Handsome

by Ezra Palmer

Evvie Kurtz remembers everything.


Evvie has Alzheimer’s disease.


Handsome is Evvie’s story, told in her own voice: How she grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a scholarship girl at one of the city’s fanciest day schools. How she made a name for herself as a journalist. How she met and married her husband. How she loved him for all his faults. And how she came to the decision to leave him.


Evvie will forget her story.


You will not.


ADVANCE PRAISE FOR HANDSOME


“A gorgeous, devastating exploration of what it means to love and care for someone in sickness and in health…. An elegant, imaginative testament to the pain and beauty of a life-spanning love.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)


“A heart-wrenching masterpiece. This is a story about love, memory, and the choices we make. It is an absolute must read.” — JJ Cooper, NerdyNerdyBookBook


PRAISE FOR EZRA PALMER'S CATBIRDS


“I read it with the intensity with which one might read the instructions on how to operate a defibrillator while a friend is having a heart attack. It’s that good.” — Peg Tyre, New York Times bestselling author of “The Trouble With Boys”


“Pulsing with insight, wit, feeling, and mysteries… Catbirds examines frayed family bonds with fresh power and insight. EDITOR’S PICK.” —BookLife


“An intimate and affecting family saga of loss and betrayal.” —Kirkus Reviews


"This is, for me, what literature is all about.” — Netgalley reviewer

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Literary Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 13, 2026

About the author

Ezra Palmer grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in Los Angeles with his family. Originally a newspaper writer and editor, he went on to launch and run internet properties for The Wall Street Journal and other companies. He is the author of the novels Catbirds and Handsome.

Reviews

[Liana Gold]

Evvie Kurtz has Alzheimers disease.
Written as one long inner monologue of a woman's rambling thoughts. But those thoughts are not just thoughts, they are memories, they are glimpses of the past, joyous moments of life.

'I remember it all'





Many thanks to NetGalley and Ezra Palmer for an early copy!

Publication: July 13, 2026

Narrator: Marilyn Downey
Duration: 6 hours
Speed 1.5x

[Susan J. Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is mesmerising and utterly charming. Evie is such a wonderful, gentle, beguiling raconteur and Marilyn Downey’s narration was sublime.
Evie has dementia and we join her as she and her husband are packing for a holiday to Greece. However, Evie’s mind keeps wandering back through other memories, and each time she returns to the present moment it takes a little longer for her to figure out what’s going on.
If you’ve ever experienced someone close slowly slipping from you, this book will bring you comfort. Evie has lived a fascinating life and she remembers all of it.
Five stars from me for a beautiful story that releases on 13 July.
With grateful thanks to NetGalley, Ezra Palmer and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for a chance to read an advance copy.

[Genny · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, the casting of Marilyn Downey for this audiobook was perfection. She breathed life into her narrative role.

This novel is on the shorter side and yet it is one of those books that sticks with you, long after you finish and you find yourself thinking about Evvie. It is not one of those books you can fly through and feel like you’ve gained something from it. There is a story between the lines to be learned from Evvie, and that is what stays with you long after the book is over.

“Handsome” is not driven by misadventure and chaos, but instead asks you to hold Evvie’s hand and step back in time with her in a stream of consciousness as she recalls her life story. You stay with her and see the pathways in her mind that still exist and how it effects her current reality. Anyone who has any firsthand experience with Alzheimer’s disease will resonate with this story because you can see that loved one in Evvie— specifically the repetition, the disorientation, and the eventual mental decline that leads to admitting independence is a thing of the past.

Evvie is not a one-dimensional character who is easily be defined by her disease. She is still a very much nuanced person who is not to be swept under the rug. Although maybe not the most reliable of narrators because she remembers her past vividly and has trouble staying in the present, she still is able to give you emotional depth and examination of pivotal and formative moments in her life.

This is one book I truly would recommend and hope everyone picks up when it’s released on July 13, 2026!

Thank you to Ezra Palmer and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for providing this audiobook ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Joel Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you read a whole book based on the strength of its cover?

I guess you can because that's how I came across Handsome. It is a type of story I have never read before and probably never will again. You can see by the star rating that the reason for this isn't because I didn't like it, it's because it's so different in a way that I'm not sure it would work for me if I read another story in this style. Evvie's story feels authentic.

I don't think the rating would be as high if I'd not listened to the audiobook though, as the narrator does a fantastic job of making this fictional biography feel like a friend of the family sitting you down with a cup of tea and telling you about their complicated relationship with their husband.

You could imagine it this way - you've just sat down with Evvie (Evelyn) and she's sad because she desperately wants to leave her husband Jack. And you ask her "Why don't you just leave him then?" She smiles and proceeds to tell you the moving and heartbreaking story of why it's not as simple as 'just leaving him.'

It's like ASMR for the soul. Nothing happens in the way of plot (a plot plot... That'll make sense when you read it). But a regular person's life isn't dramatic, even with tragedy and heartbreak, love and loss, and other trivialities of life, are huge to the person that is experiencing them. This feels like that, you are witnessing a person's memory of their life before Alzheimer's takes it all away from them. If you know someone with Alzheimer's or dementia, I have both worked with people with the diseases and have family members with it, and I can vouch for Handsome's authenticity.

If you like stories that make you feel like you are making a friend or one which helps you feel like you are living a different life from your own, then this is for you. But don't expect dramatic things to happen in the story, if you are 20 - 30% through and you are thinking 'I wish this would just get going,' you probably won't enjoy this story.

*Huge thanks to Ezra, Taag & Rohg Press and netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read Handsome*

[Sohana Nasrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance reader’s copy of Handsome by Ezra Palmer.

Journalists, Alzheimer’s disease, an intelligent woman narrator, and a scholarship girl navigating class, ambition, memory, and identity? You had my attention from the very first pages.

