Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different
Elizabeth Is Missing : A Novel
by Emma Healey
- Used
- good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN 10
- 0062309684
- ISBN 13
- 9780062309686
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
HarperCollins Publishers, 2015. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Synopsis
EMMA HEALEY grew up and still lives in London where she completed her first degree in bookbinding (learning how to put books together but not how to write them), which she followed with an MA in Creative Writing in 2011. Elizabeth Is Missing is her first novel. The author lives in London, England.
Reviews
On Feb 28 2015, CloggieDownunder said:
“…I remember the town being almost too bright to look at when I was a girl. I remember the deep blue of the sky and the dark green of the pines cutting through it, the bright red of the local brick houses and the orange carpet of pine needles under our feet. Nowadays – though I’m sure the sky is still occasionally blue and most houses are still there, and the trees still drop their needles – nowadays, the colours seem faded, as if I live in an old photograph.”
Elizabeth Is Missing is the first novel by British author, Emma Healey. Eighty-two-year-old Maud Horsham is demented. She lives in her own home, has a carer coming daily to help out, and gets regular visits from her daughter Helen. And she is fairly certain that her best friend, Elizabeth is missing. Elizabeth is not at home (Maud has checked) and she feels that Elizabeth’s unfriendly son, Peter Markham is sure to be behind it. Maud finds it frustrating how unconcerned both Helen and the Police are about her disappearance.
While she still has lucid moments, Maud’s mental state ensures that generally her narrative of the present-day is unreliable. But the people and things that fill her day remind her of a time, almost seventy years ago, when she was fourteen and her older, married sister, Susan went missing. After dinner with her family, Sukey disappeared almost without a trace. Did she just run off, as many people just after the war did? Or did her jealous husband, Frank, or the family’s lodger, Doug, have something to do with it? Or was she a victim of the Grosvenor Hotel murderer? Maud’s memories of this time are crystal clear.
While this is a mystery that builds quite gradually, and it is perhaps not the mystery that the reader first expects (Elizabeth’s location is no real surprise), patience is rewarded as the pieces fall into place. Healey expertly segues present triggers into memories of the past, and despite her youth, shows an amazing insight into the world of the elderly and the demented. As anyone with a demented relative or friend will agree, there are times when the best reaction is to laugh, the alternative being to cry, and Healey portrays these moments with consummate ease. This is not a book for everyone: some readers may find it strikes a little too close to home. Perceptive, blackly funny and often frighteningly realistic, this is a brilliant debut novel.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- ThriftBooks (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- G0062309684I3N10
- Title
- Elizabeth Is Missing : A Novel
- Author
- Emma Healey
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0062309684
- ISBN 13
- 9780062309686
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2015
Terms of Sale
ThriftBooks
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio member since 2018
Seattle, Washington
About ThriftBooks
From the largest selection of used titles, we put quality, affordable books into the hands of readers
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes: