The New York Times Book Review - Catherine Lacey
A novel starring a novelist can often seem a little pleased with itself, as if the author is looking over her shoulder, eager to make a great drama from a greatly uneventful thing…But Novey has wholly eluded the hazards of writing about writers. Instead, this lush and tightly woven novel manages to be a meditation on all forms of translation while still charging forward with the momentum of a bullet…Novey writes with cool precision and breakneck pacing…
The New York Times - Carmela Ciuraru
Ms. Novey, an accomplished poet and translator, sustains suspense throughout with beautifully restrained prose. Yet her narrative is more than a mystery—it's about language itself, both the yearning for comprehension and the desire to feel understood.
From the Publisher
"Idra Novey's debut novel cast me under its spell from the opening scene....Ways to Disappear reads like a thriller and scores thematically on the missteps of translation and the untenable distances of the heart."
—Amy Jo Burns, Ploughshares
"Written in short poetic chapters and punctuated with dictionary definitions, Ways to Disappear is both a meditation on the art of translation and a classic mystery complete with loan sharks, amateur detectives, and an ill-advised romance."
—Emma Brown, Interview magazine
"Fast-paced and colorful, Ways to Disappear is part mystery, part romance, but 100% a delight."
—Jarry Lee, Buzzfeed
"Poet and translator Idra Novey brings a considerable imagination to her first work of fiction....Stylish and funny, romantic and surreal, Ways to Disappear is a quirky look at the intimate relationship between author and translator....Though Ways to Disappear unfolds at the rapid pace of a screwball comedy, there is also something patient and artful about the novel, making it a thoughtful treatise on writing and artmaking that is as profound as it is playful."
—Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (Top Pick)
"Novey has a knack for engaging, humorous prose and audacious plotting the likes of which are rarely seen in a first novel."
—Jonathan Sturgeon, Flavorwire (A Must-Read Book)
"The plot is filled with twists and surprises, and Idra Novey makes it come alive with prose that is both magical and lyrical....Novey has a style all her own....She is a singular voice who impressively has spun a story into a thrilling ride for her characters and readers alike."
—Paul LaRosa, New York Journal of Books
"A gorgeously written, truly fun literary mystery....with madcap humor and keen insights into the craziness of family dynamics."
—National Book Review
"(An) enchanting literary mystery."
—Flavorwire (25 Great Escapist Novels)
"Novey writes with tremendous insight and a wistful appreciation for the elusive nature of language....With lean, incisive prose Novey delivers a bright, unpredictable novel that is both playful and vulnerable. It is an adventurous mystery set in a tropical paradise that is sure to leave you breathless."
—Dave Wheeler, Shelf Awareness (Starred Review)
"Humor, poignancy, passion, and a bit of magic are all elements of this delightful debut novel. Novey's tightly drawn, superbly funny tale offers not only glimpses into modern Brazilian life and culture but also insights into the creative process of authors and translators. A quick read, largely because it is hard to put down."
—Faye Chadwell, Library Journal (Starred Review)
"A supercharged and perfectly-timed novel."
—Jeva Lange, Electric Literature
"A fun, fast-paced romp....with poignant themes of belonging and identity."
—The Gazette
"The novel's success lies in....its reflections on the mysteries and delights of translation and interpretation."
—Feministing
"A novel that will leave you in a glow....Novey's debut has a warmth and humor all her own."
—Music %26amp%3B Literature
"Novey's fleet and vivid novel examines the nature of personal agency in life and in fiction, challenging the notion that we 'honor what we recall by accepting that we cannot change it.'"—New Yorker
"Ways to Disappear defies convention and categorization, effortlessly careening from magical realism to noir, reckless romance to metafictional dictionary definitions. The result is a story as propulsive as it is compelling."—Los Angeles Review of Books
"You can disappear for hours in Novey's original story."
—The Rumpus
"Ways to Disappear is a thoughtful tropical noir with depth and feeling...full of gorgeously rendered action...the best lines feel like joyful ambushes."
—Zachary C. Solomon, Full Stop
"Using her poet's — and translator's — precision, Novey seeds her story with crystalline images, like perfect little dioramas through which her characters move... Novey has crafted a delightfully metafictional and metatranslational exploration into the creation and appreciation of literature."
—Ashley Patronyak, Bookslut
"Love, family, and death-Idra Novey's debut, Ways to Disappear, has it all...a worthy, captivating storyline that is less about writing than it is about the ways in which people misunderstand one another-caught in the grip of opposing desires to be seen and to run away."
—Alexandra Chang, Bust
"Ways to Disappear goes from translator story to adventure story to allegorical tale-spinning... These detours, as well as the Bolañoesque off-stage author taking on celebrity significance (as in 2666's Archimboldi), show that Novey's capacious skills go far beyond translating. She is both a moving poet and a successful novelist."—John Washington, Public Books
"Novey's debut novel is quick and bright, despite the dark undertones, and the notes of magical realism lend it an extra level of escapism for your summer reading pleasure."—Jenn Fields, The Denver Post
"Novey writes with tremendous insight and a wistful appreciation for the elusive nature of language... With lean, incisive prose, Novey delivers a bright, unpredictable mystery that is both playful and vulnerable."
—Shelf Awareness
Kirkus Reviews
2015-10-18
A famous novelist's disappearance upends the life of her American translator. Novey's surreal debut begins as a mystery: legendary Brazilian writer Beatriz Yagoda has inexplicably climbed into an almond tree with a cigar and a suitcase and has not been seen since. Upon receiving the news—is she aware, an unfamiliar emailer wants to know, that her author has been missing for five days?—translator Emma Neufeld puts her life in Pittsburgh on hold and hops a flight to Rio de Janeiro to join the search, much to the chagrin of her sweetly dull boyfriend. On the ground in Rio, the situation quickly begins to clarify: Beatriz Yagoda is not only a serious literary novelist, but also a serious online poker player who now owes an angry loan shark half a million dollars, or else. And so, together with Yagoda's adult children, Raquel (practical) and Marcus (overwhelmingly handsome), Emma embarks on a madcap chase to track down the missing author while fending off the increasingly impatient shark. Meanwhile, Yagoda's publisher, Roberto Rocha, burned out by a sea of lesser manuscripts and desperate for another one of hers, finds himself equally entangled: he doesn't know any more about her whereabouts than Emma and the rest, but he's been the one responding to her secret requests for cash, and—more importantly—he's the one with the means to pay off her debts. Stylish, absurd, sometimes romantic, and often very funny, the novel is as much about the writing process as it is about the high-stakes plot. And if it doesn't always add up to more than the sum of its parts—like a dream, the book is almost overwhelmingly vivid when you're in it, and the details dissipate quickly when you're not—taken piece by piece, it's a tour de force. Delightful and original.
