A gritty, action-packed, but uneven war tale.
In this historical novel, an American soldier braves the perils of World War I in France and falls in love with a nurse.
Sam McCormick tragically loses both his parents when the Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat; they were sailing to England to visit relatives. Hungry for vengeance, he joins the National Guard in 1916 in Wellsville, Ohio, and soon finds himself on the war’s front lines in France, an infantryman who is part of the Rainbow Division. Now a sergeant, Sam is repeatedly exposed to the “terrifying trip into hell” that is combat and the despairing “orgy of death” that is war. He suffers multiple gunshot wounds and a mustard gas attack and twice finds himself sent to a field hospital. The first time, he meets beautiful French nurse Marie Petit and all but instantly falls in love with her. They maintain an epistolary romance conducted under the bleak specter of the war’s uncertainty. In this series opener, Freeland deftly captures the reality of the “life of a front-line doughboy” and the nearly indescribable grimness of a war that seemed interminable. The author clearly aims for literal realism—depicting a field hospital in Château-Thierry, he evokes “the odor of dead and decaying men” as well as the moans and cries of frightened, desolate soldiers. In addition, the plot marches along at a relentless pace—Sam sees plenty of action, with his military adventures culminating in the “monumental battle of the Meuse-Argonne.” But this is a familiar story that rarely departs from the formulas of the genre. For readers with even a cursory knowledge of novels depicting modern wars, there is not much that’s original here. Moreover, the author’s writing is sometimes bland, and the book strikes an earnest, sentimental tone. At one point, musing about Marie, the protagonist thinks: “I’ve never felt this way about a woman before and have no idea how to deal with my feelings. This is not going to be easy!”
A gritty, action-packed, but uneven war tale.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-954000-40-7
Page Count: 394
Publisher: Publish Authority
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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