A miserably dull assemblage of cliches presented as satire.
A couple weathers the cultural distance between their families and contends with Mexican kidnappers in Smith’s novel.
Aron Goldfarb and Samantha O’Malley make for an unlikely pair: He’s of Jewish ancestry, grew up in Detroit, and has been a stereotypical urbanite his entire life; her family lives in the South and is exemplary of the southern tradition, made up of tough outdoorsman who prefer hunting wildlife to the trappings of metropolitan life. Unfortunately, every character in this dreary comedy is a stale caricature. Aron survives the O’Malley’s largely amiable “interrogations,” though not without some episodes of humiliation—the humor is clearly intended to be of the madcap variety, but every scene is banally formulaic. Aron and Sam wed and struggle to have a baby. A nurse cautions Sam about of one of the rigors of pregnancy in a typical example of the novel’s labored attempts at humor: “During that second trimester you are going to feel so hot and so ready that you are going to want to ride that man like a pump handle – up-down, up-down, up-down until he is dry. Just go get him. Towards the end your organisms might hurt the baby by starting premature contractions, but until then go after him like you were a bear trap.” One couldn’t possibly furnish an adequate summary of this maddeningly meandering book—in the place of a plot is a series of comic set pieces, each as tiresome as the last (Aron takes a trip to west Texas on a hunting expedition with his wife’s brother-in-law, Larry, and they end up getting kidnapped by Mexican gangsters). One must credit the author for packing his novel with dramatic action—there are no pauses in this briskly paced work. However, it is a wearisome affair, absent real characters, a coherent story, or any genuine humor.
A miserably dull assemblage of cliches presented as satire.Pub Date: June 26, 2023
ISBN: 9798887031958
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Litprime Solutions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 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 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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