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YOUTHFUL WRITINGS

Name: YOUTHFUL WRITINGS
Author: Albert Camus
ISBN: 0241895219

CAHIERS II

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 8, 1876

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This is really two books: the first, a critical analysis of the literary and personal influences on the young Camus; the second, a selection of his unpublished writings—essay, prose, and verse—produced between the ages of 19 and 21. It is misleading to call Viallaneix' essay "introductory," since it assumes a working familiarity with Camus' oeuvre as well as those of the writers and philosophers he read as an adolescent—Gide, Baudelaire, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer, among others. The translator has thoughtfully provided explanatory notes for some of the more obscure references, but the reader who approaches this essay cold will find the going rough; those with the requisite background will find it insightful and illuminating. As is often the case with juvenilia, the pieces are more important for what they tell us about the author's mature works than for their intrinsic value as finished works of art. With-in the short span represented here, one follows the development of Camus' conception of literature (which emerges as a fully developed philosophy of art in The Rebel) from the "oblivion" of dreams to a "deliverance." Themes and images that turn up in the later works reveal themselves—the Mediterranean sun, for example, which assumes such an important role in The Stranger. The overall impression is of the young writer's seriousness of purpose, a touching sincerity, and an inveterate lyricism (which he strives to discipline), expressed in an endearingly clumsy style, as Camus attempts to define his task as an artist. Even before opening the book, we know it is significant; we discover that it is also affecting and charming.

Pub Date: Nov. 8, 1876

ISBN: 0241895219

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1976

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
COMMITTED WRITINGS
by Albert Camus ; translated by Justin O'Brien & Sandra Smith

- BOOK REVIEW
PERSONAL WRITINGS
by Albert Camus ; translated by Ellen Conroy Kennedy & Justin O'Brien

- BOOK REVIEW
ALGERIAN CHRONICLES
by Albert Camus translated by Arthur Goldhammer edited by Alice Kaplan

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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.