A clear-eyed and even-handed take on the scourge of gun violence.
A mass shooting victim’s wealthy grandfather takes on the gun industry in Barbara’s novella.
In a well-to-do suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, Emil Scordato’s grandson Jack lies in a coma after being trampled in the rush to escape a mass shooting that killed 20 people—16 of them kids—at a high school wrestling match. It’s not clear when (or if) he might regain consciousness. Emil’s son Ted, Jack’s father, reacts by drowning his trauma in gin and beer. Emil is a retired Wall Street trader with a net worth of $1.1 billion who is beginning to think about his legacy and view his past investments in the firearms industry in a new light. His congressman, a moderate Democrat, invites him to Washington to help lobby for a bill that would strip gun manufacturers of their protections from lawsuits, which conservatives fiercely oppose. Emil’s guilt over profiting from gun stocks, Ted’s drunken taunt that “some billionaire financier should take over the damn gun companies,” and the realization that wealth is no protection against tragedy spur him to action. He conceives a bold and risky plan to attack the big gun makers financially by using complicated trading maneuvers to drive down their stock prices, even though it means he could lose his own fortune. The author, a seasoned journalist, writes well, establishing the dilemma at the heart of the story in a believable setting. The characters are realistic, though the women (Emil and Ted’s wives) are largely peripheral. (The anti-gun theme is the center of the story; the characters serve it rather than growing as individuals.) The narrative reflects a cynical view of the political posturing and legislative dysfunction that prevent meaningful progress on the issue of gun violence year after year, despite its horrific toll; still, Barbara sheds light on the reasons for the long-running stalemate without demonizing either side, managing to find moments of humor amid the tragedy and even a glimmer of hope for the future.
A clear-eyed and even-handed take on the scourge of gun violence.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9798888244999
Page Count: 86
Publisher: Koehler Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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