Original ideas and strong prose in a tale that combines mysticism with a touch of Indiana Jones adventure.
A work of speculative fiction centered on some highly unusual gemstones.
In a shipping warehouse on an unnamed, remote tropical island in the Indian Ocean,at a vaguely defined time of political turmoil,a gem and fossil dealer named Craag reveals a fabulous discovery to his colleague, Wiley. It’s a new kind of stone that’s never before been seen in the trade and is therefore of inestimable value to potential collectors. Nicknamed “fish eyes” by the island’s people because of its bubblelike matrix, the gem isn’t merely a pretty thing to polish into knickknacks and beads; its embedded orbs possess strange and powerful mystical properties when activated by moonlight. A local government coup forces Wiley to leave the island before he can attempt to mine the stones, and 30 years later, Wiley is dying of cancer, attended by his devoted, much younger wife, Nadja. Desperate to experience the orbs’ magical effects, he enlists an adventurer named Roan to excavate the lode and bring the rocks to him at his Utah hospice. Roan’s mining crew faces great danger, working in extreme conditions at an isolated location reachable only by boat. Spirituality and mystery are key elements of Shapero’s story, which features dream sequences, accounts of visions, and elements of magical realism. The author only gives each character one name, doesn’t name locations at all, and never specifies dates, creating a feeling of timelessness and universality. The narrative remains grounded in the characters’ here and now by vivid, lyrical descriptions of elements of nature, including the island’s chirping frogs, wild bats, and drenching rain, and the desert landscape around the hospice; a collared lizard does “push-ups” on a flat stone, and the hem of a woman’s turquoise sari curls “like surf.” Wiley, Nadja, Roan, and the other players each evoke very different kinds of faith, and each confront their own moral dilemmas. The tale also offers a unique imagining of what might happen to the human soul after it’s left the body, provoking a sense of wonder and a lack of concrete resolution.
Original ideas and strong prose in a tale that combines mysticism with a touch of Indiana Jones adventure. (Author bio)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 184
Publisher: TooFar Media
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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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