Too many intricate details of Smith’s past relationships and boilerplate clichés (e.g., why she won't date a man who listens...
Music writer Smith narrates a melodious road map with much autobiographical detail interwoven.
Despite its title, the self-taught “music obsessive” author’s debut is not a guide book; nor is it aimed specifically at female readers. Instead, it’s a hybrid: part collection of loosely related essays on the music industry, female rock stars and pop music in general; and part memoir, focusing on Smith’s particular tastes in music and how that music affects every aspect of her life, most specifically her dating life. The author’s experience in the industry, however overblown and self-aggrandizing (“I’ve been shaping the music you’ve listened to for a decade,” she declares), makes her extremely confident and knowledgeable about popular music, and there is much here that is both interesting and informative. But some of Smith’s material is disconcerting, such as defining people and events solely through the lens of pop music. Those who share similar tastes will enjoy the book; readers who don't will find the author aggravating (particularly while making sweeping generalizations about music she doesn't like) and boring.
Too many intricate details of Smith’s past relationships and boilerplate clichés (e.g., why she won't date a man who listens too often to The Smiths) make for an uneven collection of essays, ostensibly about music.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-50223-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
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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