A stirring recollection of the impact of global politics on one man’s family.
In a posthumously published memoir, a Russian man relives the turbulence of revolution and war in the 20th century.
Debut author Kochanowsky was born in Siberia in 1905 in the culturally bustling city of Krasnoyarsk. As part of a talented, ambitious family, he was driven to be academically successful; he also became an accomplished piano player and learned to love the opera and Beethoven. Even World War I barely touched his remote home. However, the Russian Revolution in 1917 shattered his idyllic upbringing; after the rise of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, war and tyranny arrived at his doorstep. Thousands of people died in Krasnoyarsk, and Communist soldiers unceremoniously confiscated property that belonged to the author’s family. The Kochanowskys finally fled, and the author decided that they had no choice but to escape to China. They made their way to the Chinese city of Harbin, and the author later moved to Freiberg, Germany, where he put himself through school by working as a coal miner. However, he later witnessed the rise of the Nazis in Dusseldorf, in the ugly form of Kristallnacht. Although he’d always attended Christian churches, the Gestapo declared him to be Jewish, due to his family history, which made his life in Germany dangerous; he traveled around the country to avoid capture and hoped to one day make his way to the United States. After several close calls with the Gestapo and some jail time, Kochanowsky was able to make it to Switzerland, where he met his future wife. From there they moved to Argentina and, finally, in 1953, to New York City. The story in this memoir is consistently inspiring, and Kochanowsky is right to label himself a “moral athlete,” as he shows how he remained unwaveringly committed to his ideals despite great danger and temptation. Of course, the story is dominated by his experiences with geopolitical turmoil, but he also writes charmingly of art, romance, and even sex. Along the way, he also avoids the resentful cynicism that often results from extraordinary loss. This manuscript was prepared by the author’s daughter, Vera Kochanowsky, and she includes a foreword that affectionately describes her own remembrances of him. Overall, this is a moving memoir and a marvelous firsthand account of one of the most momentous eras in modern history.
A stirring recollection of the impact of global politics on one man’s family.Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4834-6171-7
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
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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