goodbye on their front steps on the hot bright morning of May 15 1980, and marched himself down the street on his way to the New Boston School of Back Bay, two blocks from his corner. He never arrived at school, and from the moment he turned the corner, he apparently disappeared from the face of the earth.”
Susan Selky, a recently divorced English professor, faced her worst nightmare when her son didn’t arrive home from school. She called a friend, whose daughter was in Alex’s class, and learned that he had never arrived at school.
A police investigation begins, family and friends rally round, but days and weeks pass and there is still no trace of Alex.
Eventually the police have no more leads to follow, and there is an acceptance that Alex is lost, probably dead, that he will never be coming home.
Acceptance by everyone but Susan, who will never believe that her son is lost to her and will do anything, absolutely anything, to bring him home.
Her story is extraordinarily vivid. And utterly, frighteningly, real.
It tells of a life consumed by one thing, and of how nothing else matters.
It tells of people who offered wonderful support, and of people who offered harsh judgements.
It tells of the media, and of how attention slipped away when the case was no longer ‘newsworthy’.
It tells of relationships that fractured under pressure, and of relationships that grow with the most unlikely people who were able to understand or to accept.
But, most of all, it tells one mother’s story.
“As the days grew shorter and the chill in the autumn air deepened, the long uneven panes of glass in the living-room were grey with thin frost when Susan went with her coffee cup in the early mornings to sit looking down at the street. From the lush gold and blue, deep as an overturned bowl, of the last morning on earth that she saw her son, the light had changed to the flat grey brightness of impending winter.”
‘Still Missing’ was a difficult book to read. It had to be. It was right that I felt terribly unsettled, and it was right that I was forced to consider my own feelings about what was happening.
I could do that because the characters, their stories, their relationships, were all perfectly drawn.
There were moments when things happened that didn’t feel right. But they were right; answers can’t always be neat and tidy, and politically correct.
What mattered was Susan’s story, and that was painful, emotional, and frustrating at times. But it was pitch perfect, and my attention was held from the first page to the last.
I was surprised when I first saw such a recent book in the Persephone list, but now I have read it I have to say that it’s inclusion makes perfect sense.
That paragraph, on the very first page, made catch my breath and touched my heart. I had to breath again, but the emotion, the concern, that those words created stayed with me as the story unfolded. And they have come back to me again as I am thinking of it.
“Alex Selky, going on seven, so eager to grow up, kissed his mother goodbye on their front steps on the hot bright morning of May 15 1980, and marched himself down the street on his way to the New Boston School of Back Bay, two blocks from his corner. He never arrived at school, and from the moment he turned the corner, he apparently disappeared from the face of the earth.”
Susan Selky, a recently divorced English professor, faced her worst nightmare when her son didn’t arrive home from school. She called a friend, whose daughter was in Alex’s class, and learned that he had never arrived at school.
A police investigation begins, family and friends rally round, but days and weeks pass and there is still no trace of Alex.
Eventually the police have no more leads to follow, and there is an acceptance that Alex is lost, probably dead, that he will never be coming home.
Acceptance by everyone but Susan, who will never believe that her son is lost to her and will do anything, absolutely anything, to bring him home.
Her story is extraordinarily vivid. And utterly, frighteningly, real.
It tells of a life consumed by one thing, and of how nothing else matters.
It tells of people who offered wonderful support, and of people who offered harsh judgements.
It tells of the media, and of how attention slipped away when the case was no longer ‘newsworthy’.
It tells of relationships that fractured under pressure, and of relationships that grow with the most unlikely people who were able to understand or to accept.
But, most of all, it tells one mother’s story.
“As the days grew shorter and the chill in the autumn air deepened, the long uneven panes of glass in the living-room were grey with thin frost when Susan went with her coffee cup in the early mornings to sit looking down at the street. From the lush gold and blue, deep as an overturned bowl, of the last morning on earth that she saw her son, the light had changed to the flat grey brightness of impending winter.”
‘Still Missing’ was a difficult book to read. It had to be. It was right that I felt terribly unsettled, and it was right that I was forced to consider my own feelings about what was happening.
I could do that because the characters, their stories, their relationships, were all perfectly drawn.
There were moments when things happened that didn’t feel right. But they were right; answers can’t always be neat and tidy, and politically correct.
What mattered was Susan’s story, and that was painful, emotional, and frustrating at times. But it was pitch perfect, and my attention was held from the first page to the last.
I was surprised when I first saw such a recent book in the Persephone list, but now I have read it I have to say that it’s inclusion makes perfect sense.
