Now You See Her

This book is a delightful little read with a unique and humorous perspective on getting older. I loved it and have recommended it to many friends.

When Whitney Otto publishes a novel, I make sure not only to read the book, but to read it when I am feeling refreshed, awake, alert and when I am likely to be undisturbed. That is how much I love this writer's work. She has a unique and charming voice, and her narratives are always so surprising. Now You See Her is a smart book with a clever conceit, beautifully observed and a pleasure to read.

I was first attracted to this book by its cover. I thought it would be about magic. So, it took me awhile to get into it. Then I found that the story of how women in general and this protagonist in particular may seem to disappear in this society as they age caught my attention. I became curious to see how the author resolved this problem. But my favorite parts and what kept me reading at the start of the book and even through to the end, however, were the incidentals, i.e., the job that Kiki has on the "question and answers" game show as a researcher and fact checker; and the main setting of the story. I enjoyed reading the trivia facts that Otto has her character track down and prepare as part of the character's job. In addition, since I am a long-time transplant from the east coast and currently live near Pasadena, CA, I loved the Pasadena locations and the associated history, the other Southern California place references, such as the La Brea Tar Pits and nearby Museum of Art, and the mention of the Smoke House restaurant, where I have taken a meal or two, myself.

I found "Now You See Her" to be a very frustrating book to read. Had it not been the selection of the month for the book club I'm in, I'm sure I would never have finished it. The premise is intriguing: a forty-year old woman begins to actually and figuratively disappear. Unfortunately, the potential of this concept is never reached. Disjointed and confusing, the novel is painfully short on plot and characterization, with little conflict and no resolution. The last section of the book is so bizarrely contrived that you truly feel cheated upon finishing.I gave it two stars instead of one because it did actually lead to an interesting discussion, and occasionally there were moments of insight regarding the role of middle-aged women in American society. But do yourself a favor -- don't read this book unless you intend to talk about it with someone else. You'll need someone to vent with before it's over.

From the book cover and the title, I mistakenly assumed it was about magic, as the magician has the shadow of a woman levitating; yet, the three different sizes shows that he too is disappearing. It's all illusion, but a strange, unexplained one.Kiki had confided in one of her friends in San Francisco that the worst thing about growing old (she is forty) was having to do it in America where youth, money, pretty things, and cussess are revered. Most of all youth and beauty, at least where women were concerned, are of major importance. So different from Europe and China where the older woman is appreciated. The American male attitude toward aging women makes them appear to be invisible. It's a fact, even in a backward town like Knoxville, Tennessee.This is a reprise of the storyline of her first book HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT, only this time the participants are involved in a t.v. game show and not in sewing. She uses the stories of each character. In one of the disjointed vignettes, on traveling across America before her total disappearance to Paris, she is told that people are friendlier, poorer, and "less tolerant" in the Deep South. I think she found the Luray Caverns there in Virginia.At Arlington National Cemetery, she tours Robert E. Lee's house where she could envision his dilemma of deciding to go with his region (the Confederacy) during the Civil War. His wife comforts him and, though her arms "encircle him, he cannot feel her. So solitary is one in the midst of personal sadness." He was a military man doing his duty, as he saw it, and it's too bad when people from California have no notion whatsoever about our Civil War.All of her little books have Oriental book jackets, all similar, and she uses the same format of short vignettes to tell varied and many stories. This one was not about magic at all! A later version, A COLLECTION OF BEAUTIES, goes back in time to the late-twenties and early-thirties to the fetish of beauty and youth. No age is perfect. They include related tales, and she seems to be searching for her Japanese roots. Along the way, I sincerely hope she finds some happiness. Sometimes, beauty is on the inside of a person, no matter what age, and let me tell you that older women are still beautiful.

This was about the most mind numbing foray into an infantile Woman's persuit of purpose. If I ever knew a Person like this character (Kiki), I think she'd be so self absorbed, and bored out of her mind, I would walk, no, RUN from them. What a waste of paper. (I gave it one star because 0 wasn't available).

This book has more potential than is realized but still, it is worth reading. The point that Whitney Otto is trying to get across, (women become invisible in American society unless they fit into a couple of predefined molds; young, wife, mother, or sucessful business woman),is hard to do with out coming off whiny or gloomy. Just read any Oprah Winfrey pick to confirm that statement.I think this book is worth reading because it is one of the few that does have a unique style of story telling. And if you read a lot, creativity and uniqueness is important.