A campy, hilarious, fast-paced indulgence that’s addictively entertaining.
An opera-singing drag performer yearns for stardom and gets more than he bargained for in Egan’s (The Outcast Oracle, 2013) novel.
It’s 2009 and Gilbert Eugene Rose, a lanky opera enthusiast, moonlights as drag performer “Kiri De Uwana.” He left an unhappy life in New Jersey for Manhattan 11 years ago, armed with a makeup case, an armful of wigs and costumes, and a dream of operatic stardom. Gilbert, in his mid-30s, is broke and desperate for work. But after psychic Madame Clara foretells future fame for him, he aces an audition for a production of Cosi fan tutte, finds a new love interest named Douglas Pierce, then accepts a tenor role in Rigoletto. Egan’s pacing is expertly brisk as she relates Gilbert’s adventures, bringing in captivating supporting characters, such as Gilbert’s best friend, Gal Friday; his ex-boyfriend William Van Allan (who also has the hots for Douglas); and evil, “pernicious gangsterette” La Donna Gabrielli. As Kiri, Gilbert steals many scenes, showcasing an addictive combination of wicked wit, unfettered confidence, and luxurious femininity. Things do get complicated and very messy for Gilbert, though, with feathers ruffled and feelings hurt along the way. Still, he revels in the busiest, most lucrative time in his career, even as La Donna and her beady-eyed henchman, Tino, come after him, forcing him to don disguises and run for cover. Dynamic, colorful characters add flair to a story full of snappy dialogue and rapid-fire action. The book’s tone is primarily one of effervescent joy, but Egan also manages to incorporate serious themes of personal identity, as when Gilbert reflects that “I dressed and put on the wig and makeup, preferring to be anyone other than Gilbert Eugene Rose, even though I wasn’t completely sure who he was.”
A campy, hilarious, fast-paced indulgence that’s addictively entertaining.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-946501-08-0
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Tiny Fox Press LLC
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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