There’s cleverness and craft in abundance here. Also, wisdom and even warmth.
A posthumously published work by a major (if unsung) Black novelist reminds readers of his imaginative brio, verbal ingenuity, and abrasive wit.
In a present day when innovative fiction by African American writers is finding greater acclaim, it’s appropriate that Kelley, who died in 2017 at age 79, should emerge from the relative shadows of cult heroism with this previously unpublished novel. The self-described “2 Novelas & 3 Stories & a Little Play” constituting Dis//Integration make up a shapeshifting biography of Charles “Chig” Dunford, a quasi-autobiographical character who previously appeared in Kelley’s short story collection Dancers on the Shore (1964) and in his novel Dunfords Travels Everywheres (1970). Chig, a highly educated writer and academic, seems to live his life in dreamlike phases, beginning in 1952 when, at 17, he travels south to meet his grandmother Nanny Eva, who enlightens him about the fate of women in the world. Twelve years later, Chig’s in Reupeo (an anagram of Europe), where he becomes protégé to a Hemingway-esque American expatriate writer named John Hoenir, who offers counsel on writing, living, and even sparring. (“You can only go to Heaven if you die fighting. An ambush don’t count.”) The narrative shifts to the “little play” form but not without a short introduction, described as a “dream” and written in a kind of Joycean patois Kelley has deployed in earlier novels. The dramatic narrative that follows seems surreal, too; it takes place in 1965 on a passenger ship where Chig meets and falls in love with Wendy, an enigmatic Black actress passing for white, who breaks his heart, but not before telling him about a hundred Africans chained together in the ship’s lower hold. Mutineers or…slaves? Nobody seems to know. Eventually both the narrative and Chig settle in Vermont, where he teaches English at a small college; looks after Merry, his teenage niece; meets Renka Bravo, a captivating, raven-haired dancer whose cosmopolitan smarts seem to be luring him from lifelong bachelorhood; and engages in some genteel but barbed sparring with Raymond Winograd, his department chair. There’s no use in trying to fashion any kind of logical narrative from these interludes. All you can do is marvel at Kelley’s arresting collagelike portrait of the artist as an intellectual nomad, clinging to the core of what makes him human—and humane.
There’s cleverness and craft in abundance here. Also, wisdom and even warmth.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9780593469934
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Vintage
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
