A bleak, clear-eyed vision of a woman, and society, in collapse.
A young woman strives to get ahead in chaotic modern Haiti.
Cécé, the narrator of this stark, unflinching novel from veteran novelist Prophète, opens her story nine months after the death of her grandmother. That event represents not just the loss of a loved one but the disruption of her entire social order: Her mother, an addict, died when she was 2, and her only remaining relative is an alcoholic uncle. That leaves her at the mercy of the gangs in her town, the Cité of Divine Power, as she struggles to make ends meet through prostitution and selling possessions. With some extra money, she finds her way online, inventing a persona, Cécé la Flamme, that’s critical of the slums and attracts thousands of followers. That influence gets the attention of area gang leaders and profiteers, who are determined to exploit her social media reach. The novel can be read as a parable about the perils of influencer culture, as Cécé inevitably falls afoul of the people who pay her to support them, or as those supporters suddenly vanish. But it’s most bracing as a portrait of the consequences of a young woman’s relentless abuse, in the tradition of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets or The Bluest Eye. Prophète’s prose captures Cécé’s desensitization, while still rich in observational detail: The city is filled with the sound of “shots fired in broad daylight to frighten a shopkeeper who didn’t want to pay the fee to the gang of the moment that was extorting him, radios on full volume, each broadcasting a different program, neighbors arguing, screams of children getting beaten,” and so on. The violence is often brutal—one gang leader earns the nickname Cannibal 2.0—but Prophète is never merely exploitative. The brutality is woven around Cécé’s character, compelling the reader to witness her slow erosion.
A bleak, clear-eyed vision of a woman, and society, in collapse.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781962770415
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Archipelago
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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