A son's affectionate but sketchy little memoir of the bittersweet romance between his octogenarian father, Clyde, and Gussie, a widow of similar years. Latham, a New York journalist (Rolling Stone, Esquire) and screenwriter (Urban Cowboy, etc.) became concerned when his newly widowed father back in the tiny west Texas town of Spur began to develop a long-distance telephone relationship with a former childhood friend living in California. After numerous broken promises to come back to Spur for a brief visit, Gussie eventually made the trip, and the telephone romance quickly flowered into an engagement. Latham, in plain, rather flat prose, shows the old couple revisting childhood scenes, getting reacquainted, and even necking in a parked car like a couple of teenagers. When Gussie returned to California, Clyde followed her the next day, and a week later the impetuous couple was married. Harboring major reservations about his father's whirlwind romance, Latham, accompanied by his wife, 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, flew out to meet his new stepmother and discovered that Gussie's family tree was entwined with his father's in a surprising way. A few months later, Clyde became dangerously ill, had one leg amputated, and underwent abdominal surgery. In the book's final chapter, the honeymoon may be over, but love persists. The last image Latham gives us is a tender one: the two old newlyweds ``sitting side by side in their recliners, fast asleep, smiling, holding hands.'' Of such images are television movies-of-the-week made. The message that love knows no age barriers would be perfect around Valentine's Day, and actors might bring some life to Latham's two-dimensional characters. Wait for the screen version. (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-679-45675-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
