Book Review: The Missing

Reviewed by Elizabeth Reiser

A compelling & complex tale of marriage, parenthood, and the tenuousness of relationships

Hannah and Gabriel are unhappily married and struggling with the disappearance of their daughter Christa. A rebellious teen who willingly ran away with her older boyfriend, it’s clear that Christa does not wish to be found. As Hannah and Gabriel contend with the reasons behind her disappearance, they are forced to face the fractures in their marriage. 

High school sweethearts, Hannah and Gabriel’s marriage has been plagued by alcoholism, infidelity, and past traumas. While they have resigned themselves to living as roommates rather than husband and wife, Christa’s departure has upset the balance. Hannah finds herself no longer able to suppress the anger she has been holding inside for years, starting with her mother’s abandonment; meanwhile, Gabriel must deal with his temptation to cheat on his wife as well as his precarious grasp on his sobriety. Without Christa, their lives are left to implode. 

Told from alternating perspectives, the reader is taken through both of their grieving processes, often focusing on the same memory from their pasts and how each shaped their relationship. This allows both sides to be given and leads to a deep understanding of their disconnect as a couple. It also reopens old wounds and creates a further chasm between the two, often taking the focus away from the reality of their daughter no longer being home with them. 

The idea of “the missing” factors heavily throughout the book. Hannah missed her mother growing up; Gabriel missed having a present father; they both miss the early stages of their relationship when it was fun; and they have both missed so many signs when it comes to their daughter. This is not so much a story about finding their daughter as much as a story about the human condition and how we protect ourselves from pain. 

One challenging aspect of this book is that Hannah and Gabriel are not the most sympathetic characters. Tanzer goes in hard on the theme of the book, and sometimes that results in both characters coming across as too self-involved, which results in their self-inflicted wounds. It can be hard to rally around people who keep falling into the same self-destructive cycles, especially when they almost seem to enjoy the misery they create. But at the same time, that don’t mean it is not reality.

While Hannah and Gabriel can at times be infuriating, this is a deeply emotional book in a sharp and raw reality. The author has created a world with unapologetically messy characters just trying to find their place with one another. It may be sad, and it may be heavy, but it isn’t without its humor as well. Readers interested in realistically flawed characters in complicated, emotional circumstances will find much to admire in The Missing.

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