Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance

Starred review from March 7, 2022
A young woman addresses her older sister, who died when they were teens, in Espach’s inventive and powerful latest (after The Adults). Sally Holt, now 28, continues to find her life shaped by sister Kathy’s absence, prompting her to recount her life story, here unfolded in second-person narration. As a child, Sally is the subject of family concern because of her shyness, while Kathy, three years older, is comfortable in the spotlight and praised for her beauty. Despite the sisters’ contrasting temperaments, they are each other’s closest confidantes as they grow up in 1990s small-town Connecticut. Of particular interest to them both is high school senior Billy Barnes—a dreamy basketball player and the son of the town florist—who is in the grade above Kathy. After Billy saves 13-year-old Sally from drowning at the public pool, he begins dating Kathy, to Sally’s fascination and envy. A car accident involving all three teenagers permanently shifts the Holt family dynamic (“To sue for reckless driving or not to sue? That was the question,” Sally narrates, describing the tension between her parents over what to do about Billy, who was behind the wheel). In the aftermath, Billy and Sally unite in their shared grief and guilt. Espach captures the minutiae of love and loss with unflinching clarity and profound compassion, and pulls off the second-person point of view unusually well. Readers will be deeply moved.

September 1, 2022

Espach's (The Adults) second novel depicts a family devastated by a daughter's death. The summer before eighth grade, Sally and Kathy Holt are both drawn to the charming Billy Barnes. When Billy and Kathy begin dating, Sally becomes the third wheel. Tragedy strikes when Kathy dies in a car crash, leaving Billy, Sally, and her parents to deal with the crushing loss and ensuing guilt in the years that follow. Narrator Jesse Vilinsky's performance is spellbinding, portraying Sally's memories of her friendship with Kathy, her long-standing crush on Billy, and her terrible guilt over Kathy's death. Vilinsky captures character emotions fully--Kathy's father's hurt, anger, and stubbornness; her mother's disappointment, loss, and mental breakdown; Sally's withdrawal, insecurity, and mistrust of her judgment; and Billy's all-consuming guilt that leads him drifting in life. Vilinsky masterfully uses tempo and volume changes to move the story forward, often emphasizing the perfect word to evoke the right emotion. VERDICT It takes Hurricane Kathy to bring everyone together in this tale of finding oneself, love, and a place in life after catastrophic loss.--Stephanie Bange

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