A quietly moving portrait of an unexpected family.
In Viehl’s novel, a single mother takes care of her nephew when her sister travels to Germany to find herself.
Rainey Morgan is a 34-year-old widow living in Portland, Oregon. Accustomed to her grief in the years since her husband died, she spends her time seeing her boyfriend Pete, taking a weekly class to hone her skills as a commercial artist, and tending to her preteen daughter Shiloh, who has trouble with her school and the law. Rainey has a complex relationship with her sister Leah, an accomplished marine biologist who seems to outshine her. As Rainey notes early on in the story, “In the family constellation, I had been the replacement child…it was Leah’s job to move the needle.” One day, Leah decides to go to Germany on an adventure and asks Rainey to care for her 7-year-old son Caleb during her trip. Though Caleb is sweet, and Rainey connects with him easily, he struggles with the absence of his mother, certain that she will not return. After a psychological evaluation, Caleb is diagnosed with an “extra-normal affect”; essentially, he has trouble connecting with people and is prone to moods. Sadly, this condition only intensifies after tragedy strikes the family. When Rainey is offered a position at an art symposium in Italy, she must consider her desires for herself and her responsibilities to Shiloh and Caleb. Viehl’s prose is strong; her story of familial drama (which includes moments of humor) flows along with great pacing and language that is evocative without feeling overly ornate. (Rainey muses on Caleb’s being observed by psychiatrists: “I would prefer a bonfire, a full moon, an oak tree on a night when the fog lay on the mysterious land.”) Penetrating insights are peppered throughout, as when Rainey looks at an old photo of her mother and thinks to herself, “she is seductive and beautiful. I have no idea what happened to that woman. Where do women go?” Viehl’s sharp, emotional narrative feels believable and warm.
A quietly moving portrait of an unexpected family.Pub Date: June 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798892112956
Page Count: 262
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 2026 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.
