THE EPHEMERAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SYLVIE BAPTISTE

by Miranda Hersey ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

In Hersey’s novel, a woman struggles to piece together her family’s past, present, and future after stumbling upon the existence of hidden magic and a centuries-long curse.

The story begins in 1975, when 5-year-old Sylvie arrives from France to live with her French Aunt Delphine in the United States for the summer. The temporary placement becomes permanent, however, after they’re informed that Sylvie’s ill mother has died. Five years later, Sylvie comes across a manuscript, presumably written by her late mother, titled The Family Tree: A History. The novel’s second part reveals the manuscript’s contents, beginning in the year 1889 and telling of a tempestuous woman named Elixabete Ibarra. Although Elixabete’s mother, Ondine, has rejected the magical abilities that the other Ibarra women share, Elixabete embraces them and learns all she can from her powerful grandmother, Paloma, and from a magic grimoire passed down the family line. Tragedy twists Elixabete’s curious nature after a series of terrible events, which leads her to conjure a curse “under a cloudless full moon, with her every resource.” This curse carries on through generations, affecting Sylvie’s family members in ways they could never have imagined. The novel’s third section picks up in 1994, with Sylvie having just received the translated version of her family’s history. Now in her 20s, she attempts to navigate her knowledge of her past, even as she falls in love and starts her own family. The final part is a letter from Sylvie to her daughter, Esmée, to be read on the occasion of the latter’s 18th birthday.

Over the course of this novel, Hersey juggles an array of different elements—including magic, forbidden romance, and family drama—while tracing more than 200 years of Ibarra history. Along the way, the author handles it all with a sense of confidence and a clear vision. Although the story itself sometimes jumps ahead years, chronologically, it always gives readers the sense of steady movement through personal revelations that transform Sylvie from a wide-eyed young girl, eating at the International House of Pancakes for the first time, to a wizened woman contemplating the end of life and the meaning of all that came before. Meanwhile, the book-within-a-book essentially acts as Elixabete’s villainous origin story; her pain effectively ripples through the family’s history, even as Hersey encourages readers to consider how much of it is true magic and how much may simply be echoes of generational trauma. Although the winding narrative, which clocks in at more than 400 pages in length, may try some readers’ patience at times, there are surprisingly very few digressions or detours along the way. Through it all, the author manages to maintain her narrative focus while also treating readers to delightfully poetic musings and descriptions: “The fig harvest that year was infused with grief; an exquisite brine of vinegar, sugar, and salt.” Overall, Hersey has ultimately crafted a compelling portrait of family life with a distinct supernatural spin.

A sprawling family saga that expertly blends engaging characterization and surprising twists.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 15, 2025

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PARANORMAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | GENERAL FICTION