September 23, 2023
3.5🌟
Review will follow soon
Review will follow soon
June 3, 2011
Originally published in 1981, this novel, now re-issued by Persephone, is a relatively modern offering from them. It is however a fantastically paced, hard to put down novel. The story is a simple one – One day Susan’s six year old son Alex goes missing. This is the story of what is to be the mother of a child who is missing. The accusations, the press attention, the false hopes, the bereavement like existence she lives. It is a poignant and gripping account. Susan’s desperation and frustrations become the readers too, as we are drawn into the search for young Alex. Juxtaposed with Susan’s friends and family, and their concerns, are those of Lieutenant Menetti the senior investigator – who has a family of his own, his youngest son being almost the same age as Alex. Beautifully written, with just the right amount of tension to keep you reading late into the night.
November 13, 2018
I love Persephone books and this is the first I've read set later in the 20th Century. It was amazing. One of the best Persephone books I've ever read. It's a crime thriller, but so much more. If you're a mother, imagine losing your only child. The emotions are laid bare on the page. I had to keep turning the pages to find out whether Alex would be returned to his mother. A real rollercoaster and Beth Gutcheon keeps you guessing till almost the last page. If you've never read a Persephone book before, start with this one. If you love crime fiction, read this, as it's far, far better than any contemporary crime fiction novel.
January 14, 2017
Beth Gutcheon turned out to be one of my favorite authors in 2000. Still Missing held me in its grips right until the last paragraph. It was a perfect blend of crime thriller, mystery and real-life solid emotion.
To see if it was a fluke, I went back for seconds and read Gutcheon's novel Domestic Pleasures which was every bit as good.
To see if it was a fluke, I went back for seconds and read Gutcheon's novel Domestic Pleasures which was every bit as good.
January 15, 2011
Alex Selky, age 6 and 3/4 walks himself to school alone for the last 6 months, after all it was just a mere 2 blocks away. He's a smart kid who knows not to dawdle, not to talk to strangers and keeps a dime that he can use for calls during an emergency. But then on the hot bright morning of May 15' 1980, he bids his mom goodbye, turned the corner and never made it to school.
Susan Selky is a literature college professor. She'd been divorced for 3 months and is living with her only son Alex. May 15' 1980 was supposed to be just another day for her. But when her Alex still wasn't home by 3:30 that afternoon, which was 30 mins pass the let out time, she knew and felt that something must have gone wrong. But no mother would ever admit that to herself right? So she hoped that a few hours later after she called the police her son would turn up the block and say sorry for being home late.
But hours passed into days, and days into weeks. Weeks into months, and still no sign of Alex.
Still missing, does not rely so much in the plot, but rather on the intended emotional impact on the readers. The first 3 chapters are great with constant thrill but somehow lost it in the middle part of the story. The book tried to maintain a long and good build up to keep the readers anticipated, but it only made me bored. However, the thrill and suspense was redeemed in the last 3 chapters of the book. I have to say that those last 3 chapters kept my heart pumping like a madman and my adrenaline coursing through my veins. I even read the last chapter thrice.
This book, shows exactly what kind of hell parents go through when their child vanishes in the face of the earth. So I think parents would actually get the hang of this book.
But be warned, though this book sounds soft and emotional, it's not always like that. There are parts in this book that contains violent homosexual rape scenes. Although this book made me reflect on how well I know the people around me, how well I should trust them and that killers, child molesters and maniacs roam the earth. I was still surprised to read the parts that I know happens in real life. I didn't even see that one coming, and to think I'm not that conservative. I know that those kinds of things happen in real life, but it still bothered me. Thinking that my future kids is prone for something like that, gives me the creeps.
Susan Selky is a literature college professor. She'd been divorced for 3 months and is living with her only son Alex. May 15' 1980 was supposed to be just another day for her. But when her Alex still wasn't home by 3:30 that afternoon, which was 30 mins pass the let out time, she knew and felt that something must have gone wrong. But no mother would ever admit that to herself right? So she hoped that a few hours later after she called the police her son would turn up the block and say sorry for being home late.
But hours passed into days, and days into weeks. Weeks into months, and still no sign of Alex.
Still missing, does not rely so much in the plot, but rather on the intended emotional impact on the readers. The first 3 chapters are great with constant thrill but somehow lost it in the middle part of the story. The book tried to maintain a long and good build up to keep the readers anticipated, but it only made me bored. However, the thrill and suspense was redeemed in the last 3 chapters of the book. I have to say that those last 3 chapters kept my heart pumping like a madman and my adrenaline coursing through my veins. I even read the last chapter thrice.
