Cinematic settings, evolving characters, and an explosive plot support a story of love and politics.
Youthful decisions come to haunt the lives of Venezuelans living through decades of social and political upheaval.
Puyana’s debut novel launches with a propulsive, pulse-quickening prologue set during a day of massive political protest in 2002. María, a single mother and housekeeper living in the Caracas barrio, is home for the day as the city braces for demonstrations and counter-demonstrations. When, caught in gunfire, her beloved 9-year-old son is shot and seriously wounded, María’s frantic search for help and transport to medical care vividly illustrates the abysmal conditions endured by impoverished Venezuelans (even after years of revolutionary activity). Chaos in the hospital leads to a civilian assisting at Eloy’s surgery. What follows is an expansive chronicle of the interwoven lives of people who began as true believers in the Movement of the 1960s, centering on the experiences of Stanislavo Atanas, the privileged son of European émigré doctors who escaped the Holocaust. His involvement with the guerrilla forces becomes fraught but does bring him love with Emiliana Rodríguez, an Indigenous nurse secretly assisting those forces. When tactical expediencies and a poor decision on Stanislavo’s part rupture the romance, their lives proceed on separate courses. It’s only much later in life that a world-weary and less idealistic Stanislavo learns of Emiliana’s journey (and what his role in her destiny was). An action-packed narrative carries Stanislavo through those decades, and Puyana delivers graphic portraits of the seats of power and wealth as well as life in the Venezuelan barrios, jails, and jungles. Stanislavo’s later career as a journalist allows Puyana to convey the complexities of the country’s military and political situations, but ultimately the saga is one of love, loss, and opportunities for recognition and redemption.
Cinematic settings, evolving characters, and an explosive plot support a story of love and politics.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780316571784
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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