Der Tag, an dem Nora Lindell verschwand

I realize that two is a somewhat small sample size, but both of the published novels by the recipients of McSweeney's Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award (Jessica Anthony's [b:The Convalescent 6169217 The Convalescent Jessica Anthony http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1246390480s/6169217.jpg 6348626] and Hannah Pittard's [b:The Fates Will Find Their Way: A Novel 8437766 The Fates Will Find Their Way A Novel Hannah Pittard http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278431888s/8437766.jpg 13301352]) have been quite good. I don't think Fates is as good as The Convalescent (which is one of my favourite books of the last few years), but it's a thoroughly engrossing read. The problem with Fates is that it's basically a novel built on hearsay and rumours. The narration is first-person plural, drawing the reader in as a participant in the novel. Although this narration makes us a part of the story, by doing so it also means that many of the characters who gather to tell stories are undeveloped or one-dimensional, defined only by their marital status. In a novel that features multiple generations of multiple families (which is an impressive feat, considering that Fates is just over 200 pages long), we only get to know one character very well. And what we learn about that character, Nora, might not even be true.But a great thing about Fates is that these undeveloped characters, in a way, actually help the novel. The novel is about a group of boys who, throughout there lives, think back to a mystery from their childhood (the disappearance of the aforementioned Nora), constantly refining and revising their version of the event and its aftermath as new perspectives are gained. By never fully introducing us to the cast of storytellers she uses, Pittard is contributing to the mystery of the novel. Because we don't know the characters all that well, it makes it difficult for us to fully evaluate their tales. How much is true and how much is conjecture and fantasy? I guess we'll have to wait for the sequel (The Fates Will Find Their Way II: This Time It's a Straightforward and Reliable Narrator) to find out.