Nobody Is Ever Missing (novel)

For the episode of HBO television series Succession, see Nobody Is Ever Missing.
Nobody Is Ever Missing
AuthorCatherine Lacey
LanguageEnglish
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date
2014

Nobody Is Ever Missing is a 2014 debut novel by American writer Catherine Lacey published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Writing and publication

While working toward an MFA in non-fiction writing from Columbia University, Lacey worked on a book for four years, which she eventually abandoned.[1] After she stopped working on that book, she began working on short stories; she eventually turned these into Nobody Is Ever Missing.[1] Lacey had a breakthrough in writing from the point of view of the narrator and central character, Elyria, while writing a specific scene in which she was "narrating a letter to her husband".[2]

The book's title comes from the John Berryman poem "Dream Song 29", published in Berryman's collection The Dream Songs.[3]

Reception

According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the novel received mostly reviews the site characterized as "Rave" and "Positive".[4]

In his review of Lacey's second novel, The Answers, Dwight Garner praised Nobody Is Ever Missing.[5] Garner wrote that strong debut novels make him wary of an author's ability to produce a sophomore work of similar quality but he ultimately found his worries about the quality of The Answers unfounded.[5]

In a review for The Guardian the novel was praised as "wry, surprising, and blackly funny." With the reviewer noting, "Lacey has produced a novel of uncomfortable power."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Ballaine, Emily (23 February 2015). "Nobody is Ever Missing: An Interview with Catherine Lacey". Tin House. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  2. ^ Murphy, Dwyer (26 September 2014). "INTERVIEW: Catherine Lacey, author of Nobody Is Ever Missing". Electric Literature. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  3. ^ Merkin, Daphne (14 August 2014). "A Novel of the "Post-Wounded Woman"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Nobody Is Ever Missing". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Garner, Dwight (30 May 2017). "'The Answers' Runs Down the Rabbit Hole of Love". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  6. ^ Jordan, Justine (March 14, 2015). "Nobody Is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey review – a propulsive debut". The Guardian. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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