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THE WOUNDED STORYTELLER

Name: THE WOUNDED STORYTELLER
Author: Arthur W. Frank
ISBN: 0-226-25992-7

BODY, ILLNESS, AND ETHICS

by Arthur W. Frank ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1995

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Meticulous explication of the significance and value of narratives of illness by a Canadian (Univ. of Calgary) sociologist who, as a survivor of both a heart attack and cancer, is himself a ``wounded storyteller.'' Seriously ill people are wounded in both body and voice and ``need to become storytellers to recover the voices that illness and its treatment have taken away,'' according to Frank (At the Will of the Body: Reflections on Illness, 1991). He draws on illness accounts by Oliver Sacks, Norman Cousins, Gilda Radner, Steward Alsop, and other lesser known individuals to illustrate his points. Frank begins with a fairly esoteric analysis of these stories in terms of four body types (e.g., dominating, disciplined) and their responses to various embodiment problems (e.g., control, desire). Understanding these requires assimilating a rather daunting vocabulary: ``The dominating body shares the qualities of dissociation and lacking desire with the disciplined body, with the crucial difference that the dominating body is dyadic.'' More accessible is his discussion of the three basic narratives into which he categorizes illness stories: restitution narratives, in which the ill person is restored to health; chaos stories, in which life never gets better; and quests, in which the illness leads to new knowledge. For each type of narrative, Frank describes its powers and its limitations. He is deeply concerned with what he terms the pedagogy of sufferingwhat ill people have to teach society. Although illness stories can make a contribution to medical decision making, their value in Frank's view is not in clinical adjudication but in personal becoming, in addressing the question of how to live a good life. Too academic to have wide appeal, but worthwhile for students of ethics, medical and otherwise.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-226-25992-7

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Univ. of Chicago

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.