A sweet, if unremarkable, book that offers a broad mix of poetic forms.
Skoby follows up his book I Have Nothing To Say, but I'm Going To Say It Anyway (2018) with a collection that largely revisit the same concepts.
In this loosely connected assortment of reflections, meditations, and advice, mostly in poetic form, the author attempts to wax philosophical on various well-worn themes, including nature, aging, the passage of time, friendship, and gratitude. His sentiments are admirable, but his execution too often lacks finesse. Skoby’s style leans heavily on rhyming couplets, occasionally to the detriment of meter or flow, although the author doesn’t stick to specific structures. The vocabulary tends toward the simplistic, with several instances of the same rhyme in several pieces; the combination of “trees” and “breeze,” for instance, shows up in no less than eight poems. Rhymes can sometimes feel clumsy or forced: “Into the water, the lake comes alive, / ducks and loons, freestyle their jive.” His pieces on specific events in his life feel more polished and emotionally resonant, such as “Vision Rising,” dedicated to his brother Nicholas; or a sweet reflection on adopting a pair of orphaned raccoons. The collection also contains several free-verse poems as well as entire sections dedicated to found poetry, haiku, and “Interactive” poems that encourage readers to construct their own found verse, and a short story about the author’s near admittance to the U.S. Olympic bobsled team. The haiku chapter showcases some of Skoby’s strongest imagery, although it seems to ultimately disregard the form’s artistic purpose. A “Thoughts” section offers pithy statements, one-liners, or aphorisms around a central theme, which can be humorous and engaging but also veer into cliché. The resulting whole, punctuated by lovely black-and-white imagesby returning illustrator Tkachuk, feels overlong, but it’s clearly a labor of love. Skoby’s style and thematic choices may not resonate with everyone, but there’s artistic value in writing for the sheer joy of doing so.
A sweet, if unremarkable, book that offers a broad mix of poetic forms.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5320-9101-8
Page Count: 226
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2020
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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