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A review by emilyinherhead
What Is Missing by Michael Frank
4.0
3.5 stars.
A male author writing a novel largely about a woman in her late thirties who is desperate to have a child—I will admit I was wary and a bit skeptical. I started this book SO ready to roll my eyes at how poorly Frank understood and portrayed such a deeply female experience and how off the mark his characterization of Costanza was. But! I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Though the story started off a little slow, it drew me in after a while and by the end I was fully invested. I did guess the reveal, but since this isn't a suspense novel, I didn't mind—I'm more interested in the family dynamics and the nuances of all the different relationships.
I recommend this one if you're into character studies, important life decisions, romantic relationships, tension between grown children and their parents, new beginnings, or good food (Costanza cooks a lot and every time I read about her shopping at the market for ingredients or filling the house with amazing smells as she prepped vegetables, I got really hungry), and you don't need a lot of intense plot.
A male author writing a novel largely about a woman in her late thirties who is desperate to have a child—I will admit I was wary and a bit skeptical. I started this book SO ready to roll my eyes at how poorly Frank understood and portrayed such a deeply female experience and how off the mark his characterization of Costanza was. But! I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Though the story started off a little slow, it drew me in after a while and by the end I was fully invested. I did guess the reveal, but since this isn't a suspense novel, I didn't mind—I'm more interested in the family dynamics and the nuances of all the different relationships.
I recommend this one if you're into character studies, important life decisions, romantic relationships, tension between grown children and their parents, new beginnings, or good food (Costanza cooks a lot and every time I read about her shopping at the market for ingredients or filling the house with amazing smells as she prepped vegetables, I got really hungry), and you don't need a lot of intense plot.