Picturing the Wreck is the 3rd book by Dani Shapiro. This one is about a Holocaust survivor searching for his long-lost son.
Solomon Grossman, a Holocaust survivor, is a psychoanalyst who lives in New York. He’s been searching for his estranged son, Daniel, for decades.
One day, Solomon sees Daniel on the national news at the site of a plane crash in Los Angeles, so he hops directly on a plane to catch him before it’s too late. When Solomon embarks on his journey, he shares precious memories about his son and about Katrina Volk—a former patient from 30 years ago with whom he had a sexual relationship.
The author switches seamlessly between past and present to tell Solomon’s story. We learn how the events in his life have shaped the person he ultimately becomes.
Dani Shapiro is poetic, as always. She tells a beautiful story in Picturing the Wreck, though it does get slow and wearisome at times. However, it might seem slow only because the story moves at Solomon’s slow, languid pace, which is agonizingly parallel to his actual persona.
I like how the author’s writing in this one brought me intimately close to Solomon. It was incredibly easy to picture his surroundings and see his memories as clearly as if we were the ones who experienced them. His tale of loss is sad and depressing.
Picturing the Wreck is certainly melancholy, but vibrant nonetheless, in its own special way.
My favorite books I’ve reviewed by Dani Shapiro are Black & White (2007) and Family History (2003).
Other books by this author include:
- Signal Fires (2022)
- Playing with Fire (1990)
- Fugitive Blue (1992)
What did you think of Picturing the Wreck?
Last Updated on January 20, 2026 by Sarah Ann
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