A clever, broad collection of short, definitive remarks about life, love, and social phenomena.
A collection of short sayings on a variety of topics, from intelligence and politics to wealth and happiness.
Aphorisms may be a lost art to many people, but Hutchison sees them as a form of twisted insight, marked by surprise, brevity, and philosophical depth. He begins his book with a short history of the aphoristic tradition, and insists that many popular sayings and quotes have been misattributed after passing through the decades from one thinker to the next. He then presents his own collection of brief, crystalized points and questions on a range of subjects. While some are humorous (“Where there’s a will, there’s a lawyer looking for a way”), others hinge on more serious cynicism (“When politicians talk about the ‘greater good,’ they mean good for everybody but you”). Readers who love clever sayings will enjoy the variety in this book, which includes sharp, critical views and universal wisdom. For example, one passage remarks that “[i]t’s never too late to admit you’re wrong, and always too early to insist you’re right.” Moments such as these will give readers a sense of shared dignity and humility, as they implicate not just one type of actor (lawyers or politicians) or one social construct (marriage or politics) but the human race as a whole. It’s in this way that Hutchison captures poignant thoughts that will stick with readers and offer launching points for deeper reflection—a feature of the aphorism that’s most difficult for writers to capture. Although the author does touch on marriage and dating, he does so in a somewhat sharpened, dissecting way, and he often steers away from deeply exploring romantic love. However, readers who enjoy passing along quotes to friends and family will find this collection to be fruitful for conversation and debate.
A clever, broad collection of short, definitive remarks about life, love, and social phenomena.Pub Date: April 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-887043-90-8
Page Count: 166
Publisher: White River Press
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
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
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