A clever but wearisome performance of postmodern literary theory.
A confusing novel loosely dramatizes Finland’s tumultuous political history.
J.I. Vatanen is a young Finnish actor, and after a performance, he’s drawn to twins M. and Maiju Lassila. The gender of the twins is apparently less than obvious—people ask all the time—but they identify as nonbinary. Maiju, though, is a female name, and throughout the narrative told by Vatanen, both are referred to as females. This basic uncertainty is at the heart of this bewildering memoir-novel, which at every turn communicates information to the reader that is often, sometimes immediately, called into suspicion. The trio become very close, forming a “magical embrace,” and Vatanen and Maiju in particular are “soulmates” from the start. Their friendship occurs during a perilous time in Finnish history—they all meet at the end of the 19th century when Finland is ruled by Russia, though with an “extraordinarily light” hand. The Russians execute a coup, however, and assert a more aggressive control of Finland, one designed to produce the “Russification” of the country, a history intelligently conveyed by the author. But the plot isn’t the point. The entire book is presented as a “psueodotranslation” of Vatanen’s work—it’s never obvious that the book Robinson purports to translate exists. Also, the book is a fictional memoir written by Vatanen about Maiju, but both names are pseudonyms for Algot Untola, a Red agitator executed during the civil war. Algot comes back to life, calling into question even his death. In short, Robinson ensures the reader is always lost and makes it clear this is his intention in the preface to the book, a literary approach with a long pedigree the author dutifully acknowledges. So what precisely is the point of deploying a derivative literary technique to tell an unintelligible story that lacks dramatic power? This question is likely to occur to the rare reader who makes it to the end of this postmodern facsimile offered as an experiment.
A clever but wearisome performance of postmodern literary theory.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2022
ISBN: 9781639885305
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 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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