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THE MORAL NAVIGATOR

Name: THE MORAL NAVIGATOR
Author: Emerson Klees
ISBN: 978-1-891046-21-7

:STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

by Emerson Klees ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2008

Relevant but reductive.

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In a three-volume set, Klees boils down an estimable collection of legend, lore and literature in an attempt to make classic writings relevant to today.

In composing his new anthology, Klees retells (often in truncated form) some 110 well-known stories. Each twice-told tale is accompanied by a succinct moral that delivers to the reader in quick strokes what the author believes to be the tale’s ethical content. In the process, he brings together a wide-ranging and fascinating variety of stories that draw upon the mythology of many nations and cultures, from Native American lore (â€œThe Legend of Hiawatha”) to biblical myth (the story of Job) to more modern prose (Twain’s Tom Sawyer). Most frequently, Klees simply paraphrases extant material–a sometimes dubious technique given that he pulls from some of the most enduring literature in history. However, his summaries are largely successful, thanks in no small part to a levelheaded narrative style. The author never tries to outdo his lofty predecessors, and is more likely to cleave closely–and sometimes with obsessive care–to their prose than skip out in flights of fancy. Many readers might agree with the collection’s implied thesis–that much literature and legend carries real moral weight. However, there is something oddly reductive about the project. To suggest that the some of the greatest stories ever told can be distilled to a pithy ethical statement seems simplistic and perhaps naÃ¯ve. Take, as only one example, Klees’s â€œmoral” for Leo Tolstoy’s beautifully nuanced short story â€œHow Much Land Does a Man Need?”: â€œGreed is not a desirable trait. Blatant greed can be death of you.” Does the author really need to trot out the greatest Russian author of all time to deride avarice? And does such a prÃ©cis do justice to what Joyce considered the best story ever written? It seems unlikely.

Relevant but reductive.

Pub Date: May 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-891046-21-7

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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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.