Astutely written, with the perfect balance among humor, heartbreak, and understanding.
A novel that takes back shame while packing a funny and poignant punch.
Political wife Kathleen Held returns early from a trip to discover her garage is on fire, and her husband and his mistress are the source of the heat. Both her reaction and, incidentally, the deep red stain from some leaked menstrual blood are captured on video and instantly shared around the globe. Kathleen, a production editor in book publishing by trade, is used to being invisible, but her face has become that of the #YesWeBleed movement, photo edited onto Rosie the Riveter posters and memes and submemes and gifs and hashtags in a brilliant satire of an internet culture that falls somewhere between the honesty of #MeToo and the outrage of "Grab 'em by the pussy." Kathleen is horrified and tries to hide until two things happen: She intercepts an invitation meant for her husband to the Society of Shame, a salon for the scandalous run by disgraced bestselling author Danica Bellevue; and her 12-year-old daughter, Aggie, is pelted with maxi pads. Aggie fights back by embracing the period movement even though her involvement could wreak havoc on her father's Senate campaign and her own social life. Seeing her daughter's bravery, Kathleen realizes she's chosen to disappear rather than face possible disappointment, that she's pushed aside her own wants and needs since having been rejected for her literary novel decades before. Urged by her cohort in the society, Kathleen decides to lean into the embarrassing-but-essential period-based spotlight, generating media and keynotes, hashtags, hate mail, and a high-six-figure book deal. But she starts to realize the attention and social media storm are making her lose sight of what's important to her and must decide if the risk is worth the cost of her values. The humor gets its teeth from author Roper's eye for just the right details, like the moment when Kathleen is on a solo road trip and plays her favorite college songs from Alanis Morissette and the Indigo Girls. Resist skipping ahead, but the last page cements the work’s heart.
Astutely written, with the perfect balance among humor, heartbreak, and understanding.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780593468760
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Anchor
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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
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