A short, cogent exercise in literary criticism that provides some erudite free play with Scripture.
Alter (Hebrew and Comparative Lit/Berkeley) expands his ongoing study of the literature of the Hebrew Bible with an examination of the Old Testament’s influence on three towering literary works.
In the strictest sense of the Word, of course, the truest canon is the Bible. Quite apart from its theology, its poetry and narrative constitute the founding text for much—if not most—of the West’s best literature, and scriptural diction, images, and stories have informed creative writing for literally thousands of years. In order to enlarge our appreciation of the Bible and remind us of its source, Alter reverts here to a consideration of the original (and remarkably expressive) Hebrew. This is especially pertinent in his study of Haim Nahman Bialik’s mythic poem “The Dead of the Desert,” written originally in Hebrew using Biblical diction and vocabulary to produce a powerful story—one more in the mood of a lost chapter of the Gilgamish epic than anything ecclesiastical. In Kafka’s Amerika, Alter finds parallels to Genesis and (especially) Exodus—despite wide and peculiar spins involving hero Karl’s adventures in New York and Oklahoma. (One is tempted to ask if it isn’t possible, somehow, to find echoes of Joseph in every story of a youngster far from home, or whether every author’s concupiscent female eyeballing an inexperienced lad isn’t a descendant of Potiphar’s wife.) Of course, Joyce’s Ulysses is explicitly Homeric—but Alter would discern an equivalent relationship to the Hebrew Bible, asserting that Joyce used both texts as a combined foundation for his mighty novel. Certainly a devoted analysis of Ulysses can uncover myriad sources, but this makes a strong case for the Bible as a significant Joycean wellspring.
A short, cogent exercise in literary criticism that provides some erudite free play with Scripture.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2000
ISBN: 0-300-08424-2
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
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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