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GABRIËLE

An atmospheric excavation of an unusual woman and marriage, both intriguing and remote.

A remarkable champion of the avant-garde, unremembered by history, is rescued from obscurity by her great-granddaughters, a pair of writing sisters.

Wife of Francis Picabia, mistress of Marcel Duchamp and, later, Igor Stravinsky, close friend of Guillaume Apollinaire and many other notables, Gabriële Buffet-Picabia (who died in 1985 at age 104) was an unknown figure to her great-granddaughters, French novelists Anne—bestselling author of The Postcard—and Claire. Why was this memorable woman lost to both her family and the world? The Berests set out to explain the mystery in a curious biographical novel which traces some of Gabriële’s story, drawing on archives, interviews, and historical works. A student of music, first in Paris and then Berlin, Gabriële took no interest in men until, in 1908, her brother introduced her to Picabia, already a star of the art world. It’s a meeting of minds, “conjoined intellects,” and Gabriële inspires the artist to discard Impressionism and paint differently, in a style reminiscent of music. They marry and have four children, Picabia remaining “a flamboyant hotshot”: impulsive, promiscuous, socially voracious, nervously unstable. The novel becomes an account of this union, the art movements (Cubism, Dadaism) Picabia and his friends explore, and of a colorful, creative circle. The couple forms a very close friendship with younger artist Duchamp, who falls in love with Gabriële and folds her into his work. Similarly, writer and critic Apollinaire becomes an intimate, as do others, both in Europe and the U.S. The artistic ferment is interrupted by World War I, by which time the marriage is becoming strained. And there are glimpses of the future: Gabriële’s decline, and an explanation of the family mystery. Throughout, the authors emphasize Gabriële’s intellect, but also her preference—unlike her husband’s—for “remain[ing] in shadow.” This flavors the book, too, which extols but doesn’t fully animate her.

An atmospheric excavation of an unusual woman and marriage, both intriguing and remote.

Pub Date: April 22, 2025

ISBN: 9798889660897

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Europa Editions

Review Posted Online: yesterday

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025

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THE WOMEN

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

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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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IT STARTS WITH US

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

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The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.

Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022

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