An effective fictional portrait of heinous acts and their consequences.
In MacBride’s novel, a man’s crimes during and after the Second World War cast a long, dark shadow over his family.
Vowing to shed the shame of one’s past is one thing; doing so is a very different matter, as Achiel Van Slyck’s family and siblings realize in this complex story of an unhinged man driven by a simple, horrifying motto: “Take all you want. Eat all you take.” It’s a lesson that Achiel learned in World War II–era Belgium, where he was born, and where his disturbing, violent nature found its darkest flowering—first, through various black-market schemes, and ultimately, through rounding up and murdering Jewish people as a German soldier.Given license to do as he pleased, Achiel was untroubled by his choice: “I spoke fluent German, so why not?” he notes at one point. He made an easy transition to life in the United States after the war, where he shed his Nazi past as easily as a rattlesnake loses its skin. However, his adult children—Sophie, Lucas, Ruby, and Ronnie—find it hard to shake off Achiel’s later murder of man named Clifford Ellis in 1975. It’s a crime that will leave them buckling under the weight of their own moral compromises, as one character plaintively admits: “I did what Dad told me. Am I going to get into trouble now?” Bit by bit, the story unfolds in a haunting, evocative style, zigzagging with jump-cut logic from their father’s imprisonment in the ’70s to the carefree American 1960s,’40s-era Belgium, and back again. Readers may find these narrative shifts endearing or irritating, but they’re a feature, not a bug, highlighting how people recall unspeakable crimes in disjointed fashion. The weight of the tragedy gradually becomes clear via court papers, letters, and even the prayers of Achiel’s wife, Lucia, who finally confesses: “Yes, I can forgive him, but I can’t love him.” Rewards are plentiful for readers who pay sharp attention.
An effective fictional portrait of heinous acts and their consequences.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781964354033
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Salty Books Publishing Company, LLC
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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