An engrossing look at academic politics that measures the human cost of devaluing the humanities.
In Schopen’s campus novel, the dean of a Classics department must contend with the interpersonal repercussions of losing his post.
Harry Hoyle is the dean of the Classics department at a nonspecified college somewhere in the high desert. When the new provost moves to shut the department down, Hoyle’s plan to quietly coast into retirement is upended, and he must scramble to reevaluate his own future in addition to those of all of the department’s other members. Strong personalities abound, including the under-competent but overly arrogant Daryl Maugham, who’s determined to press Hoyle into a fruitless lawsuit; the lascivious older professor Lionel Lash, who, as “a star, one of the brightest on campus, his reputation international,” has a secure landing place in Philosophy; the scholars Jim Sally and Marla Wells, each vying for the one available spot teaching Latin in Foreign Languages; and the hapless, peculiar Gwen Harper, whose only focus is her work and the promise she was given that tenure meant lifetime employment. While dealing with these disparate, robustly developed characters, Hoyle must continue to teach classes and process the unexpected news that his wife wants a divorce. The escalation of hostilities in his marriage mirrors the increasing difficulties that Hoyle faces at work, culminating in a dark twist. Schopen’s detailed prose limns a bracing portrait of the ways in which increasingly STEM-focused priorities at the college level affect both the faculty and the student body at large. With its preponderance of collegial debates and classroom issues, the novel occasionally verges on becoming overly insular, but readers with an interest in the academic world will remain engaged. The discussions Hoyle and his students conduct are particularly compelling, both in their interpretations of the Greek tragedies being read and the applications of those lessons to the intrigue unfolding in the novel.
An engrossing look at academic politics that measures the human cost of devaluing the humanities.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2025
ISBN: 9798886799811
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Luminare Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© 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.
