An elegantly written study of an increasingly popular genre.
Johnson (The Hidden Writer, 1997) has compiled dozens of intriguing anecdotes related to journal-writing. We discover, for example, that Truman Capote preferred writing in other people’s homes, while John Updike delegated four rooms in his house to a different genre of writing. The author also reveals here the great lengths to which diarists have gone to ensure their privacy: women dwelling in China’s Hunan province write in a secret diary language known only to them, while da Vinci wrote his journals in mirror-writing and Samuel Pepys kept his in code. Johnson’s enthusiasm for diaries is infectious, and she urges the reader to view the journal as “the one friend you’d never betray.” She sees journals as a means of preserving family history—even traditional recipes—for the next generation, and as a cathartic way to cope with critical illness, divorce, and the passing of loved ones. In addition, keeping a journal can help us find hidden patterns in life’s seemingly random events and prod us to make suitable decisions. And, yes, the author sees the journal as raw material for publishable memoirs, and offers advice on how to cull such material.
An elegantly written study of an increasingly popular genre.Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-12020-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
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
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