A superficial gloss on the lives and careers of the famed rock duo, from prolific celebrity-chronicler Morella (Paul and Joan, 1988, etc.) and TV producer Barey. Apparently devoid of any fresh research—or insight—the book follows the pair from their childhood friendship through a brief run as teen rockers, stunning success as leading players in the 60's folk-rock movement (becoming, as the authors ponderously and repeatedly note, ``the voice of a generation''), the bitter 1970 breakup, several abortive reunion attempts, and their current status as independent ``old friends, professionally but not personally, estranged.'' Included are the expected misunderstandings and jealousies, along with the duo's respective personal involvements, marriages (two each), and divorces (two for Simon, one for Garfunkel). The singers emerge precisely as they have appeared in their various group and individual incarnations: Art—decent, cerebral, clever, and almost ruinously passive; Paul- -driven, moody, insecure, talented, and a lot more interesting. The blandly familiar overview is, however, marred by minor but annoying factual inaccuracies (e.g., misidentifying the trailblazing British rock show Ready, Steady, Go as Ready, Set, Go) and such inexplicable errors as misquoting the lyrics of the duo's chart- topping ``Mrs. Robinson'' not once, but twice—a lapse compounded by the obvious readings passed off here as song analysis (the solemn pronouncement that the line ``My daddy was the family bassman'' in the song ``Baby Driver'' is ``homage'' to Paul's bassist father, etc.), and by the questionable slighting of Simon's far more critically acclaimed solo career. Basic fanzine fluff. (Sixteen pages of photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 1-55972-089-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Birch Lane Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1991
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
A standout immigrant coming-of-age story.
In her first nonfiction book, novelist Grande (Dancing with Butterflies, 2009, etc.) delves into her family’s cycle of separation and reunification.
Raised in poverty so severe that spaghetti reminded her of the tapeworms endemic to children in her Mexican hometown, the author is her family’s only college graduate and writer, whose honors include an American Book Award and International Latino Book Award. Though she was too young to remember her father when he entered the United States illegally seeking money to improve life for his family, she idolized him from afar. However, she also blamed him for taking away her mother after he sent for her when the author was not yet 5 years old. Though she emulated her sister, she ultimately answered to herself, and both siblings constantly sought affirmation of their parents’ love, whether they were present or not. When one caused disappointment, the siblings focused their hopes on the other. These contradictions prove to be the narrator’s hallmarks, as she consistently displays a fierce willingness to ask tough questions, accept startling answers, and candidly render emotional and physical violence. Even as a girl, Grande understood the redemptive power of language to define—in the U.S., her name’s literal translation, “big queen,” led to ridicule from other children—and to complicate. In spelling class, when a teacher used the sentence “my mamá loves me” (mi mamá me ama), Grande decided to “rearrange the words so that they formed a question: ¿Me ama mi mamá? Does my mama love me?”
A standout immigrant coming-of-age story.Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-6177-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
