An overlong story of self-discovery.
In Robitaille’s debut novel, two childhood friends follow different paths in the 1960s and beyond.
In 2017, Jimmy LeMond is watching a peculiar news story on television: A shrimping boat crewed by a group of LGBTQ environmentalists has purposely hit an oil company’s ship in the Gulf of Mexico. The crew’s captain is a trans woman named Patty LeBlanc, but Jimmy, who knew her in high school, remembers her from before she came out as trans. The two shared a strong bond that was only strengthened after a fishing trip, during which Jimmy’s friend lost a finger—as well as a father. (Jimmy still isn’t sure exactly what happened during the outing, as he fainted during key moments.) The two lost touch after high school; Jimmy went to college and became involved in protesting the Vietnam War, developing a deep appreciation for Herman Melville along the way and working on an intricate digital project called Bartleby’s Revenge. His friend went to Vietnam as a Mennonite peace worker and found a deeper level of truth there. After four decades, can Jimmy reconnect with Patty and learn about all that’s happened to the person whom he thinks of as his Bartleby? Robitaille’s prose is smooth and sharp-eyed, as when Jimmy sees his mother for the first time after returning from college: “His mom wore a mismatched flowered housedress and threadbare sweater. Her hair had turned so gray he wondered if she was wearing a wig.” He has a talent for crafting character and detailing relationships, particularly the complex ones that exist between family members and between friends who are more than just friends. The main problem with the novel is its excessive length at nearly 500 pages, the majority of which are devoted to the education and early academic career of Jimmy, the less interesting of the two main characters; it’s standard, nostalgic baby boomer fare, referencing 1960s music, drugs, and watching the moon landing on TV. The background material regarding Patty is more intriguing though still not terribly urgent. For all the talk of Bartleby, the work feels more like a shaggy, low-stakes Moby-Dick.
An overlong story of self-discovery.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4808-9313-9
Page Count: 498
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
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
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