Radakovich gives men the lowdown about women's secret desires and conversations, as exemplified by the Wild Girls Club, consisting of her and her ``supervixen'' friends. The pieces collected here, which have appeared in Details magazine, were written for a male audience, but, filled with anecdotes about the search for sex and love, they will also appeal to women. Obsessed with sex and male sex organs, Radakovich relates her experiences with exuberant candor. After sampling the offerings from a couple of male escort (read ``prostitute'') services, Radakovich concludes that ``having someone to worship you is one of life's better turn-ons.'' In another experiment, she tests several aphrodisiacs, with varied results (after taking one called Montezuma's Secret, ``even the knockwurst in the refrigerator started to look good''). Tired of the single life, she joins several dating services (``getting laid was not the problem; finding someone who didn't irritate us in the morning after was'') only to meet a nerd, a likable slob, and a man who embarrasses her by performing card tricks at an outdoor cafe. When a neighbor finds love on a cruise ship, Radakovich takes a cruise. Although at first the trip is a ``single's nightmare,'' it turns around with a huge alcoholic fest and flirtation confessions near the end of the cruise. Radakovich's raffish sense of humor litters her book, especially her tongue-in-cheek answers to ``probing questions from the male room'' as ``the Determinator'' at Details. Although right on target with much of her advice and narration, she also receives mail from irate customers (``Come to Seattle,'' one man writes, ``Ted Bundy was from here''). Battled-scarred survivors of stressful dating and miscommunication will want to read this book, if only for laughs.
Pub Date: May 4, 1994
ISBN: 0-517-59631-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
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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