Pleasurable Tolstoyana, centered around the great man's life at his great estate; by the novelist of Eva's Music (1983) and Castine (1986). Chute hasn't a single new idea about Tolstoy's philosophy or life or work, and yet the figure of the renegade count makes for a compelling story—the distinguishing feature of this book must be its 56 b&w photographs (a few seen). