Measured yet passionate, a compelling look at one man’s struggle against the worst of corporate blaming and the hard-earned...
Many people will experience being fired, but, as Yap details in this cleareyed, often gripping memoir, his being fired was just the beginning of decadelong torment.
As a rising star at Citizens Bank, one of several prosperous Jamaican banks in the early 1990s, Yap seemed to have it all: a record of sterling employee reviews, leadership of an innovative and respected technology division, a harmonious multigenerational home life, and excellent pay, with the promise of more to come. His life was seemingly ideal, until early October 1993, when he was unceremoniously fired from his job and slapped with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. Shamed by false accusations, his assets frozen, Yap turned to a local attorney and family acquaintance to try and fight the charges. The ensuing battle to clear his name and free him of the social and financial burdens took roughly a decade, culminating in his case before the Privy Council in London, the highest court for Commonwealth nations. With precision and passion, Yap relates the technical and legal details of his battle, which included the first use of the Mareva injunction in modern Jamaican history. Even when delving into the inner workings of contracts and chargebacks, the righteous anger and pained humiliation sizzle between the lines of Yap’s measured, self-deprecating prose. Almost as important as the technical details are the insights into Yap’s family life, which he highlights with understated sadness and bursts of both Jamaican slang and earthy profanity. Quotes from his wife, children, and friends round out the details of Yap’s tumultuous life during this period, and to his credit, Yap neither goes overboard in assigning blame nor ignores his own failings and mistakes that compounded his feelings at the time.
Measured yet passionate, a compelling look at one man’s struggle against the worst of corporate blaming and the hard-earned wisdom that resulted from his fight.Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0986941375
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Sassy Sunflower Books
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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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