Handsome is one of those novels that quietly settles into your mind and stays there. Ezra Palmer writes with magnetic, deeply human prose, drawing readers into the fragmented world of Evvie Kurtz, a woman attempting to tell her own story even as memory itself becomes increasingly unreliable.

In fact, my one regret is that I went into the novel already knowing from the book description that Alzheimer’s would play a central role. Palmer unfolds Evvie’s condition so skillfully and so gradually that I couldn’t help wishing I had discovered it alongside her, piece by piece. There is something deeply intriguing about experiencing those gaps, uncertainties, and moments of confusion without knowing exactly where they are leading. I suspect the revelation would have been even more powerful had I entered the story completely blind.

At its heart, this novel asks difficult and fascinating questions: What happens when memory begins to disappear? Which moments remain when there isn’t room to keep them all? Who do we remember, who do we forget, and how much of our identity is tied to the stories we tell ourselves about our past? Palmer explores these questions with remarkable tenderness, never reducing his characters to simple answers.

There is something wonderfully ironic—and profoundly moving—about Evvie narrating her own life while struggling to remember it. She tells her story even when parts of that story have become inaccessible to her. The novel becomes a meditation on loss, betrayal, family, love, and the fragile nature of memory itself. What is your happiest memory when memory is in short supply? Which people remain with us when details begin to fade? And what does identity look like when the past can no longer be reliably retrieved?

I also appreciated Palmer’s willingness to inhabit and explore a woman’s perspective with such care and empathy. Too often female characters are flattened into archetypes; Evvie feels fully alive, intelligent, complicated, and real. Her voice carries the novel, and Palmer treats it with remarkable respect.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration deserves special praise. The reader brings genuine emotion to the performance without overdoing it. The voice is warm, expressive, and nuanced, capturing Evvie’s vulnerability, wit, confusion, and determination. It is one of those audiobook performances that quietly elevates an already strong novel.

There are books that tell a story, and there are books that invite readers to reflect on their own lives. Handsome does both. It made me think about memory not simply as a record of events, but as the fragile foundation upon which we build identity, relationships, and meaning.

This was a moving, thoughtful, and emotionally resonant read that I would happily recommend to a wide range of readers. It has certainly made me eager to seek out Palmer’s other novel, Catbirds.

A novel about memory, identity, and the stories we cling to when everything else begins to fade. Highly recommended.

[Jeni—Bookish.Bestie.909 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ This story is unique and heartbreaking. It felt so real and that made it hard to read. As someone who has had loved one’s with Alzheimer’s, Evvie’s story felt very important. The depiction of this disease was heartbreaking and heartwarming simultaneously. At first I wasn’t quite sure where Evvie was taking us, but slowly I realized we were joining her on her daily struggle with her memory loss and confusion. Evvie grapples with her past and present in a way that kept me engaged the whole time.
This was an emotional and impactful short read that will stick with me for a long time.

I received this early copy in Audio book format. I really enjoyed the narrator herself. However, I did find that the audio sometimes had volume issues (going louder and quieter unexpectedly).

Thank you NetGalley, Ezra Palmer and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for early access.

[Aster Carlyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handsome is a novel where, technically, almost nothing happens, but it’s one of the more quietly powerful reading experiences I’ve had in a while. (Content Disclosure: This book and the review will heavily discuss Alzheimer’s Disease) Final Score: 4.5

What This Book Does Well
This is solid quiet literary fiction that unfolds over the course of a couple of hours at most. The story is a stream of consciousness from Evvie’s perspective as she reflects on different parts of her life. She is a likable protagonist, but not without the contradictions and imperfections that come with a fully lived life. While normally, this would go under the next section, in this book the prose being very repetitive is intentional and very well done. The blurb of this book lets the reader know from the beginning that Evvie has Alzheimer’s disease. Since the narrative is told as her stream of consciousness, phrases and memories circle back, loop around, and resurface slightly altered. For me, this read as clever rather than frustrating as this form is part of the narrative story line.

I should disclose that I don’t have much experience with Alzheimer’s disease myself. So for me the tone of the book felt more reflective with some sadness, but I think if I had loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, I could see this book being a lot more devastating. There is a raw vulnerability to it that I think could be heartbreaking for readers who have real life experiences with loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. While I can’t speak with any authority about the lived experience with Alzheimer’s disease, my gut says that Ezra Palmer handled the subject with genuine care - whether through personal experience or thorough research, Evvie’s portrayal feels trustworthy not exploitative.

I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Marilyn Downey and I think that was the right call for this particular book. Downey’s voice has a warmth that suits the material perfectly and I suspect the repetitiveness that is so integral to the book’s effect could have felt a bit laborious to me if I read a physical copy.

Where It May Fall Short
I’m not kidding when I say almost nothing “happens” in this book which I could see being very frustrating for some readers. Between almost nothing happening and the repetitiveness of the prose, I think this book does ask a lot of the reader’s patience, so I think that is worth knowing going in.

Final Thoughts & Opinions
If you enjoy quiet, character-driven literary fiction, this book may be a great fit. This is the kind that trusts its reader to find meaning in the stillness. If you have loved ones who have experienced Alzheimer’s disease, be aware that Alzheimer’s disease is reflected in every single aspect of this story in one way or another. I think my emotional distance with this book (not in a bad way!) was a function of my limited experience with this disease, I can definitely see how devastating this book would be if I had closer experience myself.

If you need plot momentum, don’t like to sit with a character's complicated feelings, or get frustrated with repetitive prose, this one may not be the best fit. I really enjoy quiet literary fiction so I think that context is worth factoring in when weighing my take.

