An aquatic comedy of errors for anyone who’s ever thought about “going off the grid.”
A computer programmer pursues a sailor’s life in this amusing debut memoir.
Glenn Damato always dreamed of sailing around the world and, at age 41, he decided to quit his well-paid job as a software instructor, raid his nest egg and unfurl the sails. His Silicon Valley comrades are dubious—he’s overweight and has never set foot on a sailing boat. Indeed, Damato has a hidden motive for leaving civilization behind: His love life is at a standstill. During his last date, the woman didn’t even get out of her car when she saw him. “I am guilty of an Appearance Crime worse than ugliness,” he writes. “I am a diminutive man.” So it’s off to the sea for the would-be mariner, who buys a fixer-upper named Serenity and spends much of this book trying to make the vessel seaworthy. Damato seems a bit overconfident about his sailing skills, as he merely takes an introductory course, but he’s definitely a skilled mechanic—he used to work on a nuclear submarine. As a writer, Damato makes his rehabilitation of the craft surprisingly interesting, and he mines plenty of comedy from his ineptitude. For example, when he installs a glorified mulch box as the boat’s toilet, the decision haunts him in the form of “baby diaper stench” and dry heaves. Damato’s interactions with people also provide plenty of cringing humor as he manages to finagle a crew for his maiden voyage: Joyce, an acerbic hippie; Richard, a Coors Light chain-drinker; and Megan, who harbors romantic feelings for our hero. Is there any chance their trip will end in anything but disaster? Damato’s self-deprecating style goes a long way toward engaging readers’ sympathies, and his pithy prose keeps the story speeding along, even if landlubbers may occasionally get lost during some of the more jargon-heavy passages.
An aquatic comedy of errors for anyone who’s ever thought about “going off the grid.”Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985816209
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Ninth Circle Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
