Songs for the Missing

By Stewart O’Nan, 2008, finished 1/11/2012

First book of the year!  This is the second book by Stewart O’Nan that I’ve read.  The first was Last Night at the Lobster, which tells the story of the manager of a Red Lobster on its closing night.  I was impressed by his eye for detail, and his ability to flesh out his characters on such a small and seemingly unimportant stage.  O’Nan brings that same talent to this story.

The characters are Kim Larsen, 18 soon to depart for college; her little sister, Lindsey, 16; her parents, Fran and Ed; her boyfriend J.P., and her best friends Nina and Elise.  Kim works at the mini-mart at the Conoco station with Nina, and can’t wait to get away from small town Kingsville, Pennsylvania, and go away to college.  She hangs out with her friends down by the river.  Here O’Nan sets the stage:  “July, 2005.  It was the summer of her Chevette, of J.P. and letting her hair grow.  The last summer, the best summer, the summer they’d dreamed of since eighth grade, the high and pride of being seniors lingering, an extension of their best year.”  Then, three weeks before she was to leave for college, Kim goes missing.

What follows is an exploration of the lives of those left behind: her parents , her friends , her sister.  As a dad, I’ve often wondered how I’d manage to survive if it happened to me.  This book is a sensitive, caring look at the private lives of those who are dealing with such an unthinkable tragedy.  Someone once said that the purpose of fiction is to teach us empathy.  This book achieves its purpose.