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ONE MORE SUNDAY

Scandals, hypocrisies, and inter-personal tensions at the headquarters of a big-bucks TV preacher—in a competent multi-plot novel that's unexciting in its melodrama, serviceable in its soap opera, and far too preachy (and predictable) in its ironic-expose viewpoint. Rev. John Tinker Meadows, having taken over for his now-senile father, is the centerpiece of the Meadows Center in a small Southern town—home of the Eternal Church of the Believer, complete with TV-Tabernacle, computerized investments, PR machine, etc., etc. The handsome, pious Rev, of course, is secretly sleeping with a married parishioner; the assistant pastor is a repressed sex-maniac who (it becomes clear about halfway through) killed Lindy Owen—an investigative reporter from N.Y. whose body doesn't turn up for a while. Furthermore, the Rev's imperious sister, Reverend Mary Margaret, is a fat neurotic with a father complex; the Church's computer-expert is not only a thief but a seducer of choir-girls; the head of the mailroom is a secret lesbian; and everyone's involved in power-plays, blackmailings, and coverups. Sounds like a trashy TV series? It does indeed. But MacDonald is a solid, classy enough storyteller to maintain steady interest as he sketches in all these subplots—along with the one centered on stockbroker Roy Owen, who's staying at a nearby motel and quietly sleuthing the case of his missing (murdered) wife Lindy. There are intriguing vignettes along the way—like the tense, un-cliched scene between computer-expert/womanizer Rev. Joe Deets and the angry mother of his latest conquest. And MacDonald offers convincing details on the Church's super-technology, including a phone-solicitation program using the synthesized voice of senile Rev. Meadows Sr. (The woman who engineers these programs finally quits in disgust.) Eventually, however, it becomes clear that the various plot-strands aren't going to interweave in a suspenseful way, and that each of the storylines will be given a pat, trite resolution: the murderer commits suicide; Roy finds new love with a quirky local girl; the Church's smarter employees happily quit; the womanizer finds God; and a genuine preacher shows up Rev. John and Rev. Mary Margaret for the hypocrites they are. Without the realism, the tension, or the engaging people of Condominium (1977): a minor MacDonald melodrama, on a far-from-fresh subject (cf. Harold Robbins' Spellbinder, etc.)—but readable enough to attract that big built-in readership.

Pub Date: March 26, 1984

ISBN: 0450058190

Page Count: 347

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1984

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NUTCRACKER

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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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

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.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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