An unusual, compelling picaresque about a queer Asian woman evading arrest over many years and on several continents.
The biggest mystery in this remarkable tale isn’t what the protagonist did, but why she remains on the run.
A fuchsia designer handbag functions as a totem, symbol, and clue to a wayward, waylaid Singaporean’s identity as she morphs from daughter to wanted criminal to longtime fugitive as capable of caregiving as she is of deception. The narrator, calling herself Ophir, unspools her story via podcast with just enough of a breadcrumb trail for her most beloved family member to follow. The cheeky title refers to many characters, but none as much as our narrator, whose chosen moniker—the name of a Biblical land full of gold—hints at her ambitions. The aforementioned pricey handbag she schleps from country to country was a gift from a beloved friend, Nirmala, who introduced Ophir—to reveal her other names would be unfair—to a shadowy world of money laundering and luxury. Although her success in that world didn’t last, Ophir understands that her existence—“I have a steely, white-hot drive to keep running at all costs in order to stay free”—rests on how easily she evades confession and capture. Part of Ophir’s urge to flee has to do with her identity as a lesbian; although she occasionally has sex with men, she’s under no illusion that she’s straight. “Attraction and lust, I understand,” she says. Ophir knows that going home to Singapore wouldn’t just mean going to brick-and-mortar prison, but the psychological kind of imprisonment that might set her back years. Her unusual trajectory has as much to do with her search for peace as it does with eluding the authorities, making this book completely different from many on-the-run trajectories. Readers will contend with storylines that include the colonial, the homophobic, and the racist, while falling under the spell of a person who believes she is hiding in plain sight. It’s an utterly original thieves’ confession you won’t be able to put down.
An unusual, compelling picaresque about a queer Asian woman evading arrest over many years and on several continents.Pub Date: June 23, 2026
ISBN: 9798217176595
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Tiny Reparations
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 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.
