A formidable work that resists narrative orthodoxy.
The lives of ordinary Britons intertwine and evolve in this impressionistic literary novel.
Dreamlike shifts in perspective dominate this new work by Worthington, the author of Stained Glass Lives (2020). Doris Gambol secures a job at the library in Shrewsbury, England, after her husband leaves her. One day, a man collapses from insomnia at her branch; the chief librarian, Colleen Collect, calms him by reading from a book.As Colleen reads, he falls asleep, as the author poetically describes: “letters, words and sounds make a run for his coat and under his collar….Then a hissing sound envelops the three of them, a low fluting hiss, the gentle but certain beats of a Z.” After Doris leaves work, Colleen takes up the role of protagonist; on her way home, she visits her husband’s grave, then prepares for her friend, Andy, a grocery store employee, to drop by her house; when he does, the story moves to his perspective. In the same way one’s brain makes sense out of random events, the novel provides crucial bits of information here and there to orient readers. However, it still leaves readers to puzzle out the relationships between the characters, and it’s a tactic that can prove disconcerting, especially because Worthington employs heavy repetition; for example, when Doris drinks, the following passage is repeated, nearly verbatim, several times throughout the novel: “They make her drink. Guzzle until her stomach is a well, so full it begins to pour over the top and trickle down Utkinton Street, a red rivulet, an S shape all the way to the corner shop and back….” These are rich lines, so much like prose poetry. That said, they will likely bewilder some readers; there are no signposts as to why these sentences bear repeating nearly word for word. As a novel meant for the enjoyment of its language and structure, this work succeeds, but its pyrotechnics overshadow the story and obscure understanding.
A formidable work that resists narrative orthodoxy.Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-244-23614-4
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Lulu.com
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 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
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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