Brilliant, unsparing examinations of the human condition in all its variety.
Short fiction by the writer best known for her Merchant Ivory screenplays and the Booker Prize–winning novel Heat and Dust.
Born in Germany in 1927, Jhabvala fled with her parents to England in 1939; she married and moved to India at 24, then relocated to New York 24 years later. Explaining the title of this collection in an introduction, she describes herself as “a writer without any ground of being out of which to write…a cuckoo forever insinuating myself into other’s nests.” This gift is evident in 17 stories distinguished by a sharp eye for character and revealing details. The chronological organization (1957 to 2011) spotlights shifting subject matter that reflects Jhabvala’s transnational odyssey. The first six are immersed in Indian culture with authority and sensitivity; “Lekha,” “Better Than Dead,” and “The Elected” are notable for the implicit social criticism in their portraits of unhappy wives. “A Birthday in London” and “Wedding Preparations” shift the scene to Britain while evincing the same gimlet eye and brilliant ear for speech patterns. These pieces set the stage for the remarkable ones that follow. Some examine the complex interactions between expatriate Europeans and Indians (“In Love With a Beautiful Girl,” “An Indian Citizen,” “Foreign Wives,” “A Very Special Fate”). Others delineate New York lives: The love affair of “An Intellectual Girl and an Eminent Artiste” depicts a cultural chasm that sex does little to close; “Commensurate Happiness” and “Grandmother” feature stinging portraits of breathtakingly selfish people preying on the kinder-hearted. The chilling final story, “Aphrodisiac,” takes selfishness to a whole new level in its tale of a naïve Cambridge graduate and aspiring novelist who returns to New Delhi and becomes enmeshed in the shameless manipulations of his brother’s wife. Despite all the bad behavior on display, the acuity of Jhabvala’s observations and the clarity of her prose make this collection exhilarating rather than depressing.
Brilliant, unsparing examinations of the human condition in all its variety.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781640097360
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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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