Bookseller Reviews
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Beautiful piece of literature.
A beautiful story that effects a lot of people with a aweful debilitating disease. As you read you feel the pain and the frustration that can effect the su... READ MORE
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Emma Healey’s debut sets itself a remarkably ambitious task. A mystery told in the first person by a character suffering from dementia. It is a task which ... READ MORE
Thought provoking.
Words like brilliant, moving, bittersweet and touching all describe this novel but do not do it justice. Both addictive and hard to read at the same time (... READ MORE
A perfect book club read.
Maud suffers from dementia; things keep slipping from her mind. She writes herself many notes, one of which is "Elizabeth is missing". Elizabeth is her fri... READ MORE
Great début novel.
Beautifully written and quite frankly heartbreaking - the past and present overlap in the fractured mind of Maud, the bewilderment of dementia is terrifyin... READ MORE
An unusual and unreliable narrator leads this moving and inventive novel about dementia, the past and old age.
Maud lives in a constant state of befuddlement. Undrunk cups of tea litter her halls; she navigates her way through life with little scraps of paper; she f... READ MORE
Eye-opening and wonderful.
Maud’s a little forgetful. She forgets that she’s already made herself a cup of tea, and she always forgets that she already has plenty of tinned peaches i... READ MORE
It was a pleasure to be confused by Maud
The title of Biggest Book of the Year is one that can be and is thrown around a lot. I read this back in January as many people did and I still stand by wh... READ MORE
Elizabeth is Missing
Maud's mind holds the key to a decades old mystery, but as the lines between her past and her present blot together, can she unlock the clues before they'r... READ MORE
One of a kind
I can't praise this book enough. I was completely absorbed from start to finish - a great concept which was brilliantly executed, so heart-wrenching, so po... READ MORE
Thought provokingly wonderful !
One of the best books in ages.Switching between the present and the end of World War Two this is the story of Maud who is an eldely lady suffering from dem... READ MORE
You Won't Forget This In A Hurry!
Maud has been volunteering at the local Oxfam and likes to visit her poor-sighted friend Elizabeth, she may not be able to see well but she can name any bi... READ MORE
Worth 10 stars!
Quite simply one of my books of the year! I have fallen in love with this novel and I urge everyone to read it. It's so beautifully written and I just ador... READ MORE
Elizabeth is Missing
This is a touching family drama with a mysterious twist. Maud, in her eighties and suffering from memory loss, is looking for her friend Elizabeth. But tha... READ MORE
Elizabeth is Missing
Elizabeth is missing. Possibly. Her good friend Maud certainly thinks that something is wrong but Maud is both forgetful and old and so the chances of some... READ MORE
Took my breath away!
I am so very very glad that I have been able to read this tremendous debut novel by an incredibly talented young author. Healey writes with a great deal of... READ MORE
Brilliantly gripping
I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of this, and I can honestly say it's fantastic! Maud's losing her memory, but she's sure her friend Elizabeth... READ MORE
This has changed my outlook on Alzheimers/Dementia for the better
'Elizabeth is Missing' follows the story of Maud; a determined elderly woman who doesn't quite know how rapidly her memory is deteriorating, all Maud wants... READ MORE
Beautifully original
This is by far the best debut novel I have ever read. Healey was brave and bold in attempting something like this but oh how her efforts paid off! What a m... READ MORE
Synopsis
Now a major BBC TV Series starring Glenda Jackson
A Sunday Times Top Five Bestseller and chosen for the Waterstones Book Club 2014, Elizabeth is Missing is the stunning debut novel from author Emma Healey.
An ancient noise, like a fox bark, makes an attempt at the edges of my brain. “Elizabeth?” I ask…
Meet Maud. Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognizable - or her daughter Helen seems a total stranger.
But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing.
The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it. Because somewhere in Maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about. Everyone, except Maud…
The subject of a bidding war between nine publishers, Emma Healey’s debut novel became one of the most talked-about books of 2014. Described by the Independent as ‘an extraordinary tale of ordinary tragedy’ Elizabeth is Missing is a compelling mystery which – through its depiction of its confused 90 year old narrator Maud – walks sensitively through new imaginative territory. A moving, intriguing journey following the breadcrumbs of the past, it will keep you glued to every page.
