A poignant, informative portrait of Jewish life under Turkish and British rule before Israeli statehood.
Kehlmann presents a multi-generational historical novel based upon the migration of his Orthodox Jewish ancestors from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem and onward to New York.
In 1879, Rabbi Moshe Yitzchak Siev, who lives with his wife and children in the small town of Ariogala (in present day Lithuania), announces to his wife Shayna Sara that it is time for them to heed the religious and spiritual calling of Jerusalem and to breathe the sweet sacred air of the Jews’ ancestral home (“as children of Abraham, we’re going to follow in his footsteps, leave our home, our father’s home, and heed the Lord’s words”). A year later, despite the reluctance of his wife and offspring, Rabbi Siev leads his family out of Ariogala on a journey to the coast, where they embark on the Tikvah, a rusted steamship that will bring them to the Turkish-controlled Holy Land. So begins a long and arduous trip, including a year’s stay in Cyprus. During this period, the Siev’s eldest son, Yosef, only 11 years old when they begin their migration, meets Chana (Chanke) Rosen, the young girl who will one day win his heart. The immigrants finally arrive in Jerusalem in 1882, and in 1886, Yosef and Chana marry. (Many years later, the author will be born as their great-grandson.) Jerusalem is beset by poverty. Yosef studies for the Rabbinate and begins drafting samples of his talent for calligraphy. He travels to New York, hoping to sell his work, and while there becomes a naturalized American citizen. His granddaughter Zipora Siev (the author’s mother) will one day make New York her home. Kehlmann’s prose carries the hint of Sholem Aleichem’s charming linguistic lilt (although only a bit of his humor), and it is liberally peppered with Yiddish phrases. He tenderly captures the essence of Orthodox shtetl–style life—the customs, the superstitions, and the mannerisms. Zipora, the novel’s chief protagonist, struggles against the strict religious constraints of her Orthodox upbringing in a relatable way, and her love affair with the more cosmopolitan Reuven Borstein is depicted passionately (and very graphically) through his letters to Zipora from Paris.
A poignant, informative portrait of Jewish life under Turkish and British rule before Israeli statehood.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9798888246993
Page Count: 374
Publisher: Koehler Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
© 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.
