An engaging read, particularly for cat lovers, and a promising debut.
A fictionalized saga of a real-life Hungarian refugee turned cat rescuer.
In her debut novel, Caruthers takes on the nearly impossible task of piecing together a life kept purposefully hidden. She combines research and imagination to pay tribute to her departed friend Vivie Degirdro, a college professor and cat lover with a tragic past. The narrative, though fictionalized, will still give readers an idea of the resilient, intelligent, and compassionate woman that Caruthers knew. On the eve of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, 12-year old Vivie Degirdro is forced to flee a suburb of Budapest on foot with her affluent parents and young sister. All too quickly, Vivie’s carefree innocence is tempered by violence and cruelty, which they encounter with every passing mile. When her loving family is irreparably shattered by tragedy, Vivie must find a way forwardin America while guarding a family secret that she’s resolved to take to the grave. In her sojourn across Europe and beyond, Vivie exhibits ingenuity, determination, and a notable affinity for animals. She’s shaken by the abrupt loss of her cat in her initial escape from Budapest, but her bond with the many cats she encounters afterward becomes her greatest comfort. The cat-centered moments sometimes feel tonally unbalanced, as they’re juxtaposed with genuinely harrowing scenes in which Vivie flees gunmen on a moving train or witnesses a brutal assault. The latter scenes feel more visceral and arresting than the former, in which she expounds on the importance of spaying strays, for instance, or tearfully mourns her pet. As the novel follows Vivie into adulthood, the pacing begins to slow as the story meanders through various loosely connected snippets, although cats continue to be a major feature. Nonetheless, the author’s prose offers strong, memorable imagery: “In the moonlight, Vivie stared out across the distant field at the chevaux-de-frise. The large, wooden-spiked, knife-rest barriers lined the acreage as though a child had taken a fat brown crayon and drawn giant asterisks across the expanse.” Despite the story’s rough edges, Caruthers reveals stalwart empathy and admiration, not just for her friend, but for anyone who seeks to make positive change in a world of suffering.
An engaging read, particularly for cat lovers, and a promising debut.Pub Date: July 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68433-527-5
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2020
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
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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