An idiosyncratic (at best) celebration of the joy of reading.
A slim volume that gives suggestions of 200 books that will take readers through “the magic realm of literature,” yet it offers too little magic and, surprisingly, finds too little of it in the recommended books.
Flynn (Emeritus, Politics/Univ. of Otago; Where Have All the Liberals Gone?: Race, Class, and Ideals in America, 2008, etc.) writes that “it never occurred to me not to read for pleasure,” lamenting the fact that students and academics alike seem to read out of a sense of duty, narrowly rather than widely, missing not only the education that literature offers, but the joy. So far, so good, until we get to the actual recommendations, most of the books summarized in a paragraph or less, many of them damned with faint praise. Flynn claims that Saul Bellow displays “pretension and the irritating need of the author to show how well-educated he is” and that William Faulkner’s “style is too convoluted for my taste.” If Flynn is less than impressed with literature that is a little too literary, he generally ignores anything experimental or postmodern, novels that are more about the writing of the novel than an engagement with the world. He loves Thornton Wilder. He writes that “E.L. Doctorow is a great novelist,” and that “all of [Philip] Roth’s novels are good.” Flynn also highly recommends the later Tom Wolfe books, which have been so widely disparaged, and he rarely goes very deep in his analysis. So, while the impulse underlying this book is solid—to get more people to read more—those who are already widely read will find much of this patronizing or infuriating, while those who hardly read at all aren’t likely to be inspired by a series of tepid summaries.
An idiosyncratic (at best) celebration of the joy of reading.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62636-092-1
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
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
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