My thanks to NetGalley and IBPA for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

TL;DR
Would I recommend it: Yes, but only for people who enjoy quiet literary fiction and only if they are in a place to read about the stream of consciousness from someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
Would I continue reading books by this author: 100%

Star Score Breakdown
Personal Enjoyment: 4
Overall Execution: 4.5
Writing & Craft Quality: 4.75
Characters: 4.5
Plot: 4.75
Final Score: 4.5

[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handsome feels less like reading a memoir and more like sitting down for coffee with someone who slowly, beautifully unpacks their life in front of you.

Told through the simple act of packing a bag, the story moves between past and present as the narrator (Evvie) vividly recalls her childhood, friendships, marriage, and the many small joys and heartbreaks that shape a life. The moments when her recollections are interrupted by her husband, she’s suddenly faced with the unsettling reality that she can no longer remember why she’s packing at all. Although does Evvie feel this confusion, or is it just the reader?

What could feel heavy is instead deeply warm, human, and surprisingly comforting. The narrator inserts small laughs into moments she finds funny and her calm and soft intonation really do make the listener feel like they're huddled up over or a coffee (or a wine) getting to know one another.
At moments the two of you are hugging, deep in conversation and the next you're face to face, staring intently as Evvie shares all her memories, frustrations and life triumphs.

The shifting timelines are handled so effortlessly that the story feels pacy and immersive, with each memory offering something familiar, relatable, and emotionally true. Evvie is incredibly likeable and her life feels ordinary in the most extraordinary way, full of recognisable moments that quietly mirror our own.

What makes this novel so original is its tender portrayal of memory loss. Rather than focusing purely on sadness, heightened drama or chaos, it humanises the confusion of Alzheimer’s, showing how the past can remain vivid even as the present slips away. It’s not devastating in the way one might expect. It’s reflective, compassionate, and quietly profound.

This is ultimately a story about identity, memory, and the unaware loss of control, but it’s told with such warmth that it never feels bleak. Instead, it feels like a gentle reminder of how a life is built - in memories, in relationships, and in the small details we carry with us. The author respects the protagonist and never did I feel anything but a connection to Evvie. Evvie is all of us. This is a woman who may have Alzheimers but she is still relevant. human and above all she is 'someone'. I'm glad I listened to the this book because reading it, I fear I may have heightened emotions in my head whereas Marilyn Downey's portrayal gave her greater respect perhaps than I would have.

The title - I have to admit I didn't think about why the book is called "Handsome" until a few days later. So many titles overly long or explanatory but this title almost disappeared from my thoughts- in fact I've added this paragraph as an edit. Now I think I've worked out how clever it is - but I won't spol anything.

A deeply moving, beautifully structured novel that lingers like our memories - if we are lucky to still have them.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars:
Trigger Warning: A vivid portrait of Alzheimer’s disease. Some plot spoilers ahead.

Author Ezra Palmer brilliantly explores the inner workings of a once-sharp mind as Alzheimer’s disease slowly ravages the brain. This is the story of Evvie Kurtz, a successful journalist who remembers everything -- and that is precisely the problem, because Evvie has Alzheimer’s.

What stands out most is the structure of the narrative itself. Evvie tells the story through her internal monologue, and Palmer allows readers to fully inhabit her thoughts. To Evvie, everything makes sense. Through her memories, we learn about her life: how she earned her place at university, met her husband, balanced career and motherhood, and built a successful professional life.

Like many highly driven people, Evvie seems to possess an “edge” that fueled her success. While she carried the burden of being the primary breadwinner and managing the demands of career and family, her husband appears to have enjoyed philandering -- or at least that is how Evvie remembers it. Her narration is filled with resentment, wit, anger, and sharp observations. She is snarky, wounded, and edgy, yet Palmer makes her thoughts concise, compelling, and surprisingly easy to follow.

What makes the novel so effective is the contrast between Evvie’s internal narrative and the interruptions of present-day reality. Those moments allow the audience to see just how detached from reality Evvie has become, even while her memories remain vivid and emotionally charged. Palmer beautifully illustrates that behind the seemingly irrational ramblings of Alzheimer’s patients may exist coherent thoughts, deeply rooted memories, and unresolved emotional truths.

The novel also raises unsettling questions: Are we ultimately shaped by the memories and resentments we cling to? Do our lifelong ruminations become amplified when cognitive filters disappear?

For me, Palmer made me reflect on my own inner dialogue. Evvie was enormously successful professionally and had a full family life, yet she never truly released the pain of her husband’s affair. That lingering hurt becomes central to her “sundowning” episodes and emotional outbursts. In many ways, the novel felt like a cautionary tale about what we allow to live rent-free in our minds.

At the same time, Palmer offers something deeply compassionate. What may appear to outsiders as an “addled” mind is, in truth, often a richly layered one, filled with memories, emotions, and fragments of identity struggling to remain intact. It’s all in the memories.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Audiobooks, and the author for the advance copy. I also found Marilyn Downey’s narration superb; her performance added tremendous emotional depth to Evvie’s voice and elevated the listening experience beautifully. Expected publication is July 13, 2026.

[Iva Atanasova · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Memory is a strange thing. It can abandon you, but love has a way of leaving traces behind.”

There is something profoundly heartbreaking about reading a story narrated by someone who knows she will one day forget every word she is telling you.

Handsome isn't simply a novel about Alzheimer's disease. It is a love letter to memory to the moments that quietly shape a life, to the people who leave permanent marks on our hearts, and to the fragile truth that our stories matter, even when we can no longer remember them ourselves.

Evvie Kurtz is an unforgettable narrator precisely because she knows she is forgetting. She tells the story of her life with remarkable honesty, looking back on a childhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the opportunities that shaped her career as a journalist, the marriage that defined so much of her life, and the painful realization that loving someone does not always mean staying with them. Her voice is reflective, witty, and quietly devastating, carrying both the confidence of the woman she once was and the vulnerability of the woman she is becoming.

