Yes! Yes! Yes! (This is the sound of Alderton's millennial demographic, reading her book.)
A 32-year-old single woman in London copes with disappearances: Her married friends have been swallowed up by reproduction, her father is succumbing to dementia, and she's about to see what kinds of guys are on dating apps.
Nina Dean is just returning to the fray of dating after a period of conscious singlehood following a long-term relationship. She's never been on a dating app and has never heard of "ghosting." Her only remaining single friend, a colorful character named Lola who's quite desperate to settle down, has to explain: " 'Number of schools of thought,' she said, with the command of an academic. 'Most commonly, it is thought to have come from the idea that you are haunted by someone who vanishes, you don't get any closure.' " The dread the reader feels for Nina upon reading this is borne out in spades by the pessimistic plot of this nonetheless amusing novel. A popular columnist and podcaster in Britain, Alderton tackles many of the same themes in her fiction debut that she addressed in her essay collection, Everything I Know About Love (2018). At the end of the day, the author's strengths are more those of an essayist than a novelist. Nina is a bit of an odd character—a food writer who doesn't seem to care much about food or writing—and the plot is fairly predictable except for a ferocious sex scene that seems to have fallen into this book from some other novel. These failings are outweighed by Alderton's funny formulations and essayistic insights: "Being a heterosexual woman who loved men meant being a translator for their emotions, a palliative nurse for their pride and a hostage negotiator for their egos." "I'd noticed this was a thing that people did when they got into their thirties: they saw every personal decision you made as a direct judgement on their life."
Yes! Yes! Yes! (This is the sound of Alderton's millennial demographic, reading her book.)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-31985-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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
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
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