New York Times garden columnist Raver collects some of her observations on ``noticing things'' and ``the joy of obsession.'' Fortunately, she returns periodically to the subject of gardening; In fact, some of her most engaging pieces are the ones that entertain while they offer practical information to the green- thumb set. Consider, for example, her account of being disabused of a `` `beneficial bugs' fantasy'' by an entomologist who explains that insects lack a sense of gratitude or obligation to their purchaser: After fickle ``eat-and-run'' ladybugs lunch on your aphids, they'll take wing toward their original home, California. Raver's well-developed sense of humor keeps her writing centered, preventing pensive (and even genuinely down) moments from unduly darkening the text and expressions of her love for nature from becoming cloying, as when she reports, ``I found a little cutworm and thought for a split second of the Buddhists' reverence for all living things. Then I squished it.'' Many of these essays implicitly call upon the reader to empathize with and even care about Raver, particularly when she is writing about her family- -describing a moment of understanding shared with her elderly father or wishing she had a daughter so she could pass on what her own mother has ``given me, so freely.'' In this respect, individual pieces are more successful than the book as a whole. The picture we get of the author's life is fragmentary and jumbled; for example, we take for granted the presence of Raver's cat and then stumble over the news of its arrival in the household. It's tough to empathize with a life lived out of sequence. Like a well-tended, personal, and slightly eccentric garden, this collection is stronger on small, individual delights than overall formal design. (15 drawings, not seen)
Pub Date: May 17, 1995
ISBN: 0-679-43483-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
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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