This book, shows exactly what kind of hell parents go through when their child vanishes in the face of the earth. So I think parents would actually get the hang of this book.
But be warned, though this book sounds soft and emotional, it's not always like that. There are parts in this book that contains violent homosexual rape scenes. Although this book made me reflect on how well I know the people around me, how well I should trust them and that killers, child molesters and maniacs roam the earth. I was still surprised to read the parts that I know happens in real life. I didn't even see that one coming, and to think I'm not that conservative. I know that those kinds of things happen in real life, but it still bothered me. Thinking that my future kids is prone for something like that, gives me the creeps.
March 17, 2013
Alex Selky, going on seven, kisses his mother goodbye and sets off for his school that's only two blocks away. He never gets there. His mother is desperate to find him and begins a vigil that lasts for days, then weeks, then months and never gives up hope that he'll be found alive.
This book originally came out in the early 80's but had been out of print in Britain for some time before Persephone books published it again. I wasn't sure how I would get on with reading it as my daughters are a similar age to the missing boy but I'm so glad that I did. As the story progresses and the weeks turn to months with still no sign of Alex, his mother Susan is the only person who believes he's still alive somewhere and her family and friends feel that she should start to try and move on. This is a very well written book (which you would expect if Persephone have published it), I couldn't put it down and I was desperate to find out what had happened to Alex. I originally read this just after it came out and ended up taking a longer lunch break at work so I could finish it.
One of the best books I've read and certainly one I'll revisit.
This book originally came out in the early 80's but had been out of print in Britain for some time before Persephone books published it again. I wasn't sure how I would get on with reading it as my daughters are a similar age to the missing boy but I'm so glad that I did. As the story progresses and the weeks turn to months with still no sign of Alex, his mother Susan is the only person who believes he's still alive somewhere and her family and friends feel that she should start to try and move on. This is a very well written book (which you would expect if Persephone have published it), I couldn't put it down and I was desperate to find out what had happened to Alex. I originally read this just after it came out and ended up taking a longer lunch break at work so I could finish it.
One of the best books I've read and certainly one I'll revisit.
October 25, 2017
I zoomed through this book, enjoyed it very much, although I have to say that although I found is full of suspense until the very end, I do feel that a page could have been given over to the person who took the boy and what their motive was in the person's own words.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2023
Here's an account that is in one sense all action. It starts with the disappearance of a child and barrels toward its conclusion. In between, however, is largely an exploration of the manner in which the child's disappearance affects a detective, a father, friends, coworkers, and most especially a mother. Gutcheon's focus on the emotional toll is something less often seen in the hard-boiled crime fiction I tend to read, so it's hard to pull off. In a way, I'd expect such reactions to be more muted, simply because of that. Gutcheon goes right on in.
With such a focus on the emotions, the work present characters in a way that is surprisingly passive. Sure, detectives span out across the city; the mother and friends place posters; the mother goes on television to plea for her child. But on the whole, there isn't a lot of buildup. The child is gone, and no one has a clue what's happened. There's no slow-whodunnit accumulation of facts that eventually lead to the child and the truth. Essentially, we're praying the whole way for a miracle.
Toward the end, after the police close in on a suspect, one is left with many questions. All facts seem to point to that suspect, but the suspect likewise has good explanations. The mother's own desires mean that she can't accept anything but a living son. Is she crazy? Or is everyone else just tired? If the story had ended there, with all these questions, it would have seemed quite true to the ambiguities of life and motivation. Alas, the work closes everything off with a nice denoument, one that shut off whatever logic had proceeded and left me shrugging my shoulders.
With such a focus on the emotions, the work present characters in a way that is surprisingly passive. Sure, detectives span out across the city; the mother and friends place posters; the mother goes on television to plea for her child. But on the whole, there isn't a lot of buildup. The child is gone, and no one has a clue what's happened. There's no slow-whodunnit accumulation of facts that eventually lead to the child and the truth. Essentially, we're praying the whole way for a miracle.
Toward the end, after the police close in on a suspect, one is left with many questions. All facts seem to point to that suspect, but the suspect likewise has good explanations. The mother's own desires mean that she can't accept anything but a living son. Is she crazy? Or is everyone else just tired? If the story had ended there, with all these questions, it would have seemed quite true to the ambiguities of life and motivation. Alas, the work closes everything off with a nice denoument, one that shut off whatever logic had proceeded and left me shrugging my shoulders.
May 11, 2022
This was a really compelling story of a woman whose son goes missing. The cops basically have no leads and there's nothing to suggest what may have happened. Which puts Susan in a terrible position of having so many questions and fears, and no information. It was masterfully done.
