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VIE DE FRANCE

Name: VIE DE FRANCE
Author: James Haller
ISBN: 0-425-18472-2

SHARING FOOD, FRIENDSHIP, AND A KITCHEN IN THE LOIRE VALLEY

by James Haller ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2001

An elegant tribute to friendship and joie de vivre that France still offers.

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From a former chef and erstwhile restaurant owner, a beguiling tale of a month in France when the living was easy, the friendships warm, and the food superb.

Refreshingly, Haller is as much intent on celebrating friendship as the good life abroad, though like all travelers, he records encounters with local characters and customs. In 1996, burned out from cooking, he decided to celebrate his upcoming 60th birthday with good friends at his home in Maine. Over coffee, he and his guests began wistfully talking of spending a month in France in an agreeable setting where they could really relax and get to know the country. They learned about a 17th-century house for rent in Savonnieres, a small town in the Loire valley, and began making serious plans. The group would consist of six people: Haller and his partner Jack would stay the entire month; friends like Mona, Helmut, Madeleine, and her husband Mackie would visit for shorter periods; they would all chip in for expenses. Though it was a congenial group, Haller was understandably nervous as they approached the house. Happily, it was even better than its pictures. Wisteria covered the walls, flowers filled the garden, the bedrooms had ample closets, the bathrooms were modern, the kitchen well equipped. Haller, who had not planned on doing any cooking, found his old zest returning as he explored the range of fresh vegetables, pastries, and meats at the food markets and picked fresh produce from their garden. Soon, he was cooking all the meals (menus are included). The weather cooperated as they made side trips to Tours and Paris, visited local chateaux, shopped at farmer’s markets, and attended the local Donkey Festival. Perhaps the best part of their sojourn, however, was sitting out on the terrace overlooking Savonnieres and enjoying harmonious companionship.

An elegant tribute to friendship and joie de vivre that France still offers.

Pub Date: June 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-425-18472-2

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Berkley

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.