An intensely emotional and engaging tale of marriage, separation, and growth.
A woman struggles with responding to her husband’s infidelity.
In this debut contemporary novel, MacKenzie writes from the perspective of Kate René Willoughby, who discovers that after 22 years of marriage, her wealthy lawyer husband, Brian, is cheating on her. Kate, who has relocated to an Arizona ranch at Brian’s urging after many years spent living with him in Alaska, investigates his deceptions, both emotional and financial, as she attempts to decide whether or not to end her marriage. Kate’s story moves between the present and the past as she deals with the fallout from Brian’s adultery, remembers growing up with an abusive father, and takes comfort in the critters who surround her on the ranch (“I try to live in the here and now, to be grateful. For the roof over my head, the food I’m not eating, for the animals who force me out of bed each morning and keep me in a routine, who keep me alive”). When she finally makes a decision about Brian, Kate finds support within her community of friends and family as she learns to trust her own judgment and rediscovers her strengths. MacKenzie is a strong writer. Her evocative use of metaphors (“Like that innocent tarantula, I’m being consumed from the inside—by my husband’s love for another woman, by the words I hear him saying to her, by visions of skin against skin”), combined with the steady revelation of Brian’s secrets and deceits, will keep readers engaged even as Kate’s indecision about whether to leave is repetitive and drawn out far longer than necessary. Kate’s first-person narration gives readers a deep look into her thoughts, and fans of character-driven fiction will appreciate the intimacy of her portrayal and the power of her emotions. MacKenzie also does an effective job of incorporating the many animal characters into the story, allowing them to reveal Kate’s struggle without turning them into stand-ins for humans. The protagonist bears a strong resemblance to the author, beginning with their same first and middle names. Kate also shares many of the personal and professional experiences MacKenzie includes in her bio, making it difficult to separate the character from the author.
An intensely emotional and engaging tale of marriage, separation, and growth.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-73-542210-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Red Lace Books
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
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
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