A well-researched exploration of love and redemption against the backdrop of post–World War II New England.
Shortly after World War II, a young woman falls for the prized son of a wealthy family and finds herself caught in a web of international espionage.
The book opens in 1954 as Emilia Winthrop, a professor at Wellesley College, receives a phone call from her aunt informing her that the Peabodys are returning to Winthrop Island to restore their summer home. Summerly hasn’t been used since just after the war, and the return of this prominent family raises many questions. The book then shifts to 1946, back when Emilia still lived on Winthrop Island. Though the island bears her family's name, the Winthrops sold their land generations earlier, and they have since acted as hired help for the wealthy vacationers who use the place as a summer playground. Emilia reconnects with Shep Peabody, her best childhood friend, who has returned from the war a hero. As they get to know each other all over again, Emilia wonders if she and Shep could be more than just friends, though she worries their family backgrounds are simply too different. Meanwhile, Shep’s cosmopolitan and mysterious Aunt Olive has just arrived on the island, bringing along her high fashion and tales of Europe during the war. While Emilia revels in Olive's worldliness and sophistication, others on the island begin to grow suspicious of the long-lost aunt and her unusual behaviors. As the accusations against Olive grow increasingly serious, Emilia is forced to defend her new friend against allegations of disloyalty to the U.S., even whispers of treason and spying. As tensions continue to build, Emilia wonders whether Olive's presence on Winthrop might destroy her budding relationship with Shep, or worse. When the story shifts back to 1954, an older Emilia must confront the memories of that fateful summer and ask herself if she can claim the life she's always wanted. With a narrative that starts in the middle and jumps frequently between timelines, Williams’ novel requires patience as readers get the lay of the land. Once the plotlines become clearer, suspense builds, and the novel becomes entirely engaging. Full of evocative, whip-sharp dialogue, the book shines especially in its description of fictional Winthrop Island, a New England vacation enclave something like Nantucket but with idiosyncrasies and traditions all its own. As the characters struggle to regain their footing after the war, there are moments when excessive description and lengthy backstory get in the way of the plot. Even so, the author’s deft exploration of many thought-provoking issues, from social class to personal responsibility and regret, make this one a winner.
A well-researched exploration of love and redemption against the backdrop of post–World War II New England.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780063020849
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
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
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