Next book

MISS MANNERS' GUIDE TO DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY

THE AUTHORITATIVE MANUAL FOR EVERY CIVILIZED HOUSEHOLD, HOWEVER HARRIED

Miss Manners, who has never hesitated to man the barricades in defense of courtesy and consideration among friends, acquaintances, and business associates, steps out in her Wellingtons in setting guidelines for civilized behavior at home. Nevertheless, she tries nobly to defend the idea of home as warm refuge against the harsh world and deplores the current trend to substituting entertainment center for cheery hearth, parties as opportunities for professional advancement instead of “family merriment,” and baking bread instead of breaking bread. As always, Martin (Miss Manners’ Basic Training: The Right Thing to Say, 1998, etc.) is direct, pungent, and to the point. For instance, addressing the question “Why can’t private life be organized on a more businesslike basis?,” Miss Manners opines: “Because it’s not a business. You can’t fire the children.” She bravely continues, in the familiar format combining short essays on the pros and cons of modern family life with questions and answers from her “Gentle Readers,” to address such matters as how to deal with step-relatives, ex-relatives, relatives who have long-term relationships with married men, and getting along with neighbors. Some questions concerning blended and extended families deserve her serious consideration. Others, such as whether to close the bathroom door in view of dinner guests (an issue of “middle class morality”), leaves the reader—as it leaves Miss Manners—quite concerned about a generation that must consult an expert about whether or not to leave the bathroom door open or closed. Similar questions include serving the soup or the salad first or whether having a close friend’s child push for a charitable donation is appropriate. Miss Manners hopes that television is not dictating etiquette, but that homes are founded on “respect, generosity, hospitality and shared time and resources.” Miss Manners’s readers may find assistance here in establishing those parameters.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1999

ISBN: 0-517-70165-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999

Categories:
Next book

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

Categories:
Next book

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

Categories:
Close Quickview