What Is Missing by Michael Frank
Despite the beautifully minimal cover art, this book is a story that is anything but simple. Weaving through concepts of love, family, parenthood, and grief, Michael Frank leads a vivid exploration of a loaded question: if to strive is to lack, what is missing?
For Constanza Ansaldo, this emptiness lies in the remnants of the death of her loved ones, and anguish at a life of childlessness. It is on a trip to her Italian hometown that she meets Andrew Weissman: a 17-year-old American student with a keen eye for photography, who quickly becomes enamoured with the kindred spirit he identifies in her.
There is an undeniable connection between the two, a collective understanding of shared pain at the absence of someone they love. But the dynamics of their relationship shift irreversibly when Andrew’s father, Henry, enters the picture. As a renowned fertility doctor who can promise Constanza healing, acceptance, and most importantly, a child, it is he who she finds herself falling for.
As the three navigate their way through masked feelings, forgotten desires, and undiscovered truths, they will be pushed into uncharted land to discover how far each is willing to go in the pursuit of self-fulfilment.
When first introduced to this cluster of complex characters, it is difficult to care for, or to feel connected with, any. As though portrayed from behind a glass screen, we are given a visual of each that is superficial: the beautiful silhouette of Costanza receding down a winding street, the reclusive animosity of Andrew as he photographs strangers, Henry charming a group of eager-eyed students at a café.
While as snapshots, these contain beauty, they also create the impression that much of them is hidden. Within its place, then, exists a façade of individualism that is held up against the world, and therefore, the reader. As expected, this gives the book a slow start, as we are lowered into their world inch by inch. But on pushing past this, we are wistfully drawn into a narrative that is challenging not to feel invested in.
Where the book lulls with detailed medical jargon of fertility treatments, it makes up for in the weighted emotion of individuals hauling themselves out from the deep-end. The notion of a painful and passion-fuelled struggle between each becomes more apparent as the narrative voice is continually switched between Constanza, Henry, and Andrew, which makes it all the more addictive to follow.
By the last 100 pages, we are forced to re-examine completely the characters we believe we had become so familiar with, as an uncomplicated, expected ending is completely dismissed. Tackling large questions with uncomfortable answers, Frank solidifies his place as an author that is not afraid to take risks in writing, and venture out into the grey areas of human ethics.
A wisely written and thought-provoking piece of writing, What is Missing is a query into the human condition itself. What drives us, what holds us back, and ultimately, what we all do in an effort to fill the gaps left by life.
Roumina Parsamand
Roumina is a journalism and finance student from Melbourne, Australia. She is a filler of journals with words and drawings, and an obsessive reader. Always happy to chat books, pet dogs, and drink tea. You can find her on Instagram at @nami.reads
