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LUCKY IN LOVE

Name: LUCKY IN LOVE
Author: Catherine Johnson
ISBN: 0-670-84354-7

THE SECRETS OF HAPPY COUPLES AND HOW THEIR MARRIAGES THRIVE

by Catherine Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1992

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Johnson, a contributing editor to New Woman, examines a question that many often answer with skepticism if not outright cynicism: Can a marriage be truly happy and remain so for a lifetime? Johnson claims to have been skeptical herself at first, though as a wife and new mother she wanted to be convinced. The 60 happy couples she found (out of 100 respondents) persuaded her that the dream was attainable. Here, she presents general characteristics common to most of these ``vital couples'' (``Happy couples establish and follow productive daily routines''; ``It is essential not to take any major action that you will have to keep secret from your mate''), which she then illustrates with examples from her interviews. These brief observations form a helpful checklist that readers can use to monitor the vital signs of their own relationships or to define goals for improvement. There are few real surprises in Johnson's findings; perhaps the most unexpected is the extent to which children, even wanted and loved children, can strain a marriage. Other revelations may, in the author's opinion, cause chagrin among feminists: that thriving romances seem to be built on a sense of the man's being ``superior,'' strong, and dominating—but only in the realms of sexuality and fantasy—and that, in a good marriage, distinctions between spouses blur as, in important ways, husband and wife meld into one entity. Fighting, sex and fidelity, work and finances, and coping with tragedy are other subjects on which Johnson sounded out her respondents. Anecdotal rather than scientific, and based on a limited sample of mostly white, middle-class, conventional people. Nonetheless, many should find this heartening.

Pub Date: March 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-670-84354-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1992

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.