Clippings: The Disapparation of James



	Jan. 23, 2003 Bay Area Books By Jill Wolfson A striking image sets the tone and theme of ``The Disapparation of James'' (Hyperion, 288 pp., $23.95), the magical second novel by Anne Ursu, a former theater critic and arts writer who lives in Mountain View. During a family trip to the circus, 5-year-old James, the shy, over-quiet son of Hannah and Justin Woodrow, surprises his parents by volunteering to join a clown on stage as part of a magic act. Energized, the boy turns into a charmer and takes a seat on a chair that the clown lifts into the air and then balances on his chin. "The drumroll continues, the clown staggers back and forth a bit, but James never wobbles, and then, the clown sticks his arms up straight into the air, the drumroll flourishes, and then -- "And then, James is gone. "Just gone. "Poof!'' In this tale of loss, love and redemption, the Poof! is the least of the magic. When James does not reappear through any trap door, the family is stripped of all illusions of normality. Mother and father descend into a world where a child can simply ``disapparate''; Mike the Clown turns from a figure of mirth to the blackest sort of villain. As the laws of the universe seem to come apart, only James' outgoing, high-energy 7-year-old sister, Greta, with her unconditional love and hope for her brother, accepts the randomness of fate and makes use of it. Lyrically written, this novel does not fit into an easy category. Yes, it is a mystery, but don't expect a clear-cut villain. The real hero is not a human, but the bottomless well of childhood imagination.



	"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