A charming, satisfying story of self-discovery and good-old-fashioned small-town benevolence.
A woman relocates to Maine to restart her life and finds much more than she had bargained for in Mackey’s novel.
Falls Harbor, Maine is the bucolic coastal setting for this kindhearted saga headlined by Sally Kiernan, a single home baker and former insurance analyst who is desperate for a fresh start after spending the last sorrowful year mourning her mother Vivian’s death, “living a half life, sleepwalking” in Massachusetts. Convinced she is destined for greater things, Sally impulsively purchases an abandoned church building with a built-in community center in Falls Harbor; amid a whirlwind of changes, Sally is hopeful she can make a real life for herself in the secluded pastoral Maine village she and her mother had always admired. The purchase is ironic, since Sally’s faith in everything (including starting her own baking business) has been swallowed whole by her crushing grief. Vivian’s ashes aren’t even set on the church’s mantle before Sally experiences a violent culture clash: Her car is almost hit head-on by one of the local elderly curmudgeons, then she’s scolded and schooled by a man she dubs “Crab” on the bad manners of aggressive honking. She adjusts nicely, if a bit apprehensively, to the area’s erratic weather patterns, the local busybodies, and the town’s uncertain fiscal future (and increasing food insecurity) in the fallout of corporate behemoth Gold Leaf Corporation’s departure from the area. In addition to the neighborly Crab, other quirky denizens who befriend Sally include Frankie, a young boy; Abby, Falls Harbor’s own “home funeral guide”; and kooky 80-year-old widower Dottie. Dottie is aunt to Liam, the “high-falutin” town chef, whose arrogance and nasty pessimism instantly spurs Sally to follow her mother’s original business plan and open the church as a restaurant and bakery. Buoyed by hopes, prayers, and “magical” angel earrings, she joins forces with the rest of Falls Harbor, believing that her mother’s coveted recipe for iced, oversized “hubcap” cinnamon rolls can save the town and her faith in herself (and, though she’s reluctant to admit it, maybe even summon possibilities for romance).
Mackey is a confident writer, and this novel, her first non-mystery, nicely showcases her talents for crafting amiable characters, an evocative and realistic setting, and an engaging (if toothless) plotline that’s accessible for any reader. Led by Sally’s first-person narration, readers instantly become familiar with her as a benevolent if cautious woman, a hopeful businessperson, and, above all, a fallible human sensitive to others’ opinions of her. A snappy edit is needed, however, to tighten up the momentum a bit to set up the highly anticipated resolution readers will be rooting for—though the narrative’s leisurely pace may be appealing to readers who enjoy stories set in sleepy towns like Falls Harbor. While this is wholly Sally’s story to tell, other voices and perspectives would have helped to develop some of the peripheral characters more fully and create a more well-rounded story. Still, fans of the heartfelt, sentimental stories of Fannie Flagg will find much to enjoy in Mackey’s affectionate world, anchored by newfound friends, steadfast community, and the blush of new beginnings and realized dreams.
A charming, satisfying story of self-discovery and good-old-fashioned small-town benevolence.Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780997208047
Page Count: 313
Publisher: Pink Granite Press
Review Posted Online: March 2, 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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