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MAN EATERS MOTEL

Name: MAN EATERS MOTEL
Author: Denis Boyles
ISBN: 0-395-58082-X

: AND OTHER STOPS ON THE RAILWAY TO NOWHERE: AN EAST AFRICAN TRAVELLER'S NIGHTBOOK

by Denis Boyles ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 28, 1991

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Another splendidly keen-eyed and cant-free book from Boyles (African Lives, 1988), who takes the old travel chestnut—a journey by train in the wilds—and turns it into a tart but not unsympathetic commentary on East Africa, past and present. Boyles begins on the once-prosperous clove-growing island of Zanzibar, center of the Arab-run slave trade and the first British foothold in East Africa. He next travels to Mombasa, the former Arab stronghold on the Kenyan coast and the first stop on the railway, planned by the British to run from the coast through Nairobi and Kenya to Kisumu on Lake Victoria. Begun in 1896 and built with imported labor from India, the railway's progress into the interior was slow, and events at Tsavo—site of the very real but much underused Man Eaters Motel of the title—almost ended the project. Now a sleepy railway halt in the middle of the Taru desert, Tsavo was once the scene of a terrifying spree by man- eating lions, who before they were finally shot had killed more than 128 people, often snatching them from their tents while they were sleeping, or, in one instance, from a stationary railway carriage. The rest of the journey to Kisumu, a place ``trouble enough for most people,'' is relatively tame in comparison but typically enlivened by Boyles's cogent observations and penchant for the unusual. Vivid writing, well-chosen anecdotes, illuminating facts, and a special knack for finding and delineating memorable characters make this a treat for those who delight in the offbeat, always objective, and never pompous travel book.

Pub Date: June 28, 1991

ISBN: 0-395-58082-X

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYTHING EXPLAINED THAT IS EXPLAINABLE
by Denis Boyles

- BOOK REVIEW
SUPERIOR, NEBRASKA
by Denis Boyles

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.