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STARRY, STARRY NIGHT

Name: STARRY, STARRY NIGHT
Author: Jeanne Braham
ISBN: 1-57129-058-3

PROVINCETOWN'S RESPONSE TO THE AIDS EPIDEMIC

by Jeanne Braham & Pamela Peterson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Like panels in the famous AIDS quilt, but restricted in scope to one small town, these interviews with residents of Provincetown, Mass., tell yet more stories of those afflicted by HIV. Braham, a writer, and Peterson, a psychologist, conducted the interviews over the course of five separate visits they made to Provincetown in 1996. Those interviewed include local nurses, counselors, clergy, social-service administrators, and volunteers. Among the mix of men and women interviewed, many are HIV-positive. What distinguishes this social-psychological account of AIDS from others are the particular features of Provincetown: its small size (permanent population of 3,300), large percentage of gay and lesbian residents, and stunning geography. The authors set the personal interviews with the HIV-infected and their caretakers against the backdrop of the town’s natural land- and seascapes, which alternately both alarm and calm the human spirit. Indicated, but not elaborated, are conflicts between different segments of the HIV-affected community over philosophies and politics of health care, and between recently arrived, relatively affluent gay men and older, often poorer residents. Though every story of battering by AIDS merits telling, the authors’ claims for the “extraordinary . . . communal response to the crisis” of AIDS in Provincetown, and the “astonishing degree of trust” they, as interviewers, received, will strike seasoned AIDS workers as grandiose. In the inverse universe of AIDS, the astonishing and extraordinary come to set the norm, whether for good or ill. In light of that, the authors’ tone could be less self-congratulatory, and the reaching for weighty metaphors less labored. Must a beach setting for cremation ceremonies be described as “gilded with ashes,” or a star-lit night as “the skin of solitude”? AIDS weighs enough already—please, dear authors, lighten up! The heavy-handed touch of the writing notwithstanding, this book does its part to meet the persisting need for both memorials and tributes to all affected by HIV.

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 1-57129-058-3

Page Count: 224

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998

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.