This beautifully written debut lands in the middle of a debate about representation in American literature.
A picaresque romance set in contemporary Haiti.
Zo is a child when a professor tells him that, as a penniless orphan in the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, he might be “the poorest man in the Western world.” Zo is certainly poor, but he is enterprising, willing to do any work that pays. Eventually, he discovers that his capacity to divine what women need is, perhaps, his truest vocation. He’s working a construction job when he gets his first glimpse of his employer’s daughter. What follows is a story of star-crossed romance threatened by class and—eventually—the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. Miller’s writing is vivid and engaging, filled with richly imagined scenes and fully formed characters. Zo is an easy protagonist to root for, and Anaya makes for a pleasingly complex foil and partner. She is a real, contemporary woman while Zo—a poor orphan who grows into a man of prodigious strength and sexual prowess—is like a figure from legend. The knowledge that Miller is a white man from the United States writing about black people in Haiti may affect how some readers react to this novel. The depiction of Zo as a spectacular physical specimen—an indefatigable lover and superhuman laborer—becomes complicated when framed within the history of white people talking about black bodies. In a lengthy author’s note, Miller explains that he became acquainted with Haiti when he traveled there to work as an EMT in the aftermath of the earthquake he writes about. He thanks numerous Haitians he got to know at that time. He asserts that he “is not a Haiti expert” while praising Haitian authors. The fact remains that Miller is a white man from the United States writing about black people in Haiti at a moment when authors, readers, publishers, and critics are talking about who should tell whose stories—and, just as importantly, who gets generous advances and the prestige of publishing with legacy houses. To the extent that this novel gains critical and popular attention, this is almost certainly going to be a factor in its reception.
This beautifully written debut lands in the middle of a debate about representation in American literature.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-101-87412-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
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
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
