MADreads

Life changes in a moment

May 15th, 2007 Mary K. - Central

Losing a child isn’t an original plot theme, and  certainly  many authors have used it in fiction, for example Jackie Mitchard in Deep End of the Ocean.  But Michelle Richmond in The Year of Fog, has her own take on this story.  She does a good job of demonstrating how someone’s life can change in a moment and how a seemingly ordinary day with ordinary events can change quickly.

Abby Mason, a photographer, is walking on a beach with 6 year old Emma, the daughter of her fiance, Jake, when she stops to look at a dead seal, and Emma runs ahead and seemingly disappears.  An exhaustive search extending over several months follows, with all of the usual missing child elements: a command post,fliers, and appearances on television.

Eventually Jake decides that Emma must have drowned, but Abby refuses to give up the search.  She leaves San Francisco for Costa Rica to follow a lead.  There is a resolution, but it is complex, and Richmond avoids the easy ending.

The story is written in the first person, from Abby’s point of view and there are flashbacks to her family life and to her relationship with Jake and previous boyfriends.  The plot unfolds slowly and covers a year, but despite the deliberate pacing, it kept my interest.

This is a well written story that fans of Jodi Picoult will enjoy.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction