British journalist Jenkins adds to the mystery of the elusive actor in this respectful, not very gossipy, unauthorized biography. Though not yet 40, and though he's been featured in only ten or so films, Daniel Day-Lewis has already established himself as a star of amazing depth and range. Jenkins relies largely on interviews with Day-Lewis's half-brother, his nanny, and his teachers, as well as the few previously published interviews with the striking-looking but demure Englishman. Day-Lewis boasts quite a fancy pedigree. His father, Cecil Day-Lewis, was the poet laureate, a translator, and a mystery novelist (as Nicholas Blake); his mother, Cecil's second wife, Jill, is the daughter of Sir Michael Balcon, the head of production at Ealing Studios during the heyday of British filmmaking. Jill is also an actor of note, though she abandoned her career to raise her two children. A comfortable childhood was darkened only by Daniel's father's death when the boy was 15. Daniel's tendency to befriend lower-class toughs and mimic their ways led to his first bit role as a hooligan in Sunday, Bloody Sunday. He studied Method acting at Bristol Old Vic, where he began preparing for roles with grueling immersion into character, and made a name for himself onstage. But but it wasn't until 1985 that Day-Lewis made a splash with his widely disparate portrayals of a gay London punk in My Beautiful Laundrette and the upper-class prig in A Room with a View. His shape-shifting has persisted with roles as a Czech Don Juan, an early American frontiersman, an Irish political prisoner, and the crippled writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot, for which he won the 1989 Best Actor Oscar. Jenkins inflates his prose at times, and indulges in not a few show-biz clichÇs. But it's a serviceable job nonetheless, a fine tribute to a talent in full bloom.
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-312-13044-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.
The renowned writer offers advice on information-gathering and nonfiction composition.
The book consists of eight instructive and charming essays about creating narratives, all of them originally composed for the New Yorker, where McPhee (Silk Parachute, 2010, etc.) has been a contributor since the mid-1960s. Reading them consecutively in one volume constitutes a master class in writing, as the author clearly demonstrates why he has taught so successfully part-time for decades at Princeton University. In one of the essays, McPhee focuses on the personalities and skills of editors and publishers for whom he has worked, and his descriptions of those men and women are insightful and delightful. The main personality throughout the collection, though, is McPhee himself. He is frequently self-deprecating, occasionally openly proud of his accomplishments, and never boring. In his magazine articles and the books resulting from them, McPhee rarely injects himself except superficially. Within these essays, he offers a departure by revealing quite a bit about his journalism, his teaching life, and daughters, two of whom write professionally. Throughout the collection, there emerge passages of sly, subtle humor, a quality often absent in McPhee’s lengthy magazine pieces. Since some subjects are so weighty—especially those dealing with geology—the writing can seem dry. There is no dry prose here, however. Almost every sentence sparkles, with wordplay evident throughout. Another bonus is the detailed explanation of how McPhee decided to tackle certain topics and then how he chose to structure the resulting pieces. Readers already familiar with the author’s masterpieces—e.g., Levels of the Game, Encounters with the Archdruid, Looking for a Ship, Uncommon Carriers, Oranges, and Coming into the Country—will feel especially fulfilled by McPhee’s discussions of the specifics from his many books.
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-14274-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
