A profound rendering of life’s foibles conveyed in sharp, personal fragments.
Parrish’s collection of short stories delineates the highs and lows of human behavior.
This selection of short stories features characters who face up to what they’ve done, right or wrong. These people don’t shy away from their faults or regrets, instead facing them for what they are while acknowledging what they can’t change about themselves or the people around them. Most of the stories involve a character confessing things to other people that they were unaware of previously. The news is sometimes a shock to the other person, such as a pregnancy announcement to a partner, knowledge of a parent’s affair with a neighbor, or a recently deceased person not being a man’s biological father. While the title of the collection sounds dark and antisocial, as the stories unfold, the title provides an insightful explanation for each entry’s conflict: “Things could be perfect if it weren’t for people. People ruin everything.” The prose is stark while still effectively conveying all the details required to deliver exceptionally poignant tales that will fill the reader’s heart with longing, sorrow, or regret: “Truth was supposed to be bigger than lies, and it wasn’t. Truth was small and rare, like the rocks she longed to find and own. How was she supposed to live, knowing that? How was she supposed to go on?” The characters are people one might meet anywhere, like the interior designer who decorates a daughter’s bedroom in “Amour Fou” or the married couple who own the shop that sells stone monuments for gardens in “A Spare Virgin Mary.” Some stories deliver surprising plot twists—in “Amour Fou,” a woman confesses to a former lover that she once helped her dad hide a dead body. Vivid reflections of life and the relentless march of time, the stories will catapult the reader into the thoughts of each story’s protagonist with a flair that’s rarely matched elsewhere.
A profound rendering of life’s foibles conveyed in sharp, personal fragments.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781969421099
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
