De la Cerda sums it up best: “Being a woman means living in a state of emergency.”
Thirteen “reservoir bitches” tell readers: Sit, stay, escúchame.
Mexican author de la Cerda’s English-language debut, a story collection translated from Spanish by Sanches and Cleary, presents a group of Mexican women facing down danger and tragedy at every turn. The “bitches” are women from different economic backgrounds—drug empire heiress Yuliana struts the streets in Louboutins, and teen mom Stefi works 12-hour shifts at a shoe store—as well as racial backgrounds—blond-haired and blue-eyed Constanza masquerades as a mestiza to aid her husband’s political campaign, and an unnamed narrator seeks revenge on her murderers after being resurrected by a figure from Mexican legend. De la Cerda’s narrators have lived very different, equally important lives, but their voices tend to blend into one another. Most have a similar sense of humor and code of ethics, and many make use of an irreverent tone, colloquial language, and nicknames for the reader, such as “fam,” “queen,” and “amigui” (each of these words appears in its own story—perhaps this is an attempt to distinguish their narrators). These tactics succeed in creating the enchanting feeling that one is sitting across from each narrator, being told their stories as a close confidante. This feeling remains even when we know the narrator is dead—which does not happen just once, but four times. The most prominent theme is the epidemic of femicide, specifically in Mexico. In one of her most powerful moments, de la Cerda writes, “Mexico is a monster that devours women. Mexico is a desert of pulverized bone. Mexico is a graveyard full of pink crosses.” The author’s demand that we bear witness to the senseless murders, in all their gruesomeness, of these bright young women is sobering and commendable. However, the sheer magnitude of loss and injustice displayed here means that the vengeance secured against the perpetrators, which is posed as badass feminist action, feels limp.
De la Cerda sums it up best: “Being a woman means living in a state of emergency.”Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781558613119
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Feminist Press
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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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