bookshelf

EROS

Name: EROS
Author: Alberto Bevilacqua
ISBN: 1-883642-35-3

by Alberto Bevilacqua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 20, 1996

bookshelf

An odd mixture of touchy-feely meditation and clinical speculation on eros and its many expressions. A bestseller in Italy, Eros presents Bevilacqua as the archetypal ``Sensitive Guy,'' appalled by the brutish nature of many men, ever solicitous of his own (many) lovers. ``Eros is not, can never be, as so many men believe, purely penetration. This is profanation. . . . Some men cast off the power contained in their semen in a few minutes. They are blind and deaf to Eros.'' Weaving together autobiographical recollections and reflections inspired by tales that he has been told about lovers past and present, Bevilacqua covers such diverse matters as the most explosive orgasm he ever provoked, the challenges and pleasures of oral sex, his first sexual experience, and the strange connection between sex and death. He recalls amorous games. He muses on voyeurism and masturbation. He offers definitions of various perversions (scopophilia, bestiality) and a variety of pronouncements about the different ways in which men and women experience sexual need. Interspersed with these ingredients are miniature case studies of people altered or devastated by erotic encounters. Although the book is often disarmingly frank and does offer some surprisingly sensitive psychological insight (Bevilacqua observes, for instance, that some women may go through a bisexual phase when male aggression seems particularly threatening), it rambles rather too much. A refreshingly frank discussion of the sexual experience that nevertheless seems finally more talky than stirring. There's light here, but, surprisingly, not much heat.

Pub Date: Nov. 20, 1996

ISBN: 1-883642-35-3

Page Count: 200

Publisher: Steerforth

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.