A period piece full of memorable characters set in a tumultuous time for Imperial China.
Cook’s historical novel follows the travails of a Chinese family in the era of the White Lotus Rebellion.
Qiezi is a teenager who lives with her parents, Yan Xian and Lai Xinru,in late 18th-century China. Qiezi is not like most girls of the time period; she has unbound feet. Although she gets some snickers for her “duck feet,” she can move nimbly through the mountains. She also has an encyclopedic knowledge of plants. While this is invaluable for the preparation of medicinal treatments, her plant explorations have led to her addiction to mantuoluo, “the golden ocean flower.” In small doses, the plant’s effects can be hallucinogenic; in large doses, they can be deadly. Qiezi no longer experiences the “visionary effects,” and her body has adapted in such a way that, if she has sex, her partner will die. Early in the story, she is raped by a government official, whose subsequent death compels Qiezi and her parents to flee. Qiezi makes her way to a nunnery, while her parents meet a woman named Sai’er, who is part of a society with scandalous views on sex; she is eager to induct her new friends. Before the main narrative gets underway, early pages involve a dispute with the family’s neighbor and some carpenters, and the material proves sluggish. The pace does not pick up until the family has to flee, and the author introduces the novel’s most striking elements, Sai’er and her group. The story goes on to incorporate the White Lotus Rebellion and includes compelling details, such as the mechanics of a gu poisoning. Although dialogue can be obvious (“We’re both exhausted and hungry and can’t make clear decisions in this state”), the compelling characters in this peculiar tale keep the reader hungry for more.
A period piece full of memorable characters set in a tumultuous time for Imperial China.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781732277472
Page Count: 245
Publisher: Magic Theater Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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