Absentees – On Variously Missing Persons

Absentees bristles with fresh readings. . . . In fact, it's a fundamental inquiry into the disposition among bodies, language, and politics. ---Brian Dillon, 4Columns I read Absentees in such a lax state, and it snapped me out of it for a while. With all its case studies it reads like a gripping (trans)historical docudrama. ---Hal Foster, London Review of Books Absentees offers a framework for seeing the world from the viewpoint of those who are only partly in it, as well as for those who've recently left. ---John Washington, The Baffler Unexpected leaps across archives, through centuries, and from one text to the next are a compelling characteristic of Heller-Roazen's scholarship. . . . Such virtuosic effects remain an intellectual pleasure in Absentees. . . . There is much dazzlement and fascination along the way, as some of the many masks of nonpersons flash by. ---Julie Orlemanski, Modern Philology Daniel Heller-Roazen's Absentees: On Variously Missing Persons picks up these concepts and conversations and makes an intriguing, singular contribution to 'absence studies.' . . . Probing culturally rich sources such as ancient myths, and popular culture items such as children's games, Absentees makes a provocative and compelling argument about how we classify existence and experience the loss of another. ---Jolene Zigarovich, Critical Law Analysis