| Title | : | Gone |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781614521013 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 40 |
| Publication | : | First published March 18, 2014 |
Few fiction writers today are as loved and admired as Colum McCann—for his soul-stirring prose, his high-wire narratives, his understanding that in life’s small, everyday moments, there is magic.
Author of the New York Times bestsellers “Let the Great World Spin” and “Transatlantic,” McCann has been called “a giant among us” (Peter Carey), “dazzlingly talented” (O: The Oprah Magazine), and “that rare species in contemporary fiction: a literary writer who is an exceptional storyteller” (The Independent). He’s received a National Book Award, an Oscar nomination, and a slew of international prizes.
His talents are on full display in his new short story, “Gone,” a deeply affecting literary thriller about a mother and son, alone in a cottage on the west coast of Ireland, and the search that ensues when the boy—whom she adopted years before, deaf and with “already a whole history written in him”—goes missing. He slips away in early morning, down to the cold sea with his new Christmas wetsuit, and as the hours and days drag on, the coast guard, police, dogs, fishermen, farmers, and schoolchildren holding hands search the sea and walk the fields while the television crews and detectives come and go, the police at the cottage seeming to “ghost into one another: almost as if they could slip into one another’s faces.”
The mother, Rebecca, now under suspicion, is racked with guilt over the decisions that led to her son’s disappearance, and tormented by the judgment of others: "You bought what? A wetsuit? Why in the world? What sort of mother? How much wine did you drink?" For Rebecca, “every outcome was unwhisperable.”
“Gone” is a charged narrative that propels you forward, heart in your throat, and a moving, intimate look at life’s struggles toward grace and a kind of redemption.
Gone Reviews
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3.5 I love everything this author writes, so when I saw this short on Amazon I had to grab it. He writes about all different subjects and his descriptive prose always makes the reader seem like they are right there in the story with the characters. You can see and feel what he writes. This short was no exception, the prose is outstanding, but I can't really say I liked the ending but then again I could not come out with an alternate ending myself, so it is what it is. Happy just to read anything by this author.
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Those looking for a tense, fast-paced mystery/thriller about a missing child should really look elsewhere. But those who appreciate a lovely and lyrical tale of loss and discovery set on the west coast of Ireland will be well-pleased by this digital short. This is the story of a mother and the deaf adopted son who goes missing for three days. If you have ever raised a child and watched him or her grow into adulthood and experienced the peculiar sense of grief that comes when the child subtly crosses the line from childhood into adolescence, you will understand what this book is all about: it's a metaphor for letting go of our children as they become their own people. In the process, they go places and experience things we never can know. Realizing this truth is something every parent goes through. As McCann says near the end of his tale: "Impossible to be a child forever. A mother, always." This is a touching meditation on the passages most of us make as we travel through life.
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I don't usually read short stories , but I couldn't resist this one because I love the way McCann writes . I wish he would tell more of this story in a novel .
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This super quick short story is characteristic of
McCann's revealing sketches of characters trapped in impossibly devastating circumstances. The focus here is on a divorced mother raising a adopted son whose placement along the spectrum of autistic social disorders. Once her son goes missing one night,
McCann reveals through the mother's limited third person narration her memories of choosing to take in and raise such a challenging child. The missing person plot line is wrapped up in the end, but the meaning is really found in the parent-child bond that is developed between these two individuals with no biological connection. -
Gone...
The book was an "ok" read but I think it could have been better with some added details. It went straight for. searchers g for the boy to finding him too quickly. I think if the process were drawn out a little more it could have been better. I also did not like the ending very well although it does go along with the boy becoming a man, it just did not seem like a suitable ending for a book about a missing child. -
Wish I realized just how short this was before purchasing. Read two minutes and it said I was 60 percent done. The angst of the mother was well written but the story just never developed. How could it in such short span. Ending stunk too. I don't get it at all. Was this just to make quick money by dangling talented writer out there. Such a tease.
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Impressive!
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Was an extremely short story. The first part of the story was good but, the end left me with more questions than answers.
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Took only 20 minutes to read. One of those no-distinct-ending short stories that are assigned in english lit class.
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I didn't get much out of this short story. It was okay.