The character of Susan is the focal point of the book. Who she is, what she's going through. She is the driving force more than any mystery of a missing persons case. She's so fully developed that you can't help but feel for her.
And even beyond just her, the whole world is so well built. You see her neighbors in detail. Her friends. Her estranged husband. Their extended families. Everything is so fully developed it's like an entire world Gutcheon has crafted. I love when a contemporary novel spends so much time on the world building that you get a clear picture of their lives. Nothing felt too limited in scope and everything had depth.
The only downside for me was the ending. I think for a book like this, any type of closure is going to feel at least a little underwhelming. It's just kind of the nature of missing persons cases. The mystery is the appeal, and then the answers can never live up to the hype. But it was still a great book.
I'd highly recommend this if you like a slow character study of a woman losing her son. It's brilliantly written and makes me want to pick up a lot more from Gutcheon.
The character of Susan is the focal point of the book. Who she is, what she's going through. She is the driving force more than any mystery of a missing persons case. She's so fully developed that you can't help but feel for her.
And even beyond just her, the whole world is so well built. You see her neighbors in detail. Her friends. Her estranged husband. Their extended families. Everything is so fully developed it's like an entire world Gutcheon has crafted. I love when a contemporary novel spends so much time on the world building that you get a clear picture of their lives. Nothing felt too limited in scope and everything had depth.
The only downside for me was the ending. I think for a book like this, any type of closure is going to feel at least a little underwhelming. It's just kind of the nature of missing persons cases. The mystery is the appeal, and then the answers can never live up to the hype. But it was still a great book.
I'd highly recommend this if you like a slow character study of a woman losing her son. It's brilliantly written and makes me want to pick up a lot more from Gutcheon.
August 9, 2024
I don't know what I was thinking. The subject matter is just too brutal. i got through it but I would never recommend it. The story was sad, disturbing, brutal, upsetting and sadly honest. The ending was unexpected. But, I just ended up hating every selfish piece of shit that abandoned the mom in this story. But the most fucked up part is that it was realistic. At the end of the day people go on with their lives even though your life is destroyed.
March 14, 2025
4.5 stars
Really engrossing, less plot driven than a chance to enter a woman’s mind during a really disturbing, emotional time. A book kind of about unraveling and staying raveled. Kept me on the edge of my seat
Read with Liv and a huge shoutout to Persephone books in Bath for bringing this book to me (my copy is so beautiful!)
Really engrossing, less plot driven than a chance to enter a woman’s mind during a really disturbing, emotional time. A book kind of about unraveling and staying raveled. Kept me on the edge of my seat
Read with Liv and a huge shoutout to Persephone books in Bath for bringing this book to me (my copy is so beautiful!)
February 4, 2021
Well that was gripping! This isn’t my usual type of book but I thought I should try something different from Persephone. I also wanted to compare it to Little Boy Lost that I’ve already read. This was better and shown me I should expand my usual reading choices. Not going to say any more than that because I think my daughter will read this and want to borrow it, to say any more would spoil it for her.
October 23, 2023
Boston in 1980 is an eclectic city filled with a younger population because of its many universities and gentrification-changing neighborhoods. It has its seedier sides too.
When a young boy goes missing his parents who are separated are increasingly frantic as the hours go by without a trace of the boy. The loss takes them through different stages of grief. They resort to consulting mediums and the help of everyone they know, friends, neighbors, and people whom they lost touch with. As time goes by and people begin to lose interest the mom refuses to give up, going to the media to revive the search. People have such a limited attention span. The police need to move on to the many other cases they must work on. This includes the lead detective working on this case. He is a harried but caring guy who keeps this one particular case going much longer than it normally would.
Gutcheon wrote from an interesting perspective. She focused on the emotions and thoughts of the characters not just the procedural points. She went into the phases that the couple went through psychologically and in their effects on their relationships with relatives, friends, and each other. She also included the mindset of kidnapped children who were recovered how they coped, the treatment by the media, and the crazies who came out of the woodwork. It all sounded very realistic.
A book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
When a young boy goes missing his parents who are separated are increasingly frantic as the hours go by without a trace of the boy. The loss takes them through different stages of grief. They resort to consulting mediums and the help of everyone they know, friends, neighbors, and people whom they lost touch with. As time goes by and people begin to lose interest the mom refuses to give up, going to the media to revive the search. People have such a limited attention span. The police need to move on to the many other cases they must work on. This includes the lead detective working on this case. He is a harried but caring guy who keeps this one particular case going much longer than it normally would.
