Fascinating fictionalized biography of a brilliant woman who should be as renowned as the men who loved her.
An intriguing debut novel about the early life of muse and intellectual Lou Salomé.
Russian-born Louise von Salomé is determined to receive an education at a young age; unfortunately, her early instructor, Pastor Hendrik Gillot, falls in love with her, despite their 25-year age difference. Lou and her mother, Louise, flee to Western Europe to obtain more suitable, sexually untainted instruction for Lou. At Malwida von Meysenbug’s literary salon in Rome, Lou meets Paul Rée, a writer and gambler. They quickly form a cerebral partnership, and through Rée, Lou meets Friedrich Nietzsche. The three want to establish a commune but are deterred by family disapproval and the refusal of both men to accept Lou’s resolve to devote her whole being to intellectual pursuits, without the constraints of marriage, children or even sexual dalliance. Lou alternates between the two men but eventually grows frustrated with Nietzsche’s instability and his jealous, conniving sister Elisabeth. She and Rée move to Berlin, establishing a salon where Lou thrives, publishing her first book and attracting still more admirers, while Rée grows discouraged. In Rée’s absence, Lou is enticed into marriage—celibate by her insistence—with Persian scholar Friedrich Andreas. Author Atala, with a background in comparative literature and philosophy, brings life to 19th-century historical figures, although at times they seem unnaturally self-absorbed. Less convincing is Lou’s allure, her physical and intellectual gifts notwithstanding. Perhaps true to the spirit of the time, the prose is sometimes overblown and dramatic, like the characters themselves. Lou fears “any touching of loins” despite cohabitation and marriage. While Atala’s novel is well-written and researched, it would be enriched by additional context and depth for some of the secondary characters who may not be as well-known to casual readers. Similarly, development and description of the fabulous European settings are given short shrift. Still, Atala offers a captivating glimpse into a notable period of history and intellectual growth.
Fascinating fictionalized biography of a brilliant woman who should be as renowned as the men who loved her.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1497403260
Page Count: 312
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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