A page-turning and heartfelt novel of a group of average folks encountering a new side of their faith.
The lives of four characters are transformed by a mysterious Christian revelation in Bohlen’s novel.
The town of Angels Bend, Pennsylvania, is “nestled inside the protective arm of a large arc in the Susquehanna River, having a dense stand of timber on a steep slope directly opposite.” The narrative focuses on four main characters: Hannah, whose dreams of going into missionary work have been stymied by a tragic automobile accident that took the lives of her father and brother (Hannah was at the wheel); Josh, an aspiring musician who’s down on his luck and increasingly estranged from his family; office worker (and volunteer fire fighter) Dave, whose marriage to Ellen is strained by her mental health issues; and Larina, a journalist who’s the object of extramarital temptation for Dave, who’s tormented by both his feelings for her and by his concern for his erratic wife. (“He thought back to his twenties when he could imagine nothing more satisfying than being married. But what did he know about mental illness at age twenty-four?”) These four people find themselves linked both by the looming threat of wildfires and by a mysterious book—author and provenance unrevealed—that feelingly explores aspects of the Jesus story. The small cast of characters find their personal religious faiths challenged and re-affirmed by the tidings of this enigmatic book, even as the events of their lives—with attendant grief, guilt, doubt, and lust—unfold.
Bohlen does a very effective job of balancing all four of his main plotlines, never allowing one to dominate the others. He navigates the endemic narrative pitfalls of contemporary Christian fiction—including saccharine piety and unrealistic characters—with a good deal of skill; his people are largely believable, and he more often than not avoids the annoying straw-man caricatures that tend to provide the conflict in Christian fiction. There are lapses, as when readers are told that Hannah’s Psych 101 class describes “existentialism” as a worldview in which “nothing has purpose, nothing has meaning, things happen to you, and you’re just stuck in it, essentially alone and unloved,” adding, for good measure, “Good and evil are pragmatic, not moral. Nothing is fundamentally right or morally wrong.” More surprising are the frequent notes advocating humanistic self-care, such as, “The Lord doesn’t expect you to submit to abuse.” (This assertion is buttressed, as many of the book’s other points are, by a footnote: “Living with manipulative family members who are struggling with mental health or addiction issues is extremely taxing and can lead to severe effects on those around them.”) Bohlen is particularly empathetic when describing the transformative nature of Christian faith; Josh, for instance, feels “something worth holding on to. A soft, eternal Presence—long ago pushed to the basement of his soul.” This is a refreshingly straightforward and reality-focused example of Christian fiction, convincingly depicting everyday people with everyday problems who will be relatable to Bohlen’s audience. Christian readers will doubtless appreciate the author’s portrayal of the many ways the living current of their faith can find its way into their lives just when they need it most.
A page-turning and heartfelt novel of a group of average folks encountering a new side of their faith.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781956370287
Page Count: 315
Publisher: Carpenter's Son Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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