A Roman tax accountant befriends a heartbroken American journalist with heartwarming results.
In 2003, when Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert nursed a broken heart with a triple-destination journey abroad, her first stop was Rome, where a mutual friend surmised that she and Spaghetti (his real name) would hit it off. Spaghetti’s endearing three-part narrative begins with his colorful Italian childhood, wrestling with a surname that begged for mockery and nurturing a love for professional soccer and folk music (James Taylor). He then details time spent immersed in American culture during a “dream” trip to Manhattan and a lengthy but magical cross-country excursion to the California coast by train in 1995. The final section chronicles his “extraordinary” friendship with Gilbert in Rome. An accommodating host, Spaghetti enriched Gilbert’s three-month stay by steeping her in Italian culture as they toured Rome “inch by inch” on a scooter. Gilbert’s easy smile and big-hearted compassion was returned by Spaghetti, who brought folkloric history, breathtaking scenery and a love of spectator sports and food to the table, especially dramatic descriptions (recipes and glossary included) of traditional “fettuccine al ragu” and 190-proof homemade limoncello, which could “cut your legs off at the knees after your second tiny glassful.” Part memoir, part informative guidebook, Spaghetti’s anecdotes are plentiful and immensely entertaining. He shares his “personal pasta ranking system,” in which “rebellious” bucatini earns first place but proves a “natural sauce catapult,” notes the ever-present “mocking, humorous tone” of the typical Roman personality and demonstrates an uncanny ability to present classic Italian landmarks and histories with the charm and passion of a seasoned tour guide. The author’s literary voice is undeniably warm and welcoming as both friends engaged in a cross-cultural exchange—a “different kind of love” that has been fondly immortalized in Gilbert’s bestselling book. An enticing entrée of sweet amity and savory memories.
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-14-311957-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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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