A treat for fans of Nick Hornby and Tom Perrotta.
In Russo’s charming and poignant debut, a washed-up painter renting out his West London home discovers his guests may hold the key to resolving his midlife crisis.
With his career and marriage at dead ends, 50ish Bennett Driscoll’s life has come to a standstill. Once a Turner Prize–nominated rising star, he can no longer call himself a full-time artist; his paintings haven’t sold in two years, his gallery dropped him in favor of dead clients, and Eliza, his ex-wife (and primary breadwinner), left him for a hedge fund manager in New York. To make ends meet, Bennett has moved into the studio in his back garden and, much to his 19-year-old daughter Mia’s mortification, now rents his Chiswick house on the popular vacation-rental site AirBed. Instead of reading critiques of his art, he eagerly pours over his AirBed reviews as a “Super Host." But encounters with three different tenants may set the isolated Bennett back on the path to getting unstuck as an artist and as a man. Twentysomething New Yorker Alicia arrives alone, after her friends back out of the trip, hoping to reconnect with old London acquaintances. Artist Emma is also American, but her British husband has left her alone while he tries to get his brother into rehab. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Emma struggles to work on her drawings despite her conviction that Bennett is spying on her. Finally there is Kirstie from Devon, who masks the trauma of her recent divorce under a veneer of sexy good cheer. Russo’s lively narrative alternates between Bennett’s and the women’s perspectives, but it's a bit of a disappointment when Alicia and Emma check out with their stories left unresolved. Likewise, the self-absorbed hero’s indecisiveness becomes a bit wearying. Still, the author writes with warm sympathy and humor.
A treat for fans of Nick Hornby and Tom Perrotta.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-18770-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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