Even the most ardent equestrian will have a hard time slogging through this trite collection. (24 b&w illustrations)
From the authors of several animal anthologies (Cats of Myth, 2000, etc.), a feeble ode to equines. Hoping to get at the heart of the “secret sharers of our soul,” the Hausmans collect legends and lore from around the world that contemplate the relationship between humans and horses. Some of the tales are engaging (“The Horse of Antar” pays spirited tribute to an Arabian), and some of the anecdotes are interesting (Jimmy Stewart rode the same horse in every Western), but the prose is poor and filled with stereotypes. The Arabian horse is hot-blooded like “her master”; the vaquero’s blood “held centuries of wisdom”; and an American mustang, Comanche, “presents an ancient paradigm—one that is as old as the sharpened point of steel.” So . . . about 200 years old? While the volume is billed as folklore, the authors clearly aren’t folklorists; among other mistakes, they erroneously conflate a Greek and a Navajo myth simply because both contain a horse motif. They do better when they focus on an individual animal or specific tale, such as the Thoroughbred, with a mouth so soft she could unscrew the lightbulb above her stall and drop it into her water bucket.
Even the most ardent equestrian will have a hard time slogging through this trite collection. (24 b&w illustrations)Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-609-80846-X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Three Rivers/Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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