A weird and darkly funny novel from a writer to watch.
A man loses his skin, and possibly his sanity, in this bizarre debut.
Gabriel, the narrator of Smith’s novel, is having a rough time. As the book opens, the London man is in a doctor’s office; he thinks he might have a concussion after having been hit by his teenage nephew. The doctor gives him the all-clear for his head but notes he might have eczema. As it turns out, it’s something much weirder and much worse: Large pieces of skin begin to peel from his body. That’s not the only setback he’s facing—his girlfriend has abruptly moved out of their shared flat, and his father recently died, which Gabriel isn’t handling well. (It doesn’t help that he calls one of the mourners at the funeral a “stupid purple bitch.”) Gabriel moves to the house his parents shared—his mother is in a nursing home—in order to prep it for sale, but he doesn’t get much done except drink, smoke weed, and read mysteriously changing manuscripts left behind by his parents. He also encounters a mysterious boy and girl who he thinks might have a connection to his parents’ stories, along with a mysterious man with a deer face mask. This is a bizarre novel, but not in a self-conscious way—Smith genuinely seems to care about his characters, especially the can’t-win-for-losing Gabriel, and it’s not quirky for quirk’s sake. While his prose can be unadorned to a fault at times, his dialogue shines, and there’s an undercurrent of humor throughout that leavens the book’s darkness. (In one section, Gabriel says that he slicks his hair back “like a movie Italian.”) This novel isn’t for everyone, but readers who appreciate the morbidly funny and the just plain morbid will find a lot to love in these pages.
A weird and darkly funny novel from a writer to watch.Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9780593656877
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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