Gutcheon wrote from an interesting perspective. She focused on the emotions and thoughts of the characters not just the procedural points. She went into the phases that the couple went through psychologically and in their effects on their relationships with relatives, friends, and each other. She also included the mindset of kidnapped children who were recovered how they coped, the treatment by the media, and the crazies who came out of the woodwork. It all sounded very realistic.
A book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
March 14, 2025
get this girl some therapy!!!!!
i can’t remember the last time i read a book this engrossing. i was hooked from page 1 all the way to the end, staying up late and sneaking a page or two when i had a free minute at work. i really loved the way it played with perspective without fully revealing everything all at once.
very fun (and competitive!) to book club it with essi, and i feel very honored to own a copy from Persephone Books!!!!
i can’t remember the last time i read a book this engrossing. i was hooked from page 1 all the way to the end, staying up late and sneaking a page or two when i had a free minute at work. i really loved the way it played with perspective without fully revealing everything all at once.
very fun (and competitive!) to book club it with essi, and i feel very honored to own a copy from Persephone Books!!!!
April 14, 2023
what was this book supposed to be? true crime? a cautionary tale that sure, not all gay men are pedophiles, but some definitely are? a story about a mother's love? a deep character study of adults involved in a tragedy? it fell short on all of these IMO. I want to love Persephone Press but it has some real duds. If you want an actually good book that deals with the effects of pedophilia and abuse I suggest Edinburgh by Alexander Chee.
February 6, 2020
Enjoyed reading the book. The abducted woman tells her therapist about her year in captivity. The ending was pretty stupid.
October 30, 2016
At first it seems a little strange that Persephone Books, a publisher dedicated to producing handsome new editions of neglected female authors from the early twentieth century, should choose to reprint ‘Still Missing’ by Beth Gutcheon. Originally released in 1981, the book was highly successful, and not long after its release it was made into a film (‘Without a Trace’). But perhaps it slipped out of the public consciousness even while its themes filtered through to the mainstream. At least in the UK it has been out of print until Persephone picked it up again, making it the most recent of all the books in their current catalogue; encountered today, it remains a remarkably effective thriller, as well as presenting a haunting picture of urban anxiety in the late modern era.
As the story begins, Susan is a professor of literature who has recently separated from her husband Graham, and is raising her young son Alex alone in Brooklyn. One day, Alex walks himself to school as usual — and fails to return home at the end of the day. It is not long before Susan discovers that he never even arrived at school, and so what starts out as a fairly cursory police investigation turns into a massive operation to find the missing boy. He must be either lost, kidnapped, or dead; and as the days go by, Susan must contend not only with the media, the authorities and her neighbours, but with the possibility that she will never see her son again.
Here we have an early depiction of a missing child as multimedia event. Susan’s mindset provides a neat encapsulation of the liberal parent’s dilemma: wanting for their own children to live a happy and free life while beset by fears of murder and abduction. A thoroughly modern acceptance of people with 'alternative lifestyles' sits uneasily against urban legends of child molesters. It’s no longer safe in this world for a child to walk or play in the streets. Nobody can be trusted, not even a parent. Behind every familiar face is someone who is capable of any kind of atrocity. This book is over 35 years old now, but it’s remarkable how little has changed in regards to how it depicts the phenomenon of a missing child. Sadly, these stories still play out in the press in much the same way.
A novel can offer an interior perspective to a story like this in ways that other media cannot match. The depiction of Susan’s pain here is formidable; the idea of a missing child is unsettling enough, but the potency of the book comes from the ways in which it is constantly relating back to the kinds of anxieties that a typical middle-class person might face in a densely developed city. That sense of being perfectly in control of one’s destiny at one moment, then being absolutely lost a second later. The feeling of never quite knowing even your closest neighbour. The total reliance on bureaucratic servants when things go wrong, who seem inscrutable even though they’re just as human as anyone else. The idea that civilised society requires us to maintain the illusion of total competence, even when we’re falling apart on the inside.
As the story begins, Susan is a professor of literature who has recently separated from her husband Graham, and is raising her young son Alex alone in Brooklyn. One day, Alex walks himself to school as usual — and fails to return home at the end of the day. It is not long before Susan discovers that he never even arrived at school, and so what starts out as a fairly cursory police investigation turns into a massive operation to find the missing boy. He must be either lost, kidnapped, or dead; and as the days go by, Susan must contend not only with the media, the authorities and her neighbours, but with the possibility that she will never see her son again.