What touched me most was the tenderness with which Ezra Palmer approaches Alzheimer's. The disease is never reduced to tragedy alone. Instead, it becomes a meditation on identity. If our memories begin to disappear, what remains of us? The answer this novel offers is achingly beautiful: perhaps we are the love we have given, the lives we have touched, and the stories others carry for us when we no longer can.

The prose is gentle and elegant, never resorting to melodrama. It trusts the reader to sit with the grief, allowing the quieter moments to leave the deepest wounds. There were passages that felt less like reading and more like listening to someone desperately preserve the pieces of herself before they slipped away forever.

The reason this wasn't a full five stars for me is that I occasionally wished the emotional tension lingered longer in certain chapters. Some moments passed more quickly than I expected, and I found myself wanting to spend more time with Evvie's reflections before the story moved forward.

But even so, Handsome is a deeply compassionate novel that stays with you long after the final page.

Because Evvie is right.

She may forget her story.

But I don't think I'll ever forget hers.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy for review.

Handsome by Ezra Palmer opens with Evvie Kurtz packing for a trip to Greece with her husband, something she has always wanted to do. But Evvie has Alzheimer’s, and staying inside the present is hard for her. What unfolds instead is the story of a life, told almost entirely from inside her head.

As Evvie slips in and out, she takes us through her decades of experience: growing up, going to college, experimenting with friends, meeting her husband, building a career, and living through all the happiness and pain that make up a person. There’s nothing shocking or jaw-dropping here. It’s just a life. A rich, interesting, warm life, full of love, gratitude, heartbreak, old anger, and moments both funny and sad.

The narration is meandering and repetitive because that’s how Evvie’s mind works. She becomes lost in a memory, returns to the present, realizes she doesn’t remember why she’s packing, and then something else pulls her in another direction. Each time she comes back, she seems a little more lost, a little more confused, and a little more scared. You’re holding her hand through decades of her life, learning who she is while she can still tell you.

What makes the book so moving is that Evvie is written as a whole person. She isn’t reduced to some confused, babbling Alzheimer’s patient. Everything she says makes sense, even as it becomes repetitive. It feels like sitting with someone you love as they tell you stories about their life. I’m lucky enough to not have any direct experience with Alzheimer’s disease, but I imagine this could be an extremely difficult read for anyone with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. The portrayal felt very realistic to me.

The story probably takes place over less than an hour of actual time, and almost all of that time is spent in Evvie’s head. Her life is full and rich, but if you need a book with a lot of movement and action, this is not the book for you. For me, this was a really moving story, written with care and love, and very well done.

Read more book reviews on my Substack
Follow me @shellywritesstuff

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC!

4⋆˙⟡


summary
This follows Evvie, an old woman with Alzheimer's disease. It's her telling her life story in her own convoluted way. She tells us about her family, friendships, and relationships,

thoughts

This was such a special, beautiful book to me. As someone who had a close family member with Alzheimer's, I'm always weary picking up books with the topic because it can be quite emotional for me. While this one was emotional, I'm also deeply grateful that I picked it up.

This was my first time reading something that was actually from the POV of someone with Alzheimer's. While we can never know what they truly experience, this feels like such an accurate depiction of how their minds likely work. Evvie struggles greatly with her short term memory, but still has an incredible long term memory and can recall minute details from her childhood. Her memory issues are immediately obvious when she starts to repeat herself and mention things twice, and also with her jumping all over the place instead of a more linear story. Rather than Evvie losing her train of thought, it was almost as if her mind would wander and she would keep getting distracted by other memories. I really liked this portrayal of Alzheimer's.

Whenever Evvie would snap back to the present, that was when the extent of her memory issues was clearest. She could never remember why she was packing, and we even see issues with remembering those around her. While this was difficult for me to read, it was also incredibly realistic. She also deals with issues in her relationship, which is made more difficult due to her condition. That was also hard to read about, but I was satisfied with the ending.

The audiobook for this was incredible. The narrator, Marilyn Downey, done an absolute incredible job. I could feel the emotion she poured into this story. It honestly at times felt more like a memoir than a literary fiction.

conclusion
This was such a heartwarming, beautiful, but also heartbreaking story. I think it will especially hit hard for people who have had a direct impact of Alzheimer's. I definitely recommend the audiobook, as it was very well done.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook Review: Handsome by Ezra Palmer

I went into Handsome expecting a fairly straightforward literary novel about aging and memory, but it ended up feeling much more intimate and unsettling than that. The entire book sits so deeply inside Evvie’s perspective that you slowly begin to notice the gaps and repetitions before you fully understand what they mean. There’s a sadness to it that creeps in gradually rather than trying to overwhelm the reader all at once.

One of the strongest aspects of the audiobook is how well the narration captures that shifting mental landscape. Certain stories, observations, and phrases begin repeating early on, and at first it almost feels incidental, but over time it becomes clear how deliberate it is. The repetition creates this quiet sense of instability where you start questioning what is memory, what is performance, and what Evvie herself is still trying to hold onto. It feels less like reading about cognitive decline and more like being placed directly into someone’s thought process as it starts slipping around the edges.

I also appreciated that the novel doesn’t reduce Evvie to her illness. There’s still wit, vanity, resentment, intelligence, and a lifetime of complicated relationships underneath everything. The book spends a lot of time examining class, marriage, ambition, and identity, and those themes remain present even as her memory becomes less reliable. At times the prose can feel intentionally circular, which may frustrate some readers, but I thought it worked well for the kind of story Palmer was trying to tell.

Overall, I found this audiobook poignant, uncomfortable, and very human. It’s not always an easy listen because the emotional weight builds slowly and quietly, but that restraint is part of what makes it effective. The narration adds a lot to the experience, especially in the moments where repetition and memory begin blending together in a way that feels genuinely disorienting. While I occasionally wished the story had a little more momentum, I still thought it was a very strong audiobook experience overall and landed at a solid 4 stars for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC.

