A delightfully rewarding novel illuminated by history.
In Williams’ paranormal novel, the spirits of a historic church inspire a young lawyer to accept the loss of her parents.
Twenty-six-year-old Seattle native Emily Reed is as guarded as she is intelligent. Her parents died in a car accident 10 years ago, but instead of grieving, she coped by excelling academically. After graduating from law school, Emily was recruited by a firm representing a church in a dispute regarding its landmark designation. Her first assignment is to organize the church’s archives, and she’s surprised to learn that the church is where her parents wed. Ryan, Emily’s boyfriend, joins her guardians in urging her to seek counseling and let herself grieve, but she refuses. At the church, Emily discovers diaries dating back to 1915 and becomes immersed in the life of Elizabet Thomas, a socialite and philanthropist. Unbeknownst to Emily, the spirits of Elizabet and her friend Dorothea, an eccentric madame, are watching her and even meddling in her life. Ever since the passing of Elizabet’s husband in 1922, she’s never stopped grieving—even in the afterlife. The novel is a well-crafted cautionary tale—against self-pity, in Elizabet’s case, and pride, in Emily’s. Williams achieves a striking narrative symmetry, not unlike the architecture of the church that she beautifully describes; each element of the sanctuary seems to have a story to tell: “The pipe organ stands proud and tall on the upper balcony, like a soldier standing at attention, waiting patiently for someone to spur it to life.” Some readers may object to the story’s ending, which is perhaps overly tidy and sentimental. That said, there’s much to celebrate in this book, including its memorable depiction of courage: “You must only be brave for one moment at a time.”
A delightfully rewarding novel illuminated by history.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-989144-12-1
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Rippling Effects
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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