The Year We Disappeared is the memoir of a Falmouth, Massachusetts, police officer, John Busby, and his daughter, Cylin, who alternate the narration as they recall the brazen murder attempt on John in 1979, the subsequent damage to their family, and finally, their hard-earned healing.
For nearly a year after John is shot in the face with a shotgun, the Busby family stays in their house in Falmouth with round-the-clock police protection as the “investigation” bungles along. The longer they stay, the more guarded they must become, until they’re essentially prisoners in their house. Meanwhile, the slimeball culprit lives freely, protected by his own connections in the political structure.
During his narrative, John matter-of-factly relates how he knows who shot him, how the investigators suppress the evidence, and how he plans his revenge. He also plainly describes the unpleasantries of his medical treatment and recovery. In her comparatively innocent nine year-old voice, Cylin describes the childhood angst associated with constant visible police presence, the resulting dissociation from her friends, the terror of living with ever-looming death threats, and the horror of losing a happy, healthy, handsome father, and having him replaced with an angry, freakish, machine-dependent waif.
For nearly a year after John is shot in the face with a shotgun, the Busby family stays in their house in Falmouth with round-the-clock police protection as the “investigation” bungles along. The longer they stay, the more guarded they must become, until they’re essentially prisoners in their house. Meanwhile, the slimeball culprit lives freely, protected by his own connections in the political structure.
During his narrative, John matter-of-factly relates how he knows who shot him, how the investigators suppress the evidence, and how he plans his revenge. He also plainly describes the unpleasantries of his medical treatment and recovery. In her comparatively innocent nine year-old voice, Cylin describes the childhood angst associated with constant visible police presence, the resulting dissociation from her friends, the terror of living with ever-looming death threats, and the horror of losing a happy, healthy, handsome father, and having him replaced with an angry, freakish, machine-dependent waif.
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| John and Cylin before the shooting |
In the course of the year, John’s anger surges as he sees that the investigation has been lost to corruption and he witnesses the harm done to his family: His wife suffers nervous breakdowns. The children can’t play in their own yard. Cylin’s brothers perform poorly and behave violently in school. All of the kids lose friends and withdraw, suppressing their emotions and refusing to talk about their struggles. So, in order to pursue a normal life, John and his wife decide they all should “disappear.” They move from Massachusetts to a farm in Tennessee where they know absolutely no one, and where no one - not even law enforcement - knows they’ve gone.
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| John and Cylin now |
The Year We Disappeared is, to say the least, an easy read for adults. I blew through the 329 pages in a few days and never consulted my dictionary once. Cylin (the primary author) has written several books for the tween and teen set, and this book, while fine for adults, is also more appropriate for juvenile readers. She handles the violence and medical descriptions gracefully enough to be emotionally manageable for young readers, but starkly enough to illustrate the horrific nature of the crime. This book may teach your kids to appreciate the threats placed upon police officers, to understand that evil exists even in institutions that are supposed to suppress it, and to be empathetic to others who have problems they can’t understand.
Thanks for that review. It was thorough enough that I feel as though I don't need to read it. I'm Still struggling through The Paris Wife. :-/
ReplyDeleteThe Paris Wife is a superior book, so your time is better spent on that one anyway. I hope you let me know what you think of it when you finish!
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