by Gideon Naudé ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2014
An immigrant’s tale of life in South Africa and the United States that effectively draws on his day-to-day experiences and...
A South African immigrant tells his life story and reflects on the differences between his native country and the United States.
In this unusually structured memoir, surgeon Naudé (Trauma Secrets, 1998) offers a broad retrospective of his immigrant experience. He divides it into two sections: one focused on his personal life and the other on his many strongly held opinions. He structures the second section as a series of dialogues among himself, his children and two invented characters, “liberal Sarah and right-wing Jack, loosely patterned on some of the children’s friends,” who provide context for the author’s views. The children ask questions that prompt Naudé to reminisce about his background as a white, Afrikaans-speaking South African, his medical training in South Africa and abroad, and his experience adjusting to the differences he found in the United States. Many anecdotes fall into somewhat familiar categories for immigrant literature, including language and dialect barriers; for instance, he learns that nurses in American hospitals aren’t called “sister” as they are in other countries. He also provides numerous prescriptions for what he sees as American culture’s faults, advocating punishing children for misbehaving instead of treating them for ADHD and ending affirmative action. On the whole, however, he looks positively on his decision to leave one country for another. His years in South Africa coincided with several decades of apartheid, which he touches on in the narrative (“It was one of the many instances where I, as a white South African, was acutely aware of the injustice of apartheid”) but doesn’t explore in depth. This isn’t a story of global politics, however, but a highly personal story of one man’s life. The book’s narrow focus may limit the book’s appeal, but it’s appropriate to the material and makes its dialogue structure a successful narrative technique.
An immigrant’s tale of life in South Africa and the United States that effectively draws on his day-to-day experiences and cultural views.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1479393398
Page Count: 366
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by William Strunk & E.B. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1972
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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