A heartfelt story of a separated family and a love letter to the classic rock era.
An aspiring musician is abandoned by his girlfriend as the Vietnam war looms in Denholm’s novel.
The 1970s have just begun, and Cal Leonardowski, a classic rock fan who wants nothing more than to be a musician, attends the Atlanta International Pop Festival, also known as the “Woodstock of the South.” There, he meets Nainsi, a girl from Dublin who is in Atlanta working as a nanny. She wants a career in the music industry, too, ideally as a promoter. In Nainsi’s Irish upbringing, contemporary pop culture wasn’t valued (“saying John Lennon’s name in the same sentence as Jesus Christ was punishable by hellfire”). The two hit it off and soon enough, Nainsi gets pregnant, after which they decide to move in together. This puts her dreams of college and a music industry career in jeopardy; when the baby is born, the couple is overwhelmed, and Cal drinks a lot. Feeling isolated and without help (Cal’s parents are dead, and Nainsi’s family is in Ireland), the young mother eventually decides she cannot bear the burden and abandons Cal and their daughter, Rhiannon. A devastated Cal is drafted soon after and figures he must give up the baby. As Cal goes off to war, he doesn’t know if his family can be reunited—or if he will even have a future at all. Denholm’s sweeping novel, steeped in references to the rock music of the era, goes deep inside the minds of the characters to capture the hopes, dreams, and fears of a generation. The ups and downs they face are realistic, and sometimes tragic, but each holds on to a degree of optimism despite their struggles. Nainsi isn’t always sympathetic, but her common-sense realism and charming personality are refreshing, and Cal’s steadfast desire for a reunited family is affecting. Portions of the novel are overwritten, especially in the third act, but the focus is clear and the story is well told.
A heartfelt story of a separated family and a love letter to the classic rock era.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798990730700
Page Count: -
Publisher: Lake Overlook Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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