Strikingly imagistic and contemplative poetry that will live on in memory.
This volume of poetry explores themes of parenthood, the natural world, and the pleasures and pains of existence.
Wendell’s spellbinding collection opens with a poem entitled “Portrait Chinois,” in which the author observes a picture of the artist Frida Kahlo: “I study the woman staring back, / wondering why she kept / dark caterpillars inching / over darker eyes.” The piece ponders representations of the female body—with the poet revealing that she cut her hair after injuring herself falling from a horse—and proceeds to celebrate survival. Horse riding is a common theme in this book. The following poem, “Ride,” considers the freedom and naïveté of riding in childhood, with “no inkling of danger.” Similarly, the title poem is about the necessity to relax when falling off a horse and how this applies to life’s other distressing events. Poems such as “Blizzard of Nothing” and “Storm Chaser” bear witness to the awesome power of nature, whereas “Southpaw” and “Kites” are tender examinations of parenthood. The thoughtful collection ends with “Viva la Vida,” a tribute to endurance and a further nod to Kahlo’s art. Readers new to Wendell’s poetry will be struck by her use of distinctive imagery. In “Blizzard of Nothing,” settling snow is “a crazed Einstein, / erasing what came before / to start the lesson over— / a blizzard of wisdoms / traveling at the speed of relative / incomprehensibility.” The author has a refreshingly imaginative gaze. Simple acts, such as kite flying, become effortlessly analogous to the art of parenting: “My daughter, for instance. / The closer, / the easier to manipulate. / The farther out, / more risk and thrill.” Wendell’s poetry resonates with mature, often tough wisdom: “Come off a horse enough times, / and you learn how to fall.” But among life’s agonizing lessons her pieces also locate simple ecstasies, such as stargazing: “I want to sleep to drink / from that dark rift / between stars, / I want to empty / the ladle of light.” Wendell is a dazzlingly inventive and perceptive poet, and it proves a joy to see the world through her eyes.
Strikingly imagistic and contemplative poetry that will live on in memory.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-952593-23-9
Page Count: 86
Publisher: FutureCycle Press
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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
Vivid characters are set adrift in a “ripped from the headlines” tableau that complicates the story, and the storytelling.
A diverting midlife story plucks at the secrets good people carry to the grave.
As a reader, Artie Dam—the protagonist of Strout’s 11th book—encounters Olive Kitteridge, “a crotchety old woman from Maine” and Strout’s most celebrated fictional character. Artie picked up the Pulitzer-anointed book centered on Olive after his wife, Evie, loved it, “oh, years ago now.” Strout is having a bit of fun—that “oh” is a trademark—even though she marbles her latest novel with marital infidelity, political anxiety, and suicide. Indeed, it is the fact that Olive’s father died by suicide that Artie, 57 and gaining a paunch, recalls now in his own dismalness. As the story begins, he is pondering the most discreet way to die, despite having been Massachusetts’ Teacher of the Year five years earlier. Artie seems the inverse of irascible Olive: beloved by his students; by his grown son, Rob; and by the English teacher, Anne, who quietly pines for him. But like Olive, Artie has distressing impulses—he steals a comb, then some expensive shirts. Much of the text bobs along on Artie’s stocktaking memories, chunked out in short, occasionally abrupt paragraphs. Strout’s storytelling is thinning a bit, like middle-aged hair. Then, midbook, she clobbers Artie with a brutal existential shock. In its wake, Strout surfs the nature of loneliness, corrosive secrets, and the convulsions of the 2024 presidential election. Hers is an unremittingly Blue State book, although Artie has one friend who, unbeknownst to him, supported Donald Trump. On the day after the election, Artie somberly concludes that his “country was committing suicide.” This is the first novel in which Strout entirely vacates Maine for another setting. But she sticks with Artie and, on the final pages, delivers him a satisfying finale.
Vivid characters are set adrift in a “ripped from the headlines” tableau that complicates the story, and the storytelling.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9798217154746
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
© 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.
