A compelling tale of maternal strength and determination.
In this debut novel, a young Nigerian woman helps her daughters escape the horrors of female genital mutilation.
At the age of 18, Ijeoma Biobaku agrees to marry Ejikeme Madaki, an older man who is a farmer of some means in their Nigerian village of Achi. When Ejikeme discovers that Ijeoma has never undergone the tribal custom of female genital cutting, he insists she have it done or the marriage will be canceled. Ijeoma fears the village will ostracize her so she relents. Her only solace during the gruesome, unsanitary procedure is her loving Auntie B, who hugs her as she cries out in pain. Physically and mentally abusive, Ejikeme is angry that their first child is not a son. Kind Auntie B and Uncle Simon leave for America, but several years later, they help Ijeoma and her family immigrate to New York City. A second daughter has been born, and Ijeoma is determined that her children will never be mutilated as she was. Ejikeme abandons the family, but life in America is hopeful—Ijeoma works as a nanny; her daughters are well adjusted; and she meets a good man. Then one day there is a knock at the door from the immigration authorities, and she is hauled off to jail. This gripping story—based on real-life events—may spur readers into learning more about female genital mutilation. An admirable, heroic protagonist, Ijeoma quietly does what needs to be done; for example, when her second daughter is born, she calmly endures an emergency C-section. Sacks’ fluid prose and seamless scene transitions keep the pages turning. In fact, some scenes are edge-of-the-seat riveting, such as the final day of Ijeoma’s deportation trial, during which she learns shocking information about a family member. But the quieter episodes can also be memorable—when Ijeoma and her girls meet Auntie B and Uncle Simon in America, the encounter is touching.
A compelling tale of maternal strength and determination.Pub Date: March 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-943401-69-7
Page Count: 438
Publisher: Trimark Press
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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