Thought-provoking, textured, and touching.
Probst’s novel charts the complicated life of a woman across the decades.
Arden Rice and fellow schoolteacher Robert travel through Europe to Istanbul by train in 1977. Arden is 24 years old and thinks her “own story is the only one that matters.” (It’s a mantra that continues throughout her life.) Budget-obsessed Robert bores her; she takes on other lovers abroad and upon her return to New York. When she discovers she’s pregnant and that Robert is the father, she convinces Jonah, her current squeeze, that he is the responsible party, and they marry. But when money gets tight (she discovers that Jonah stashes unpaid bills under their bed), an angry Arden upends the marriage and breaks her husband’s heart by telling him he’s not the biological father of their daughter Leigh. Husband number two is older and wealthy—that marriage is also short-lived due to the damage Arden inflicts. Her third husband, however, is a keeper, and for over 20 years and he and Arden live in “a ridiculously oversized apartment on Riverside Drive.” The morning of her 60th birthday, Arden assumes she will be feted by her husband, daughter, and 10-year-old grandchild. Arden feels she survived six decades through a combination of luck, agility, and bullishness— “keeping her eyes straight ahead, ignoring the debris.” But her good fortune runs out that day, leaving her with much soul-searching to do. If the devil is in the details, Probst is diabolically good: As a teacher in the 1970s, Arden hands out “freshly-mimeographed copies of the syllabus,” and as a young mom, she has “a cassette player on the counter made of child-friendly red and yellow plastic.” Characters are richly drawn, exotic locations are artfully described, and the language is fresh and sometimes poetic. The narrative may have worked better had it followed a more linear path, but the story still offers much to chew over, including explorations of the role of motherhood, the need for forgiveness, and the power of memory.
Thought-provoking, textured, and touching.Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 8, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 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.
