A disarmingly modest yet profound tale of redemption.
The story of a desperately poor Londoner and a twice-abandoned Staffordshire bull terrier named George poses the question, "Who rescued whom?"
When acclaimed East London–based artist Dolan was jobless and living on government assistance, he could easily have blamed others or several factors that led to his hard circumstances. However, in his first book, he is surprisingly cleareyed and honest about how he largely caused his own failures: truancy, substance abuse, and being a career criminal with nothing going for him throughout his 20s. He was clearly disappointed in himself but managed to retain a kernel of optimism. Living in poverty in a cold, dirty apartment, Dolan admits he was "as far away from sensible as you can get.” Then he agreed to take George in from a couple of fellow transients. Readers share his sense of expectation of changing fortunes when he writes movingly about the first time he took George outside: "I just wanted to concentrate on how good it felt to be walking a dog again….It seemed like the first time in fifteen years I'd walked anywhere with a good honest purpose." The author’s forthrightness and great empathy for his new best friend ("God, I felt sorry for him. I knew exactly how it felt to be the one not chosen, the one who got left behind") make him sympathetic and engaging. With George beside him at all times, Dolan regained his creative fire and love of drawing, both of which were suffocated by his miserable circumstances. Knowing the book has a happy ending dulls any distress reading about the author's struggles or George's sad early life. With dry wit and a lack of sentimentality, the author maintains reader investment. His unpretentiousness and the struggles that preceded his eventual (and well-deserved) success keep this Cinderella story gritty and grounded.
A disarmingly modest yet profound tale of redemption.Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4683-1120-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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
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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