A thought-provoking, poignant, and unusual love story that lingers.
A debut memoir about the extraordinary relationship between a woman and a deer that she rescued.
In 1999, Carner and her husband, Pino Blangiforti, had a small farm, Unicorn Hollow, in Tewksbury, New Jersey, where they raised alpacas. One day in May, the author found a small, abandoned fawn that was no more than a few days old and close to death. Carner, drawing on years of experience as a paramedic, scooped up the animal and brought her to the house, placing her in a bathroom they used for their at-risk young alpacas. In riveting detail, she recounts how she revived the fawn they named Blossom with a tiny oxygen mask, intravenous fluids, drops of water on her tongue, and a bit of honey. As Blossom grew stronger, Carner brought her outside to reacclimatize her to her natural environment. The fawn and the author’s Maltese puppy, Kaya, played together in the house and the yard; at night, they curled up together on the bathmat in the shower. Blossom also played with Carner and Pino, greeting them with affectionate face licks. Gradually, friends and neighbors met Blossom. However, Tewksbury had an avid hunting community, and the deer was wandering and staying in the woods more frequently. In engaging, conversational prose, the narrative tracks Carner’s tireless efforts to keep Blossom safe from hunters over approximately four-and-a-half years; she even fashioned a special collar for her. With the tension of a thriller, the book describes the threatening phone calls that she received, in which locals expressed anger at the publicity surrounding Blossom, as well as a time that she had to save Blossom from someone who was intentionally poisoning her. There’s also a dramatic moment when Blossom suddenly arrived to rescue Carner on a muddy slope: “She shifted to support my weight and allowed me to crawl, inch by inch, until I could rest on her back…only turning to nuzzle my neck.”
A thought-provoking, poignant, and unusual love story that lingers.Pub Date: June 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73265-363-4
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Deer Blossom Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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