A TRIP TO THE BEACH

Name: A TRIP TO THE BEACH
Author: Melinda Blanchard
ISBN: 0-609-60694-8

by Melinda Blanchard & Robert Blanchard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

Too long by half, and then again so. There are simply too many minor annoyances here, and not enough variety to fuel the...

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A you-gotta-hand-it-to-'em story of building a new life and business in a foreign land that sinks in a quicksand of logorrhea.

Ever the entrepreneurs, the Blanchards sold their Vermont-based gourmet food business and poured the profits into a seaside restaurant on the sleepy but celebrity-strewn Caribbean island of Anguilla. As narrated by Melinda Blanchard, the story is launched with an unfortunate number of clichés ("As our taxi made its way westward, I counted the ways I loved this island") that gratefully subside, only to be replaced by writing that replicates the thought process enough to throw sand into even the most devout friend's eyes: "It's just too formal. Pretty but stiff. People come to this island to relax. I don't want our dining room to be hushed and uncomfortable. Guests need to feel more like they're at our house for dinner, rather than at a stuffy restaurant. Elegance, but no attitude." There are the standard bothers—“island time," customs agents, the unavailability of ingredients, the cistern running dry, and paying $215 to replace a $3 part—but Blanchard reminds readers often enough that "I felt unaccountably happy" and "I felt preposterously lucky." Comments, such as "This reminds me of that little restaurant in Nice" or "Bob suddenly remembered an East Hampton wedding we had attended at a magnificent beach house," fall like bricks; then Blanchard scrambles for some balance: "Bob was honored to be sharing fish soup with these men" (read: humble though they may be). Ultimately, the story settles down to one kitchen tale after another, some more amusing than others, although they begin to fade into each other after a while.

Too long by half, and then again so. There are simply too many minor annoyances here, and not enough variety to fuel the Blanchards' story and keep readers' interest turning over.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-609-60694-8

Page Count: 288

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000

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.