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TRAVELING ON THE EDGE

Name: TRAVELING ON THE EDGE
Author: Julia Llewellyn Smith
ISBN: 0-312-28292-3

JOURNEYS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GRAHAM GREENE

by Julia Llewellyn Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 2001

A clever premise inadequately executed, shedding little light on either Greene or the places he explored.

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London journalist Smith takes a superficial look at several of the countries that inspired Graham Greene.

Great travel books, particularly those written by the British, typically have their genesis in a quirky idea advanced by an eccentric traveler: Redmond O’Hanlon heads off to Borneo in search of an extinct rhinoceros; Eric Newby abandons his career in fashion for a “short walk” in the Hindu Kush. For her part, Smith’s inspiration came from Greene’s novels, often set “in lost, lonely, neglected parts of the world.” Based on nothing more, Smith decided to look up the haunts that had intrigued Greene. Her travels took her to Mexico, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Cuba, Haiti, Paraguay, and Argentina. By Smith’s own admission, however, Greene rarely stayed in a place for more than a few weeks and generally showed no interest in the local population other than as foils for his fully developed expatriate protagonists. Moreover, he was a notoriously dyspeptic traveler; he loathed many of the places that he visited because he viewed their cultures through the distorting lens of his own Englishness. Like Greene before her, Smith spent only a few weeks in each country. Consequently, she is more tourist than traveler, and her insights into the places that she visits suffer accordingly. The accounts of her trips often couple a petulant tone with a tendency towards questionable generalizations. When she turns to complex topics like the Vietnam conflict or the Zapatista movement in Mexico, Smith inadequately disposes of them in a few paragraphs. With the exception of the chapter dealing with Sierra Leone, which is compelling largely due to the horrific situation there, she simply has no good stories to tell and is not a sufficiently gifted writer to fashion good material from her mundane experiences.

A clever premise inadequately executed, shedding little light on either Greene or the places he explored.

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2001

ISBN: 0-312-28292-3

Page Count: 320

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001

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.