Anne Ursu Clippings



	THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES is • A Booksense 76 Pick • A Book of the Month Club Selection • A Literary Guild Selection PRAISE FOR THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES "Mysterious and ultimately moving, The Disapparation of James powerfully evokes the tenderness of the bond between parent and child, and the parent's never-ending awareness of its fragility." –*The Washington Post* "Ursu's story is sweetly done, her own compelling magic trick." –*Entertainment Weekly* "A compulsively readable and an elegantly written novel." –*The Orlando Sentinel* "In this tale of loss, love and redemption, the 'Poof!' is the least of the magic." –*San Jose Mercury News* "If other books published in 2003 are as good as this one, we're in for exciting reads." –*St. Paul Pioneer Press* "Ursu takes a familiar subject and leads us to unexpected places" –*Dallas Morning News* "Ursu's compelling novel blends surrealism with a keen understanding of the human heart to illuminate how a family deals with a loss for which there is no logical explanation." –*Portland Oregonian* "The Disapparation of James pulls readers rapidly along through Ursu's skillful probing of inner dramas. Her deft touch makes the tale absorbing and prevents it from descending to sensationalism or sentimentality." –*Rocky Mountain News* "...a wry, haunting meditation on love, loss and family ties." –*Star Tribune* "The Disapparation of James celebrates the glory of ordinary life in the midst of trauma." –*New York Newsday* "Ursu wins the reader over with her humane wisdom and charming vision of the limitless possibilities of a child's imagination" –*Publisher's Weekly* "Ursu makes her story unique, detailing the wild, stream of consciousness thoughts of a family left one member short. She has a knack for toying with reality, stopping time and backing up to play out a different possible outcome. The result is a compelling and compassionate story..." –Bookpage "Readers must finish the book to find out if James reappears. But along the way Ursu conjures interest in much more than that. The magic here lies in watching characters grow 'under extreme circumstances.'" –The Boston Herald ADVANCE PRAISE "Timely and compassionate, THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES glides along the mysterious intersection of reality and illusion as easily as the best sleight of hand." – Lisa Lerner, author of JUST LIKE BEAUTY "This bold novel manages to be tender, harrowing, playful, wild and full of hope all at the same time. The drama, ultimately, is one of awareness. Here's what happens when we learn to live with the knowledge that the next moment contains a multitude of unexpected possibilities." – Joanna Scott, author of TOURMALINE and MAKE BELIEVE "In THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES, Anne Ursu takes a terrifying premise and writes about it with a wit, warmth and wisdom that is irresistible. Her characters and their dilemmas will stay with you long after you close the covers of this lovely book." – Margot Livesey, author of EVA MOVES THE FURNITURE "Anne Ursu's THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES is a contemporary fable of loss, dread and redemption, evoking the sweet and the sinister in equal measure, plumbing our deepest fears and finding hope on the other side. Here is a world where the supernatural can and does happen, but it is also a world where the greatest magic is found in the ordinary, homely mysteries of family life, that sense of enchantment that is just at the edge of our vision as we go about our daily routines. This is a lovely book." – Dan Chaon, author of AMONG THE MISSING "This is a novel of uncanny magic. It devastates and redeems in equal measure, while telling the story of an extraordinary episode in the life of an ordinary family. In Anne Ursu's unforgettable universe, love shapes and ruins and gives meaning to a life, just as it does in the real universe--except that in THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES Anne Ursu teaches us a bit about how the magic-trick of love is done, what it means to us, how it changes us. Suspenseful, smart, heartbreaking, and funny. It wouldn't seem possible to write a novel like this one, but Anne Ursu has done it." – Laura Kasischke, author of THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES



	PRAISE FOR SPILLING CLARENCE US Weekly "Best of the Week" "This whimsical, bittersweet debut suggests that the stories of our lives are what save us." The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers "a thought-provoking and timely tale, liberally seasoned with charm and good humor. (Winter 2002 Selection)" The Philadelphia Inqirer "No scalpel can touch the truths Ursu locates" USA Today "Reading their stories is better than eavesdropping on a patient's tale to his analyst." New Orleans Times-Picayune "Ursu does a wonderful job in this imaginative and charming novel." The Library Journal "Ursu is a writer who cares deeply about her characters" Bookreporter.com "this book leaves you chuckling, grinning, tearful, thoughtful, warmed, chilled and, not surprisingly, reminiscent... a brilliant first novel." TheBookHaven.net "an impressive first novel. Anne Ursu has a gift for telling tales. Hopefully, this talent will be utilized for many novels to come." MostlyFiction.com "...the success of the book is not only the stories that she finds to tell but also the way she writes about them." StoryCircle.org "Like many good writers, Ursu draws us into her setting - the fictional town of Clarence, Minnesota - by getting the details just right."