Embury’s own works shine brightest in this unevenly executed story of her life.
This fictionalized biography of 19th-century poet, essayist, and protofeminist Emma Embury (1806-1863) highlights her skill and intellect via numerous quotations from her work.
New York City–based writer Embury was the author of many stories and poems, often published in magazines under the pseudonym “Ianthe,” that gained some popularity during her lifetime. As Russell explains in his author’s note, this story of Embury’s life “weaves the facts of her life with imagined accounts of events and conversations,” which allows readers to follow the writer through a precocious and privileged childhood, and through marriage, tragedy, and travel, with a sense of immediacy. It also unambiguously notes Embury’s feminism, showing how she was an early and vocal proponent of women’s education. The work’s fictional elements give a sense of movement to some scenes, which quickens the pace of the work as a whole. That said, much of the dialogue seems stilted and antiquated; the events feel simplified and overly episodic; and too much time is dedicated to describing the fashions of the age—to the degree that, perhaps inadvertently, Embury herself becomes objectified. (Also, inexplicably, a portrait of Embury’s husband, Daniel, is in the book’s frontmatter, but no portrait of the subject herself.) Nonetheless, readers do get valuable insight into Embury’s life as a poet, as a sharp intellect, and as the head of a household; the book also effectively delves into the culture and restrictions of pre–Civil War urban America. The book’s greatest virtue is how it provides generous context to Embury’s poems and essays, many of which are provided in part or in full; indeed, these original sources are more engaging than the biographical elements, more often than not. Despite these shortcomings, Russell deserves credit for seeing the talent in this poet’s work and bringing her words back into the public eye.
Embury’s own works shine brightest in this unevenly executed story of her life.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66980-024-8
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Xlibris US
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A highly readable, boots-on-the-ground war memoir by a noncombatant.
A devout member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church remembers his time in the military during the Vietnam War.
Debut author Beaven opens his story with an in-depth account of his training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and his subsequent deployment to Vietnam. Right away, he notes how his service differed from that of most other young men in the 1960s, as he was a noncombatant Army medic who swore on religious principles never to carry or fire a weapon: “I went to Nam with religious goals and standards that were far different than most,” he writes. “I still have them.” The book’s latter parts tell the story of his time at war, and thanks to the author’s simple, accessible prose style, these memories have a more appealing immediacy than what one might find in a broader-sweep narrative history of wartime. Beaven is a natural storyteller, and some of his anecdotes show the polish that comes from frequent repetition over the years. He also offers a big-picture view of events with a blunt sense of humor that’s very appealing: “There was a great deal of fatalism in the service. ‘When my number comes up, I’m going to go.’ Needless to say, this is all hogwash….I never saw anyone stand up in the middle of a firefight and say, ‘Nyay, nyah, you can’t hit me.’ ” As he presents an insider’s view of what mucking through the hostile countryside was like, he often reveals small, engaging details; he mentions, for example, how troops were issued baseball-style caps but wore floppy slouch hats instead, both for their functionality and because they “made you look like a combat veteran instead of some camp jockey.” Beaven received decorations for his service, but his memoir benefits greatly from his just-one-of-the-guys humility.
A highly readable, boots-on-the-ground war memoir by a noncombatant.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4787-0480-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An edifying analysis that’s exacting but fair.
Debut author Gonzalez, with co-author Lee, offers a searching reflection on the tension between South Korea’s embrace of globalization and its ancient culture.
When California teacher and guidance counselor Gonzalez first visited South Korea in the 1990s, he was astonished by its technological sophistication, which, by many measures, surpassed the United States’. He lived and taught there for 5 years, starting in 2012, and was impressed by “hard-working, entrepreneurial, goal-oriented, practical, and sacrificial Korean people” in a nation that historically weathered war and financial crisis to become a fiercely competitive player on the world stage. At the heart of South Korea’s success, he says, is its cultural emphasis on efficiency—a “way of life” for many citizens, who place extraordinary importance on conventional career accomplishment. However, for a culture with a long history of Confucian and Taoist traditions, the shift toward more traditionally Western values has come at a steep cost, according to the author, who thoughtfully investigates the ways in which a focus on efficiency and competition has negatively affected university admissions and infrastructure, to name two examples. Even more worrisome, he says, many “longstanding traditions seem to be declining,” including the valorization of unity and harmony, reverence for elders, and other traditional family values. Gonzalez astutely charts this tension, and overall, his appraisal of South Korea is impressively comprehensive, encompassing many aspects of its complex culture, even including eating habits. However, he has a tendency to bury the reader under far too much granular detail; for instance, he dwells at protracted length on recent industrial accidents—much more than is necessary to make his argument. Nevertheless, Gonzalez combines his rigorous research with a depth of personal experience, lucidly presented in this admiring but critical account.
An edifying analysis that’s exacting but fair.Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-67423-215-7
Page Count: 442
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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