Sometimes the sentences are as tangled as the underbrush, but for readers who like their travel-writing as rich as...
A Mediterranean idyll from a British novelist (Sylvia and Ted, 2001, etc.) whose parents took up residence on a Greek island in the mid-1960s.
It’s relevant to note that Tennant is British, because her celebration of Corfu’s clear, blue water, warm, golden sun, flora, fauna, and colorful vistas is emblematic of the love affair English artists, poets, and writers have carried on with the Mediterranean over the centuries. There is even the ubiquitous classical allusion. Rovinia (meaning “ruin”), the spot where her parents decided to build their dream house, was the place where the shipwrecked Odysseus was rescued by the island’s princess—or so legend, and some evidence, has it. That romantic tale underlies Tennant’s Arcadian descriptions of beaches and wandering paths, sunsets, and the eccentricities of local folk. The thread that unites her evocations of the landscape is the story of her parents’ house. Before construction could begin, they had to accumulate many small land parcels, each subject to much negotiation and assurances that villagers could continue to use their rights of way. With the help of a local architect, the building of the house (a simple design with huge glass windows facing the sea) went relatively smoothly, even though bags of building materials and fresh water had to be carried up a steep, winding path on the backs of local women. However, it took two years and an imported British colonel with divining rods before a fresh-water source was found near the house; installing electric power took even longer. On frequent visits to the island, Tennant joined her parents at local engagement parties and baptisms; she recounts adventures both political and meteorological, recalls delicious meals as well as village gossip and lore.
Sometimes the sentences are as tangled as the underbrush, but for readers who like their travel-writing as rich as first-press olive oil, this will appeal. (b&w photos)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8050-6897-X
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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