A bizarre and playfully entertaining critique of highbrow literary culture.
Marley presents a satirical collection of literary short stories.
The stories in this assemblage ostensibly come from American writers both living and dead; an explanatory note in the preface states the collection was put together “over the course of more than a quarter century.” Each story comes with a brief bio of its “author” and some explanatory comments by “the editor.” The contributors include John DeLuca, whose work “enjoyed modest readership in American middle schools throughout the early ’90s.” DeLuca’s “Long Gone John”concerns one man’s search for his son. Morris Sweedum’s “That Last Weekend When I Was in Rome” features an anxious young American in Italy; Sweedum, as the reader is repeatedly reminded, suffered from psychiatric disorders. Mareç Fonteneau’s “Yours Forever, Winsome Jim” is about the young lover of a bank robber. The editor reports that he was introduced to Fonteneau’s work when he dined with another editor who was busy promoting “Meine Liebster Emmy: The Private Communiqués of the Göring Family.” Clayton Oliver Grant, whose home in Montpelier is reportedly now a museum, contributes “The Watch Man.” In this tale, a man named Leo Gerome repairs pocket watches but is losing his eyesight. The writers and their cited works are all fictitious, right down to the acclaim they have supposedly received. (Fonteneau allegedly won the “Stanley T. Cartman Prize for Writing in 1963,” an award that seemingly references the TV show South Park.) Marley effectively skewers the American short story; “The Watch Man” is as dull and earnest as they come, offering bland passages like “Leo Gerome puts the the kettle on and searches the cupboards for something scrummy.” While the stories can move slowly, there is fun to be found in many absurd details. A reference to an “Abbie Hoffman Memorial Library in Carpenter, Oklahoma” seems reasonable on the surface—that is, until one stops to consider the question: On the off chance an Abbie Hoffman Memorial library actually existed, what would it be doing in Carpenter, Oklahoma?
A bizarre and playfully entertaining critique of highbrow literary culture.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 17, 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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