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Afterthoughts While Aging

Name: Afterthoughts While Aging
Author: John Carlson
ISBN: 978-1-4327-9654-9

by John Carlson ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 18, 2012

Sketches about aging that are worth a few chuckles, particularly for older readers.

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An octogenarian offers a random assortment of short texts.

Carlson (Second Thoughts While Aging, 2011, etc.) completes his trilogy on growing old with this slim collection of 32 vignettes. These untitled texts are set in verse format, usually without a rhyme scheme, and under a page in length. With respect to content, there is much here that one might expect to find in a volume of this nature, such as placing a freshly washed plate in the refrigerator. The author, a widower mourning the loss of his wife, seeks companionship. He is also a senior citizen dealing with myriad health issues, including neuropathy, arthritis, and emphysema. In one amusing moment, a friend mistakes Carlson’s bare feet for alligator shoes. Carlson also wonders whether Lamont and Margo, the main characters from the classic radio show “The Shadow,” ever fooled around during their adventures. Beyond that, he comments on diverse topics, such as the beauty of hugs, life on Cape Cod, the impact of Mount Rushmore, and the joy of unexpected carolers. Occasionally, he delves into politics. For instance, after extolling the importance of difference, he writes: “If we all succumbed” to the “same view points… / we would all be Democrats. / That is not a very good thing.” It is also worth mentioning that he plays fast and loose with spelling (“Santa Clause”) and punctuation rules (“natures way”). Still, some readers will find Carlson’s pronouncements entertaining. Along those lines, this representative entry captures the author’s fondness for ellipses as well as his self-deprecating, improvisational tone: “I write stuff down… / when I think of it. / Other guys write stuff up… / as they see it. / I am an author. / They are reporters. / Neither one” of us knows “what we are talking about.” Overall, he reminds us that despite the challenges of aging, the alternative is worse.

Sketches about aging that are worth a few chuckles, particularly for older readers.

Pub Date: July 18, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4327-9654-9

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2016

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.