Customer Reviews

The Vanished Child

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the scientific jargon of the opening pages almost changed my mind about reading "The Vanished Child," I trudged through and found one of the most intriguing mysteries I have ever read.

Alex or Richard? Is the up-and-coming young scientist an Austrian baron or a missing American heir? A fortune depends on his identity and more is at stake than money. This tangle of intrigue is intelligent and somewhat haunting. One reviewer complained that not all of the loose ends were tidied up and that is true, but it leaves you thinking and involved long after the final "The End."

The Vanished Child is marvelous. I am actually writing this review about 1 1/2 years after I read it and it is still very clear in my mind. I read a lot of books and sadly many of them are something I remember reading, but not being involved in. I find myself visiting with the characters in this book from time to time. I especially liked the scene where Peridita is given a feminist pin and tucks it under her hat to better contemplate it.

I enjoyed the prose, I found it charming. I did not find the characters to be overly modern. In fact, I think Sarah Smith got it right on the head. After all, we are talking about contemporaries of Nietzsche, Freud and Susan B. Anthony. The main characters (Alexander and Peridita) shared something of the outsider's perspective of Nietzsche, Freud and Susan B. Anthony. The respectable class would at best feel an uneasy tolerance of them. Perdita being blind AND an artist. Alexander dark, complex and brooding - - a bit like Heathcliff and look how things turned out for him!

Other than the Alienist, I cannot think of any other book set in this period that picks up and runs these complex elements of one of the most interesting periods of intellectual history. However, the Alienist is more of a face paced thriller and The Vanished Child is more cerebral. Both are well worth reading.

I despise myself for how much I enjoyed this book. I read it to the exclusion of family, food, and sleep. It's been a very long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much.

The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the author's technique of writing from the points of views of the different characters is quite effective. Smith has really done her homework on Victorian customs and life. But...

But the answers to the purported mystery are obvious in the first twenty pages, leaving little suspense in that arena. And the main characters, at least, have very modern sensibilities that jar with the Victorian setting. And though this book is well-written, some of the prose is terribly self-indulgent.

And yet, in the end, I didn't care about any of those flaws. Even without mystery or Victorian ambiance, the story is still very rewarding and enjoyable.

(And those interested in Smith will find some excellent short stories by her in Future Boston, a fine sci-fi collection.)

Never have I read a book and lingered over it as I did The Vanished Child. A wonderfully, lyrical book that captures the reader's imagination from the opening pages and holds it through and past the last pages. I read the sequel, The Knowledge of Water, almost immediately because Reisden and Perdita haunted me so. The story begins with a man, a scientist by profession and a Baron by lineage, who is adrift and uncentered years after the death of his young wife. A death for which he feels entirely responsible. Juxtaposed with his story to find himself again is the story of literally finding one man's identity. The mystery is that he may be the heir to an American fortune. The heir disappeared immediately after presumably witnessing the brutal murder of his guardian grandfather. Who killed the grandfather and why? What happened to the child? Why does the Baron have no memories of his earliest childhood years? A taut, psychological suspense mystery unfolds as the Baron ! relunctantly agrees to "help" solve the mystery but is unable to remain as detached and clinical as he would like. The story is a mystery, a romance and a thriller that is both haunting and illuminating. The author has promised a trilogy and I cannot wait for the third installment. Read The Vanished Child and The Knowledge of Water--you will not regret it.

This book is so beautifully written, the plot so delicately assembled, and the charecters filled with such depth as to take your breath away. I have never read a book so intricate and fascinating as sarah smith's THE VANISHED CHILD. This book is not to be missed, and will absorb your thoughts for days after reading it. The marvellous complexities and dualities of the charecters, their pyschological states are engrossing.

THE KNOWLEDGE OF WATER and A CITIZEN OF THE COUNTRY are the equally compelling sequels

Who is Richard Knight? Where is he? Is he dead or alive? What really happened 19 years ago that changed life for so many for so long? The Vanished Child is an onion of a mystery, with layer upon layer of dicovery, ambiguity, truth, and lies. Sarah Smith is skilled at imbuing her characters with subtle pychological nuance. She understands the nature of fear and denial and the way such emotions work upon people over both short and long term. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of Hamlet, the book's central mystery is solved by re-enacting it in a play, pricking the consciences of the participants. Several reviewers have complained about loose ends, but these will be dealt with in the subsequent volumes of this trilogy. The Vanished Child is a brief, terse page-turner, full of suspense and ambiguity. Highly recommended.

This is a deep, insightful thriller with just enough eroticism to leave you hoping for more. The sequel, The Knowledge of Water, is even better. I can't wait for the finale.

Call me shallow if you wish, but when I read a mystery novel, I want the story's loose ends to be neatly tied up when I reach the final page. I want to know whodunit and why. If you feel the same way, this book, although it is beautifully written, is sure to disappoint you. The author doesn't provide answers to any of the puzzles she sets forth. How did the boy disappear in broad daylight? Did he run away or was he kidnapped? Is Reisden really the missing heir? How could a young boy get from Boston to Africa and then on to Europe? Who hid Jay's body and why? Will Perdita return to Harry? Will Reisden and Perdita end up together? Will Harry and Efnie marry? Will sad, gentle Gilbert end his days alone? The book is compelling, and will leave you longing for a neat resolution, but the author doesn't provide it. It seems as though she ran out of steam -- instead of solving the mysteries she raises, the book simply ends with a weak and inconclusive "Epilogue." While the Vanished Child is compelling reading (I simply couldn't put it down), as I closed the covers, the lack of a real conclusion made me feel duped.

I found the book very intriguing, but nearer the end, I felt as though the author had given up on the story or that someone else had taken over. I was thoroughly disappointed with the ending. As I read, the book raised my expectations but failed to reach them. None of my questions were really answered. If you like books without an ending, read this one.

This is not a mystery, as the cover would have you believe. Rather, it is about the ways the mind tricks itself and the main character, Alexander Von Reisden, is more a victim to it than any of his psychology study subjects. The style of the prose is old-fashioned, but beautiful and there is just something about this novel that sucks you in. You may think it a little dull while you read it, but it sticks with you, and weeks later you think how excellent it is.

I often dislike the corruption of the innocent heroine in novels, but it is done well here. You feel with Perdita and with Reisden. Although their relationship is odd at best, it is believable and intense. Read it for that, if not for the "mystery". I will warn that the overtone of this is dark. It's not something to cheer you up on a rainy day, but it is excellent and I recommend it highly.