[M.L. Sizemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Powerful & Engaging.
This book reads like a series of reflections & situational stories woven together through the narrator’s life, almost a stream of consciousness that feels intimate & unfiltered, as though she has no agenda other than to tell the truth of her experiences. The audiobook narrator elevates the story even further, delivering the emotional weight with incredible depth & authenticity. This is a story about a complicated marriage fractured by infidelity, but it is also about identity, aging, ambition, & survival. The novel explores the quiet devastation of living through a husband’s affair & the psychological warfare that follows, the endless internal dialogue, the anger left unspoken, & the emotional wounds buried beneath the routines & busyness of everyday life that is even worse as Alzheimer’s has taken over the narrator, who doesn’t realize it herself. What makes the story especially powerful is its nuanced portrayal of female empowerment. The narrator’s decision to remain in her marriage is not framed as weakness, but rather as something layered, painful, & deeply human. The book captures the emotional complexity of long-term relationships & the resentment, deception, & silence that can quietly build over decades. There is also a haunting examination of aging & irrelevance, both within a marriage & in the workforce, as the narrator reflects on climbing the career ladder only to feel herself fading from visibility. Combined with themes of mental decline & Alzheimer’s, the story becomes an incredibly raw portrait of someone slowly losing their grip on certainty, memory, & even themselves. Powerful, emotional, & deeply unsettling at times, this book offers an intimate glimpse into the unraveling of a mind & a marriage. The mind prison that Alzheimer’s creates, & the pain that others feel as part of this prison. It is not always an easy read, but it is an unforgettable one. I loved the writing. I loved the character, and I highly recommend this read. It’s truly one that everyone should read to get a glimpse of someone living with this pain & mental decline.

[readwithdenisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Handsome” by Ezra Palmer is a quiet, intimate novel about memory, love, marriage, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to keep going.

The novel follows Evvie as she reflects on her life, her relationship with her husband Jack, and the choices that shaped their decades-long marriage. Much of the story unfolds through a stream-of-consciousness style narration, where memories move fluidly between past and present. At first, the structure felt slightly disorienting to me, but as the novel progressed, I started to appreciate how closely the writing mirrors Evvie’s inner world.

Evvie is a deeply sympathetic character. Even when reflecting on painful moments in her life, she comes across as thoughtful, loving, and emotionally honest. Her memories of family, friendship, motherhood, and marriage give the novel a melancholic but tender atmosphere. I especially appreciated how nuanced her relationship with Jack felt. Their love story is complicated, shaped by attraction, loyalty, disappointment, and years of shared history.

I also found the title interesting. To me, “Handsome” clearly refers to Jack, who is portrayed as charismatic, attractive, and naturally easy to fall in love with. Evvie’s feelings for him run deeply throughout the novel, and the title takes on a more layered meaning as the story unfolds.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is its portrayal of memory and aging. The emotional weight builds gradually rather than dramatically, which made the reading experience feel intimate and very human. The audiobook narration also worked beautifully with the reflective tone of the story.

While I admired the emotional depth and the writing style, I wasn’t completely swept away by the novel as a whole, which is why this is a 4-star read for me rather than a full 5 stars. Still, it is thoughtful, unusual, and quietly affecting, especially for readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Herbibliomaniac · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 🌟

To start, I like going in to books blind. I purposely will wait to read a book after I have read the blurb to forget the blurb. I am really glad I did that with this one. I figured out pretty quick that Evie has Alzheimer's disease. Not having that knowledge in the beginning of the book though made it more of a revelation. I was trying to figure why this character kept rambling chaos. But it showed its ugly truth pretty quick.

This is a quick read, but impactful. The entire time we are in Evie's head as she is reliving her life as well as trying to survive the confusion of her present day. It was sad and heart wrenching in its raw telling of some of the struggles with this disease. It leaves questions at the end because we are only getting Evie's unreliable pov and only over a short period of present day life. To continue the story when she gets far enough in this disease to not recognize people as they age and her memories become even more unreliable probably would have broken me. (I knew someone personally with Alzheimer's, so this was particularly devastating for me).

It is a true literary story. On the surface, not much happens. But at a deeper level, there is so much going on in her head and in her life. This one will sit with you.

The audio was well done, but I honestly don't think you can go wrong reading or listening to it.

If you aren't a literary fan, or are new to the genre, maybe skip for now and come back. If you aren't at least base level familiar with Alzheimer's disease (at least know what it is) maybe look it up quick. For everyone else, I thought it was great. I definitely had tears in my eyes listening to this. I highly recommend going in blind though, I read enough that can forget a blurb pretty quick. Buy it and set it aside or write down to read it blind and borrow it from the library later.

Now go drink some water and do a crossword puzzle.

Thanks to Independent Book Publishers Association, Members' Audio and Ezra Palmer for sending for me an Alc to review.
Narrated by Marilyn Downey

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Handsome* by Ezra Palmer is one of the most imaginative and emotionally affecting novels I have read this year. Its premise is deceptively simple yet profoundly moving: we meet a protagonist with a rich history that we are about to discover at the very same moment she is beginning to lose access to it herself.

As both a clinical psychologist and someone currently watching a beloved family member navigate Alzheimer's disease, I found this book deeply affecting. Palmer captures so many small but recognizable realities of cognitive decline with remarkable sensitivity. There were moments when the mention of a particular time of day immediately triggered that familiar sense of tension surrounding "sundowning." Likewise, the flashes of anger, suspicion, and paranoia that can emerge in some individuals living with Alzheimer's are woven into the narrative in ways that feel authentic rather than sensationalized.

Was this an easy read? Absolutely not.