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2014
Shortlisted for National Book Awards Popular Fiction Book 2014
Shortlisted for National Book Awards New Writer of the Year 2014
Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2014
Longlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction 2015
Publisher information
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9780241968185
- Number of pages: 304
- Dimensions: 198 x 128 x 18 mm
- Weight: 214g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allI kept putting it down
I really did not enjoy this book and have been struggling with it for more than six weeks, which is unheard of for me. It is well written, but disturbing ... READ MORE
Verified Purchase
An accomplished debut novel. Emma Healey is a talented author who writes beautifully, with conviction.
Maud is 82 years old. She often feels confused, she writes herself notes and remembers to go the shop most days. Maud sometimes doesn't remember what the n... READ MORE
Great book for everyone
Maud is very forgetful and she gets worse as time goes along but she knows her friend Elizabeth is missing and cannot understand why no-one else will take ... READ MORE
A novel that will stay with you
I read this novel some time ago now and it has stayed with me. A stunning and assured debut filled with suspense, beauty and sadness. A window into the min... READ MORE
Opens your eyes to dementia
This book is a fantastic one and really opens your eyes to dementia. I sadly lost a close friend recently who had developed demtia before she died. I wante... READ MORE
An excellent debut entry
I asked for this book to review because it has been splashed across book pages in the national newspapers, radio book programmes and the Internet as “the b... READ MORE
At some points in this book I got really into it, but other times I found myself being uninterested and getting a bit lost in the words. Despite this, I fo... READ MORE
touching
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
The theme of an old lady with dementia was put into the novel in an absolutely brilliant way. The illness was ... READ MORE
Beautiful, contorting book
An awesome insight into the main character - you become her and want to care for her.
Beautifully written.
A hungry tale that you want to explore and under... READ MORE
This is a fantastic story that follows Maud during two separate times in her life, from her teens shortly after the War when her sister went missing to her... READ MORE
Refreshingly original but not always a comfortable read
I read this within a couple of days which is testament to its unputdownability - admittedly helped by a train journey - but nonetheless a gripping read, cl... READ MORE
Elizabeth is Missing
I had heard that the novel, Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey is a good book for book groups and, as I recently took over leading our local book group, s... READ MORE
This was a birthday gift.
A unique style of book. Kept the pages turning. Recommended. I truly sympathised with the main character and her family.
An accomplished debut novel.
Maud is 82 years old. She often feels confused, she writes herself notes and remembers to go the shop most days. Maud sometimes doesn't remember what the n... READ MORE
Definitely different
A fascinating insight into dementia, I found Maud's fluctuations between confusion and clarity, the past and the present, amazing to experience and felt it... READ MORE
emotional
For Maud the only way to remember things is to write them down. For Maud Elizabeth is the only friend she has left. It is very sad for Maud as all Maud's o... READ MORE
An absorbing and rewarding mystery
This is an amazingly subtle and sophisticated debut novel for such a young writer. From page one you are drawn into the life and muddled mind of the elderl... READ MORE
Elizabeth certainly is missing
How ever did this win any awards it runs on and on about a woman with dementia going no where
'Elizabeth Is Missing' Review
I felt this was an accomplished debut novel and the author's postgraduate training in creative writing shows in the craftsmanship. Telling the story from ... READ MORE
Reliably Unreliable
Alzheimer's novels are beginning to crowd the bookshelves as Britain faces up to an ageing population and the growth of this vilest of diseases. These book... READ MORE
Very eye-opening, and very touching
The reason I bought this book is because both of my Nan's have recently been diagnosed with dementia, and I wanted to understand exactly what the illness d... READ MORE
Good book
I read this book last year and found it very emotional and couldn't put it down , last week I watched the drama on tv and it was just as good .
Great story!
A really enjoyable read although not one of my favourite books. I found Mauds a really intriguing character. The story was heartbreaking as you follow her ... READ MORE
A story of loss in so many different ways - and from so many perspectives
At an unknown page turn you find yourself struggling to continue to frown on reactions you previously misunderstood.
A book that shows Love is not always... READ MORE
Everyone thought it was just the ramblings of a mad old woman...
I absolutely loved this book. It is written from the perspective of Maud who is a dementia sufferer. There are certain sights, sounds or smells that bring ... READ MORE