An insightful and playful journey with some uneventful detours.
Merullo delivers a spirituality-themed road novel set in modern-day America.
Retired Otto Ringling has just sold his home in Bronxville, New York. He’s flush with cash and has plans to move back to his home state of North Dakota. The property Otto grew up on has been turned into a meditation center through his sister’s efforts. Otto looks forward to living there in its supportive environment, even if he hopes to spend his winters elsewhere. But what should he do with the proceeds from the sale of his home? Otto’s wife is long deceased, his kids are able to support themselves, and, as his sister points out, Otto doesn’t exactly need the funds. He’s persuaded to give the money to others, no strings attached, in an endeavor he calls his Giving Project. In pursuit of this goal, he travels with his brother-in-law, Volya Rinpoche. Rinpoche is a “sort-of Buddhist monk” who originally hails from Siberia. Rinpoche has attracted a following through his books and meditation centers, and his demeanor is always friendly and humble. The duo drive along the Eastern Seaboard as Rinpoche gives scheduled talks and Otto gives away money, overtipping a waitress, donating to a charity, and leaving substantial gratuities for hotel cleaning staff. The good economic vibes are his to spread, but the journey isn’t all sunshine and open roads; Rinpoche’s views on reincarnation and careful driving habits rankle, and then there are Otto’s doubts—is he really doing the right thing? What will his future hold?
It is difficult to dislike Rinpoche. Whether conversing in charmingly flawed English (“Want we to bring you back the breakfast?” he asks one character) or speaking patiently to a hostile crowd at a conservative university, he proves a thoroughly pleasant companion for both Otto and the reader. Otto, while not quite as fun, is nevertheless engaging as he shares his relatable feelings of guilt and concern: Did he raise his son right? What of those who would mock his Giving Project? Not even the enlightened Rinpoche has answers for all such concerns. As the highway stretches out before Otto and Rinpoche, they never know what might lie ahead. Often, what comes their way is not all that challenging: At one point the two go to an Ethiopian restaurant only to find that it is too crowded before deciding to eat elsewhere. Even for a work that is contemplative and not plot-driven, the choice between two restaurants makes for very low stakes. At another junction they eat a bad meal in North Carolina. While the experience does provoke an unexpected curse word from Rinpoche, the entire scene does not add much of consequence. Nor does the description of how the brisket in question “tasted like it had been sitting on the counter since lunch the week before and had been hastily heated up” make for engrossing prose. Still, the two travelers are real enough to make their trip captivating.
An insightful and playful journey with some uneventful detours.Pub Date: May 15, 2023
ISBN: 9798986626642
Page Count: 282
Publisher: PFP Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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