Book Review: And Then We Vanish

I rarely comment on titles, but Schleicher’s are perfectly matched to each story and memorable. Ones that stand out are “The Pumpkin Thief,” “The Ballerina in Battery Park,” “Anthrax and Cherry Blossoms,” and “Night of the Spider.”

I love when a book makes me think about life even after I’ve put it down. And Then We Vanish had this effect as I thought about how we are faced with stories of people vanishing each and every day. We read about them in magazines and hear the stories on the news. We often assume the worst. This person must have been kidnapped…this person was surely murdered. But what if that is not always the case? What if, sometimes, people just decide to disappear for whatever reason? Perhaps it’s to escape their bad deeds, or maybe it’s just an opportunity to have a fresh start in life. Schleicher shined the light on these disappearances, along with others, through his storytelling.

I found Schleicher’s writing to be outstanding, especially his descriptions. Given the limited space of the short story, he packed in a surprising amount of details. I appreciate that he often included multiple senses-the sights, the sounds, the smells. It was these details that helped the story come alive. When he referenced “bacon sizzling on the stove,” I knew exactly what I would smell and hear.