The Vanishing of Margaret Small: An uplifting and page-turning mystery

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The difference between the sympathetic and the intolerant is never more obvious than in the chapters set in Margaret’s past, where she is a long term resident of St Mary’s, a home for people with physical and learning disabilities that sought less to help prepare the residents for their place in society, as to hide them away. There is no attempt to make Margaret’s life better, to help her with her literacy challenges. Taken there as a very young girl, St Mary’s is all that she knows, her friends there her only family.

The story is powerful, following our protaganist Margaret Small who lived in a home for children with learning difficulties. I really enjoyed Margaret’s story. It was sweet, sad, touching, charming and uplifting. I found every opportunity I could to listen to it! Fictional books with characters with learning challenges are often a bit jarring and their abilities inconsistent, but this character felt well-rounded and ‘real’. Aldington is MARVELLOUS! Her voices and her emotions are spot on. The personality she creates with her voice not just for Margaret but for all the characters she voices is so good that you feel; like you are hearing a multi-cast performance. As the mother of a daughter with a learning disability, some of Margaret’s experiences cut me to the bone. While reading, I wondered if Margaret was really as ‘slow’ as they made her out to be. If her grandmother had shown her any real love and guidance perhaps she would have learned to read and write. Though, the sad truth was that the grandmother’s getting rid of Margaret as an unwelcome reminder of her daughter’s transgressions seemed inevitable in a way. The sadistic treatment of the patients at the long term care institution was distressing to read. Margaret lived there from the age of seven until she was forty-one years old! All the while being told she was incapable of learning – and she had no schooling.

To resolve the mystery, we are also given a glimpse of another timeline beginning from 1947, when little Margaret was first ‘vanished” into a long-stay institution for children with learning disabilities. MY THOUGHTS: What an amazing read (listen) this was! I love being blindsided by the unexpected, and Neil Alexander manages to do this with his debut novel! Definitely a writer to watch. At times a heart-wrenching read, "The Vanishing of Margaret Small" was an astounding debut novel. Based upon interviews with 'people with learning disabilities', the author has created a fictionalized tribute to those people, while also reminding us of the dire treatment of these individuals just a few short decades ago. Imagine also my surprise when I discovered that this is a debut work. It is far more complex and nuanced than many of the established works I have read.

Close to the end, we were told Margaret's birth date. I'd like to think this is why I felt that she was so special to me. My own daughter was born on Margaret's birthday.When reading, the locations mentioned were very vivid to me – largely in part to the fact that just last week I binge-watched the second season of “Whitstable Pearl” on Netflix. This is a very timely novel, with one of it’s key themes so relevant it has a kind of ‘ripped from the headlines’ feel about it. Margaret’s innocence is refreshing, but it is also her undoing, at least as far as her time at St Mary’s. And yet, where this could be a very bleak story, it is actually a heartwarming novel, watching Margaret navigate the relationships with various friends who enter her life, however fleeting, and seeing the way in which there are still some people around her who treat her with respect and have her very best interests in mind. In a Nutshell: An unusual story. The title and cover makes this debut novel appear light and easy-going, but it gets quite intense at times. Definitely worth reading for its quirky protagonist and its character-oriented storyline. There’s only one problem if you opt for the audio version, which is brilliant in every other way. Through the narrator's voice, you will discover at least the gender of the mysterious ‘C’, which eliminates half of the potential suspects from the list. Reading the book would have helped retain the mystery better. Margaret tells us her story. She uses the present (2015) and the past (1947-1970) alternately. The past is very interesting, learning how she grew up. Margaret leads a hard life. But throughout it all, there are many moments of joy for her and she accepts her lot in life. She learns to live her life around her disabilities, always forging her way forward. She is so loveable for the fact that she is naive and vulnerable. But, the opportunity to make her own choices is not available to her, which affects her for the rest of her life.

Best Books Set in the 1920s — from Stories That Shimmer with Champagne and Social Change, to Rip-roaring Reads Covering Crime, Colonialism and Beyond. Margaret's current story is interspersed with the story of her life in St. Mary's, a residential home for the intellectually challenged and mentally disturbed. An evocative , endearing , entertaining and thoroughly delicious character portrait and a terrific first novel' - Donal MacIntyre, TV presenter Present-day Margaret is a creature of habit and I love the simplistic life she lives. You have to admire the life she has built for herself, considering her institutional life. When the letters and gifts start appearing I immediately want to know who it is. This level of mystery grabbed me straight away and kept me listening. I had a few theories running through my mind and after one or two surprises we finally learn who the mystery sender is. I was pleasantly surprised and felt that this gave the story a lovely ending worthy of Margaret.I loved listening to the audio voice of Margaret, the older woman telling us about life for her through decades of change and learning, both for herself and much more widely. As we try to unravel her mystery. The Vanishing of Margaret Small is a story that tore at my heart, had me shedding tears in places, but also had me laughing out loud in others. Where do I even begin? Everyone and I mean everyone needs to read this book! I defy anyone to not fall in love with Margaret Small, she is the most loveable character you could ever meet and once you know her history you can’t help but love her more. This story is told in a dual timeline. We have present-day Margaret who is struggling to understand why she keeps receiving letters from someone called ‘C’ and Margaret as a child/teen/ young woman telling us her story inside the walls of St Mary’s.

Fictionophile’s OCTOBER 2023 Reading Wrap-Up #bookblogger #MonthlyWrapUp#Fictionophile October 31, 2023 I was surprised to find out "The Vanishing of Margaret Small" is this author's debut novel. The author's note at the end, gives brief detail of what brought this amazing story to life. I do hope this book finds its way in front of a large audience of readers and listeners for the well-written and meaningful story it is. I highly recommend it to all! Ich brauchte meine Zeit, um in die Geschichte zu finden. Doch je weiter ich gelesen habe, desto mehr wurde ich in den Bann dieses Buches gezogen. While reading, I wondered if Margaret was really as 'slow' as they made her out to be. If her grandmother had shown her any real love and guidance perhaps she would have learned to read and write. Though, the sad truth was that the grandmother's getting rid of Margaret as an unwelcome reminder of her daughter's transgressions seemed inevitable in a way. The sadistic treatment of the patients at the long term care institution was distressing to read. Margaret lived there from the age of seven until she was forty-one years old! All the while being told she was incapable of learning - and she had no schooling. Let me introduce you to Margaret Small, our narrator. She has spent most of her childhood and much of her adult life at St Mary’s – a home for children with learning difficulties and disabilities and now aged 75 she lives by herself in Whitstable with the support of Wayne, her care worker.

Her story takes a few unforeseen directions (and some you can see coming). It's a good look into some hard truths about our social care system. And ultimately an uplifting story about a woman treated badly but coming out the other side with her dignity and humour intact. This poignant story tells of people whom life has denied any of the advantages that we take for granted today. People with few or no choices about their own lives. It speaks to the unfairness of life, while simultaneously being hopeful thanks in no small part to Margaret's naivety and positive outlook. The audiobook is narrated by Annie Aldington who does a remarkable job of bringing Margaret to life, as well as, providing believable voicing to the other characters.