Vera was born and grew up on a secluded town on the side of a mountain . She thought of it as "home", and it had no other name. It had everything the town's people needed to live happily. Whatever else they might need came from elsewhere by way of Mr. Phillips, the only person who came and went on a regular schedule. Strangers very rarely visited.
One of the way Vera's town differed from elsewhere was what they called the affliction. Every now and then, with no rhyme or reason, a mother would vanish. Vera's mother was one who vanished. The event happened so often, there was a whole ritual surrounding it. The other mothers would examine the vanished's life to see if they could determine why she vanished.
Vera grew up, married and became a mother. She started to feel that she might vanish herself. She decided to run away instead. Once beyond the confines of her hometown, she found a very different world. The rest of the book is about Vera and the new world. How does she fare in this world, so alien from where she grew up? Does she ever return to her home?
The book moves slowly. This is not a bad thing here. There are things, ideas, that cannot be rushed. We don't get to understand the affliction. The people don't understand it themselves. It just is, and we are shown that most women who are gone vanish. Few do as Vera does and run away. I liked the pacing of the story. We get just enough information to keep us guessing as we read along Vera's life.
I received the copy of the book I read for this review from the publisher.
One of the way Vera's town differed from elsewhere was what they called the affliction. Every now and then, with no rhyme or reason, a mother would vanish. Vera's mother was one who vanished. The event happened so often, there was a whole ritual surrounding it. The other mothers would examine the vanished's life to see if they could determine why she vanished.
Vera grew up, married and became a mother. She started to feel that she might vanish herself. She decided to run away instead. Once beyond the confines of her hometown, she found a very different world. The rest of the book is about Vera and the new world. How does she fare in this world, so alien from where she grew up? Does she ever return to her home?
The book moves slowly. This is not a bad thing here. There are things, ideas, that cannot be rushed. We don't get to understand the affliction. The people don't understand it themselves. It just is, and we are shown that most women who are gone vanish. Few do as Vera does and run away. I liked the pacing of the story. We get just enough information to keep us guessing as we read along Vera's life.
I received the copy of the book I read for this review from the publisher.