Here we have an early depiction of a missing child as multimedia event. Susan’s mindset provides a neat encapsulation of the liberal parent’s dilemma: wanting for their own children to live a happy and free life while beset by fears of murder and abduction. A thoroughly modern acceptance of people with 'alternative lifestyles' sits uneasily against urban legends of child molesters. It’s no longer safe in this world for a child to walk or play in the streets. Nobody can be trusted, not even a parent. Behind every familiar face is someone who is capable of any kind of atrocity. This book is over 35 years old now, but it’s remarkable how little has changed in regards to how it depicts the phenomenon of a missing child. Sadly, these stories still play out in the press in much the same way.
A novel can offer an interior perspective to a story like this in ways that other media cannot match. The depiction of Susan’s pain here is formidable; the idea of a missing child is unsettling enough, but the potency of the book comes from the ways in which it is constantly relating back to the kinds of anxieties that a typical middle-class person might face in a densely developed city. That sense of being perfectly in control of one’s destiny at one moment, then being absolutely lost a second later. The feeling of never quite knowing even your closest neighbour. The total reliance on bureaucratic servants when things go wrong, who seem inscrutable even though they’re just as human as anyone else. The idea that civilised society requires us to maintain the illusion of total competence, even when we’re falling apart on the inside.
March 18, 2012
One day, the worst that can happen to a mother happens. Alex Selky, Susan’s son, disappears when he is on his way to school. Nobody has seen him after he turned around the corner of the block.
How is this possible?
Months of stress and sorrow follow. Where is Alex? And is he still alive?
People start calling Susan to give her their opinion and advice. The media is also interested in the story and wants to pay a lot for a TV-show about the case.
Meanwhile, police and volunteers start looking for the little boy who vanished in the air while walking the two blocks to school.
It’s a great novel of how a mother copes with such a loss and why she never gives up.
First I want to say that it’s rather difficult for me to review this book. I loved it, that’s what I can say for sure, but I don’t know exactly what and why. That’s also the reason why it won’t be a long review.
This was the first Persephone book I have ever read, but I was impressed.
The plot intrigued me and I found it interesting to see how our society has changed in thirty years. Sometimes I thought Take your cell phone and call the police what really stupid was, of course.
It is really difficult to convert feelings into words, but Gutcheon did it and I think this was one of the strongest things in this book.
Although there were some passages that were a little boring, I still enjoyed the major part of the novel. It was more a psychological thriller, so don’t expect special police actions.
The story made me also wonder about friends. In such uncommon situations, you get to know who your real friends are and who aren’t. For example Jocelyn, Susan’s best friend, did like to talk behind Susan’s back, but what do you do about it?
Probably also a big problem when your child disappears is the media. What do you share? Your feelings or what you really want, namely that people start looking for your child? This was an interesting issue and the opinion of the police was different from Susan’s, with whom I totally agreed.
The final scenes were beautiful and I couldn’t imagine an end I would have like more.
Overall, I liked the story and especially the expression of the feelings which you can’t feel if you haven’t lost a child yourself.
How is this possible?
Months of stress and sorrow follow. Where is Alex? And is he still alive?
People start calling Susan to give her their opinion and advice. The media is also interested in the story and wants to pay a lot for a TV-show about the case.
Meanwhile, police and volunteers start looking for the little boy who vanished in the air while walking the two blocks to school.
It’s a great novel of how a mother copes with such a loss and why she never gives up.
First I want to say that it’s rather difficult for me to review this book. I loved it, that’s what I can say for sure, but I don’t know exactly what and why. That’s also the reason why it won’t be a long review.
This was the first Persephone book I have ever read, but I was impressed.
The plot intrigued me and I found it interesting to see how our society has changed in thirty years. Sometimes I thought Take your cell phone and call the police what really stupid was, of course.
It is really difficult to convert feelings into words, but Gutcheon did it and I think this was one of the strongest things in this book.
Although there were some passages that were a little boring, I still enjoyed the major part of the novel. It was more a psychological thriller, so don’t expect special police actions.
The story made me also wonder about friends. In such uncommon situations, you get to know who your real friends are and who aren’t. For example Jocelyn, Susan’s best friend, did like to talk behind Susan’s back, but what do you do about it?
Probably also a big problem when your child disappears is the media. What do you share? Your feelings or what you really want, namely that people start looking for your child? This was an interesting issue and the opinion of the police was different from Susan’s, with whom I totally agreed.
The final scenes were beautiful and I couldn’t imagine an end I would have like more.
Overall, I liked the story and especially the expression of the feelings which you can’t feel if you haven’t lost a child yourself.
October 13, 2011
On an ordinary day in May 1980, six-year-old Alex Selky walks two short blocks toward his school in a comfortable and gentrified Boston neighborhood...and then disappears, without a trace.
