The Moment She Was Gone : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: AN ASSURED READING OF A FAMILY'S STORY
Review: Evan Hunter who also writes thriller-dillers under the name Ed McBain is a pro at creating compelling scenarios. Dan Futterman, whom many applauded as Robin Williams's son in "The Bird Cage," is also a master of his craft, as is evident in his assured reading of this tale of emotional dysfunction

When Andrew Gulliver receives a predawn phone call from his mother telling him that his twin sister, Annie, is missing it is not the first time. As a teenager Annie had disappeared without a trace, only to later reappear just as surprisingly as she had vanished. This was a pattern that she continued through adulthood.

Much of her story is told in flashbacks, as her various odysseys to far off places are recounted. However, just a short while ago Annie was restrained in a mental hospital in Sicily where she was given various drug treatments which seemed to exacerbate her illness rather than control it. She is diagnosed as being schizophrenic.

One of the questions that crosses Andrew's mind as he searches for his sister is whether or not he, too, may be mentally ill. Has their family played a part in his sister's dysfunction?

The Gullivers must face their past and what may be their future during this traumatic time. Hunter writes with perception and compassion of people riven by emotional illness...

Rating:
Summary: Who cares when she left, they ALL stayed too long!!!!
Review: I stopped reading half way through the book. I realize the characters were supposed to be confusing, yet mysterious enough to keep us intrigued; instead the family members were little more than caricatures of every disfunctional family ever imagined. Some novels are character driven, others rely on plot.This book is devoid of both. Mr. Hunter has great abilility, but this book seems more like a rough draft; that needs a stabilizing narrator the reader can identify with; then a finished work. Extremely disappointing, I want my time and money back.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing tale about a mentally ill woman and her family.
Review: In a departure for him, Evan Hunter (also known as Ed McBain), has written a domestic drama, "The Moment She Was Gone." It is the story of a family in crisis because one of its members is schizophrenic.

Annie Gulliver has always been a beautiful, vibrant and intelligent individual. She and her twin brother, Andrew, are extremely close, and Andrew thinks that he knows and understands Annie more than anyone. However, after exhibiting alarming behavior changes over a period of years, Annie disappears one day, and no one knows where she has gone.

In a series of flashbacks, Hunter shows Annie's behavior becoming increasingly erratic. She drops out of school and, financed by her mother, Annie travels all over the world. She has outlandish experiences, some real and others, the products of an increasingly delusional mind. During a trip to Sicily, Annie claims that she was attacked. After retaliating against her "attacker," Annie is arrested and subsequently institutionalized. Her psychiatrist diagnoses her as schizophrenic and Andrew travels to Italy to take Annie home.

Although the twins' brother Aaron and his wife, Augusta, believe that Annie needs psychiatric help, it takes years for Andrew and his mother to acknowledge that Annie is seriously ill. They chalk up her bizarre behavior to eccentricity. Only after the evidence of her illness is incontrovertible, do they finally take responsibility for getting Annie the help that she so desperately needs.

This is a very sad picture of a dysfunctional family in denial. Unfortunately, "The Moment She Was Gone" does not coalesce into a compelling story. Hunter's novel rambles as he goes back and forth in time, describing Annie's troublesome statements and her bizarre actions, as well as her family's reactions to the changes in her. This makes for a rather flimsy story.

I would recommend this book mostly for people who are interested in fiction dealing with how individuals and families suffer as a result of this tragic illness. Although "The Moment She Was Gone" is a decent character study and it addresses an extremely important subject, it is unlikely to appeal to a wide range of readers.