An unsettling look at one man’s moral drift.
A harrowing novel traces the evolution of a fascist soldier.
The Ustaša were a fascist organization that once governed Croatia. Today, they are best known for their ties to the Nazis and for their brutal actions during World War II. Early in Karakaš’ novel, we learn that its protagonist, first encountered in 1945 hiding in the woods, is wearing a Ustaša uniform. In fact, the reader learns this before learning the protagonist’s name, Mijo. Soon enough, Karakaš reveals more about Mijo, including his plans to eventually surrender to the authorities. “I’ll turn myself in within two or three months, not right away while the blood’s still boiling,” he tells his wife during one of his furtive visits to his old home. There’s something almost quotidian about these trips, which also includes cleaning out stables and worrying about the health of the cattle living there. From the glimpses we get of his thoughts, it seems that Mijo has a philosophical attitude: “The thought flashed through his mind of all the human bones that would be carried off by beasts for years after the war.” What, then, led this man to fight on the side of fascism? Gradually, the novel moves back in time to reveal more aspects of his character, including chapters set before the war and in 1941. It’s there, especially a scene in which Mijo hesitates when asked to butcher a rooster, that the awful contradictions of one man’s life come into focus. As this stark novel reaches its conclusion, it becomes apparent that this isn’t a book that abounds with easy answers; there’s no “a childhood trauma made Mijo fight for fascism.” Instead, the novel leaves Mijo suspended in an agonizing kind of narrative purgatory.
An unsettling look at one man’s moral drift.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781949641660
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Two Lines Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 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
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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