Painstakingly researched and eminently readable.
This full, meticulous examination of Shakespeare's plays, poems and sonnets argues that the most-celebrated playwright of the Western world was a covert Catholic.
Was William Shakespeare a lifelong Roman Catholic? That question has generated lively debate for centuries. Many Shakespeare scholars, however, disregard the religious elements of his plays and believe that the playwright was somehow above the small-mindedness of religious faith. The renowned critic Harold Bloom, author of the best-selling Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, finds the whole issue of Shakespeare's religious nature absurdly beside the point. Why then pursue the matter? For author Waterfield, resolving this question is critical, as Shakespeare was the most important playwright in the English language, and any window into his private mind–or into the core of his beliefs–reveals new insights about why he wrote what he did about God, faith and humanity. Answering the problem of Shakespeare's faith can open a new perspective for reinterpreting the bard's literary legacy. In this meaty treatment, the author places the great writer's life and work under exacting scrutiny, revealing strong evidence that Shakespeare’s writing was intimately influenced by his secret Catholic beliefs. Unlike today, Catholicism under Queen Elizabeth I was a persecuted minority, membership in which could get one "disappeared" into the notorious Tower of London. Knowing that his work might have been informed by religious persecution and repression means knowing the true heart of the man–and possibly of ourselves, for Shakespeare's works are often praised for their insightfulness into the human condition. Writing with impeccable detail in accessible and informative prose, Waterfield has penned a homage to Shakespeare worthy of the legacy it tries so sincerely to illuminate. The Heart of His Mystery is sure to please Shakespeare fans, history buffs or anyone who loves the written word.
Painstakingly researched and eminently readable.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2009
ISBN: iUniverse (684 pp.)
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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
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