Sightings

I have been trying to figure out what it is that I liked so much about Sightings by Susan Trott. It doesn’t have great character development, which is usually what snags my interest. And it isn’t written with the kind of richly detailed descriptions that I love to read over and over, hoping that by osmosis I will absorb the talent to write like that.

I did not have to look far to remember that what makes this book so wonderful is the story telling. This is how Trott opens the book:

“My mother adored my father. So did I. He was a famous man but also a nice man. As a high school graduation present he sent me to Paris and that’s where I was, age eighteen, when I heard he had run away with my friend Chris, a girl my age, exactly – my best friend, who I’d known since kindergarten! And what about Mom, who adored him? She ran away too. First!

When Daddy’s call came, I was in bed with Masefield, a spy…”

In this brief passage, Trott sets up a mystery, written with humor and pathos, that she spins into a compelling but quirky tale of a family haunted by a tragedy that plays itself out in unexpected ways. And though the characters are not richly drawn, they are memorable.

Published in 1987, Sightings is out of print and hard to find, as are several of Trott’s other highly praised books. It is definitely worth seeking out.