It's a wonderful life Japanese style. Haruhi disappears and Kyon freaks out. Great read I love this series. ( )

I think this was my favorite Haruhi book so far. Instead of being a gathering of short stories as the other books really are, this one was a coherent novel from start to finish and it had a satisfying conclusion. I can't wait to see the movie. ( )

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの消失) is the fourth book in the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series, and once more Tanigawa continues the excellent progression started in the first book. Kyon, the main character, must solve the mystery of the disappearance of his friends, and Tanigawa is able to not only give excellent insight into Kyon's mind but also make the situation, in spite of its fantasy-esque setting, believable and one is invested in the characters. ( )

Kyon is a typically apathetic high school boy, but his unique outlook on life and persistent use of creative metaphors will amuse readers to no end. Whether the reader is a long-time Haruhi Suzumiya fan or a newbie to the series they will fall in love with the lazy and at times boring Kyon, though they may not understand why.

Upon arriving at school one cold winter day Kyon finds that although he seems to be living in the same world as yesterday, something crucial has changed.

Haruhi Suzumiya is gone. No one remembers her or even knows who she is. Kyon has no idea what happened to the leader of the infamous SOS Brigade, but he intends to find out! Despite Kyon's lack of enthusiasm for any of Haruhi's past activities or demands, even though he is lazy as sin and uninterested in anything going on around him Kyon makes it his personal mission to find Haruhi. This strange dichotomy is endearing at the best of times but mostly just confusing.

Tanigawa's use of dialogue and Kyon's incessant internal monologue create clear pictures of the typical world of a Japanese high school student. The artwork included in the back of the book is a fun added bonus for manga fans. ( )

So, at first you think this is a standard 'It's a Wonderful Life'-style plot. It's Christmas and Haruhi is being her domineering self, putting Mikuru in a sexy Santa dress and telling everyone they are having a secret party on Christmas Eve. Kyon goes to bed on 17 December, completely normal... and wakes up on the 18th to realize that suddenly Haruhi and Itsuki have never attended North High, both Yuki and Mikuru are normal high schoolers, as is Ryoko Asahina, who incidentally is sitting in Haruhi's desk.

Though it's not really that plot -- the second half features 'setting right what was wrong' based on whatever clues the original Yuki could leave in the club room and heading back to a time where he can find allies, before the timeline diverges. Kyon hardly questions his realization that he is happier in the original world, and even the idea of hanging with the now-human SOS Brigade members on weekends isn't appealing. Kyon never made the wish that he'd never met Haruhi here, and it turns out the reason he's immune is never really explained -- while the SOS Brigade members all needed a past retcon to be normal, and Haruhi needed to be separated from Kyon, even Kyon's classmates didn't remember things. (Nor is how the instigator got the power to re-write the last year.)

The ending was a bit of a twist for me, at least, and it was a good read, though. ( )