The Artist of the Missing
Frank, a young artist, arrives in the city hoping to unravel the mystery of his parents' disappearance. He begins working as a washer of robes at a hotel for itinerant judges. There he meets and falls in love with Prudence, a forensic photographer whose pictures reveal the secrets of the dead.
When Prudence disappears, Frank sets out in search of her, a quest that leads him into the shadowy world of a revolutionary salon, then to prison, and finally to discover the city's strange secrets and the secrets of his own heart.
A haunting novel that recalls the early work of Paul Auster and Steven Millhauser, The Artist of the Missing is a stunning debut, both a richly imagined evocation of another world and a piercing examination of the mystery of love, and beautifully illustrated by the acclaimed artist Stephen Alcorn.
A visionary novel about love, loss, imagination, and despair.
Paul La Farge
Paul B. La Farge (born November 17, 1970) is an American novelist, essayist and academic. As of 2012, he has published four novels: The Artist of the Missing (1999), Haussmann, or the Distinction (2001), The Facts of Winter (2005) and Luminous Airplanes (2011), all of which, particularly Haussmann, have earned positive critical attention. His essays and reviews have been published in outlets such as The Village Voice, Harper's, and The New Yorker.
More books by Paul La Farge
