In these powerful epic tales of the Sonora Desert, Bowden (Red Line, 1989; Mescal, 1988, etc.) peoples the harsh land on both sides of the US-Mexican border with saints and sinners, but his enduring hero is the desert itself. The seven essays are a poignant blend of history, science, legend and lore, naturalism, investigative journalism, portrait painting, and independent thinking. Personal encounters with S&L magnate Charles ``Charlie'' Keating are juxtaposed with illegal survival-acts of the almost extinct Seri Indians of Mexico's southern Sonora. Equally effective are the character sketches of Alfonso the painter, Mexican drug-runners cultivating their orchards in Culiac†n, Miguel the hunter, young Arizona men with the golden touch, or the Yaqui Indians' comings and goings across an international border that divides the unity of the desert. Bowden has as little patience for the sterile plans of puritan environmentalists as for the excesses of the Keating mind-set. He celebrates the survival skills of the mountain lion against all odds, has eyes for complexity, recognizes dilemma, and tries hard to look beyond the fray. ``Time runs long here,'' he says. ``The killings, they come and go.'' The killings (of humans and animals) refer to the collateral damages not only of the drug trade, but of cruelty, greed, development, and poverty. Thought-provoking and moving.
Pub Date: June 17, 1991
ISBN: 0-393-02935-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