Am I glad I read it? Without question.

That said, I would gently encourage some readers to approach this book with care. If you are currently caring for someone with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, or if you are still processing a recent loss connected to these conditions, this story may bring up powerful emotions. That is not necessarily a bad thing—literature often helps us process difficult experiences—but not everyone will be in a place where this particular journey feels supportive.

Readers are adults and will know best whether they are ready to receive what this humble, heartbreaking story has to offer. For those who are, *Handsome* delivers a thoughtful meditation on memory, identity, love, and loss.

The audiobook narrator deserves special recognition. Her performance is exceptional, bringing nuance, vulnerability, and emotional depth to material that could not have been easy to perform. I was incredibly impressed by her work throughout.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an eARC of this poignant and unique novel!

Evvie is a senior, born-and-raised New Yorker and this novel reads more or less as her memoir told over the course of a single afternoon. Evvie also has Alzheimer's Disease, and while she can recall most of her life in vivid and specific detail, she forgets the last five minutes as soon as they happen. This novel is told in one long, continuous sentence separated by commas but never by periods or semicolons- when I first realized this I was nervous about my ability to progress through the story and keep on track with Evvie's inner monologue, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could keep up with her train of thought with no issues despite the lack of resting points. Evvie's story is a deeply human one examining aspects of her own life as well as the actions of her loved ones, and I was fascinated by how much I was able to emotionally connect to a few characters from Evvie's story as she recalled important events from her life. This novel provided a unique lens through which to view Alzheimer's Disease, and while it may not have been the most realistic exemplar of every case of Alzheimer's, I was touched by getting to travel through Evvie's thoughts and perceptions directly from a first-person point of view and by the melancholy I felt as she grew more and more confused and disoriented throughout the novel, never quite resigning to her Disease but coming to terms with her overall deterioration and dependence on those around her for assistance. Overall, this was a phenomenally written novel providing an important and fresh perspective on a horrible fate and I hope to see it succeed once it hits the market in July.

[Vals · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens if you start losing your memories due to Alzheimer's? And what happens when you have short but unmistakably lucid moments when you remember parts of your life that are so powerful that lead you to long due decision? This is what happens to the protagonist, in the span of an day.

Just like "Catbirds", I appreciated how the author has chosen to depict characters that are flawed, with their struggles in their relationships and the self-reproaching behavior. In this story, however, the focus is on a woman and how she has spent most of her life doing most of the emotional and actual work, while her husband almost never even tried to make amends for his faults. And yet, she's the one who has always been feeling in the wrong. Now an older woman, with two grown up kids, and Alzheimer's, she might just have enough of it — and the sparks of lucidity bring with them memories that show us the young, vibrant woman she was and how she came to bear what life (mainly through her husband) has put her through.

The writing style doesn't really change from "Catbirds", mimicking the jumps that a person's thoughts tend to do when reliving facts, assessing situations, and just going through emotions. Since it's a first person narrator, you go where she goes, and sometimes right to the point, others through repetions that are heighten by her condition. This might sometimes make it a bit too difficult to follow the story and her thoughts, but there are never loose ends and everything comes together in the end.

Well-written, raw and touching, this story is perfect for those who love a short story about never being to old or unwell to make to right decision for yourself.

I'd like to thank the author and the publisher for offering me the arc through NetGalley!

[Abby Tait · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, fascinating and quiet but powerful story about Evvie, a woman who is reflecting on her life, and also suffers from Alzheimers. This is one of those books where it’s nothing but a character study. There’s not much “plot”, but it reads like a stream of consciousness where Evvie sits with you and tells you her life story. There are moments that are tender, heartbreaking, frustrating, and everything in between.

Narrator Marilyn Downey brought Evvie to life so well; her voice was very soothing and relaxing, but still compelling. The strongest aspect of this novel is the fascinating narrative structure and style. Evvie is quite repetitive and you often feel like you have deja vu reading parts because you could’ve sworn you already know what she’s telling you. Her mind holds onto key moments, revisiting them often and anchoring her memory in space and time. These loops, while normally would be annoying because of their repetitiveness, add this stylistic layer to the story that enriches the reaching experience.

Handsome explores Alzheimers and aging in a nuanced way through Evvie’s point of view with empathy and care, while still recognizing the burdens and challenges that the disease puts on the family and loved ones of the individual. My heart goes to individuals who are suffering from this disease, and the families who are watching parts of their loved ones fade right in front of their eyes.

If you like a character-driven novel and a quiet contemplation about life, pick this up on July 13, 2026!

Thank you to Ezra Palmer and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the opportunity to read the audio ARC for review via NetGalley.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I have some experience with taking care of old people and more often than not, when they have Alzheimer or dementia, they can recall very vividly their past, but right away forget what is in front of them, in a day care for old people where I worked, we had there an old lady, almost 100 years old, and if we left her unattended she would slip by and go out of the door, because her heart was in taking care of her children that were alone at home, its been more than 70 years that those children have been left alone, but her heart was still in that time.

I was lucky enough to experience both the audiobook and the e-book, and I will say, its very useful to have both, the story may feel at first repetitive, but if we realise that Evvie forgets what is in front of her, its like she is learning time and time again what is happening to her, right now I am recalling when Evvie looked at her husband and saw him for who he was at that moment, and she was alarmed and wanted him to go to the doctor because he looked old, or when Evvie looked at her son and felt he was the other twin, yes it hurts the person and I think it is a good thing to make us realise that it is a reality and while its difficult Evvie needs to be protected, sometimes even from herself, all the book takes place in a spam of a couple of hours, and we go with Evvie through her memories that make her herself and tell us the story of how she become the person she is today, even if what she recalls is not exactly as she remembers but its something else… this book felt like poetry, like a memoir.

