The Year Of Fog tells the story of a kidnapped child. A story that's been told a number of times. And I've read my share of them. But there are a number of things which sets this one apart. First of all, it's told from the point of view of the child's stepmother. A boldly different point perspective. It also includes many beautifully written passages on the use of photography as a means, not only to freeze a moment in time, but to imprint that time into our memories. And for me, it's these brilliant dissertations into so many different aspects of our memories, and the ways in which these memories shape, effect, and in some cases, define our lives that makes this novel special. ( )

Esto es lo que sé: estábamos paseando por Ocean Beach de la mano. Era una fría mañana de julio en San Francisco...
Emma, una niña de seis años, desaparece en medio de la espesa niebla de San Francisco. Puede que se la haya tragado el traicionero Pacífico o que alguien se la haya llevado en una llamativa furgoneta aparcada junto a la playa. Lo único que sabe Abby, quien estaba a punto de convertirse en su madrastra, es que la niña se ha desvanecido sin dejar rastro. Desolada por la pérdida y acosada por la culpa, Abby se niega a aceptar que Emma pueda estar muerta y repasa una y otra vez los recuerdos de aquella mañana, cada nimio detalle de los últimos instantes junto a la niña, en busca de una pista que la pueda llevar a recuperarla.
Cuando los días se transforman en semanas y las semanas en meses, cuando incluso el padre de Emma pierde la fe en encontrarla y la policía y los voluntarios van olvidándose del caso, Abby continua peinando la playa y las calles de la ciudad. Con la esperanza casi perdida y su vida en una completa encrucijada, realizará un último viaje. En un mundo ajeno, rodeada de costumbres extrañas y junto a otro mar igualmente abierto, se encontrará con el descubrimiento más inesperado, y la verdad de la desaparición de Emma le golpeará con la fuerza de una ola poderosa y gigantesca.

A gripping tale that held my interest and kept a knot in the pit of my stomach. I hope I have just found a new author to love. ( )

Evocative novel about Abby, a woman who hopes to one day be wife to Jake, a high school teacher, and stepmother to Emma, his six-year-old daughter. Only Abby glances away just long enough to lose Emma on a fog-filled San Franciscan beach.

The majority of the novel is an interplay between the science of memory, the search for Emma, and the deteriorating relationship between Jake and Abby.

Although exceptionally well-written and carefully balanced between science, memory, and present-tense plot, I experienced moments of complete listlessness in reading, which could have easily been resolved if the author had chosen to nix some of the factual and scientific renderings and the repetitive emotional obsessiveness the narrator chose to indulge in and get back to the plot. I guess I'm spoiled by commercial fiction with its fast-paced, emotionally streamlined narrative. This is the only fault with the book, and it is why I give it only 4 instead of 5 stars. ( )

Great writing, engaging story. ( )