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DARKEST DESIRE

THE WOLF'S OWN TALE

A mordantly witty, slyly intelligent take on the Brothers Grimm and their folktales, as seen from the viewpoint of a man-eating (or, more precisely, child-eating) wolf that they attempt to subdue. Schmitz (Lost Souls, not reviewed) imagines the brothers (ponderous, pompous Wilhelm and sly, cruel, beguiling Jacob) encountering, one dark night in a mysterious forest (populated by trolls, ghosts, and at least one devil), a talking wolf. Astonished, and then intrigued, Jacob attempts to seduce the wolf into recording his life story, quickly wringing from him the confession that his greatest pleasure, pursuing and eating the children who occasionally stray into the forest, has made him an outcast, shunned by other wolves, and perpetually hunted by men. The brothers, in the midst of gathering the folktales that (they are already convinced) will make them famous, see in the wolf a chance to garner unique material, while the wolf, in thrall to and repulsed by his appetite for humans, sees a chance to reform, to become more pacific and less wolflike, perhaps even to be happy. He agrees to allow the brothers to attempt a “cure.” The wolf’s voice dominates the tale. Sad and scornful by turn, haunted by its obsession, driven by a yearning to escape a life seemingly defined by violence, the voice charms, rages, and laments, in a language that nicely reflects the mingled quaintness and vigor of the Grimms’ own tales. Beating the brothers at their own game, Schmitz conjures up an animal that has more intelligence and wit than the humans hungering to destroy it. Things turn nasty when the wolf finally stumbles on the brothers— plot to kill him. Along the way, Schmitz offers a droll revisionist portrait of the Grimms as hustling, would-be bourgeois, and a witty send-up of a variety of modern theories about the origins of violence and character. An artful, ironic updating of venerable material, done with zest and great originality.

Pub Date: Nov. 26, 1998

ISBN: 0-88001-626-4

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Ecco/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998

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THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.

"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

Pub Date: June 15, 1951

ISBN: 0316769177

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951

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MAGIC HOUR

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Pub Date: March 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-345-46752-3

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005

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