The Reservoir Tapes by Jon McGregor

Catapult, 176 pages, $22

Don’t you wonder sometimes what happened to characters or real people after their story or fifteen minutes of fame ended? (I feel weird saying this, but I recently wondered about the McCaughy septuplets!) Maybe that is what is so attractive about book and television series: We get to follow characters we’ve gotten to know further into their lives, desperate or otherwise. We get to be the fly on the wall.

So, whatever happened to the characters from “Reservoir 13”? (Read my review here.)   If you enjoyed “Reservoir 13” as much as I did, here is a chance to see some of the characters again in their ordinary glory. Sometimes the additional glimpses of the characters slip into the past. And it’s not so much that questions are answered as that lives are elaborated upon.

Ah, yes, the ultimate question: What became of Rebecca? “Reservoir 13” began with the hunt for thirteen-year-old Rebecca. She was on holiday with her parents in a small town in England. While on a hike with her parents, Rebecca disappeared. The hunt was massive and fastidious, but she was not found by the end of "Reservoir 13." Instead the book became about her parents and the people of the town, the ones left behind.

In “Reservoir Tapes,” there is much talk of Rebecca and one tiny thought dropped into the middle of a larger story is vaguely heartening. But once again, the story is mostly about other people, although Rebecca is fleshed out a little more, especially in a little vignette concerning an apple. Not all the stories are pleasant, but then not all people, real or fictional, are pleasant.

(My favorite character is the mysterious and competent river keeper.)

Thank you for the follow-up, Jon McGregor. I enjoy your town. I wish your passengers well. May your town's reservoir of stories never end.