A richly detailed, if rather dizzying, tale of a spirited hero’s adventures.
The offbeat second daughter of a French mother and a Montana-born Marine recounts her struggles and romances in this contemporary novel.
In a Manhattan coffee shop, a writer named Burgess shares a table with Johanna von Eschenbach, a stranger. She reveals she has been wishing to tell her life story, so Burgess and Johanna meet for recording sessions, which result in the first-person novel that follows. Johanna begins her tale describing how she is the child of stunning Frenchwoman Marie-Aude and handsome Robert von Eschenbach, a Marine of German descent. Johanna and her older sister, Roberta, live in Wisconsin, where Marie-Aude has attained a post as a university professor. Johanna’s tempestuous parents finally separate when she is 2 years old, and she spends time in Montana with Robert when he is on leave. Her mother, also a talented pianist, favors the more traditionally attractive and accomplished Roberta. Thus, Johanna “learned very young that Roberta was Mom’s girl, and I was Dad’s.” Johanna becomes an adventurous sportswoman and spunky “Montana cowgirl” under Robert’s tutelage, at one point pulling out a shotgun from behind a bar as her strong yet gentle father seeks to defuse obnoxious patrons. Then, when Johanna is 12, her Montana and Wisconsin life balance shatters. She manages to move toward a surprising new closeness with her mother and then, after humiliating and healing sexual encounters near the end of high school, continues on to college and then a corporate law career. Along the way, she connects with several men, including someone similar to her father who also happens to have enduring ties to Roberta. Later, Johanna, facing physical challenges, experiences deep despair but then bright hope for the future.
Author Burgess notes that this book is a “first excursion into biographic story-telling” after penning some fantasy and “adventure romance” novels. Johanna’s story is certainly action-packed, with the fictional Burgess of the prologue at one point rightly noting that her tale is “an emotional rollercoaster.” This novel is a rather rollicking melodrama of “what’s going to happen next?” to Johanna, with her ending up having wide-ranging and exciting experiences, including romances with a struggling but soon-to-be famous Irish singer and a rich Swiss banker. Both affairs result in her taking the stage to participate in musical performances. Johanna is an appealing hero, not only pulling out that shotgun, but also waving a shovel to warn off attackers of a nerdy boyfriend. She brushes off being described in high school as someone “who looks like a boy in drag” by noting “my tits are small...I am what I am.” But the story gets a bit overstuffed with plot points, with two near rapes and two bouts of cancer to contend with, plus the uncovering of a love child. The period setting of the tale is a bit hazy, although texting is mentioned. Overall, this story is pulled along by its never-boring first-person protagonist, who lives up to how the fictional Burgess describes her: “There was something about her that arrested my eye, made me want to know her.”
A richly detailed, if rather dizzying, tale of a spirited hero’s adventures.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2021
ISBN: 9798778715165
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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 warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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