His mother, Susan Selky, a university professor, awaits his return home from school that afternoon, only to discover when she calls another mother that he never arrived there at all.
A massive search begins, and the subsequent weeks are consumed with media coverage, a police presence, TV shows seeking to interview the parents....and hope. Hope continues despite the lack of results, and one after another lead is pursued. And then gradually, the police disappear, the posters that are hanging on store fronts are pulled down, and everyone goes on with their lives. Except Susan. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she still believes in the possibility of her son's safe return. Even her estranged husband Graham no longer believes.
Throughout the pages of this captivating book, the reader admires the faith that sustains Susan, even as it leaves Graham. Friends urge Susan to accept that her son is never coming home. Her persistent hope strains her relationships with friends and family, until finally she is completely alone in her quest for her son.
At this point, one might ask: wouldn't it be easier to give up? Why does Susan persist in the face of odds that are against her? Is the bond between her and her child so strong that she would feel his permanent loss if he were truly gone?
Themes of hope, faith, and unconditional love emanate from the pages of "Still Missing" and carry the reader through to the emotional and suspenseful conclusion. Five stars.
His mother, Susan Selky, a university professor, awaits his return home from school that afternoon, only to discover when she calls another mother that he never arrived there at all.
A massive search begins, and the subsequent weeks are consumed with media coverage, a police presence, TV shows seeking to interview the parents....and hope. Hope continues despite the lack of results, and one after another lead is pursued. And then gradually, the police disappear, the posters that are hanging on store fronts are pulled down, and everyone goes on with their lives. Except Susan. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she still believes in the possibility of her son's safe return. Even her estranged husband Graham no longer believes.
Throughout the pages of this captivating book, the reader admires the faith that sustains Susan, even as it leaves Graham. Friends urge Susan to accept that her son is never coming home. Her persistent hope strains her relationships with friends and family, until finally she is completely alone in her quest for her son.
At this point, one might ask: wouldn't it be easier to give up? Why does Susan persist in the face of odds that are against her? Is the bond between her and her child so strong that she would feel his permanent loss if he were truly gone?
Themes of hope, faith, and unconditional love emanate from the pages of "Still Missing" and carry the reader through to the emotional and suspenseful conclusion. Five stars.
May 26, 2012
Six-year-old Alex Selky disappears on his way to school and nobody knows until late afternoon when he doesn't come home. The scene is set by the shattering moment when his mother realises she has gone through a normal day while some nightmare has been happening to him, and from there the book goes on to focus mostly on his mother and her struggle to get people to keep looking for him after the first media interest wears off.
I thought that Beth Gutcheon did a wonderful job of portraying a woman in a situation that must terrify every mother. The other characters were less engaging and perhaps the early parts of the book would have been even better if some sections hadn't been written from the point of view of the policeman but his POV does become necessary later.
I found it a real page-turner. I was so tempted to skip to the end to find out what happened, but I'm glad I didn't.
I thought that Beth Gutcheon did a wonderful job of portraying a woman in a situation that must terrify every mother. The other characters were less engaging and perhaps the early parts of the book would have been even better if some sections hadn't been written from the point of view of the policeman but his POV does become necessary later.
I found it a real page-turner. I was so tempted to skip to the end to find out what happened, but I'm glad I didn't.
June 25, 2010
" Persephone Books publishes forgotten fiction and non- fiction by unjustly neglected authors"
Now the clue should have been in the original publication date of 1981; but silly me I was lulled into a false sense of security by the Persephone imprint. This is a relatively entertaining whodunnit but nothing more. Feel somewhat aggrieved I must say. A bit like picking up a Virago classic and finding it to be chick lit.Humph.
Just not in the same class as Saplings,or Little Boy Lost.
Now the clue should have been in the original publication date of 1981; but silly me I was lulled into a false sense of security by the Persephone imprint. This is a relatively entertaining whodunnit but nothing more. Feel somewhat aggrieved I must say. A bit like picking up a Virago classic and finding it to be chick lit.Humph.
Just not in the same class as Saplings,or Little Boy Lost.
March 4, 2014
Talking about books which showed the horror a mother felt when losing her child, this book is a good example of it. Indeed this one is thrilling. It can also be compared to Flight Plan which Jodie Foster starred, but this one is quite different.
When Susan's son, Alex, was lost, the whole town helped her out in finding the almost seven year old kid. Everyone then felt helpless, but as a mother who dearly loves her son, she never gave up.
When Susan's son, Alex, was lost, the whole town helped her out in finding the almost seven year old kid. Everyone then felt helpless, but as a mother who dearly loves her son, she never gave up.
