An enjoyable if sometimes well-worn take on the self discovery/recovery novel.
A woman whose past is clouded by personal trauma tries to reinvent herself as a home-decluttering guru but quickly discovers the life in need of a deep clean may be her own.
Thirty-seven-year-old Stevie Green loves organizing “for the same reason that [she] loves vacuuming: immediate, tangible results, which [are] so unlike the slow, mysterious shifts of the internal self.” And over the past six months, she’s undergone many of the latter: finally getting sober; returning to her hometown of La Jolla and moving close to her mother; starting a burgeoning organization-and-personal-reinvention service; and gradually beginning to recover from a debilitating car accident. But the trajectory of her life is unceremoniously rocked by the arrival of Bonnie, her free-spirited younger sister—their relationship’s always been marked by an uncrossable rift—who is reeling from a recent breakup, and then a chance run-in with her estranged high school best friend, Chris. At her mother’s prodding, Stevie reluctantly takes Bonnie on as an assistant, and the two become a well-oiled team, helping each of their semidirectionless clients cast off unnecessary possessions “holding [them] back and weighing [them] down.” All the while, artifacts from Stevie’s own past keep snaking back into her life; she quickly learns how frustratingly slowly personal growth occurs and must reckon with the past’s tenacious grip on her life before she can make changes. Huntley has constructed a compelling protagonist who oscillates between obliviousness and excruciating self-awareness, building a complex internal landscape and allowing readers a layered understanding of Stevie's eventual personal evolution. The book is primarily narrated by Stevie, with shorter sections told from the perspectives of other characters. Stevie’s sections are by far the strongest; in general, some of the ancillary characters feel half-baked or cartoonish (Bonnie’s California surfer-girl dialect in particular becomes grating). Though the plot unspools in a somewhat unsurprising way and its emphasis on self-discovery can be heavy-handed, its core is animated by genuine emotional resonance—plus a thoughtful exploration of addiction, anxiety about sexual identity, and the ways family bonds shift in adulthood.
An enjoyable if sometimes well-worn take on the self discovery/recovery novel.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-9821-5962-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
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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