A bounty of self-help advice that fails to tap into the potential of the author’s personal story.
A scientist-turned-writer imparts wisdom about corporate America and faith.
Faderan, who received a Ph.D. in pharmacology and became a regulatory scientist at a private medical device company, has now left the corporate world to pursue a new degree—an MFA in creative writing. This debut collection of essays represents her “contemplations” and words of wisdom for future generations. Topics range from navigating corporate structures to following God’s advice. Work environments in particular form a core of Faderan’s essays. She writes about her struggles with office stressors, wondering what it would have been like to be in retail: “I’ll slice the deli meat over meeting with the big cheese. Deli meat slicers aren’t intimidating. The ‘big cheese’ are.” She also addresses the differences between corporate and academic life for scientists, fondly remembering her time at a university lab in New York and comparing it to the spreadsheets and paperwork that filled her business days. There are also pieces dedicated to useful, concrete tips like “How to Give the Most Impressive Presentations” and “What Are Some of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Media to Get a Job After College?” The author offers some captivating details in this wide-ranging group of essays. She even includes a lengthy rant on the closing of her favorite grocery store, which ends with the same recommendation as many other essays, telling people to put more trust in God’s plan. But she has chosen numerous stock images to accompany these pieces, faceless figures standing next to charts and graphs and words like “Achievement” in 3-D text art, none of which help to make her writing feel fresh or dynamic. While the thoughts of a scientist with strong religious convictions who has completely changed her life’s trajectory should be a gold mine for intriguing insights, Faderan’s ruminations rely too heavily on clichés and repetition. Her persistent use of the caps lock (“Go for another degree in something YOU LIKE TO DO...if you are eager to work hard for YOURSELF, then do it. DO IT”) speaks to the overall problem: the platitudes rather than the storytelling get the emphasis in these works.
A bounty of self-help advice that fails to tap into the potential of the author’s personal story.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-692-96063-9
Page Count: 132
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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