Lively fiction from a fine Maine novelist, one who deserves more attention.
A stolen triptych of paintings and a draconian boarding school are the gravitational poles of a story about love and lies, art and trauma, and the mysteries of fate.
Spark’s fifth novel opens on a Maine island in 2018 as an art appraiser named Gracie Thomas steps off the ferry, ready to be picked up for the last leg of her journey to the home of a collector who’s hired her to set the value of an important trio of paintings by the painter J. Morrison known as the Triplets. The ferry terminal clears out, her ride does not materialize, there’s no cell service, and suddenly the wintry weather is life-threatening. Chapter 2 leaves Gracie by the side of the road and moves to a suburban high school in 1978 Connecticut where Reggie Rupo, who’s been bouncing through the foster care system for most of his life, is pulled out of Spanish class and shipped off to a carceral boarding school called Adalie Lake (whose searing details are based on the author’s interviews with alumni of a real facility closed only in 2011). Chapter 3 turns the clock back to the 1930s with a series of letters between J. Morrison and his wife, Victoria, in which we learn a secret about the Triplets that has been buried ever since. Meanwhile, returning to 2018, Gracie will survive her ordeal only to discover the paintings have gone missing, likely stolen. But what does 1970s Reggie have to do with it? The plot threads come together in a style reminiscent of the linked story collections of Joan Silber—while there is a substantial throughline connecting the key players, there are also characters and settings important in one or two stories, then not seen again. The overall effect is vibrant and suspenseful, if lapsing occasionally into cliche or hasty resolutions of carefully developed situations. After waiting a long time to see whether and how that secret about the paintings will come to light, we expect more outcome than we get. On the other hand, it’s a great little ending.
Lively fiction from a fine Maine novelist, one who deserves more attention.Pub Date: March 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781954245983
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Four Way
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 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
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.
With only a month left until the world ends due to a swiftly approaching black hole, Don and Rodney, a retired gay couple, road-trip from Maine to Washington to spend their final days with their son.
After reports that a planet-swallowing black hole is making its way toward Earth, Rodney and Don—who have been together for 40 years and survived everything from homophobia to the HIV crisis—decide to pack their belongings into an RV, say goodbye to their neighbors, and travel from Camden, Maine, to Washington to uphold a promise to spend their final days with their son. They can’t wait any longer, since there’s already chaos around the country: “Military vehicles in the streets of most cities and towns. Looting, rioting, the burning of cars and buildings and people, all of it had already happened.” As they make their way west across the country, they encounter fellow travelers ranging from close-knit families to free-spirited hippies, some of whom have come to terms with the impending end of the world and others who haven’t. While the story seems to be asking readers what they would do if they had 30 days left to live, and reflects on what different kinds of acceptance might look like in the face of unavoidable tragedy, it loses some of its poignancy in a series of thinly padded monologues about the meaning of life. Clearly intended to pack an emotional punch, it’s failed by an abrupt ending, and the way the journey’s mystery—which will be obvious to many readers—is revealed by an info dump in the last chapter.
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781250881236
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
© 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.
