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TALENTS AND TECHNICIANS

Name: TALENTS AND TECHNICIANS
Author: John W. Aldridge
ISBN: 0-684-18789-2

LITERARY CHIC AND THE NEW ASSEMBLY-LINE FICTION

by John W. Aldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 1992

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As a literary and social critic, Aldridge (The American Novel and the Way We Live Now, 1983, etc.) has distinguished himself by being the first to discern a cultural trend, whether it be the similarities among postwar American writers or the tyranny of youth culture in the 60's. In this somewhat hasty study of the latest in literary fiction, Aldridge would have us believe that he's done it again, that he's discovered a triumph of MFA-style over world- historical substance in recent stories and novels; and that he's here to fill the ``standardless void'' with his (admirably) old- fashioned notions of edification, instruction, and the imagination. That would all be swell were the self-quoting Aldridge truly the first to notice what's wrong with the writers he discusses at some length: the ``sentimental'' Raymond Carver, the ``politely nihilistic'' Ann Beattie, the ``cutely enigmatic'' Mary Robison, and the ``slick proselytizer for gay rights,'' David Leavitt. He rightly characterizes Frederick Barthleme's ``literary tranquilizers,'' Amy Hempel's ``chronic minimalist constipation,'' and the designer fiction of McInerney and Ellis. Among the ``look- alike writers'' with their ``ideologically impoverished backgrounds,'' he finds some promise in Lorrie Moore's ``mordant sense of humor'' and T.C. Boyle's ``sheer eloquence and richness of language.'' But none of them, Aldridge argues, can hold a candle to their elder, Don DeLillo, offered here as a model for what fiction can do at its best. All of this is right on target, though it's also already been said over and over by many of the ``working critics'' Aldridge claims no longer exist. Which points to the main flaw here: If Aldridge deplores the marketplace hype of the current scene, why discuss ``writers who have received the largest amount of attention and praise?'' Instead of validating the very notions he abhors, Aldridge would have done us all a favor if he'd searched out those contemporary writers who really deserve the critical ink.

Pub Date: April 27, 1992

ISBN: 0-684-18789-2

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1992

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.