A quick, lighthearted read about the trials of unrequited love and platonic friendship.
In this short debut memoir spanning just one year, Pascal depicts the progress of a romantic relationship.
Pascal meets Simon through a close friend, and she quickly falls in love. She’s mesmerized by Simon’s artistic aura and his connection to nature, and finds herself inspired and creatively charged by his presence. Early on, Simon suggests that they find a type of relationship that allows their love to remain undying and unconditional, similar to the way a writer finds the perfect genre for an idea. But Pascal’s feelings are hurt when she witnesses Simon’s affection for others, and she feels stung that Simon would flirt with another woman or want to enjoy the company of other friends without her. However, she soon realizes that her feelings and behavior are unjustified; she’s losing herself as a person whom others might enjoy and befriend. As she goes through a journey of growth and understanding, she discovers the hard truth that sometimes romantic chemistry isn’t shared by both parties in a friendship. She feels pain and longing after losing Simon as a romantic partner, but she comes to terms with the fact that one cannot force another person to become one’s mate. This memoir rolls through a series of dinners, parties and conversations with friends, and is sometimes unexciting in its recounting of quotations and emotions. However, it effectively highlights the moments and conversations most important to the author, and ends on a satisfying, positive note. It will likely appeal most to readers who have experienced heartache themselves, with its message that real love, if true, flows freely both ways.
A quick, lighthearted read about the trials of unrequited love and platonic friendship.Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-1466392601
Page Count: 96
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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