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Disappearing Acts Paperback – January 6, 2004

by Terry McMillan (Author)

4.5 450 ratings

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan comes an honest look at a modern romance, from love at first sight to painful reality to working toward a happy ending....

Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker and a not-quite-divorced dad of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, and songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away....

In this funny, gritty love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction’s most compelling couples as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It’s about respect—what it can and can’t survive. And it’s about the safe and secret places that only love can find.

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Berkley
Publication date

January 6, 2004
Dimensions

5.36 x 0.99 x 7.94 inches
ISBN-10

9780451209139
ISBN-13

978-0451209139
Lexile measure

630L
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From the Publisher

Terry McMillan is a skilled master at writing dialogue for strong, intelligent women—AssociatedPress


	WAITING TO EXHALE	GETTING TO HAPPY	HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK	A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT	THE INTERRUPTION OF EVERYTHING	WHO ASKED YOU?
Don't miss these fantastic novels from #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan.	The critically acclaimed novel about four women who learn to carry on while leaning on each other.	Terry McMillan's exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale.	A novel about how a woman saves her own life—and what she must risk to do it.	A tour-de-force novel of family, healing, and redemption.	A laugh-out-loud funny novel about a woman who's putting herself first for the first time.	A well-crafted story of acceptance, forgiveness, and hope.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Disappearing Acts

“A get-out-your-handkerchiefs love story. Unflinchingly realistic...warm, natural.”—USA Today

“A stunning achievement.”—Cosmopolitan

“If Ntozake Shange, Jane Austen, and Danielle Steel collaborated on a novel of manners, [Disappearing Acts] might be the result.”—New Yorker

“Contains someting increasingly rare in books or films today: a full-blown, sophisticated love affair between two African-American adults.”—Denver Post

“A funny, earthy novel...ribaldly realistic. [Speaks] across class and color lines.”—New York Newsday

“A down-to-earth portrayal of love, yearning, and self-preservation...brimming with energy and the hard facts of life.”—Kansas City Star

“Gripping and moving...intensely realistic.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

About the Author

Terry McMillan is the award-winning, critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale, Getting to Happy, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, The Interruption of Everything, Who Asked You?, Mama, Disappearing Acts, I Almost Forgot About You, It’s Not All Downhill From Here, and the editor of Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction. She lives in California.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0451209133
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; Reissue edition (January 6, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780451209139
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451209139
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 630L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.36 x 0.99 x 7.94 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #425,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,513 in Black & African American Women's Fiction (Books)
- #7,020 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #57,218 in Contemporary Romance (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 450 ratings

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Terry McMillan

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Terry McMillan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, andThe Interruption of Everything and the editor of Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction. Each of Ms. McMillan’s seven previous novels was a New York Times bestseller, and four have been made into movies: Waiting to Exhale (Twentieth Century Fox, 1995); How Stella Got Her Groove Back (Twentieth Century Fox, 1998); Disappearing Acts (HBO Pictures, 1999); and A Day Late and a Dollar Short (Lifetime, 2014). She lives in California.

Photo Credit: Matthew Jordan Smith.

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4.5 out of 5

450 global ratings

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Tisha

The book is better than the movie

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024

Very good read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2023

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Such good quality but most importantly the book is very addictive. It is well written and makes you want to keep reading. Since is was written in the 80s some “Norms” are very different from today, but honestly loving the book. P.S be prepared for some toxic behavior🤦🏾‍♀️

One person found this helpful

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Valerie S

This story goes deep.

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013

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This is my second time readin this book. I love it so much! the character development is authentic and it is easy to empathize with all the characters. mcmillan's writing is so vivid, so deep, and it is hard to keep your eyes off this book. this story offers some insight on why women and men do questionable things in a relationship. college educated zora, who is a naturally good-spirited person, opens her heart to blue collared worker franklin(with horrible mommy issues) and they are both put to the test. they both have insecurities, but their love is also passionate and sincere until the relationship takes a whole new turn. i have a feeling that this, as well as mama and waiting to exhale will be one of those books that i read over and over again throughout my life. this book however, does [spoiler alert ahead] have some instances of domestic violence, just a heads up.

