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PLEASE FIRE ME

Name: PLEASE FIRE ME
Author: Adam Chromy
ISBN: 978-0-8065-3443-5

POSTS FROM THE REVOLTING WORKPLACE

by Adam Chromy and Jill Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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Chromy and Morris adapt their online venue for venting, PleaseFireMe.com, into a fictitious primer for a working-class revolution.

Perhaps people hate their jobs more in an economic downturn when the option to quit is no longer on the table and the words “You’re fired!” can often provide the comfort of a steady unemployment check. That conundrum is what inspired Chromy and Morris to create their popular website where irate, disgruntled employees post their frustrations without fear of reprisal. This literary rendition framed as a faux revolutionary manifesto provides rants from the humorous (“Please fire me. I am dressed like a smoothie”) to the zany (“Please fire me. I work in a restaurant. One day, I meet this nice old lady who gives me a hug. Then she says, ‘Oops, I probably shouldn’t be doing that; I have TB’ ”) to the downright ridiculous (“Please fire me. My wife went into unexpected early birth of my first child. When I asked my manager if I could leave work to be with my wife at the hospital he replied, ‘Well, that’s just poor planning on your part. What’s more important, your career or your family?’ ”) Smirks and sidesplitting laughs are abundant, but the scattered format of the hit-and-miss revolutionary dialogue the authors use to plug the gaps between the real-life testimonies is apt to leave readers unsatisfied. When the book does work, however, even the most despondent of workers won't be able to help cracking a smile at this collection of hilarious tales from the labor front. Scan for the funny and skip the rest.

Pub Date: May 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-8065-3443-5

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Citadel/Kensington

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.