A mixed bag, but with many insights and small pleasures.
An overstuffed literary anthology drawn from the pages of two journals out of the University of Oklahoma.
The title comes from Octavio Paz, one of hundreds of writers published since 1927 by the literary journals Books Abroad and its successor, World Literature Today. The occasion of Paz’s sonorous phrase honors the parent publication, which he likened, on receiving its Neustadt Prize, to a compass that guided him to writers he would likely never have discovered; further, Paz pays homage to the plurality and universality that literature embraces in “acknowledging…the admirable diversity of man and his works.” This is a diverse gathering, to be sure, containing work by classic authors (Musil, Neruda, Mann) and modern epigone (Lahiri, Gurnah, Hamid) in celebration of language, books, and literature. Some of the pieces, particularly the “first takes” on classic works, are too short and sometimes slight to carry much weight: likening The Savage Detectives in passing to One Hundred Years of Solitude, for instance, says little about either Bolaño or García Márquez. Fortunately, much else is meatier: a splendid poem by Czeslaw Milosz (“Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot”) here, a thoughtful consideration of translation and cultural translocation by Mojave writer Natalie Diaz (“It is a gift to have a language that English is too small for, since I have a life that English thinks is small”) there; Margarita Engle’s insistence that, our freedoms of thought and writing being muscles, “if we don’t use them, they will atrophy, and we won’t be able to defend children against tyranny” buttressing Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare’s view that belief in literature means knowing that “the government which dominates you…[and] tyranny itself are a passing nightmare, dead matter, compared to the great order of which you have become initiated as a member.” And there it is: literature as news that stays news, that because timeless couldn’t be more timely.
A mixed bag, but with many insights and small pleasures.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781632064134
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Restless Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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.
