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THE GUIZER

Name: THE GUIZER
Author: Alan Garner
ISBN: 068886001X

A BOOK OF FOOLS

by Alan Garner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 16, 1976

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Garner begins his brief introduction by naming his subject, The Fool in folklore-but this is no collection of numbskull tales, though a few such anecdotes are included. To Garner, the Guizer (the name refers to an actor in a mumming play) is not only fool—and trickster as well, but, in his various incarnations—arranged here in evolutionary sequence—no less than animal instinct, demiurge, culture hero, and "the dawning godhead in man." Gardner's broad interpretation of the "fool" concept is reflected too in the variety of the tales collected here from world folklore—it is hard to imagine what folk tale would not fit his view of the subject—and, considering the bare minimum of commentary (the two-page introduction and brief appended notes on sources, changes, and problems of translation), sometimes hard to see how those that are here specifically fit the scheme. As an aid, Garner divides the selections into three sections—on the Guizer as Fool, Man, and God—though in some of the episodes the Ashanti Anansi, featured in the first, and the Winnebago Hare, who ends the last, seem much alike. What is clear is Garner's exclusive interest in a universal psychology ("everywhere the myth is the same") as distinguished from cultural anthropology. Only in the notes (which toss off words like "apotropaic" and "theriomorphic") is the cultural origin of each tale identified, and even there readers will find no hint as to who Finn and the Fianna are, though they are subjects of two of the tales in part one. But, in Garner's words, "the book is an entertainment rather than a thesis," and—though it might better have been expanded into a thesis—his versions are both entertaining and closer to their beginnings than you are likely to find in collections for young people. And if readers can't always be expected to follow Gamer's train of thought, he well might prod them to speculation of their own.

Pub Date: Aug. 16, 1976

ISBN: 068886001X

Page Count: 213

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1976

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
TREACLE WALKER
by Alan Garner

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WELL OF THE WIND
by Alan Garner & illustrated by Hervé Blondon

- BOOK REVIEW
STRANDLOPER
by Alan Garner

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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.