Biting and incisive stories that successfully walk the fine line between boldness and sensationalism.
Sexuality and class intersect in this collection of short stories set in Pakistan.
The characters in Sethi’s debut struggle with their individuality because of the straightjacket imposed by conventional society. In “Mini Apple,” Javed, a divorced television star, engages in a passionate affair with an American official only to find that he inconveniently develops feelings for her. In “Breezy Blessings,” up-and-coming actress Mehak Ahmed comes to terms with the limits of moving ahead on talent alone. She realizes she needs to wield her sexuality as a commodity if she wants to play more than the role of “lead’s sister” for the rest of her life. The stories are especially striking for their portrayal of hidden homosexuality. While Roshan, Mehak’s on-site assistant, must depend on the whims of his boss for his secret to remain safe, the rich have better means. In "Tomboy," one of the more touching stories, childhood friends Zarrar and Asha, who are both closeted, marry each other to deliver the pretense that they’re straight. Each understands that it’s a marriage of convenience. In “A Life of Its Own,” the young newlyweds Farah and Kashif, who stay in Pakistan to help their aging parents rather than move to the U.S. for their careers, find that the harsh realities of life in small-town Pakistan can be softened with money. Class shows up again in the title story when upper-class Soni indulges in an affair with a boorish, married older man. While Sethi’s descriptions—"the gray in Asher's hair became a mischievous afterthought, like a snaggletooth on a beautiful woman: the succumbing, teasing quirk of a faultless mold"—are punchy and the stories raw, they tread worn ground. There are not many novel insights to be garnered here.
Biting and incisive stories that successfully walk the fine line between boldness and sensationalism.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3287-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
SEEN & HEARD
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