A dense, somewhat unfocused historical tale that boasts compelling characters and a plot that ultimately packs a wallop.
Allen explores an early, largely uncelebrated patriot who helped bring about American independence.
Nearly every American recognizes the names George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but Allen’s tale dips a bit further back in time to follow the exploits of the overlooked James Otis, Jr. (also known as Jemmy), one of the men who struck the first blows for the independence of the United States—his words kindling a fire that grew into the American Revolution. While the material dealing with the radicalized Jemmy (who forfeits the life of comfort his family had built over generations) is strong and straightforward, the journey to those incidents, which takes up roughly the first third of the book, is often convoluted. Allen is skilled at portraying how Jemmy’s drives stemmed not just from his intelligence and nascent political philosophy but from his feelings of inadequacy—the upper echelons of Boston society perceived his family as country bumpkins. In the sections that speculate as to Jemmy’s motivations (as well as the motivations of others who accompanied him, all fascinating figures in their own rights), the plot comes to life. But earlier passages—many of which deal with the complexities of the 18th-century legal system, the Otis family history and the economic models used by businessmen of the time—feel too loosely bound together. The author jumps somewhat haphazardly from historical tidbit to historical tidbit, and while some add to the vivid portrayal of the world Jemmy and his cohorts would so radically change, many others could easily be edited out. Still, once Jemmy begins his march toward revolution, the material is much stronger and more focused, and the book makes an effective case that he and his fellow patriots should be better remembered by Americans looking to celebrate their country’s infancy.
A dense, somewhat unfocused historical tale that boasts compelling characters and a plot that ultimately packs a wallop.Pub Date: July 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-0983644606
Page Count: 309
Publisher: Griffins Wharf
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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
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