A nostalgic and often beautiful story of recovery.
Eon presents a debut novel that explores themes of addiction, mental health, and generational abuse in a tale set in Brooklyn over two decades.
The author pulls no punches in the gruesome opening scene, set in 1995, in which 32-year-old Daniel Zimmer finds his 34-year-old brother, Max, after the latter’s failed suicide attempt. The scene feeds into an ongoing theme of intergenerational family trauma; Daniel is an alcoholic who’s struggling to stay sober and handle his failing relationship with his girlfriend, Jill Woburn, and the reemergence of Brie Olsson, to whom he was once engaged. Daniel shares a special connection with Jill, which complicates their relationship further: When they were both kids, they experienced what Daniel calls “the most tragic event of either of our lives.” The narrative seamlessly switches back and forth between Daniel’s childhood in the 1970s and his adulthood in the 1990s to deliver a complex coming-of-age tale. The author masterfully crafts scenes to mirror each other; at one point during the ‘70s, for instance, the brothers watch a man step off the roof of an asylum, and Max remarks that if he were forced into a place like that, he’d take his own life, too. This stays with Daniel years later as Max is held for involuntary psychiatric treatment after his suicide attempt. Through this weaving of past and present, readers witness Daniel deal with past traumas. But the book also functions as an oddly charming ode to growing up in Brooklyn and a subtle love letter to the music of the time as Daniel, who dreams of being a professional trumpet player, finds comfort in the music of Miles Davis, the Ramones, and Judas Priest.
A nostalgic and often beautiful story of recovery.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781959411161
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Girl Friday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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
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
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