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ALMOST A FOREIGN COUNTRY

Name: ALMOST A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Author: Manfred Wolf
ISBN: 978-0-595-52423-5

by Manfred Wolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2008

A meandering, thought-provoking series of essays that will appeal to memoir and social-history fans.

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A collection of columns reflecting love, life and old age.

As a college professor and columnist, Wolf enjoys expounding on his ideas. It doesn’t really matter if those ideas are trite or if the stories that explore them are a tad mundane–the author believes he’s providing readers with valuable insight. He succeeds intermittently, but he always provokes some curiosity about how he developed his opinions. For instance, Wolf believes sexual indiscretion should be mandatory and that concealing faults in a relationship protects feelings from getting hurt. Although he briefly discusses a few of his relationships, his thesis stirs questions about those arrangements. The book is arranged in sections that also touch on sadness, perception, conversation and immigrant stories, among other topics. The author’s columns were regularly published in newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury and the Daily Californian, as well as Dutch and Finnish publications. All the columns are brief, ranging from two to three pages in length, and Wolf’s wizened, cynical voice is consistent throughout. The book’s title refers to the predicament that elders often discover as they age–that the world is the same yet changed, taking on the strangeness of a foreign country. It’s with his tales of foreign experiences and observances that Wolf shines. From discussing the quiet success of Muslim women in Western Europe, to the fact that drug dealers are allowed to deduct firearms and pit bulls as business expenses in the Netherlands, the author engages readers with interesting points. He also offers the interesting perspective of an immigrant who has absorbed a large part of American culture but questions the rest. As a whole, Wolf has supplied an uneven yet worthwhile read.

A meandering, thought-provoking series of essays that will appeal to memoir and social-history fans.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-595-52423-5

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

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.