Languid, engaging, inwardly revealing flights of fancy.
A slim volume of mostly anthropomorphic short stories explores the underlying nature of relationships and family.
Though pitched as fables—and bestowed the dreamy quality of such by their substitution of animal for human characters—Robinson’s tales offer less a thou shalt or thou shalt not moral than a wistful, nonjudgmental imparting of experiences gained. The first and longest story in the collection, “Leave Her to Heaven,” breezes through the married life of a purebred Siamese cat and her tabby husband raising an adoptive litter born of the tabby’s one-off infidelity with a Burmese. The message by the tale’s end is not that either cat should have acted differently but rather that parenthood is unpredictable and should be embraced for whatever it brings. Next is “A Raven Named Rubin,” in which a field mouse tries unsuccessfully to nurse an injured raven back to health—at only four pages, the story delivers an aptly fleeting look of how dreams can be stillborn. “The Beginning of Wisdom” features the only human protagonist in the volume, a boy who collects insects in glass bottles. The boy eventually changes his ways—not after suffering a comeuppance but instead from talking with a squirrel and gaining a new, empathetic perspective on the sanctity of life. “Mayor Spare That Tree” is related in theme but relatively uninspiring (unlike the other tales, it gains little from using animal characters). Robinson’s prose is simple but redolent and at its best affords enchanting glimpses of underlying human frailties. “Bridge in the Afternoon” sees an egret spend many contented years playing cards and cultivating the perfect bridge partner only to realize how empty his heart is without a similar partner in life. “The Good the Bad and the Hideous” tells how a chicken and a praying mantis find happiness together. The volume concludes with “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” in which a mallard fails in pursuing her dreams of stardom but finds solace in returning to her sister and foster parents. All told, the author has fashioned an absorbing little collection. Each of the seven tales repays consideration and the stories work well as a series, probing gently and never overstaying their welcome.
Languid, engaging, inwardly revealing flights of fancy.Pub Date: May 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947860-19-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.
Infertility, family secrets, and alpacas all figure in Quindlen’s latest meditation on mothering and domesticity.
Polly’s life looks enviable. Happily married to the adoring Mark—a vet at the Bronx Zoo—she teaches English at a private Manhattan girls’ school and loves her work. She has a protective older brother and close girlfriends, who’ve formed a book club where no one is expected to read the book. But Polly desperately wants a child and, at 42, knows time is running out. She and Mark have gone through endless fertility treatments, to no avail. Meantime, Polly’s friends have given her a DNA kit as a jokey birthday gift, and something mysterious shows up in the test results. Then, out of nowhere, a young woman contacts her, suggesting they may be related. That’s not all: Polly feels estranged from her mother, a revered judge who’s insufficiently maternal in her daughter’s view. Her father has always cherished her, but he’s in a nursing home now with a rapidly failing mind. And something is amiss with her best pal, Sarah. Quindlen’s trademark empathy is evident throughout, and her wry humor leavens some of the serious goings-on. Early on, Mark and Polly visit a fertility clinic with photos of babies in the waiting room; for Polly, “it felt…like a Weight Watchers facility with hot fudge sundae pictures on the wall.” Then we meet these charming alpacas, humming and pronking, on a farm run by an earth mother, whose wisdom will help Polly get on with her life. The plot swerves around a bit, there may be one surplus narrative thread (e.g., Polly’s star student Josephine running aground after graduation), and at the end, the author ties things up too neatly, pushing the “circle of life” theme too hard.
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780593734605
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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