A sensitive and moody take on personal connections between loved ones.
In Wald’s novel, the spirit of a recently deceased psychology professor looks back on his life and career, the women he loved, and the tumor that killed him.
When Jack MacLeod died, he “expected to have the mysteries of the universe open up to me like water lilies in the sunlight, but, alas, that isn’t what happened at all.” Despite his demise, he’s still contemplating his life as a 40-ish, bespectacled, unhappily married professor at a New Jersey college. At the end of his time on Earth, he was suffering from a benign but inoperable brain tumor. Stoic and in a somber environment, Jack was always happy to see Eliza, a quiet, determined student.At the same time, his marriage was ending, as his wife, Frances, never thought he was ever rich or successful enough. As Jack deteriorated, he had some regrets: He wished that he’d known his two sons better and that he could have pursued an extramarital affair with Eliza. He also ruminated about Wally Mussel, the despicable head of the psychology department—a grotesque beast of a man who may be blackmailing someone and is likely responsible for worse offenses. His reign of terror also began to directly affect Jack’s life, but he hatched a secret plan with a beloved colleague to expose Mussel for what he was. Wald’s evocative novel manages to deftly capture the mood and myriad voices of the academic world; however, it also narrows its focus to delve deeply into the sensitive mind of its introspective protagonist. Jack is certainly an intelligent, if somewhat sedate, man, and his varied experiences with three different women are depicted out of sequence by a writer who understands timing as much as she does a beautifully crafted sentence. Jack’s life is a serious and pensive one, and it doesn’t end well, but there are flashes of dark humor over the course of the narrative that make it very appealing.
A sensitive and moody take on personal connections between loved ones.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64742-205-9
Page Count: 296
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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