An essential part of Grossman’s vital body of work.
A colorful depiction of Russian soldiers in World War II at a critical moment in the German invasion.
Grossman (1905-1964) was a correspondent for the Soviet army’s Red Star when he knocked out this novel in two months in 1942 for serialization in the newspaper. It covers a brief period in the late summer of 1941 when Russia was enduring heavy losses after German troops invaded in June of that year. Grossman reported on the action firsthand, and his knowledge is reflected in the novel’s details of military life, the cruelty of firebombing, the impact of an order forbidding surrender or retreat. The narrative focuses on a group of encircled Russian troops and their efforts to break through enemy lines. The frontline soldier is represented by the hearty, cheerful farmer Ignatiev. Higher up the ranks is the thoughtful, stern Bogariov, a former academic whose reading of classic military texts leads him to question official strategy. As an introduction notes, this novel was Grossman’s contribution to the war effort, and the well-crafted, smoothly translated prose is occasionally marred by the clanking phrases of propaganda: “There were no people closer to him than those who had fought beside him in defence of the people’s freedom.” But for the most part it’s clear that the journalist in Grossman cannot drift far from the plain truth, including criticism of the high command. More important, this hastily drawn picture laid the groundwork for the author’s sprawling wartime canvases, Stalingrad (1952) and Life and Fate (1980). The publisher has made a significant commitment to Grossman, and this novel, though a lesser work, reflects those efforts. It includes not only an introduction, but a timeline, an afterword, unusual documents, additional reading, and extensive notes that clarify arcana and help explain editorial and translation decisions.
An essential part of Grossman’s vital body of work.Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-168137-678-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: New York Review Books
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.
Infertility, family secrets, and alpacas all figure in Quindlen’s latest meditation on mothering and domesticity.
Polly’s life looks enviable. Happily married to the adoring Mark—a vet at the Bronx Zoo—she teaches English at a private Manhattan girls’ school and loves her work. She has a protective older brother and close girlfriends, who’ve formed a book club where no one is expected to read the book. But Polly desperately wants a child and, at 42, knows time is running out. She and Mark have gone through endless fertility treatments, to no avail. Meantime, Polly’s friends have given her a DNA kit as a jokey birthday gift, and something mysterious shows up in the test results. Then, out of nowhere, a young woman contacts her, suggesting they may be related. That’s not all: Polly feels estranged from her mother, a revered judge who’s insufficiently maternal in her daughter’s view. Her father has always cherished her, but he’s in a nursing home now with a rapidly failing mind. And something is amiss with her best pal, Sarah. Quindlen’s trademark empathy is evident throughout, and her wry humor leavens some of the serious goings-on. Early on, Mark and Polly visit a fertility clinic with photos of babies in the waiting room; for Polly, “it felt…like a Weight Watchers facility with hot fudge sundae pictures on the wall.” Then we meet these charming alpacas, humming and pronking, on a farm run by an earth mother, whose wisdom will help Polly get on with her life. The plot swerves around a bit, there may be one surplus narrative thread (e.g., Polly’s star student Josephine running aground after graduation), and at the end, the author ties things up too neatly, pushing the “circle of life” theme too hard.
Though uneven, this is still a pleasurable, comforting read.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780593734605
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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