A tediously proselytizing novel, more a political editorial than a dramatic work of literature.
A group of cranky retirees rallies against political correctness in Zerr’s novel.
Gregory George “Notso” Normal, an 80-year-old man, meets his aging confreres every week at the American Legion to drink beer and exchange cantankerous complaints. Gregory’s friends are no longer keeping their critical views to themselves—Hiram, Norb, Del, Oscar, and Ollie propose the establishment of a fraternal group designed to proclaim their judgments to the world, specifically taking aim at what they see as the ubiquitous regimen of political correctness that renders common sense an “absent virtue.” They call themselves the Curmudgeonly Old Poops and appoint Gregory the historian and “Dispatch drafter,” the one to pen their weekly grievances and post them online. Their creed is simple: The “world is going to hell in a handbasket and is hell-bent-for-election to get there,” and “There IS something we can do about it.” COP rustles some feathers—Gregory and his wife, Jolene, receive threats—but the membership expands, as does a mandatory group reading list. The narrative angles for a somewhat banal lesson in civic moderation, as concisely if unspectacularly summarized by Gregory: “We need to remember what we’re trying to do with our Dispatches, which is to bridge the chasm dividing Americans into hard-over, uncompromising camps. We are trying to change people’s behavior, and we will have to deal with tough subjects to have a chance to accomplish our goal.” The novel has a lightly humorous tone—there is something irrepressibly endearing about the combination of splenetic grumpiness and old-fashioned prudence that characterizes the protagonists. However, the entire work has a gratingly didactic quality—this is less a dramatic novel than a platform for cultural commentary. The author’s condescension is only exacerbated by the banality of the novel’s insights (“Before you tell others how to act, examine your own behavior”). Zerr’s work is cute and tender, but that does not compensate for the book’s hectoring tone.
A tediously proselytizing novel, more a political editorial than a dramatic work of literature.Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9781957676418
Page Count: 262
Publisher: Primix Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
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