Vanishing Acts (2005)

by Jodi Picoult, Jodi Picoult (Author)

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English (76) Hungarian (1) Dutch (1) All languages (78)

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Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiancé, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as Delia plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can't recall. And then a policeman knocks on her door, revealing a secret that changes the world as she knows it. In shock and confusion, Delia must sift through the truth -- even when it jeopardizes her life and the lives of those she loves. What happens when you learn you are not who you thought you were? When the people you've loved and trusted suddenly change before your eyes? When getting your deepest wish means giving up what you've always taken for granted? Vanishing Acts explores how life -- as we know it -- might not turn out the way we imagined; how doing the right thing could mean doing the wrong thing; how the memory we thought had vanished could return as a threat.

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tauruseducation | Jun 4, 2013 |

Picoult chooses such interesting topics and provides a number of different and intriguing points of view. In this one, though, she rambled a bit, lost focus, perhaps, and omitted a couple of the key viewpoints. Still, a good and gripping read (

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CandaceVan | Apr 16, 2013 |

It's the typical Jodi Picoult...tugging at those heartstrings. However, no tears were shed. Not her best, not her worst! (

)

melissarochelle | Apr 13, 2013 |

On Wednesday, September 27, 2006 I wrote:

Well I guess I agree with you on this book gizzy.

The writing is sometimes so slow and it was boring on a lot of parts. I did want to know what happened so I finished it. I think this was my second or third book by this author, I did read My Sister's Keeper and liked that much better.
Thanks for sharing.

(

)

Marlene-NL | Apr 12, 2013 |

a nice quick read with many twists and turns about a girl who was kidnapped at a young age and doesn't find out until she is 28. (

)

mawls | Apr 4, 2013 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Jodi Picoult	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Picoult, Jodi	Author	main author	all editions	confirmed
Juszkiewicz, Michał	Tł.	main author	some editions	confirmed
Timmermann, Klaus	Translator	main author	some editions	confirmed
Wasel, Ulrike	Translator	main author	some editions	confirmed

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Series (with order)

Canonical title

Vanishing Acts

Original title

Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Vanishing Acts

Alternative titles

Vanishing Acts

Original publication date

2005

People/Characters

Cordelia "Delia" Hopkins

Fitzwilliam "Fitz" MacMurray

Eric Talcott

Important places

New Hampshire, USA

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Arizona, USA

USA

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 2005)

Epigraph

What other words, we may almost ask, are memorable and worthy to be repeated than those which love has inspired? It is wonderful that they were ever uttered. They are few and rare indeed, but, like a strain of music, they are incessantly repeated and modulated by memory. All other words crumble off with the stucco which overlies the heart. We should not dare to repeat these now aloud. We are not competent to hear them at all times. - Henry David Thoreau, 'A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers,' 1849

Dedication

This one is for Katie Desmond,

who fed me Oreos for breakfast on my wedding day,

appreciates the fashion sense of blue suede shoes,

and knows just how many people died that first night out on the QEII.

Every once in a while, a person's lucky enough to

make an unforgettable friend: you're it, for me.

First words

I was six years old the first time I disappeared.

Quotations

Memories aren’t stored in the heart or in the head or even the soul, if you ask me, but in the spaces between any two given people.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

Washington Square Press

Blurbers

Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

George, Elizabeth

Publisher series

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiancé, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as she plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can’t recall. And when a policemen arrives to disclose a truth that will upend the world as she knows it, Delia must search through these memories – even when they have the potential to devastate her life, and the lives of those she loves most. Vanishing Acts is a book about the nature and power of memory; about what happens when the past we have been running from catches up to us… and what happens when the memory we thought had vanished returns as a threat.

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743454553, Paperback)

How do you recover the past when it was never yours to lose?

Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her beloved, widowed father, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as Delia plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can't recall...until a policeman knocks on her door, revealing a secret about herself that changes the world as she knows it -- and threatens to jeopardize her future. With Vanishing Acts, Jodi Picoult explores how life -- as we know it -- might not turn out the way we imagined; how the people we've loved and trusted can suddenly change before our very eyes; how the memory we thought had vanished could return as a threat. Once again, Picoult handles an astonishing and timely topic with under-standing, insight, and compassion.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:50:05 -0500)

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▾Library descriptions

Working with the Search and Rescue bloodhound team to find missing people, single mother Delia Hopkins anticipates her upcoming nuptials, until a series of unsettling flashbacks threatens to devastate her life and the lives of those she loves.

» see all 6 descriptions