One of Christopher Moore's early books, I believe. I think it was the introduction to Minty Fresh and the detective, who show up in later books.
I really tend to enjoy books that incorporate mythology into modern stories. This book tells the stories of Coyote, come back ot the world of men. He's generally obnoxious and messes up everyone's lives. Like all the coyote stories, everything turns out more or less okay for everyone involved.
Like all Moore's books, it's funny and sweet and intriguing. He's a fabulous story teller.

A painful, difficult book to listen to. A deaf woman finds her identity has been stolen, and she and her boyfriend go after the thief. Narration alternates between teh characters- the thief, the girl, and they boyfriend. Their near-misses and inexperience is frustrating, as it builds a sense of tension until the climax. The thief is infuriating for his sense of entitlement, total lack of morals, and inability to understand how his actions have caused these consequences.
A well-written book in that it evoked a lot of emotion. At the same time, it was not really a pleasant book to read.

_The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ started well; there seemed such a big build-up to the story, written in classic O'Farrell fashion, but then all of a sudden it was over. And did it really end? I cant be sure. I feel as though I've been left hanging.

I just cant help but feel there's a whole lot more to this story that we didnt find out. It seemed to be building up to something huge, but then the huge thing was a bit of a let-down because it just felt rushed.

I think O'Farrell tried too hard to write it in the same style as _After You'd Gone_, which is brilliantly powerful, but _The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ doesnt tug at the heart-strings in the same way. There are times when O'Farrell indicates her literary genius, but it's not constant like _After You'd Gone_. Which is a shame, because it certainly could have been, I just feel that O'Farrell didnt capture the full potential of her own idea.

I liked Esme, but I wanted to know more about her time in Cauldestone. I wanted to know more about her childhood. I wanted to know more, more, more!
I liked Iris, but how does she react to her news?
I could have liked Alex if I'd known more.
I probably would have disliked Luke if I'd known more.
I couldnt despise Kitty because she was scattered - more perspective would have been good.
Her parents seemed almost absent.

I'm always disappointed when a book leaves me wanting more for all the wrong reasons.

Still, it's a good, quick read. It holds interest.
It's just a shame there's not more of it.




"We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents".

Iris Lockhart learns that she has a great-aunt Esme (much to her surprise) waiting to be released from Cauldstone Hospital, where she has been locked away for 60 years.The hospital is closing, and someone must collect Esme, who upon inspection seems frail, quiet, and a little quirky but hardly mentally ill. As far as Iris knew, her grandmother Kitty had no siblings; Kitty is still alive but suffering from Alzheimer's. The secret of Esme's existence is only the first of many family secrets revealed in a tale told through shifting viewpoints and time changes, among them Kitty's fragmented recollections. The sudden ending to this family exposé left me a little in the lurch, but the psychological suspense along the way satisfied the strong plot and characterization.