Tender, if sometimes-trite, tales of Ireland adventures.
O’Leary offers two intimate novellas set in Ireland, separated by half a century.
The first novella, “An Unspoken Peace,” focuses on Conor Fenney, a young Irish American man from Chicago who yearns to connect with his ancestors’ past. In 1969, Conor attends summer school at Trinity College, where he meets his rakish, well-to-do roommate, Aidan. What results is a chronicle of concealed queer desire and grief that blurs the contours of male companionship, interspersed with detailed gestures toward Irish histories and landscapes. Fifty years later, in 2019, an unnamed, aging man in “The Galway Girl” returns to Ireland to visit the Cliffs of Moher following the death of his wife of 45 years. There he meets Brooke, a 33-year-old American woman training to be a counselor for “young people with addiction issues.” The two form an unlikely, quiet connection bounded by their limited time together as they travel through Galway for a single day. These are simple, straightforward stories that present tender moments of human connection. However, the prose is often monotonous and unvaried; the narration lacks nuance, turning something as simple as “warm stew...weak on the meat, but strong on potatoes” into Conor’s unchallenged speculation that “the cook was trying to make up for all the years the potatoes failed the Irish.” Most interestingly, the collection immediately establishes a tenuous connection between the two novellas, the first noting from its very beginning that Conor was 17 when he first visited Ireland and still reminisces about his encounter 50 years later. Meanwhile, the aging male character in “The Galway Girl” remarks that he “went to Trinity College in Dublin for a summer session right out of high school,” just as Conor does in “An Unspoken Peace.” Although there’s little elaboration upon the connections between Conor and his ostensible older self, it is perhaps this blank space between the two novellas that rings most painfully true to life—much goes unspoken, and much comes undone.
Tender, if sometimes-trite, tales of Ireland adventures.Pub Date: March 18, 2023
ISBN: 978-1733534147
Page Count: 211
Publisher: Swan Creek Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2023
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
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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