Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Here is evidence in an investigative report on who he was before he became the cult...
Nicholas, the fourth-century resident of Myra, Anatolia, one of the most popular saints, is the subject of this ornate biographical treatment.
British travel-writer Seal (Treachery at Sharpnose Point, 2001, etc.) acts as exploratory pilgrim, tracking the spoor of the saint by train, ferry, bus, vaporetto, auto and jet. He follows Old Saint Nick’s long career, which started modestly enough as he provided wedding dowries, then—posthumously—as patron of seafarers and protector of travelers to the Holy Land, later as an émigré to Russia aiding wayfarers and, eventually, as blessed supplier of aid in general. The redoubtable saint survived Protestantism, and his bones, when picked over, yielded holy relics. Alas, he turned commercial in Amsterdam. Finally, arriving in the New World, like many other immigrants, he changed costume and name (to Santa Claus, naturally) and now the jolly jelly belly, in his trademark red outfit, endorses products like Coca-Cola and finds employment in department stores, posing for photos. As it moves from ancient Nea Prokopi and Güzelyurt to modern Lapland, the narrative is precariously extravagant. Early on, for example, we learn that the legend of Santa is taught by adults to children “like the respectivity of trouser legs.” Huh?! Maybe it makes more sense if you’re British. The author’s writing can be entertaining or, as readily, give you glazed eyeballs. Thus, this erudite outing about St. Nick, rough patches and all.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Here is evidence in an investigative report on who he was before he became the cult personage in the polar parsonage.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58234-419-1
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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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