Book Nine: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Book Nine: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Finished: January 17
Pages: 256

This book was a wonderful example of good storytelling about messed up families. It seems that all the good books that I have read recently in this genre involve a secret, and much lying and deception to cover up said secret. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is told through three pairs of eyes: the titular Esme, the dementia ridden Kitty, and the young Iris. I often found the flashbacks of Esme to be confusing and difficult to understand, but upon finishing the book I discovered that this was all to a purpose that would have been ruined otherwise. The same is true of several of the flashbacks told from Kitty’s point of view: often confusing, sometimes difficult to even know who is narrating, but purposeful.
The hidden history of women sent to mental hospitals is one that I could only imagine to be a wealth of story ideas, and I think that O’Farrell did a very good job of finding an interesting story to tell. I was reminded a little of The Thirteenth Tale, which I also liked very much. I guess I’m just into the whole gothic mystery with familial twist type story.

Here’s a nice quote that I really like (as did the person I borrowed the book from) reflective of the language in the novel:

“We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents” (118).

I like the focus of the story: what is the real meaning and importance of family, and love? What are the lies you are willing to tell, and the lengths you are willing to go to for love, or even the possibility of love? What responsibilities do you have to your family?

The layers of relationships, from the relationship of relative to estranged relative, the deeper relationship of brother and sister, even the superficial ones like that Iris shares with her married lover, Luke, are interesting to watch come unraveled. It is always interesting to watch other people’s lives and assumptions about their world come crashing around their feet. The ending was moderately predictable, but nonetheless satisfying.

Good Reading,
Caitlin