IF YOU DID WHAT I ASKED IN THE FIRST PLACE

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IF YOU DID WHAT I ASKED IN THE FIRST PLACE

Name: IF YOU DID WHAT I ASKED IN THE FIRST PLACE
Author: Lori B. Duff
ISBN: 978-1-947309-70-8

by Lori B. Duff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2019

An engaging but bumpy assemblage of amusing and self-effacing stories about parenthood and life.

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A columnist, author, and former lawyer based in suburban Atlanta offers a collection of essays.

In this wide-ranging volume, Duff (Telling Your Story, 2016, etc.) explores motherhood, “First World Problems,” her love of food, and her personal life. A self-described “New York Jew living in a small southern town,” the author is married to a former police helicopter pilot and has two children. Crafted much like a blog, Duff’s lighthearted stories examine day-to-day triumphs and tribulations with forthright honesty and the kind of humor that combines self-deprecation and casual philosophizing. “There are two kinds of people in this world,” she muses in an early essay. “People who think adrenaline is fun and exciting and a fresh breath of life, and people who think adrenaline is the stuff of anxiety and ulcers.” She writes frequently about her obsessions—one essay is entirely devoted to Wonder Woman. In court, Duff took notes with a Wonder Woman pen. Such details make it clear that her writing served as a respite from daily stress. One work is just a poem that riffs on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”: “Get this trash out of my car / The Taco Bell / The Coffee Cup / Balloons that you were blowing up.” Elsewhere, she considers the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, the difficulties of small talk, and the challenge of packing healthy lunches for her kids. One of the funniest essays classifies nine types of PTO parents, though Duff is not opposed to tackling more serious subjects like mortality (“My Funeral”) and sexism. The author tends to use informal spellings and usages—“gen-you-wine” is one example. It’s a prose style that’s perhaps better suited for the internet and may be cloying for some readers. A few pieces read like mundane diary entries, as when she writes: “In the following pages I will try to make clear my expectations for people who interact with me. For the people who don’t interact with me on a daily basis, I’ve tried to make my expectations entertaining and, possibly, just a little bit relatable.” Still, many readers will find Duff’s candor bracing and satisfying.

An engaging but bumpy assemblage of amusing and self-effacing stories about parenthood and life.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-947309-70-8

Page Count: 222

Publisher: Deeds Publishing

Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.