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THE LUCK OF THE IRISH

Name: THE LUCK OF THE IRISH
Author: Niall Williams
ISBN: 1-56947-022-7

OUR LIFE IN COUNTY CLARE

by Niall Williams & Christine Breen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 1995

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Further tales of rural Ireland's trials and rewards, told by a husband-and-wife team. In their fourth book together (O Come Ye Back to Ireland, 1987, etc.), the authors continue to inform their readers about the nuts and bolts of daily life on the Emerald Isle. Mostly written by Williams, with some journal entries and sketches by Breen, their story is no longer about adjusting to Ireland after moving there from New York, but about how to maintain the life they have made for themselves and their two children within the bleak economic climate of the agrarian west coast. ``We have come to realize that we must write about our life in order to continue living it,'' Williams begins. In a country where emigration is often necessary to gain employment, survival is their achievement: After almost ten years, ``we are still here.'' For Dublin-born Williams, the village of Kilmihil provides a sense of belonging and community. His days are filled with his family as well as with part-time teaching, gathering turf for winter fuel, the Tidy Towns Committee, and directing a play. Breen and Williams clearly have embraced Ireland's traditional ways—she is ``a mother first'' and spends the rest of her time gardening and painting—and they sometimes romanticize what is quaint about the nation, from a neighbor's ever-ready scones to the community dance to pay for the local school's roof, as well as the land itself (``the kind of country that keeps coming back to you even when you have left it behind''). Williams's storytelling is calculated but not forced. His chatty narrative gives us a small taste of life on Ireland's west coast. At times precious, but an easy, enjoyable chronicle for the pair's family of readers. (Author tour)

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 1995

ISBN: 1-56947-022-7

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Soho

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
IN KILTUMPER
by Niall Williams with Christine Breen ; illustrated by Christine Breen

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS HAPPINESS
by Niall Williams

- BOOK REVIEW
HISTORY OF THE RAIN
by Niall Williams

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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.