The Nobel laureate takes some impressive turns through literary and social history as he pleads for a new eroticism and a new humanity. In the authoritative but gentle voice of a mature literary figure who knows his stuff, Paz (The Other Voice, 1991, etc.) elucidates the ways in which societies—mainly Western, but some Asian—have constructed eroticism using the raw material of sex. From ancient Greece through the Middle Ages, the early modern period, and the Cold War to the present, he shows how notions of love, romance, and the erotic have changed. Though at times this long historical account bogs down in the details of specific writers and poems, Paz does an admirable job of maintaining interest by drawing comparisons and restating premises. The aim here is more than providing a lesson in literary history. Paz's real purpose is to come around to the present with the message that eroticism and love must change now as they have changed throughout history. Capitalism, he charges, has made of the body not just a commodity—that, he shows, has been done from time immemorial—but a marketing tool, ``turn[ing] Eros into an employee of Mammon.'' Stripped of its sacredness, the modern body is a soulless collection of functions and activities, says Paz. He finds hope, though, in the voices of scientists who believe they have reached the limits of their ability to explain the world and in those sublime moments when we discover ``the unity of life'' in the carnal embrace. Ultimately, Paz can only plead for companions willing to seek out a glimpse of the ``pure vitality'' that is love, but he does so elegantly. Brimming with insight, thoughtfulness, and sincerity, Paz's essays are a poetic road map to the past, present, and future of love.
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-15-100103-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1995
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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