A skilled, incisive, and smartly conceived set of tales.
This debut collection of short stories by McLoof examines the expectations and disappointments of human relations.
Anhedonia, the title of this collection, refers to an inability to experience pleasure. Many of the characters in these seven stories face varying degrees of tedium or ennui in their lives. The opening story, “Space, Whether, and Why,” takes the form of a dense paragraph, written in the first person, that relates the intricate details of a relationship in which one partner asks for “space.” In “Disneyland,” a 16-year-old lesbian decides to ask her father for advice about girls. The title story continues the theme of potentially uncomfortable encounters when a father decides to take his 8-year-old daughter along during a Chili’s dinner date. “How to Start Again in Twelve Easy Steps” is a series of notes-to-self on how to rekindle a failing relationship, such as “When she calls, be happy. Relish the sound of the ringtone.” Finally, in the closing story, “Negotiation,” a couple enter peace talks after a split. This brief, 35-page collection showcases McLoof’s versatility; “Negotiation,” the strongest piece, is written in the second person, which effectively places the reader in the front seat of an emotional roller coaster: “Your fingernails are dirty and your clothes are stained with paint but that does not mean you are unprepared to meet with her right now.” The anxious negotiation is peppered with believable statements of reconciling lovers: “I want to be who I am with you all the time.” McLoof also has an enjoyably succinct descriptive style: “She…sees this woman wrapped around her father like a strait jacket.” Some may find the collection’s opening story a challenge, as its conversational flow can prove overwhelming: “I asked you what you needed ‘space’ for, as in what is it you do when you’re taking your ‘space’ rather than what kind of a person asks for ‘space.’ ” However, it’s a clever replication of how a person in a struggling relationship communicates their heightened, overwrought emotions. Overall, McLoof’s nuanced, perceptive study of how humans interact will leave readers wanting more.
A skilled, incisive, and smartly conceived set of tales.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2022
ISBN: 9781646629817
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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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