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Published in USA
Nov 2008
320 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
It was the summer of her Chevette, of J.P. and letting her hair grow. It was also the summer when, without warning, popular high school student Kim Larsen disappeared from her small midwestern town. Her loving parents, her introverted sister, her friends and boyfriend must now do everything they can to find her. As desperate search parties give way to pleading television appearances, and private investigations yield to personal revelations, we see one town's intimate struggle to maintain hope and, finally, to live with the unknown.
Stewart O’Nan's new novel begins with the suspense and pacing of a thriller and soon deepens into an affecting family drama of loss. On the heels of his critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling Last Night at the Lobster, Songs for the Missing is an honest, heartfelt account of one family’s attempt to find their child. With a soulful empathy for these ordinary heroes, O'Nan draws us into the world of this small American town and allows us to feel a part of this family.
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"Starred Review. O'Nan proves that uncertainty can be the worst punishment of all in this unflinching look at an unraveling family." - Publishers Weekly.
"The grief, worry, and hope surges up and down as good and bad news arrives, giving those of us lucky enough not to face this kind of loss a glimpse of what it must be like to have one's life turned upside down in a matter of days." - Library Journal.
"Starred Review. A novel in which every word rings true. " - Kirkus Reviews.
"Songs For The Missing is both profound and profoundly beautiful. A haunting meditation on the power of those we lose, its emotional resonance defies description. Like most of Stewart O'Nan's work, my ultimate response was the highest praise one writer can pay another: envy. I so dearly wish I'd written it." - Dennis Lehane.
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Stewart O'Nan's award-winning fiction includes Snow Angels, The Speed Queen, A Prayer for the Dying, and Last Night at the Lobster. Granta named him one of America’s Best Young Novelists. He was born and raised and lives in Pittsburgh.
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"A powerful, provocative debut ... Intelligent, honest, and unsentimental." - Kirkus, starred review
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