An outlandish tale of self-identity that ably ridicules modern life and its conventions.
In Latour’s satire, a tech-hating man in the modern world reflects on his past transgressions.
Charles Rochambeau feels he was “born into the wrong century.” He abhors social media and smartphones and is steadfastly apolitical. He’s perfectly suited to his job as a majordomo for wealthy Madame Beatrice Wolcott’s estate in New York state. More specifically, he’s the Bargain Shopper—a “Certified Professional Shopper” who scores massive savings for Beatrice at physical stores, never making purchases online. Charles’ narration also contains his “confessions.” Although he’s the descendent of a celebrated French military figure, his privileged youth ultimately hit a few snags. His father’s bad investments, for starters, forced him to drop out of the Taft School in Connecticut. As a “teenager with nowhere to go,” Charles found himself entangled with a mobster type who roped him into making regular cocaine drop-offs. What the young man aimed for, however, was realizing the American dream, and he believed that his next inevitable step was pursuing higher education. Since he was a high school dropout, Charles finagled his way into college without having to officially register. Of course, as Charles later learned between bouts of tracking down deals in stores, Beatrice and her family members have their share of alarming secrets as well. And just because he has steady employment and a trustworthy boss doesn’t mean his life has gotten any easier. As a self-appointed “Soldier of Truth,” the confessions in these pages are meant to be some form of redemption, but digging into the past may instead drive Charles to a truth he won’t willingly accept.
Latour’s story, at times, comes across as a random series of misadventures without a cohesive plot to connect them. In addition, some major developments hardly affect Charles—most notably Covid-19 restrictions cutting off access to his in-store bargain shopping; Beatrice simply asks him if he wants to be laid off, which he declines. However, Charles’ intellectual storytelling brims with quotes from such figures as Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats, coupled with hearty cynicism and unabashedly lowbrow humor. Intriguingly, Charles avoids leaning one particular way on most issues; for example, he takes an “agnostic stance” on religion and also commends aspects of Christianity, and he scoffs at Covid-19 restrictions as well as people who don’t take the pandemic seriously. Although Charles is definitely not a very likable guy, he will sometimes earn readers’ sympathy, especially regarding his relationship with Beatrice; he unquestionably cares for her well-being and is therefore wary of her closeness to a married friend. The story delivers comical asides throughout, from a store canceling Charles’ credit card after deeming him an “unprofitable customer” to his business ideas, such as a grilled-cheese–themed restaurant franchise and an unorthodox Covid-19 test. The final act takes a surprising and genuinely intriguing turn as revelations come to light. It’s the type of ending that may lead readers to reexamine what they’ve just read and better accept the book’s occasional disjointedness.
An outlandish tale of self-identity that ably ridicules modern life and its conventions.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781736534700
Page Count: 204
Publisher: Bridlegoose Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.
Stockett heads to Mississippi for another historical novel about feisty women.
This time, perhaps recalling criticisms of cultural appropriation in The Help (2009), she sticks to feisty white women, with one exception. The setting is Oxford in 1933. For two miserable years, 11-year-old Meg has lived in “the Orphan,” a county asylum for parentless girls. Chairlady Garnett—a villain so one-note she’d twirl a mustache if she had one—makes it her mission to ostracize the older girls she deems unadoptable, stigmatizing them as offspring of the “feebleminded” mothers who abandoned them. She particularly has it in for smart, sassy Meg, who refuses to believe her mother’s mysterious disappearance was deliberate. Elsewhere in Oxford, Birdie Calhoun comes to visit her sister Frances, who married a wealthy banker, to ask for money on behalf of their mother and grandmother back in Footely. Frances isn’t thrilled by this reminder of her impoverished small-town origins. But she’s trying to climb up in Oxford society by volunteering at the Orphan, the asylum’s books need to be done before the state inspector shows up in a few weeks, and Birdie is a bookkeeper. Having neatly arranged to keep Birdie in town and draw these two storylines together, Stockett goes on to spin a compulsively readable yarn with enough plot for a half-dozen novels. Birdie and Meg become friends, Meg is adopted despite Garnett’s best efforts, Meg’s mother turns up at the Orphan demanding to know where her child is—and that’s less than a quarter of the way through a long, winding narrative that keeps piling on more dramatic developments until all loose ends are neatly, if hastily, wrapped up in the final pages. Stockett might be making a point about Southern women facing facts and standing up for themselves, but mostly this is just a satisfyingly twisty tale that should make a great miniseries.
Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781954118812
Page Count: 656
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Simply charming.
A lovable gaggle of competitive quilters attempts to defy the odds.
The ladies of the Ogden Quilters Association are gearing up for another Simpton Family Quilting Extravaganza, and this year’s nationwide competition is extra special: It’s taking place just an hour away in Smithfield, Utah. For Betty Lou Dearden, OQA’s leader and most faithful member, who never misses a Wednesday quilting night and delights in reading the bylaws, this is a dream come true—a chance to put Utah quilting on the map. But beneath her bubbly surface, Betty Lou is struggling—longtime member Leera Smeeth has been passive aggressively shooting down Betty Lou’s ideas and attacking her sense of self for years (see: a particularly biting comment about her beloved peach bathroom); her children rarely visit; and her husband’s health is declining. And to top it off, OQA is down a member since Terry Blackfoot left following the oft-referenced but never explained “needle incident.” OQA’s remaining members—flighty but lovable Lucy Jones; dependable Diane Williams and her roommate, Alice Flagstaff; and innovative Candace Braithwaite—need more support. Enter Byron Grant, a gay sewing store manager who deals in rumor and gossip as much as in thread and batting, and his best friend, shy, artistic Rob, both younger than the youngest OQA member by about 30 years. Don’t worry, there’s nothing in the bylaws expressly prohibiting men. And so this quirky group of artisans attempts to dethrone the always-winning, clearly evil Logan Quilters Society (“We don’t hate anyone!...We just don’t prefer to associate with cheaters”), all the while wrestling with interpersonal conflict, trauma, and, let’s face it, a few tacky ideas. The plot is silly and largely predictable, but McCann’s prose is bursting at the seams with humor and genuinely tender, touching moments. You’ll root for these misfits from Page 1.
Simply charming.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798890920461
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Torrey House Press
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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