A novel that makes peace with uncertainty.
In 1889, a fire in Spokane Falls, a thriving town in the territory of Washington, provides opportunities for two unscrupulous men and one ethically ambivalent woman.
On the verge of statehood—which, in the thoughts of one character, will lessen the desperation that makes a citizenry susceptible to fraud—Washington Territory is ripe for exploitation by three drifters who, in this extremely pre-regulation universe, can endlessly reinvent themselves. Barton Heydale, a banker who came to Spokane Falls to escape a dismissive father in Portland, embezzles to get even with the townsfolk, who dismiss him even more. Roslyn Beck, a prostitute Barton visits regularly, is rescued by him after the catastrophic fire which begins in the hotel where she lives and works. However, she doesn’t see it as rescue once she sobers up from the absinthelike thrall of the hooch known as “Mud Drink.” Faux fire investigator Quake Auchenbaucher (an alias earned when he masqueraded as a seismologist) engineers Barton’s downfall and also attempts, with more honorable intentions, to rescue Roslyn, who is having none of that, either. Roslyn is not so much the protagonist as the tonal center of a book whose key is unclear. She is “a certain kind of woman.” A witch? A clairvoyant? A seeker? Or just aware that she is always second-guessing herself when far less talented men are not? The author’s main preoccupation is not with people but with motifs and issues: What is consent? Can good intentions redeem? Is theft in aid of good works moral? The prose is incantatory. Locations veer from the frontier precursor of Spokane, which Krow portrays with the sure hand of a local, to Portland and San Francisco. A prologue and unrelated “interludes” underscore the novel’s themes, superfluously it seems. The characters weigh their options, internally and in dialogue—in some sections just dialogue, like a script without stage directions—but seem to care very little about outcomes. Outcomes, the reader gathers, aren’t really the point.
A novel that makes peace with uncertainty.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-59-329960-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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