This engaging drama offers a stirring exploration of a family embroiled in the Vietnam War.
This novel illustrates one family’s struggles on two fronts during an increasingly unpopular war.
In this fifth volume of the Jon and Teresa Zachery series, the Vietnam War is ramping up again in 1972. Teresa is handling the homefront at a naval base in California with three young children to distract her from her fears for her Navy pilot husband, Jon, code-named Stretch. Meanwhile, Jon is aboard the aircraft carrier USS Solomons, headed across the Pacific for his second deployment to Vietnam. He wrestles with his doubts as he recalls his first tour as converting jungle trees into toothpicks in South Vietnam. But the new policy is to mine Haiphong Harbor and take the fight to “The North,” which feels more worthwhile to Jon, as if the United States is trying to win the war. Much of the book is told through letters between Jon and Teresa, with her supporting him and him downplaying the dangers he faces. Readers are introduced to the much-respected Jon’s fellow pilots through their interactions between missions. Jon’s particular cross to bear is his roommate, Blackey, whose ego is barely exceeded by his piloting skills. The narrative hinges on Blackey’s disobeying orders on a mission with Jon, putting the protagonist in peril. But that crisis does set up Jon’s next chapter. Zerr, a longtime naval aviator, flew 330 combat missions over Vietnam. Thus, this sobering series has a strong authenticity regarding daily activities both aboard the carrier and at home. On the flip side, the author goes heavy on the military jargon, making the glossary in the back of the novel indispensable. In addition, there are a lot of players to keep track of, so the character list comes in handy. Zerr also places the Zacherys’ Christian faith front and center, as that helps them to temper their dread. This is a refreshing tack to follow amid the terrors of war. In this engrossing and moving work, the author emphasizes the point that war can be hell both for those overseas and their loved ones at home.
This engaging drama offers a stirring exploration of a family embroiled in the Vietnam War.Pub Date: July 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-957676-25-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Primix Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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