RED LOBSTER, WHITE TRASH AND THE BLUE LAGOON

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RED LOBSTER, WHITE TRASH AND THE BLUE LAGOON

Name: RED LOBSTER, WHITE TRASH AND THE BLUE LAGOON
Author: Joe Queenan
ISBN: 0-7868-6332-3

JOE QUEENAN'S AMERICA

by Joe Queenan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 1998

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A slim, one-joke stab at pop-cult criticism from journeyman humorist Queenan (The Unkindest Cut, 1995, etc.). For 18 months, beginning with the musical Cats (“the worst thing on the entire planet”), Queenan immersed himself in the dregs of popular culture. He dined at Red Lobster and the Olive Garden, read Robin Cook and Robert James Waller, listened to Kenny G., Yanni, and John Tesh, watched the sequels of sequels of forgettable movies, such Body Chemistry IV and Children of the Corn III, and traveled to those meccas of bad taste, Branson, Mo., and Atlantic City. It’s an amusing idea for an article but, at least in Queenan’s hands, insufficient for a book. There’s more padding here than in a La-Z-Boy recliner, more fluff than in all the touring companies of Cats. Queenan’s research seems to have rubbed off on his writing: It’s remarkably structureless, and the invective is usually playground-witty. While most of his encounters with the bad are predictable—hit-and-run ad hominem lambastings of the usual suspects—he does find some semi-precious gems in the rough. Sizzlers is surprisingly tasty: “an eloquent symbol for all that is best about American cheap food, and lots of it.” Wayne Newton, Barry Manilow, and Andy Williams are hardworking and entertaining troupers. And Las Vegas could have been a lot worse. One of the best things about the book is its index, including such entries as, “Aykroyd, Dan,when coupled with ‘Starring,— 2 scariest words in English language,” or “Davis, Jr., Sammy, unforgivable crimes of.” In his travels through the badlands, Queenan frequently experiences what he calls “scheissenbedauren,” a feeling of regret “when things you do expect to suck do suck, but not as much as you would secretly like them to suck.” Readers familiar with Queenan’s labored oeuvre will understand this feeling all too well. (Author tour)

Pub Date: July 4, 1998

ISBN: 0-7868-6332-3

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
by Joe Queenan

- BOOK REVIEW
CLOSING TIME
by Joe Queenan

- BOOK REVIEW
QUEENAN COUNTRY
by Joe Queenan

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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.