An impressive evocation of a time and place.
Derring-do and skullduggery abound in Dureaux-Russell’s historical novel of the Jazz Age.
The year is 1925 and the setting is Daytona Beach. Elmer (Elm) Darrell was an aviator in the Great War—an ace, in fact. Humboldt (Bolt) Bratka, who did not serve, is making a name for himself in auto racing. Raw and taciturn Elm was a farm kid; darkly handsome (Gary Cooper, meet Rudolph Valentino) Bolt comes from faded aristocracy. They meet at an exhibition pitting plane against race car and are immediately, almost electrically, attracted to each another. The narrative then introduces Lady Veronica (Roni) Van De Vord (the aristocratic name says it all). She is also a race car driver, and a model as well—she’s a vixen and a spitfire who knows Elm and Bolt probably better than they know themselves. These three and their coterie are creatures of the Roaring ’20s, disillusioned and out for a good time. They carouse almost past human endurance, and to top it off, Bolt intends to set a new world speed record on the famous sands of Daytona Beach while Elm aims to set an altitude record. Of course, it’s the Prohibition era, so throw in rum-running and the mob. This is Dureaux-Russell’s debut novel and readers may hope for sequels (Elm and Bolt and Roni in Hollywood?). The author endeavors to make the story a believable period piece, including details of the planes and cars involved, and of the speakeasy scene, with its passwords, cross-dressing emcees, and gin drinkers gyrating to the Black Bottom. Some anachronistic expressions slip in (does the wisecracking formulation of “And this concerns me, why?” really go back 100 years?), but he makes good use of period songs that reflect the ongoing action. Roni pithily sums up the ethos: “The war is over and it’s damn time to have some fun!” It’s the philosophy of the moochers who show up at Gatsby’s wild parties, hangovers be damned.
An impressive evocation of a time and place.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9798218236649
Page Count: 322
Publisher: IngramSpark
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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