7 people found this helpful

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Dstconnected

Man What a timeless classic

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021

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Omg Terry has woven the tale of all tales because between Franklin and Zora I’m unnerved. What a toxic ass situation. The story telling is unmatched. So many themes and lessons I am spent!

One person found this helpful

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Sheshe

Mesmerizing

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2017

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It's love joy and pain; it's the really high and the lowest low . This story has a life in it that makes me see my own life, while I'm reading it!!. It makes make me laugh and cry while I'm happy in one chapter a I'm mad and upset in the other . Most of all the story reminds me to cherish the man I have in my life, see the male perspective and truly come to realize a male's mind. I really hated when it ended because Terry Mc Millan opened my eyes to a black man and a black woman's relationship in all its parts.

5 people found this helpful

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lilbabysoul

I loved it then and I love it now

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2016

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I remember reading this book when it was first published back in the 90's. I loved it then and I love it now. Back then, I could only imagine the twisty turning relationship between Franklin and Zora, but as an older woman, I can relate on many levels. It also brought back to my recollection that love I will always have for NCY; particularly Brooklyn. Very god read. "Disappearing..." is one of Terry McMillan's best-written works in my opinion.

11 people found this helpful

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Tiffany

Great Book

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021

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I would recommend this story to another reader. This story unravels the meaning of love conquering all. Timing is everything!

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2017

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I grew up reading this book when my mother was at work so she wouldn't catch me. She never forbade me from reading her books, but somehow I thought I wouldn't be allowed to. I had heard her talking to my aunt about this book and wanted to see for myself what it was like. I was intrigued, but a lot of it went over my head because I was too young. There were so many things I did not understand. So I tried again a year or two later, and kept rereading it. I must have read it 4 times by the time I graduated high school, but I was still too young and too sheltered to fully get it. I saw that it was supposed to be a great love story, but I could not for the life of me understand why these two people wanted to be together or what love meant to them based on how badly their relationship seemed to be going. I can't remember if I read it again in the intervening years, but I thought of the book again recently and wondered how I'd react to it now that I am in my 30s. Indeed, I am now actually older than the protagonists themselves. While some of the 1980s references are a little dated and therefore don't have much of an impact on me, there can be no doubt that I've now had sufficient life experience as an adult to fully appreciate this book . . . and I STILL don't like it as a love story. I STILL don't understand why these two people loved each other so much. The physical chemistry between them is easy to understand. The initial attraction, sure. But through all the lies, deception, verbal abuse, financial hardship, eventual physical abuse and so much more, the fact that they [SPOILER ALERT] don't make it as a couple is hardly surprising. It's an interesting look at love between two black people, but I can't help recoiling slightly at how all too real it is. In the end, it's another out of wedlock baby and another woman's career apparently ruined due to her unwillingness to stay away from a man she knows is no good for her. It's hard to respect that. No, it's impossible. At my age, this book just seems to be a chronicle of bad choices -- a self-help book telling you what NOT to do if you want to have a happy life and a healthy relationship. This will be the last time I read this book.

22 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Love this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2021

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I read this book many years ago and wanted it in my personal collection of books.

natasha112

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2014

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Cleverly written from two perspectives. Chapters alternate from one person to the other; intertwining a story exploring modern love and modern life.

Miss J Voronova

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2014

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good book

kat

Good book

Reviewed in Canada on November 8, 2020

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It was a good book. Easy read. Just seemed like it dragged on a bit.

P. Alleyne

Excellent Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2012

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I thought this book was a good one, couldn't put it down and it was interesting to read chapters from a male and female perspective. A little bit disappointing at the end but very funny and enjoyable.

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Disappearing Acts Paperback – January 6, 2004

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