A lyrical, unsparing, intricately woven, if not always surprising, portrait of a celebrated writer.
A debut novel focuses on a surly literary star.
Marvin Goodspeed has found great success as an author. He left the corporate world to write a “satirical epic” of modern life that has fans entranced. Even if some critics are skeptical, his first book, The Satellite Man,has sold well. Not that the casual onlooker would know Marv is a famous writer. He drinks a lot, spending a good deal of his time at a local establishment called Asa Inman Blue Ribbon Buffet. He’ll also smash a radio to smithereens if it disturbs his writing. He’ll even turn violent in an interview if the questions get too confrontational. When readers first meet Marv, it is 1997. He lives in a Southern city in the midst of a revitalization/gentrification movement. Though gang violence occasionally occurs, the place features hip curiosities like a former gas station that’s been turned into a cool bar. This city is also home to an alternative local paper called The Weekly. Cyrus Cleburne is an enterprising Weeklyjournalist bent on trying to get to the bottom of the renowned local author and all that makes him tick. The prose throughout Buckhout’s stylized literary novel produces dense poetry. Marv’s city includes a “zone separating the immaculate staged snapshot city leaders wish to portray from the cordoned-off beat down blocks no one outside them needs know exist.” At one point, Marv reflects on how, for the average worker, “freedom is painfully incremental, a thing achieved in small slivers over expanses of well-murdered time, if at all.” Such passages paint vivid, nuanced pictures. But some of the details about Marv’s complex journey are not as enthralling. Readers learn much about his life, such as the events at the bar he frequents and the day he broke free from the corporate world. The activities at the bar are exactly what readers would expect (arguments over Bob Dylan; excitement about a baseball game). Marv’s freedom story is equally predictable (he’d “stopped not even to clean out his desk”). Readers will instead be interested in finding out where the truculent protagonist will eventually land. After all, the ’90s won’t last forever. What will the future hold for a wild genius like Marv?
A lyrical, unsparing, intricately woven, if not always surprising, portrait of a celebrated writer.Pub Date: April 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63649-576-7
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2021
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
SEEN & HEARD
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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