Like the magical objects collected by its protagonists, this novel is emotionally transformative.
What if people's emotions could be influenced by objects as trivial as a discarded button?
Harriet and Evelyn don't seem to have anything in common. Harriet is an older White woman whose apartment is bursting at the seams with boxes containing her collection of treasured objects. Ev is a young half-Chinese woman living in a sterile apartment who wears white gloves to avoid having to touch anything directly. When one of Harriet's neighbors puts a few boxes of Harriet's things in the dumpster outside, Ev digs through them, looking for items to sell at the flea market. Harriet arrives home, catching Ev, and the women realize they have something in common: a rare ability to recognize the emotions and memories imbued in certain everyday items. Harriet's and Ev’s different relationships to their gift (curse?) are captured by the word each woman uses to describe these special objects—for Harriet they are bright, and for Ev they are stained. Harriet is forced to vacate her apartment and thus reckon with her tremendous collection; she hires Ev to create a museum of treasures that will positively influence the emotions of its visitors: “They would gravitate to the objects that held the emotions they most needed, and without even realizing it, they would be filled up. Changed.” When Ev’s sister, Noemi, returns to town and the sisters confront their dark childhood, this plan becomes more complicated; Ev starts to realize her power is greater, and perhaps more dangerous, than she knew. In many respects the novel echoes Harriet’s overabundance, and Neville’s writing feels cluttered with characters and subplots that are underexplored. But the mysteries surrounding the two protagonists, and the originality of the novel’s central conceit—that we influence the objects around us with our emotions, and these objects in turn influence us—outweigh any faults.
Like the magical objects collected by its protagonists, this novel is emotionally transformative.Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9821-5758-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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