Wonder When You'll Miss Me: A Novel

Overview

At fifteen, Faith Duckle was lured under the bleachers by a bunch of boys and brutally attacked. Now, almost a year later, a newly thin Faith is haunted by her past and by the flippant, cruel ghost of her formerly fat self who is bent on revenge.

Faith eventually turns to violence for retribution, forcing her to flee home in search of the only friend she has -- a troubled but caring busboy who is the lover of a sideshow performer -- and to tumble into the colorful, transient world of the circus. But as she dives headfirst into a world of adult passions and dreams, mercurial allegiances, and exhilarating self-discovery, Faith must also face some disturbing truths about herself and the world around her.

Editorial Reviews

Feeling invisible is only one problem for 16-year-old Faith Duckle, the engaging protagonist of Davis's auspicious debut novel (an expansion of her short story "Faith, or Tips for the Successful Young Lady" from her critically acclaimed short story collection, Circling the Drain). The ironically named Faith is also running from a brutal assault that led to a suicide attempt and a stay in rehab, where she shed 48 pounds but not her despair. When she returns to school, nobody seems to notice, except her imaginary "fat girl" alter ego who reminds her, "There are all kinds of anger.... Some kinds are just more useful than others," and convinces her to exact bloody vengeance on the boy who was a key participant in the violence. Fleeing the aftermath of her angry attack, she joins the small traveling Fartlesworth Circus, where she cleans up after elephants and horses and gradually detaches herself from the haunting fat girl who delights in dogging her every move. Her new identity, Annabelle Cabinet, revels in the spangled sawdust world of performing acrobats, animals, clowns and freaks, and begins to heal. Davis revitalizes the moth-eaten circus motif with her tensely lyrical prose and full-bodied characterizations. Faith/Annabelle's gradual path to happiness among the "misfits" of the big top leads her, and readers, on a fast-paced, well-documented (Davis actually toured with a circus in 1999) adventure toward self-acceptance. While some readers may be dissatisfied with an ambiguous ending that eschews a sentimental resolution to Faith's metamorphosis, Davis remains true to her character's emerging independence, confidence and faith in the future.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author Information

Bio of Amanda Davis

Amanda Davis was raised in Durham, North Carolina. She was tragically killed in a plane crash on her way to her childhood state where she was scheduled to promote her debut novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me, published in February 2003. She resided in Oakland, California, where she taught in the MFA program at Mills College. Davis also authored Circling the Drain, a collection of short stories. Her fiction, nonfiction, and reviews have been published in Esquire, Bookforum, Black Book, McSweeney's, Poets and Writers, Story, Seventeen, and Best New American Voices 2001.

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Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins Publishers

Filesize

832.21 KB

Number of Pages

288

eBook ISBN

9780061854095

Awards

• Alex Awards