A streamlined, satisfying set of works about love and loss.
A collection of poems that chronicle a relationship from sweet beginning to bitter end.
Woodman begins this book with “Vermillion Suit,” a poem about a first date, involving a pediatrician and pinot grigio. Soon, however, the speaker’s autonomy and desires begin to fade as her partner’s routines and preferences take precedence. The union deteriorates further in “No More Sugar” as the author wonders, “What happened to bourbon / after theater, ice cream and TV?” Eventually, she laments that “Sex fails,” explaining that there’s “no carnal rise for a body stone-still.” The Covid-19 pandemic complicates the breakup in “2020 Upheaval,” resulting in Zoom-based court proceedings in “Digital Divorce.” The speaker relishes alone time in “What I Learned in Australia” and reminisces about a former lover, but by the next poem, “Fish Hearth,” she ruminates on that lover’s indiscretion and her devastation. She revisits a terrifying emergency room visit in “Heart Failure,” pledging “As long as I have strength / to hold us both up, we’re ok.” The speaker reveals her truths—being dangerously underweight, having an abortion, drinking vodka on the sly—in “Secrets I Tell Myself.” She concludes with a “Divorce Prayer,” wishing everyone fulfillment and joy. Throughout, the poet cites inspiration from literary legends such as Elizabeth Bishop, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, and William Carlos Williams, among others. Woodman’s strengths lie in her inventive use of language, as in the passage “First impressions crossed our foreheads, / questions circled our ears” and descriptions of the “dead glassy stare” of a suicidal girl and the “luscious flesh” of women in a Eugene Delacroix painting. She expresses emotions in a raw, visceral way: “My heart is uncertain, / my anger convulsive. / My feet walk ahead / of my brain.” Her poetry is also sensual, as when a speaker details how “Warm fingers travel / the arch, nuzzling over / creamy hill and / strawberry nipple.” Indeed, few poems disappoint in this collection, although the current-events references in “Waiting,” about a doctor’s appointment, may quickly make it seem dated.
A streamlined, satisfying set of works about love and loss.Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-95-435350-3
Page Count: 76
Publisher: Kelsay Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.
A recently divorced writer juggles a chaotic full house, a struggling career, and a confusing romantic life.
Lila Kennedy thought she had the perfect family—a loving mother, a doting stepfather, two wonderful daughters, and a great husband. She even wrote a self-help book about repairing a marriage, which was published a mere two weeks before her husband left her. After her own mother’s sudden death, Lila finds herself an unexpected single mom with her health-nut stepfather, Bill, for a roommate. When her long-absent actor father, Gene, moves in, things go from crowded to chaotic. When Gene isn’t talking about his memories of starring on a Star Trek–like television show, he’s starting fights with Bill. Perhaps the worst part is that Lila’s supposed to produce a new book about the unexpected direction her life has taken. She quickly finds that writing about her real-life romantic exploits (including the kind gardener Bill hired and the sexy single dad she lusts after at school pick-up) and the actual heartbreak that upended her family is easier said than done. Moyes creates a world that is believable and funny. It’s hilarious to read about the distinct characters in Lila’s life—such as her lentil-loving stepfather and egocentric biological father—interacting with each other. There’s plenty of drama here, but none of it feels forced. It all comes from flawed people doing their best to coexist and making plenty of mistakes along the way. Moyes combines the warmth of an Annabel Monaghan rom-com with the humanity of a Catherine Newman novel, creating a story that will provoke tears and laughter.
A moving, realistic look at one woman’s post-divorce family life that manages to be both poignant and funny.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781984879325
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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