bookshelf

...IF THEY REALLY LOVED US.

Name: ...IF THEY REALLY LOVED US.
Author: D.J. Parsons
ISBN: 978-1501081149

THE FAILED PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM, INCLUDING: WOMEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DIRT - THE HYBRID LIBBYCON DIRECTORY 2015-2016

by D.J. Parsons ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 11, 2015

Occasionally pointed but often disjointed musings on politics, religion, and popular culture.

bookshelf

According to this wide-ranging manifesto, it’s time for women to examine men’s leadership failures and turn the world around.

This latest book from Parsons (The Murder of the Church Secretary, 2012, etc.) argues that men had their chance to lead and they squandered it. Because they have failed, she writes, “women must accept the responsibility of pulling the whole planet back into balance and taking that role away from the aggressive, dominating barbarian male.” In addition to men, she casts scorn upon political conservatives, the American South (where she claims women cannot access birth control), New Jersey (“atrocious” for its hate groups), and Walmart, whose business she hopes declines. She encourages readers to consult books about good manners, and posits that candidates who claim to be Christians are false if they show contempt for others. In the next paragraph, however, she criticizes New Jersey’s governor for showing his “@$$” and notes “what a big @$$ it was.” On the subject of Islamic jihad, she writes that people wouldn’t have to fear it if the Middle East had jobs, freedom, hot tubs, dishwashers, and electric razors. Freedom makes sense, but hot tubs? In the book’s most self-aware sentence, the author acknowledges wandering off-topic: “What does this rant have to do with voting?” Indeed, “rant” is often a fitting term for these stream-of-consciousness writings. The author occasionally offers constructive points, as when she says that “[r]egistering to vote begins a great journey of taking part in life.” She also sprinkles in mini-biographies of famous women—including social worker Jane Addams, Pocahontas, and actress Holly Hunter. Overall, though, the writing is uneven, bouncing from Bible verses to sarcasm in an instant. Also, there are many awkward, largely unattributed photos, including one of a business-suited woman with her head in the sand and her posterior in the air. The book concludes with the author’s “LibbyCon” directory, which lists liberal and conservative activists, media personalities, politicians, and others that she deems worthy of a listen.

Occasionally pointed but often disjointed musings on politics, religion, and popular culture.

Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2015

ISBN: 978-1501081149

Page Count: 140

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: April 21, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.