Herewith another collection of comical syndicated columns along the lines of Lewis Grizzard's or, in particular, Dave Barry's. Author Lileks (Falling Up the Stairs, 1988, etc.) turns out to be a heavyweight contender. Working out of Washington, Lileks eschews the temptation to issue punditry from within the Beltway, and instead presses into service all the standard shtick of his profession. Here are funny lists, quizzes, and the ageless litany of comic woes, including obligatory nods to train and air travel, TV commercials, pop music, shoes, and sex. There is even a visit to what is certainly the same banking establishment that demolished Father Leacock when the century was barely adolescent. Lileks does it with a lively intelligence and a somewhat deft daftness. He takes on the funny sides of voice mail and of suicide as well. As philosopher, he concludes that ``the problem with nihilism is that there's nothing behind it.'' Equally undeniable: ``of the four elements, fire is the psychopath.'' Lileks has his writerly way with figures of speech, likening the Jolly Green Giant to a ``lurid golem.'' He confronts a clerk with ``a face so hard that an air bag would probably blow from her nose if you tried to kiss her.'' Meanwhile, two of the most sturdy pieces deal engagingly and accurately with diverse aspects of the life of contemporary writers—first with the rigors of a book tour, then with life on a presidential campaign trail. And there is the definitive profile of Wile E. Coyote. (Future biographers of Mr. Elmer Fudd should not ignore the revelations here.) A generally pleasing collection by another clever columnist who may give the other guys a run for their funny.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-73703-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
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
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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