In this slim work, Pettersen writes with minimalist reticence—a remark here, a detail there—to create poignant lyricism.
This new translation of Norwegian author Petterson's first novel—about a 12-year-old Norwegian boy’s summer holiday with his working-class family—sets the stage for many of his later novels.
As Arvid Jansen arrives in Sweden by ferry, he shows genuine excitement at returning to the familiar yet slightly exotic homeland of his mother—the heroine of To Siberia (2008)—where his grandparents still live, but his pure joy won’t last. Arvid appeared as a younger, generally happy child in Pettersen’s debut short story collection, Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes (2014). Here the tone is less coming-of-age than loss of innocence. Over the summer, Arvid’s awareness of adult issues and his own complex feelings grow and darken. With disgust he watches the attraction between his slightly older sister, Gry, and his friend Mogens blossom into teen romance. Arvid himself sees a couple making love at the beach and later has an unsettling, vaguely sexual interaction with the woman involved. Digging into the secrets surrounding his grandparents, Arvid becomes closer to his mother as he learns the facts behind the death of her beloved brother Jesper (also important in To Siberia), whom he resembles. On the other hand, he goes from allowing his father to hold his hand in public to ignoring his attempts at conversation to outright hostility. While the ending stirs a sense of dread about Arvid’s immediate future, readers of the subsequent, melancholic Arvid novels already translated into English know that he grows up to become a successful if tortured writer; those readers will be fascinated by how Pettersen has knowingly or unknowingly planted the seeds of the later works here, including the importance of boats, Arvid’s interest in American literature, and his horror of divorce.
In this slim work, Pettersen writes with minimalist reticence—a remark here, a detail there—to create poignant lyricism.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64445-076-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Graywolf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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