The Vanishing Hitchhiker

The Vanishing Hitchhiker Jan Brunvand 208pp.

Jan Brunvand's lively book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker is an intriguing overview of American folklore and superstition. Brunvand arranges his book around iconic American bits of folklore, the cement-filled car and the eponymous vanishing hitchhiker stand out as particularly worthwhile examples. The most interesting aspect of The Vanishing Hitchhiker is following the development of these stories as Brunvand gives us a wide variety of tellings from around the country and in different times.

The Vanishing Hitchhiker is wonderfully written, Brunvand works magic on two fronts. In the first, his own prose, framing the narratives he tells to the reader is polished and well-written. Beyond that, his careful re-creations of the folk legends he focuses on are entertaining and intriguing. Brunvand’s commentary, while frequently kept to the background of the writing, is incisive. While focusing on the stories as interesting objects of study in their own right,  The Vanishing Hitchhiker works the social conditions which led to the creation of these stories into the text.

This focus on social conditions is the highlight of the book, Brunvand’s interest in the people who tell these stories, these are paramount in the text. At the end of the book there is an introductory essay to using the stories people tell to gain an understanding of the people who tell them. This displays Brunvand’s work with narrative wonderfully. Much like in The Study of American Folklore, Brunvand’s focus on narrative is intriguing. (Also like The Study of American Folklore, Brunvand’s dismissal of belief is somewhat off-putting.)

Reading The Vanishing Hitchhiker was a treat, it is a smooth, enjoyable book, driving down a winding road of stories developed largely over the automobile age. In the presentation of the stories, the enjoyment of watching a story develop over time and respond to different cultural trends and fears of new threats, real or perceived, is tremendously worthwhile. There is an undercurrent of stories, just outside of the mainstream which Brunvand happily presents, tracing their course through the path unbeaten, the side roads, and the endless homogeneity of suburbia.

Would I recommend The Vanishing Hitchhiker? Yes.

Score 4.1/5

Would I keep this on my bookshelf? Yes.

-Mr. Cheddar