December Book of the Month: “The Artist of Disappearance” by Anita Desai
The Artist of Disappearance, by Anita Desai. 156 pages. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Dec. 8, 2011. ISBN: 0547577451. List price: $23.
Disappearance. The very word is mysterious. It hints at being hidden without having to hide. It speaks to that part of us that wishes to vanish–without a trace, as they say–free of the fear of discovery. Disappearance is, perhaps, the termination of existence in one’s current context. Not death, per se, but removal.
Coupled with disappearance is the threat of loneliness, for those who disappear are almost certainly alone. Anita Desai explores these themes, their despair and impossibility, with blunt wisdom in “The Artist of Disappearance.” Using three short stories as her vehicle, Desai chauffeurs the reader through a mess of human need and disappointment.
In one, a man yearns to connect and help others. Upon receiving an opportunity to do so, he abandons them. In another, a woman in the depths of solitude and failure is recognized, finally appearing in the society where she spent an unremarkable. After some time, her desire for approval overtakes her and she disappears once again. And in yet another, intruders from another city violate a man’s sacred garden, where he goes to disappear, so he does the best thing he can–he hides in plain sight.
Each story riffs on the same idea, that loneliness is not chosen and is difficult to escape. Certainly, readers who connect with this collection will find their own meanings in the tales; for me, they highlighted the aching pain of being alone and the desire to disappear after failure. For others, there may be more lessons waiting to be unlocked by their unique perspectives and histories.
As short stories go, Desai’s are top notch. They remove the reader from reality and insert her firmly into the fabric of the story she weaves, maintaining distance as a spectator but providing front row seats to the action. Approach these novellas as an escape, as an exploration and, best of all, as an evocation of all it means to be lonely in this world.
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Amina Elahi is Divanee.com’s Managing Editor. Check out her blog, where she posts words and images that make her think.
