Dan Chaon "Among The Missing"

Dan Chaon

http://danchaon.com/

dan@danchaon.com

Among the Missing, by author Dan Chaon, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and You Remind Me of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Chaon’s fiction has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, Pushcart Prize, and The O. Henry Prize Stories. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and he was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Chaon lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and teaches at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing. (www.danchaon.com)

“Whatever this was all about, it was not a vain attempt---journey.” This is what Raymond Carver had to say about Among the Missing so what was it really all about? Is this the scattered musings of an author or is there some common thread woven through these odd stories? At first glance you may not think so but as you venture further into the stories you see tales of family dysfunction, loss and doubt. Topics such as sibling troubles, parental failure and the search for identity are all explored within stories that, though not connected, provide the reader with food for thought to be digested long after the last sentence. "Safety Man" weaves a tale of loss while "I Demand To Know Where You Are Taking Me" uses motif to spin a story of alienation and the book's namesake brilliantly casts a shadow over what you think with what really is. Except for a few stories that seem out of place, this is a collection worthy of a place on any bookshelf. 

My full review can be read here: 

https://theobservationdecksite.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/a-review-of-dan-chaons-among-the-missing/