Heartbreaking and hilarious.
In Johnson’s novel, a brilliant physicist tries to build a life after narrowly surviving a childhood filled with reanimated dinosaurs, runaway aliens, and mutated Mexican beaded lizards.
Addressing an unidentified listener, John Chant recounts the wonder and heartbreak he experienced growing up as the child of parents Alan and Ann, two extraordinarily brilliant but emotionally unavailable scientists permanently at war with one another. It’s impossible to accurately convey the off-the-wall lunacy comprising the first act, but suffice it to say that it chronicles young John’s many adventures before the irrevocable rift between his parents leads to the ultimate dissolution of the family. (It’s clear that John’s eventful childhood has left an indelible mark on his psyche, and he wonders if he will forever be an outsider and alone.) That the author is able to follow all this up with even more absurdist insanity in the ensuing acts as John kicks off his teaching career at a university “College of Inhumanities” testifies to Johnson’s expansive storytelling prowess. Somehow, seemingly disparate story elements (like stolen “probability pumps” and the sullen kid John befriends in fifth grade) all weave together seamlessly in an unforced and pleasing fashion. This fantastical “memoir” following protagonist John’s attempts to navigate academic life (“‘Never fear blood’ was in fact the school sports motto”) after growing up a curious kid in an even curiouser family is a true work of literary alchemy. Packed with deep pathos and unrelenting dark humor, the novel delves deeply into questions about the true nature of love in all its mysterious—and quite possibly mystical—components. One of the most moving episodes in the story occurs when John and Ann speak for one last time at the latter’s gravesite—Ann’s confession to her heartbroken son is simple, concise and absolutely devastating, and the emotions it stirs feel fully earned and organic. By contrast, one of the funniest episodes happens when Dean Pancake—John Chant’s longtime simian nemesis—meets his ultimate fate. Some might find the humor morbid, and maybe even cruel; readers on Johnson’s wavelength will be too busy guffawing and welcoming the laughter.
Heartbreaking and hilarious.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9798991428422
Page Count: 348
Publisher: Baryon Dreams Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 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.
