The Sweet Relief of Missing Children: A Novel

by Sarah Braunstein

Overview

Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

"A magnificent debut filled with characters so vivid, strange, and richly imagined, you emerge feeling changed." —Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

In New York City, a girl called Lenora vanishes without a trace. Years earlier and miles upstate, Goldie, a wild, negligent mother, searches for a man to help raise her precocious son, Paul, who later discovers that the only way to save his soul is to run away. The Sweet Relief of Missing Children is a suspenseful novel about the power of running and the desire for reinvention. It explores the terror and transcendence of our most central experiences: childhood, parenthood, sex, love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393081541
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/25/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	366
File size:	842 KB

About the Author

Sarah Braunstein is the author of The Sweet Relief of Missing Children. The recipient of a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 prize, she lives in Portland, Maine, and teaches at Colby College.

Editorial Reviews

"[Braunstein’s] debut novel is an unsettling read that is also strangely compelling... Through random encounters and elliptical dialogue, Braunstein locates the pain in these people’s lives and makes it shimmer"

Booklist

"Sarah Braunstein has written a startling and darkly beautiful first novel. Her characters are so vivid, so perfectly drawn, that I doubt you will ever forget them. Braunstein’s talent is enormous."

Danielle Trussoni

"[A] fleet, brave, emotionally luminous new novel."

The New Yorker - Salvatore Scibona

"Enthralling... Sweet Relief is that rare book: a page-turner in which the plot is secondary to the brilliant, visceral portrayal of its characters. We don’t empathize with them—we slip into their skins, experiencing their frustrations as if they were our own."

O Magazine - Karen Holt

"The Sweet Relief of Missing Children should leapfrog to the top of your to-read pile."

Boston Globe - Brock Clarke

"An unflinching probe into the frailty of children’s dreams and desires... Braunstein writes a haunting story, one whose characters remain vividly fixed in memory after the last page is turned... [A] brave and daring book... [A] highly original and superb work of fiction."

Portland Press Herald - Frank O. Smith

"The reader becomes a sort of watcher peering into a variety of small-town kitchens and bedrooms, and looking hard into hearts that have been broken or shaken loose."

Bonnie Jo Campbell

"...a beautifully written novel...Braunstein and narrator Xe Sands make the stories and relationships easy to follow. Sands’s empathetic delivery makes this often disturbing work a pure joy...truly amazing." - AudioFile Magazine

"[Braunstein's] debut novel is an unsettling read that is also strangely compelling, though the author reserves all of her compassion for her characters, sparing none for her readers...Through random encounters and elliptical dialogue, Braunstein locates the pain in these people’s lives and makes it shimmer." - Booklist

"[a] powerful debut...Narrator Xe Sands gives an unemotional, staccato delivery, joining forces with the author to keep listeners intrigued and disquieted. Highly recommended for those who relish unpredictable, complex literature cut from a unique mold." - Library Journal

"an unflinching probe into the frailty of children's dreams and desires...a brave and daring book...highly original and a superb work of fiction." - The Portland Press Herald

"A novel you won’t want to put down. These are characters you won’t want to stop rooting for." - Newcity Lit

"The reader becomes a sort of watcher peering into a variety of small-town kitchens and bedrooms, and looking hard into hearts that have been broken or shaken loose." - Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of American Salvage

"A magnificent debut filled with characters so vivid, strange, and richly imagined, you emerge feeling changed." - Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

From the Publisher

Sarah Braunstein’s debut is a beautifully written novel of three interconnected characters and their stories, which deal with family, sex, parenthood, and reinventing oneself. Each of the three characters—12-year-old Leonora, 16-year-old Paul, and teenaged Judith—goes missing. The plot has the potential to be convoluted, but both Braunstein and narrator Xe Sands make the stories and relationships easy to follow. Sands’s empathetic delivery makes this often disturbing work a pure joy. Listeners may be put off by the seemingly stilted quality of the narration at the outset, but before long the result is truly amazing. J.L.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

MAY 2011 - AudioFile