A stunningly imagined revisitation of an ancient past that is every bit as awful as the present.
The Canadian author of Life of Pi (2001), etc., returns with a brilliant novel of ideas.
Martel’s protagonist, Canadian classicist Harlow Donne, has stumbled across a shattered piece of pottery that opens the door to a hitherto unknown epic poem, The Psoad, recounting the Trojan War from the point of view of an ordinary soldier named Psoas (pronounce it “so as”). One of the commoners who fought the war for their royal masters, Psoas says—in the epic poem that forms the backbone of Martel’s story—“We will make good of our time here. / To take from the rich Trojans, what a dream.” Alas, wealth is fleeting: “Each man, of his pile of loot, cried in a rage, / ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ For nothing. It all vanished.” So, too, is life fleeting: In a memorable turn, Psoas, having performed Achilles-like acts of heroism in combat but taken the usual furious atrocities a step too far, descends into hell, there to converse with none other than Hades himself, who has a striking thought: “All mortals come to me the same, equal. / If they die equal, why should they not live equal?” Parallel to this imagined Greek text is a running footnoted commentary, part faux academic and part plain-spoken: Donne observes, in just the right formulation, that “in Greek epic, no one listens and no one gets along. Then there’s hell to pay.” True that. The commentary runs deeper, though, for in it Donne also relates the good fortune that once brought him love and a family and the shocking tragedy that shatters them—though Donne, who is seemingly indifferent to anything outside his scholarship, can hardly be bothered to face up to his responsibilities. The story is a powerful meditation on life, death, and the vanity of human wishes, all illustrated by a poem that would do Homer proud.
A stunningly imagined revisitation of an ancient past that is every bit as awful as the present.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781324118138
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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