As precious as a vein of sapphires in Serendip is this collection of new western writing pulled together by the editors of Northern Lights, the literary review where most of these pieces first appeared. It's usually fairly easy to find a few dogs in a collection such as this, but none too easy here. The 44 essays, poems, and memoirs are arranged to play well with one another and to balance bright and dark, pensive and exuberant. Among the highlights: Jim Harrison (``Nesting in Air'') at his stream-of-consciousness best, meditates upon food and rituals, two items that take up plenty of space in his daily thoughts; Gretel Ehrlich, in a series of correspondences to an architect friend, designs her special house: ``part wild, part human, part beast'' (``Letters to an Architect''); Edward Abbey takes a look at the love/hate relationship Americans have with the cowboy (``Something about Mac, Cows, Poker...''), coming down four-square in the hate camp; and Terry Tempest Williams tells of her membership in ``The Clan of the One-Breasted Women,'' a family riddled with breast cancer. But the real fun is in the mesmerizing new names: Jerry McGahan and his tale of a man's quixotic and prescient, if thwarted, land deal (``Waxwing''); Geoff O'Gara on, again, the rituals of nourishment: a whole different approach than Harrison's, though just as entertaining (``America Eats''); and Ellen Meloy exploring one of the finer points of the vernacular landscape: the drive-in (``Passion Pit''), to mention only three of more than 25 relative unknowns. A remarkable gathering, from which you will emerge shaking your head at the amount of sheer pleasure 400 pages can deliver.
Pub Date: Nov. 24, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-75542-X
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Vintage
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
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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