Well-crafted musings on living in violent and troubled times, using one of the greatest artists of that genre as a lens.
From literary nonfiction author and novelist Connell (Deus Lo Volt!, 2000, etc.), an idiosyncratic consideration of the groundbreaking Spanish artist.
Perhaps it is the violent lunacy of the world since 9/11, but Goya (1746–1828), creator of the Disasters of War etchings and of paintings depicting the brutal Napoleonic occupation of Spain, appears to be an artist for our time. Connell, who has addressed the hell at which we arrive by taking that road paved with good intentions in such nonfiction as Son of the Morning Star (1984), is the latest in a string of storytellers to tackle the Spanish master, following by mere months the publication of art critic Robert Hughes’s more conventional Goya (p. 1164). The author captures the contradictions and dangers inherent in being a member of the establishment during periods of serial oppression and liberation, with fanatical religion tossed into the mix. Though Connell always writes from a personal point of view, his prose here is oddly detached, considering the colorful subject matter. Frequent digressions sometimes lead to a fascinating tale of great—though not obvious— relevance; a whole chapter about Barcelona after the Spanish Civil War (and long after Goya’s death), recalling anti-Franco guerillas, fear of exposure, and torturous death, forcibly calls to mind both pre- and post-liberation Iraq, reminding us that Goya captured the grim, eternal ugliness of war. As an art historian, however, Connell leaves something to be desired. His constant speculation on the meaning of Goya’s work, and his basic incomprehension of pre-modern artistic conventions, might cause a specialist to gloss over parts of this. The absence of illustrations is likewise frustrating, given the viscerally pictorial nature of Goya’s art.
Well-crafted musings on living in violent and troubled times, using one of the greatest artists of that genre as a lens.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58243-307-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2003
Doesn’t dig as deep as it could, but offers a captivating look at the NBA’s greatest era.
NBA legends Bird and Johnson, fierce rivals during their playing days, team up on a mutual career retrospective.
With megastars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and international superstars like China’s Yao Ming pushing it to ever-greater heights of popularity today, it’s difficult to imagine the NBA in 1979, when financial problems, drug scandals and racial issues threatened to destroy the fledgling league. Fortunately, that year marked the coming of two young saviors—one a flashy, charismatic African-American and the other a cocky, blond, self-described “hick.” Arriving fresh off a showdown in the NCAA championship game in which Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans defeated Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores—still the highest-rated college basketball game ever—the duo changed the course of history not just for the league, but the sport itself. While the pair’s on-court accomplishments have been exhaustively chronicled, the narrative hook here is unprecedented insight and commentary from the stars themselves on their unique relationship, a compelling mixture of bitter rivalry and mutual admiration. This snapshot of their respective careers delves with varying degrees of depth into the lives of each man and their on- and off-court achievements, including the historic championship games between Johnson’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics, their trailblazing endorsement deals and Johnson’s stunning announcement in 1991 that he had tested positive for HIV. Ironically, this nostalgic chronicle about the two men who, along with Michael Jordan, turned more fans onto NBA basketball than any other players, will likely appeal primarily to a narrow cross-section of readers: Bird/Magic fans and hardcore hoop-heads.
Doesn’t dig as deep as it could, but offers a captivating look at the NBA’s greatest era.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-547-22547-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
The acclaimed author of My Own Country (1996) turns his gaze inward to a pair of crises that hit even closer to home than the AIDS epidemic of which he wrote previously. Verghese took a teaching position at Texas Tech’s medical school, and it’s his arrival in the unfamiliar city of El Paso that triggers the events of his second book (parts of which appeared in the New Yorker). His marriage, already on the rocks in My Own Country, has collapsed utterly and the couple agree to a separation. In a new job in a new city, he finds himself more alone than he has ever been. But he becomes acquainted with a charming fourth-year student on his rotation, David, a former professional tennis player from Australia. Verghese, an ardent amateur himself, begins to play regularly with David and the two become close friends, indeed deeply dependent on each other. Gradually, the younger man begins to confide in his teacher and friend. David has a secret, known to most of the other students and staff at the teaching hospital but not to the recently arrived Verghese; he is a recovering drug addict whose presence at Tech is only possible if he maintains a rigorous schedule of AA meetings and urine tests. When David relapses and his life begins to spiral out of control, Verghese finds himself drawn into the young man’s troubles. As in his previous book, Verghese distinguishes himself by virtue not only of tremendous writing skill—he has a talented diagnostician’s observant eye and a gift for description—but also by his great humanity and humility. Verghese manages to recount the story of the failure of his marriage without recriminations and with a remarkable evenhandedness. Likewise, he tells David’s story honestly and movingly. Although it runs down a little in the last 50 pages or so, this is a compulsively readable and painful book, a work of compassion and intelligence.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-06-017405-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1998
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