All posts tagged: wilderness

Stunning debut from Raymond Fleishmann, HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS set in the Alaskan wilderness, plus lonliness, grief, isolation, obsession, writing from a parent’s perspective

By Leslie Lindsay  Impressive literary debut from Raymond Fleischmann centered on a lonely mother in the Alaskan wilderness. ~WEDNESDAY’S With Writers|Always with a Book~ I was immediately intrigued in the premise of HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS (Jan 14, Berkley) by Raymond Fleischmann. It’s been twenty years since Elisabeth watched her twin sister, Jacqueline disappear without a trace. Now, in 1941 and Elisabeth Pfautz is living temporarily in Alaska with her husband John, and their twelve-year old daughter, Margaret. The marriage is stale, the environment dark and gray, along with it being so remote, we truly feel the isolation. Elisabeth clings to the idea that her sister is still alive—but where? And will they ever be reunited? A German bush pilot—Alfred—lands unexpectedly on Tanacross’s tiny gravel airstrip. After befriending Elisabeth, he commits an inexplicable act of violence, followed by a startling revelation: he knows what happened to Elisabeth’s sister. But he will tell her only if she fulfills three requests. I found the prose gorgeous and intriguing, but HOW QUICKLY SHE DISAPPEARS is a a slow burn. Still, …