I also really enjoyed the woman reading the book, she really brought Evvie to life. I highly recommend for people to get both the e-book and audiobook, both where really good.

This was a great speculative fiction, and in many aspects feels very real, people who loved the movie “The Father” will enjoy this book as well


Thank you Netgalley and Ezra Palmer | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks, for the free AAC, and this is my honest opinion.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant first person narrative “prosecuting a marriage” from memory from a mind devolving into nothingness because of Alzheimer’s.

Evvie Kurtz is recounting her life and marriage as she and her husband, Jack, are packing for a trip to Greece. We learn of her schooling at an expensive private school; her friendship with her best friend, Natalie, and the college party; meeting Jack and his dealing with his affairs but her deep love for him in spite of them; her successful journalist career; and her motherhood. The story circles on itself and as you listen you slowly realize how sad but heart wrenching Evvie’s story is because this may be the last time she will ever recall it.

This is a true stream of consciousness novel. But a very cruel one! Evvie’s memory is sharp and detailed but it’s being told as it is being destroyed by Alzheimer’s. As the book moves on, Evvie’s determination to finally take charge of her life and be relieved of Jack’s dissolute life grows stronger. By the time Evvie’s story ends, she realizes what she’s wanted to happen did briefly but she still needs what she wanted gone. So touching, so sad! I was in tears at this point.

I listened to this book. The narration is beyond exceptional. Evvie’s voice as read by Marilyn Downey comes so alive you feel Evvie is actually talking to you. I have never experienced such a deep connection in listening or perhaps even reading to a novel as I did hear.

I highly recommend this book and think it’s best listened to than perhaps read as you need to hear Evvie to appreciate her.

My thanks to NetGalley and the author, Ezra Palmer, for allowing me access to this splendid audio ARC.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for Advanced Copy of the Audiobook

This hit close to home, as both of my grandmothers lived with memory loss for years. The audiobook narrator was fantastic. Her voice and delivery brought so much life to the story and made Evvie's feel incredibly real.

I really appreciated that the story is told from the perspective of the person experiencing memory loss. It beautifully shows that while the thoughts and ramblings of someone with Alzheimer's may seem irrational from the outside, they can be deeply connected to memories, emotions, and unresolved conflicts. This gives me some solace.

One of the biggest decisions we make in life is who we choose to marry (if we choose to marry at all), and this story explores that in such a heartbreaking way. I think it's easy for loved ones to focus on the grief of losing the person they once knew, but this book also lets us experience Evvie's confusion, anger, and anxiety. As she becomes a more unreliable and the present-day story grows increasingly fragmented, the emotional impact only gets stronger.

This won't be the book for you if you're looking for a plot-heavy story. It's much more of a character study and a journey through memory. If you've loved someone who has gone through memory loss, so much of this will feel painfully real. The prose is beautiful, and the emotions throughout the story feel honest, raw, and human.

I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy character-driven stories and don't mind a slower, more reflective read. It's a compassionate look at love, memory, and the lasting impact of the choices we make.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very moving and sad, feels like a realistic portrayal of dementia.

This took a little while before it 'clicked' with me. Once it did I read this very differently and with a lot of compassion.

Evvie now is an old lady, married to Jack for many decades. She's thinking of leaving him but for several reasons never has. She sees him packing - he's going to take her to Greece, where she's always wanted to go. But she can't remember why he is asking her particular questions. Or why he looks so old. Or who the man in the medical outfit downstairs is. Or why Jack looks so old.

But she CAN remember how they met. How she fell for him. What their life together has been like, their kids, their house... the infidelities.

It's touching and repeatedly hurts, seeing Evvie's repetitions as she thinks the same thoughts over and over, struggles to recognise the same people again and again, sometimes realises what's happening. And then forgets again. So so sad to read, to be inside a mind that's slowly deteriorating.

It was very well conveyed, the sense of how this affects someone's brain, their sense of self, and those around them. I loved Evvie's reminisces alongside her current day in the life, as the story only takes place over the course of a few hours, it's very clever and mature writing.

One for those who feel the need to understand dementia a little better.

I didn't feel the narrator voiced all the characters equally well, females were better portrayed, in my opinion. Some actors don't work for all genders/ages. However, I love the format for this story, felt very immediate and appropriate.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

[✩｡°⋆ Lala ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

• 3.5 ☆ •



── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Handsome wasn't what I expected going in, but I still found myself pulled into it. This isn't a traditional story with a clear plot or structure. We experience everything through Evvie, who is living with Alzheimer's, and the audiobook moves through her memories the way her mind does. It drifts and loops and circles back without warning. Very much a stream of consciousness experience.

That disorientation is completely intentional and honestly I think it works. The fragmentation mirrors what Evvie is actually going through, and listening to it in audio specifically made that effect land harder than I think reading it would have. Some moments hit me completely out of nowhere and others felt hazy in a way that matched her confusion. There's something about hearing it rather than reading it that makes the whole thing feel more immediate.

I did have to adjust my expectations pretty early on. I went in thinking I'd get something more plot driven and what I got was quieter and much more internal. Once I stopped waiting for the story to shift into something more traditional I appreciated it a lot more.

It's probably not going to be for everyone, but worth it if you're in the mood for something that asks you to just sit inside someone else's mind for a while.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ nonlinear storytelling
✔️ memory driven narratives
✔️ dementia centered fiction
✔️ literary audiobooks
✔️ reflective character studies
✔️ experimental storytelling

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Jul 13, 2026 🎧
💌 Thank you to NetGalley and Taag & Rohg for gifting this ALC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

[Kuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC/ARC.

