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BLACK, WHITE, OTHER

Name: BLACK, WHITE, OTHER
Author: Lise Funderburg
ISBN: 0-688-18824-0

BIRACIAL AMERICANS TALK ABOUT RACE

by Lise Funderburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 1994

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A revealing collection of 46 oral accounts of growing up biracial in America. ``But what about the children?'' is the question often posed to adults contemplating an interracial marriage. A wide range of adult children of black/white unions, from late teens to adults in their late 40s, candidly discuss what it is like to grow up in our racially polarized society. Journalist Funderburg, is biracial herself, and while many of the interviewees are successful professionals (book editors, filmmakers, educators), they have struggled with identity problems and prejudice along the way. Heidi Durrow, a 22-year-old journalism student in New York City, says, ``My parents had this idea they could live in this world and their children could live in this world and everything would be okay. But we haven't been okay... we are confused and we are conflicted, and we don't belong.'' Many of the interviewees have been cruelly taunted by members of both races. And while an exceptional few refuse to be categorized, most see themselves as African-Americans. According to 26-year-old Jacqueline Djanikan, ``You can identify with both races, but you are one or the other. You are not both.'' And since society perceives anyone who looks somewhat black as African-American, that is the identity most often thrust upon biracials. Funderburg gives us a full picture of these complex lives, including relationships with extended family, high school and college experiences, and the race-charged dynamics in the workplace and between lovers and spouses. We even encounter several white wannabes who act blacker than their black or biracial partners. An important, often perturbing look at racism in our country and at people who often experience it from both sides. (42 b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: May 23, 1994

ISBN: 0-688-18824-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994

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.