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SONG FROM THE FOREST

Name: SONG FROM THE FOREST
Author: Louis Sarno
ISBN: 0-395-61331-0

MY LIFE AMONG THE BA-BENJELLÇ PYGMIES

by Louis Sarno ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1993

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Sarno, an American, heads for the rain forest of the Central African Republic. Once there, he not only finds love but—with typical Western hubris—saves the Pygmies from themselves and from the modern world. With a one-way ticket and his recording equipment, Sarno, inspired by Colin Turnbull's The Forest People, goes to Africa to record the music of the Pygmies. His first encounter with the little-known Ba-BenjellÇ Pygmies, who live on the edge of the forests, is disappointing: Though they dance and sing for him, they seem to have become idle scroungers who while away their days smoking marijuana and drinking. Sarno soon despairs, but when he accompanies some Pygmies into the forest on a hunting trip, he also sees how living even temporarily in their traditional habitat can transform them. The Pygmies immediately become healthier, more energetic, and more resourceful as they practice their old crafts and food-gathering habits. Their music improves as well, as they sing of the forest, invoking the great spirits that lurk there. Encouraged, Sarno returns to the West, where his recordings are well received, but he is soon back, contracts for more music in hand and determined to spend his life with the Pygmies—a decision greatly affected by his falling in love with a young Pygmy girl, Ngbali, 18-20 years his junior. This romance comes to obsess Sarno as Ngbali, while agreeing to marry him, constantly avoids him. Meanwhile, away from the forest, the Pygmies resume their self- destructive behavior in the village, which has become a noisome cesspool. Many sicken and die, and Sarno persuades them to move closer to the forest, where they establish a more traditional and healthier community. There, Ngbali finally marries the author. Sarno, despite his genuine affection for the Pygmies, is a puzzling figure who unintentionally reveals more about himself than about the Pygmies, whom he seems to see through all-too-Western eyes.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-395-61331-0

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1992

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.