An intelligent examination of a fraught American family living through an equally fraught time.
In Snodgrass’ Depression-set novel, a man widely assumed to be dead returns to his hometown after a long absence and confronts his family’s turmoil as well as his own.
In 1935, John Lincoln Lyle returns to Furnass, a formerly booming mill town in western Pennsylvania, after an absence of 20 years. His locally prominent family, the owners of the Keystone Steam Works, have long believed he is dead, having been told he fell off a troopship headed to Europe and drowned. However, he survived, though with extraordinary facial injuries that have left him permanently disfigured. John Lincoln finds the family business struggling under the imprudent leadership of his older brother Gus and the family’s wealth dwindling. As Gus’ estranged wife Lily aptly puts it: “I’m afraid, as always, Gus has found ways to achieve failure against all guarantees of success.” Gus doesn’t receive John Lincoln warmly, as he’s anxious his brother might want a piece of the diminishing family pie, and John Lincoln’s reception by his twin sister, Mary Lydia, with whom he was once very close, is understandably mixed. In this thoughtful and emotionally complex tale (one of many by Snodgrass set in the fictional town of Furnass), John Lincoln begins to suspect that his family’s company is also suffering from fraud, possibly perpetrated by the designer Daniel Spalding (favored by Gus), or maybe by Gus himself. Meanwhile, John Lincoln begins a friendship with Anna O’Brien, the owner of the finest restaurant in town. Their relationship dangerously flirts with romance—she is married to and takes care of Warren, a man who once worked for the Lyle family but was horrifically injured on the job. Anna holds a grudge against the Lyles because Gus refused to financially compensate Warren for his injuries in a remarkable departure from the family’s once-vaunted concern for its employees.
Snodgrass displays an impressive sensitivity to the profound ways in which a family’s present is shaped by its past. The Lyle family tree is plagued by crooked timber—scandal and resentment haunt every member. Sometimes this complexity can be rendered in overwrought terms that suggest contrivance—the details of the death (and possibly murder) of Gus’ mother are strikingly peculiar and defy the demands of plausibility. Also, the author’s prose can be a bit leaden—here, he gratuitously reminds the reader a fictional tale is being conveyed: “So, it is night now, and all our characters are in place…all the relevant themes introduced…all the groundwork laid for future developments, entanglements, conflicts.” Thankfully, this heavy-handed absence of nuance is not the norm but rather a distracting departure from it. Overall, the story is unflinchingly realistic—there are no facile happy endings here, no neat denouements. Furnass is portrayed in such vivid color—or rather so sharply shown to be bereft of color—that the city rises to the level of another protagonist. The story provides an astute exploration of an important time in American history before a once-important region vanished into economic and cultural irrelevancy.
An intelligent examination of a fraught American family living through an equally fraught time.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
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
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.
With only a month left until the world ends due to a swiftly approaching black hole, Don and Rodney, a retired gay couple, road-trip from Maine to Washington to spend their final days with their son.
After reports that a planet-swallowing black hole is making its way toward Earth, Rodney and Don—who have been together for 40 years and survived everything from homophobia to the HIV crisis—decide to pack their belongings into an RV, say goodbye to their neighbors, and travel from Camden, Maine, to Washington to uphold a promise to spend their final days with their son. They can’t wait any longer, since there’s already chaos around the country: “Military vehicles in the streets of most cities and towns. Looting, rioting, the burning of cars and buildings and people, all of it had already happened.” As they make their way west across the country, they encounter fellow travelers ranging from close-knit families to free-spirited hippies, some of whom have come to terms with the impending end of the world and others who haven’t. While the story seems to be asking readers what they would do if they had 30 days left to live, and reflects on what different kinds of acceptance might look like in the face of unavoidable tragedy, it loses some of its poignancy in a series of thinly padded monologues about the meaning of life. Clearly intended to pack an emotional punch, it’s failed by an abrupt ending, and the way the journey’s mystery—which will be obvious to many readers—is revealed by an info dump in the last chapter.
An existential crisis that steps on its own final moments.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781250881236
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
