Calcified prose and a lack of believability waylay this work of historical fiction.
In Rose’s historical novel, a Dutch colonist in the New World is captured by an Indigenous tribe and attempts to rise within its ranks.
In 1655, Judah Joseph lives in New Netherland (present-day New York); he was raised as a Jew, though without any religious enthusiasm. His Dutch settlement is raided by members of the Susquehannock tribe, and after a cataclysm of violence, he is taken captive. Despite his reduced circumstances, he develops a “certain sympathy” for his captors—enamored of their dignity and discipline, he makes an implausibly quick decision to become one of them, to distinguish himself as a warrior, and to eventually become their leader. He impresses his chief, Flowing Waters, and establishes a reputation as a fighter and hunter, earning the tribal name Blue Eyes. However, he jeopardizes his place within the tribe when he impregnates Singing Bird, a 15-year-old girl who kills herself to avoid the shame of marrying a white man. In the historically edifying but literarily unsatisfying narrative, Blue Eyes flees his tribe to find another, determined to realize his ultimate aspiration to become a four-feathered sachem (chief) and changing his name to Blue Eagle. The author’s portrayal of the story’s historical period and the culture of the Susquehannock people radiates an impressive verisimilitude. Additionally, the depiction of Blue Eagle’s psychological conflict—the way in which, despite ascending to a position of leadership in a tribe, he “still had one leg in the white man’s world”— is artfully rendered. But the plot as a whole is starkly implausible, and Rose’s prosaic writing lacks style. When the author reaches for poetic heights, he instead comes up with breathless melodrama. Here is a snippet of Blue Eagle’s inner monologue after he is captured by an enemy tribe: “You must survive this ordeal. You have a destiny to fulfill, obligations to meet, a family that needs you, a village that respects you. Kill if you must, but you must live!” For all of its strengths as a historical record, the novel is disappointing as a work of fiction.
Calcified prose and a lack of believability waylay this work of historical fiction.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9798992419863
Page Count: 272
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2025
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© 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.
