A thoughtful, comic look at the art-making process.
An artist attempts to monetize his work in Moore’s debut novel.
When Glenn Reynolds, an accountant, agrees to serve as an agent for his artist friend, Richard Phillips, he does so mostly to be supportive; up to this point, the eccentric and largely unknown Richard has been in no danger of selling anything. “But if it were to happen,” narrates Glenn, “he has the idea that this arrangement would avoid the disagreeable situation of customers approaching him to debate price….Richard thought talking about money was distasteful.” Then an interior decorator wants to buy one of Richard’s pieces—a drawing from his Crumpled Paper series, depicting crumpled-up balls of paper—for $1,000. Though it’s only one of a set, the strange watermark on this particular drawing makes it an object of fascination: The buyer quickly resells it to a friend of hers for twice the price. Then it resells again, and again, increasing in value each time. Meanwhile, Richard—with Glenn’s encouragement—attempts to take on increasingly ambitious projects in the hope of finally breaking through. In the great irony of art, however, Richard’s fortunes seem to plummet even as the value of his work—or one piece of it, at least—continues to skyrocket. Moore’s prose, often filtered through the wry understatements of Glenn, captures both the conceptual headiness and ridiculousness of the art world. Here Glenn tries to hustle Richard into putting the last touches on his work before a show: “He argued that adjusting the paper sculpture could theoretically take a lifetime to finish because the shape was constantly changing…I argued that while that may be true, he did not have a lifetime to finish it, and even if he did, his audience would lose interest in waiting.” The book unfolds at a leisurely pace, pausing frequently for conversations about the history of art or what food Glenn and Richard will order during their weekly lunch. More entertaining is the journey Richard’s drawing takes from collector to collector.
A thoughtful, comic look at the art-making process.Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9798985928921
Page Count: 227
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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