This story was surprisingly slow, but surprisingly impactful. At first, I just really didn't know what was even happening here, and it did continue to feel like not much is happening in the novel, but as we start to learn more about Evvie's condition and past and her relationship to her husband, and the whole mess surrounding them, the story gains in impact and the slowness no longer feels confusing but deliberate and allows you to really ruminate on it all. This is definitely a character-driven novel, and the plot is in the characters and their relationship, so if you're someone who needs a clear plot with Things That Happen, I don't think this novel would be for you simply because that's just not what this novel does. But I really enjoyed it, and I think the author did a great job at introducing the perspective of an Alzheimer's patient and the struggle between KNOWING that you are more likely to be wrong about how events happened than your partner without Alzheimer's, and knowing that something DID happen, even if people try to convince you otherwise. Especially as Jack hasn't exactly been the best husband, I found this a very important perspective, as someone with health-related memory issues myself and who constantly struggles in making my voice heard and not being dismissed by my family with "we all know you tend to misremember/forget things".

It's a slow but impactful story that I really would recommend. Especially the audiobook, as the narrator really did a splendid job at bringing Evvie's voice to life!

[Bee Presley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handsome by Ezra Palmer | Narrated by Marilyn Downey

The publisher's blurb promises that you will not forget Evvie Kurtz's story, and honestly? That is not an exaggeration. 💛 Evvie and her husband Jack — with all his faults, and there are plenty — have taken up permanent residence in my heart and my head. This is a quietly powerful piece of literary fiction that gives you a rare and deeply moving peek inside the mind of an elderly woman navigating Alzheimer's, and all the fear and frustration that come with a lifetime of memories.

Evvie's mind circles back again and again to that one pivotal moment — the first time Evvie smiled at Jack. 😔 It's a brilliant narrative device that mirrors the way a mind damaged by Alzheimer's works, returning obsessively to what it cannot let go of. It left me sitting with this bittersweet truth: what we are unable to forgive, we are also unable to forget.

Narrator Marilyn Downey is a perfect match for Evvie. She captures her sharp wit with such ease and warmth, and handles the emotional complexity of the role beautifully. This is exactly the kind of performance that reminds you why audiobooks are their own unique art form.

I'm giving Handsome a very solid 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — a moving, memorable listen that I'd recommend to any fan of literary fiction or character-driven storytelling.

A heartfelt thank you to the Independent Book Publishers Association for providing me with this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! 🙏

[Michael Cayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stream of consciousness novel in which Evvie, a retired financial journalist with Alzheimer's, keeps reviewing her marriage and parts of her life, often returning to the same episodes with slightly different memories, and frequently jumping off into a new direction.

The novel opens with her husband Jack packing for them to take a trip to Greece, a country Evvie has long wished to visit. It quickly emerges that her marriage has been far from ideal. Evvie depicts her husband's infidelities and controlling behaviour, and how she has been the main breadwinner. But she is not a reliable narrator, and one of the strengths of the book is the way it gives hints that what she recalls may not always be trustworthy, that her past behaviour may have shown her unbalanced, and that fault may not always have been on Jack's side. Although she recalls times when she sought to leave Jack, it is also clear that she was always emotionally very dependent on him. In the present, it is clear that Jack is showing great love and patience with her. This is a very subtle portrayal of an imperfect marriage, and a moving depiction of the effects of Alzheimer's.

There is little in the way of plot, so this book will not be for everyone.

I received an audiobook advance review copy of the book in audiobook form via NetGalley. The narration, by Marilyn Downey, is superb and is a large part of what made the book so moving: there is a beautiful sense of rhythm, and when to have short pauses. I am not sure how well the book would succeed in print or ebook form.

[Michal Huštaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handsome follows Evvie, a woman living with Alzheimer's, as she prepares for a trip while her thoughts move through memories from different parts of her life. The book is written almost entirely as a stream of consciousness, with no full stops, and it took me some time to adjust to that style. At first I found it difficult to follow, but after a few chapters I understood what the author was trying to do (like the repetition of the same thought, which later also gained another meaning! The structure helped me feel closer to Evvie's experience and showed how her thoughts jump between the present and the past.

I appreciated that Evvie never felt defined only by her illness. Through her memories, she comes across as funny, stubborn, intelligent, and also sometimes angry. The novel also spends a lot of time exploring her marriage, and I liked how it showed both the good and bad parts of a long relationship. The memories are often very ordinary, but that made them feel believable and real.

The biggest challenge for me was the mentioned repetition. I understand why it is there, but by the final section I felt the book became slightly too long and some passages repeated the same ideas too often. I also wanted a more complete ending, as a few emotional threads felt unresolved. Still, I thought the portrayal of Alzheimer's was thoughtful and respectful, and the experimental style served a clear purpose. This is not a fast-paced book, but it is an interesting character study. I would give it 3-4 stars.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This one follows Evvie, who has Alzheimer’s, as she prepares for a trip to Greece with her husband. It switches between past and present, with her wandering down memory lane, taking us on the journey of her life, and her husband periodically interrupting to bring her back to the present moment.

I have to admit that it took a while for me to be sold on the execution of this book. I initially struggled to connect deeply with Evvie, most likely because the first-person narration was so unique. It read like an unedited diary entry or hyperverbal, unfiltered internal dialogue. Marilyn Downey's narration, however, was perfect, adding to the reflective and intimate tone, and I was fully engaged the whole way through. Over time, I started to see Evvie as a character with immense wisdom and intelligence, given all she had been through in navigating her job, marriage, family, and all other things life. The instinct to intently listen, place myself in her shoes and learn from her as she shared her memories soon took over. This book was also very quintessential New York, especially at the start; the atmosphere was great.

This is a great one for readers who love a character-driven story with a sad undertone of the way the mind can work when our memory fails us in some aspects and can preserve such detailed accounts of events in others.

Thank you to Independent Book Publishers Association, Members' Audiobooks, Ezra Palmer and NetGalley for access to this ALC. All opinions are my own.