Compassion anchors a young theologian in this thoughtful tale.
A growing Twitter account provokes a papal inquiry in Parish’s novel.
Religion can engender feelings of anxiety about the constraints of church doctrine as followers mature into their understandings about life and the world. For Paolo Venticinque, an Italian seminarian working as a Jesuit high school teacher, those constraints don’t cause him to question his faith but to wonder how his faith can work beyond them. When Venticinque is sent to Jerusalem to interview men at a mental health institution, he is on a mission of “brand management,” as his superior, Bishop Giuseppe Malatesta, puts it. A Twitter account that has racked up 2.5 million followers and counting is being run by an unknown poster claiming to be the returned Jesus Christ. The men Paolo interviews have been “afflicted with a psychosis called The Jerusalem Syndrome,” so they’re all considered suspects who might be responsible for the account. While Malatesta deems the tweets a threat to the Catholic Church, Paolo questions the bishop’s assessment, because the posts are preaching compassion and unity. After speaking to the men and sharing his thoughts about his findings with his neighbor, Shirin, his mother, Leonella, and an inspector by the name of Viterbo, things don’t seem to add up. With a deft hand, Parish weaves into this religious thriller facts of historical relevance, sumptuous descriptions of regional foods (and the ritualistic attitudes that go along with them), and an admiring attentiveness in the depictions of his women characters. In the latter part of the book, however, the pacing falls into a less exciting rhythm as the narrative somewhat neatly wraps up loose ends rather than continuing to carry on the heightened sense of intrigue that significantly bolstered the earlier sections. Still, Parish has crafted a prescient and thoughtfully weighty story that reflects on religion’s effect on relationships and communities.
Compassion anchors a young theologian in this thoughtful tale.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9798891321939
Page Count: 364
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2024
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
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
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