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BULLETPROOF DIVA

Name: BULLETPROOF DIVA
Author: Lisa Jones
ISBN: 0-385-47122-X

TALES OF RACE, SEX, AND HAIR

by Lisa Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1994

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A provocative, biting and often entertaining collection of essays by a Village Voice columnist who explores black identity and the ``politics of style.'' A ``Bulletproof diva,'' writes Jones (a playwright and co- author of three of Spike Lee's movie-making books), has ``lip and nerve'' and she makes tart columns out of what could be coffee talk: ``my slave name,'' black men who flaunt their infidelity, the dramas (and politics) of hair care, the ``butt revolution...brought to you by black music, designer jeans and MTV.'' A feminist and artist, Jones explores the aspirations of her post-civil-rights-era middle-class urban peers, and has seen enough of the country to tell race tales of Utah and of Minneapolis, where ``jungle fever'' works only for white women. In some lively pieces of reportage, she trails a black rock band struggling against industry typecasting, and untangles the contradictions in the trial of the rap bad boys 2 Live Crew, dubious about the misogyny and greed behind this ``black oral and literary tradition.'' Daughter of the writers Amiri Baraka and Hettie Jones, the author thanks her bohemian white mother for giving her strength and teaching ``difference as pleasure,'' and gains even more inspiration from a stalwart aunt shackled by racism. Also included is her play Combination Skin, which satirically plumbs the crossover dreams of the ``tragic mulatto.'' A few pieces are ephemeral or riding a hobby horse, but this is a rich and durable collection, as Jones tries to ``define the role of race woman in the multiculti nineties.''

Pub Date: April 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-385-47122-X

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994

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.