A compelling and emotional read.
A debut novel of love, culture, and war.
In Kamloops, British Columbia, a young Chinese Canadian man wants to fight for a country that does not accept him. Josiah Chang is a lumberjack, or “faller,” with his father, until the father is killed in an accident. Josiah then finds a job as a riveter building cargo ships at the beginning of World War II, and he falls in love with Poppy Miller, a white woman. Poppy wants to marry him and settle down, though if she does, Canada will strip her of her citizenship. Over her objections, Josiah also wants to fight for his country, but Chinese Canadians can’t join the military. He persists, heading east to another province and eventually finding a recruiter who accepts him because of his obvious physical fitness. He trains as a paratrooper, the only Chinese Canadian in his unit. Across the miles, Poppy and Josiah exchange letters and remain faithful to each other despite temptations. He feels he has a lot to prove to himself and to a country that rejects him as an equal. Paratrooper training is demanding, and many trainees wash out, but Josiah is determined to be the best of the best. His unit, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, is assigned to land at Normandy as part of the great invasion of Europe, and survival is a matter of chance: “If you lived, you were glad and carried on.” Paratroopers are shot to death on their way down or get snagged in trees before they can defend themselves. The bravest of men can be gone in a heartbeat, but Josiah and his unit fight on. “Stay alive for her,” he muses during a lull in combat. He kills as he must while trying to retain a sense of honor, which doesn’t stop him from shooting a rapist between the eyes. But this novel is about more than war; it is about love and loyalty, acceptance, and clash of cultures. Will Josiah survive the war? Will Poppy wait for him? They are both sympathetic characters readers will root for. The tale has its roots in history: There was in fact only one Chinese Canadian in that battalion, although many more fought in other units. Josiah is fighting for more than simply defeating Hitler, as African American soldiers also did with distinction. All Josiah wants from Canada is full citizenship and the right to vote.
A compelling and emotional read.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780063081833
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperVia
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 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
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
