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LOOKING TO THE STARS FROM OLD ALGIERS

Name: LOOKING TO THE STARS FROM OLD ALGIERS
Author: Jan Risher
ISBN: 978-1-946160-33-1

AND OTHER LONG STORIES SHORT

by Jan Risher ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 2018

An astute, if idiosyncratically personal, archive of essays.

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A collection of newspaper columns reflects on the joys of family and travel.

Risher (Long Story Short, 2011) has written a newspaper column for the Daily Advertiserin Lafayette, Louisiana, for more than 16 years. Here she assembles her own favorites—the ones that “were the strongest—or ones that held a sentimental place in my heart”—of those published between 2002 and 2017. The essays are generally very brief and cover a wide range of topics, including her childhood in Mississippi, her adoption of a daughter from China, her work as an English teacher and journalist, and her happy marriage. Family and travel form the twin pillars of these intimately personal columns, a profound sense of belonging thoughtfully juxtaposed with the equally powerful allure of wanderlust: “Traveling revives me in a way that nothing else does. I can’t do justice in describing the richness it has brought to my life, the friends I’ve made in new places or the relationships strengthened by the shared experience travel offers.” The author roams the world insatiably—West Africa, Honduras, and post-Katrina New Orleans are among the highlights—and chronicles her adventures with sensitively rendered insights and humor. She also intelligently discusses the nature of storytelling itself—she comes from a long line of raconteurs and seems to see herself, at least professionally, as an English teacher first and foremost. Risher’s prose is confidential and familiar in tone—she writes exclusively in the first person, and each installment reads like a journal entry, the totality of which amounts to an impressionistic memoir. At her best, the author is a breezily informal campfire storyteller; her tales are not quite literary but certainly companionably readable. But her essays can be a bit didactic, too eager to deliver a pithy moral lesson. In addition, their principal virtue doubles as their chief vice—the essays are impressively candid but so personal it’s not immediately obvious why they would resonate with unfamiliar readers. This is a well-written diary, and despite the fact that all the essays are previously published, they don’t always seem as if they were composed to be read by others.

An astute, if idiosyncratically personal, archive of essays.

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-946160-33-1

Page Count: 324

Publisher: Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.