Expertly told tales that offer glimpses into the lives of isolated characters.
Andreasen’s collection of short stories presents fantastical characters with relatable troubles.
The opening story “My Big Man” follows an unnamed, cave-dwelling character from adolescence through puberty and into motherhood, before a descent into chaos, establishing the author’s unique voice. Readers witness her trading her “big man” (her father) for her “man” (mate), and later grieving the loss of her childhood and her baby, who’s the indirect victim of an extended famine. In just a handful of pages, Andreasen sketches a relatable life, reeling readers in with familiarity and warmth, and then snapping them back into reality with a gentle reminder that the narrator would later be known as a “Neander-Thal”: “I can tell death even from a distance,” she thinks to herself while drawing readers close as witnesses to her end. Andreasen’s intimate storytelling carries through 17 more stories. In “The Puppet Show,” a bitter puppeteer tries to drown his regrets with alcohol, shutting himself away in his theater from the sobering post-communist setting that surrounds him. In his bubble, life is colorful and almost surreal, flirting with the whimsy one might expect from his occupation; however, he also single-mindedly works on his craft. Depictions of obsession are revealed to be Andreasen’s most powerful weapon; it’s the downfall of nearly every protagonist as their passion bleeds into preoccupation, usually at the cost of precious time—whether it’s in a story about a sculpture of a woman (“Mahogany”), rats (“The Return”), or the pressures of being “the only true cowboy in Upstate New York” in the final work, “Warner’s Caddy.” Even in the titular tale, a woman escapes the tension of traffic by watching a flock of black birds overhead, which effectively goes from being a welcome distraction—a quiet image of everyday magic—to a devastating, life-defining moment. Andreasen also ably brings attention to the dangers of daydreaming—another theme to which she often returns.
Expertly told tales that offer glimpses into the lives of isolated characters.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9798888387320
Page Count: 117
Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2024
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
A touching portrait of courage and friendship.
A lifetime of friendship endures many upheavals.
Ellie and Homa, two young girls growing up in Tehran, meet at school in the early 1950s. Though their families are very different, they become close friends. After the death of Ellie’s father, she and her difficult mother must adapt to their reduced circumstances. Homa’s more warm and loving family lives a more financially constrained life, and her father, a communist, is politically active—to his own detriment and that of his family’s welfare. When Ellie’s mother remarries and she and Ellie relocate to a more exclusive part of the city, the girls become separated. They reunite years later when Homa is admitted to Ellie’s elite high school. Now a political firebrand with aspirations to become a judge and improve the rights of women in her factionalized homeland, Homa works toward scholastic success and begins practicing political activism. Ellie follows a course, plotted originally by her mother, toward marriage. The tortuous path of the girls’ adult friendship over the following decades is played out against regime change, political persecution, and devastating loss. Ellie’s well-intentioned but naïve approach stands in stark contrast to Homa’s commitment to human rights, particularly for women, and her willingness to risk personal safety to secure those rights. As narrated by Ellie, the girls’ story incorporates frequent references to Iranian food, customs, and beliefs common in the years of tumult and reforms accompanying the Iranian Revolution. Themes of jealousy—even in close friendships—and the role of the shir zan, the courageous “lion women” of Iran who effect change, recur through the narrative. The heartaches associated with emigration are explored along with issues of personal sacrifice for the sake of the greater good (no matter how remote it may seem).
A touching portrait of courage and friendship.Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781668036587
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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