April 20, 2003

VANISHING ACT ALTERS FAMILY'S LIVES FOREVER
Reviewed By Rebecca Swain Vadnie Sentinel Staff Writer

Someone once said that life is just a series of moments -- products of coincidence -- where a simple choice can forever alter the course of one's existence. For the Woodrow family, the moment they decide to take their two children to the circus changes their lives for the worse.

In The Disapparation of James, author Anne Ursu dives into a world where the laws of space and time aren't relevant anymore.

When Justin and Hannah Woodrow get free circus tickets, they know it will be the perfect way to celebrate daughter Greta's 7th birthday. Even their youngest, the shy and reserved James, is thrilled to distraction about going to see the show.

The decision seems even more perfect when James raises his hand during the performance and volunteers to be the magician's assistant for a special magic trick.

Maybe the 5-year-old is finally breaking out of his shell. Maybe this is a sign that James is ready to change.

Hannah and Justin watch proudly as the magician waves the wand and --poof! -- James disappears.

Or rather, disapparates -- the boy simply ceases to exist.

"They do not need to go over it . . . because they know exactly what they just saw. Now Hannah and Justin Woodrow know that they live in a world where little boys can disappear into thin air."

They can't explain this to the police, who have descended on the scene interviewing witnesses, taking suspects into custody and generally following the proscribed procedure for reuniting children with their families.

Instead, the bewildered parents and young Greta watch helplessly as their once-perfect life slips away piece by piece, like a house built on sand.

Each change is more altering than the last: The normally laid-back Justin becomes vengeful and irrational, while outgoing Greta withdraws to a fantasy world. Hannah, once a confident woman and successful doctor, turns into an empty shadow of her former self.

Each is convinced that once James returns, life will return to normal -- but will it?
Have the Woodrows reached a point where they cannot help but be changed forever?

Ursu thoroughly explores these complex characters -- carefully sifting through their dark thoughts and sharply felt emotions until she has extracted a beautifully wrought picture of a family in turmoil.

The Disapparation of James is a compulsively readable and an elegantly written novel. Ursu sweeps readers away and guides them through the twists and turns of this surreal world that seems so familiar, yet is frighteningly strange -- a place where children disapparate, and happiness is truly a delicate thing.
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