July 9, 2016
My first book of 2016 & it's a five star book, this is a story of a little boy who goes missing and the effect that has on the people who know and love him, I couldn't put this book down and it's a real page turner & beautifully written. I've seen a few people saying the ending is abrupt but for me it was perfect. I read the Persphone version of this book & it was so beautiful!!.
Will be seaking out more by this author
Will be seaking out more by this author
July 20, 2016
An absolutely beautifully written, heart wrenching story. Wonderful.
November 26, 2023
Although this comes from Persephone Press, it’s a bit of a departure from what they usually publish and not only because it was written by an American rather than a British woman who is still alive. It’s also hard to classify this novel because it’s a bit of a departure from what readers expect when they pick up one of these books with their familiar soft grey covers and lovely endpapers. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a mystery, or maybe a detective story, or perhaps a crime thriller, none of which sounded like what I expected from Persephone.
But I shouldn’t have worried because once I got into the book I was hooked, thanks to Gutcheon’s skillful way of handling a difficult theme carefully without turning it into the kind of thing you’d expect to see streaming as a crime series on Netflix.
It begins with a parent’s nightmare: Six-year-old Alex Selky kisses his mother goodbye and sets off for the two block walk to school. But he never gets there and for the rest of the book we suffer right along with his mother, Susan, as she goes through the unspeakable anguish of hoping that he will be found alive.
This is definitely not an easy book to read – especially for a parent. Susan’s agonizing refusal to stop believing that he is still alive is at the heart of this novel and her desperation is felt on almost every page. As the days and then the months go by, the tension increases – largely because we, along with Susan, can’t stand not knowing where he is and if he will ever be found. This is one of those books I had a hard time keeping myself from looking ahead and peeking at the final chapters. And when I finally did get there, I had the same heart-clutching reaction as Susan did.
But I shouldn’t have worried because once I got into the book I was hooked, thanks to Gutcheon’s skillful way of handling a difficult theme carefully without turning it into the kind of thing you’d expect to see streaming as a crime series on Netflix.
It begins with a parent’s nightmare: Six-year-old Alex Selky kisses his mother goodbye and sets off for the two block walk to school. But he never gets there and for the rest of the book we suffer right along with his mother, Susan, as she goes through the unspeakable anguish of hoping that he will be found alive.
This is definitely not an easy book to read – especially for a parent. Susan’s agonizing refusal to stop believing that he is still alive is at the heart of this novel and her desperation is felt on almost every page. As the days and then the months go by, the tension increases – largely because we, along with Susan, can’t stand not knowing where he is and if he will ever be found. This is one of those books I had a hard time keeping myself from looking ahead and peeking at the final chapters. And when I finally did get there, I had the same heart-clutching reaction as Susan did.
February 27, 2022
Alex Selky is a very responsible almost 7 yr old who is allowed to walk to school by himself
Than the day every mother dreads. Alex doesn't come home. He doesn't come home because he never made it to school. Susan, his mom, is now on the hardest mission of her life. Find her son alive.
So much here. First, just the pain of her son missing. The press. Too invasive to be helpful. Friends. Not knowing what to do, but so thankful its not their children missing. Her husband, Graham, who cant keep his dick in his pants and she still wants him around.
Menetti. The detective who gives all he has got but has to move on when his superiors say so and his wife is ready to walk.
I will admit that, at times, the book was monotonous. Susan is struggling to survive and seems to grasp at straws. The cruelty of some people. Naomi, Graham's lover, telling Susan that she " resents" Susan using "the situation " to get to Graham. After all, they are "trying to build a life together".
Chills at the end. Im betting Menetti's wife will have some choice words for him when he gets home. A mother is always scared for her children
Than the day every mother dreads. Alex doesn't come home. He doesn't come home because he never made it to school. Susan, his mom, is now on the hardest mission of her life. Find her son alive.
So much here. First, just the pain of her son missing. The press. Too invasive to be helpful. Friends. Not knowing what to do, but so thankful its not their children missing. Her husband, Graham, who cant keep his dick in his pants and she still wants him around.
Menetti. The detective who gives all he has got but has to move on when his superiors say so and his wife is ready to walk.
I will admit that, at times, the book was monotonous. Susan is struggling to survive and seems to grasp at straws. The cruelty of some people. Naomi, Graham's lover, telling Susan that she " resents" Susan using "the situation " to get to Graham. After all, they are "trying to build a life together".
Chills at the end. Im betting Menetti's wife will have some choice words for him when he gets home. A mother is always scared for her children
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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