Holland (One's Company, 1992, etc.) presents a collection of exemplary little essays in praise of a lot of her favorite things. A kind of personal book of virtues, it's one that should, if life is fair, speak to a wide audience. From the first piece, ``Waking Up,'' through ``Lunch'' and ``Spring,'' on to ``Air,'' ``Fire,'' and ``Water,'' past ``Getting Older'' and five dozen others, the persuasive essayist chronicles her view of the Good Life in basic terms. She praises recreational talking and the recumbent state, noting ``that you don't see any other intelligent mammals wobbling around all day balanced on their hind legs, or pretending to relax by sitting upright on their backsides.'' Working is great, she tells us. Not working has its advantages, too. Because we dream, she reminds us, we know how a bird feels (``wonderful''), and she makes us remember that certain things, like happy hours, were given to humanity for enjoyment; it's wasteful and wicked to scorn them. The author expounds on diverse matters that make her heart leap for joy, from firecrackers, gardening, cats, and dogs to bare feet, speeding, and whistling. Her heart leaps a lot, to be sure, though there are a few things, like seat belts, with which Holland is not entirely pleased; and she offers a better defense of smoking than the cigarette industry has ever come up with. Written in confident style, one in which nouns may masquerade as sentences, this winsome text corrects a current misapprehension about the world—it may not be so bad, after all. Just consider all the fun in it. There's coffee and colors and the Fourth of July. Down comforters. Flora. Fauna. Books of essays. Recalling Pollyanna or E.B. White in his lyrical mode, Holland, with her instructive essays, may not lengthen our days on this planet, but perhaps a few of those days will be enhanced for a little while. And that's not bad at all. (line drawings)
Pub Date: March 31, 1995
ISBN: 0-316-37057-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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