A story of growth, trust, and friendship between independent women who find strength with one another.
In Barker’s novel, a woman supports a recently released prisoner as the latter transitions back into the free world after five years behind bars.
Marianne lives alone in the Kansas City house where she grew up. She returned to her old neighborhood two years ago and found her old neighborhood downtrodden and crime-ridden. Overall, it seems like she’s living a life that’s full of misfortune. She goes on a date with a nice-guy local cop, Carl, but accidentally breaks her arm when she’s inadvertently knocked off her barstool. She spends most of her time alone, or with her dog, Boris, until she meets Sister Colette. The nun convinces her to help a young woman in her early 20s named Stephanie, first by picking her up upon her release from incarceration for a crime she didn’t commit. “Just live”—that’s what Sister Colette says they should do together, and as they do, they form an unexpected bond. The novel’s pacing is a bit strange, at first; for the first few chapters, readers learn a bit about Marianne, her neighborhood, and her work, but it takes quite a bit of time for the main plot to become apparent. Soon, though, readers learn an abundance of detail about Marianne, Stephanie, and the world in which they live. Marianne, as the narrator, effectively reveals her own quirks and how she becomes skilled at interpreting Stephanie’s habits. For example, in one scene, Marianne comes home from her office job to find Stephanie with an unfamiliar person; through nonverbal communication, she’s able to keep Stephanie safe in a situation in which the young woman felt unable to advocate for herself. Marianne’s intense reflections make it easy for readers to understanding these characters’ inner lives and speculate about what exists beyond the protagonist’s point of view.
A story of growth, trust, and friendship between independent women who find strength with one another.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781647428402
Page Count: 256
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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