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
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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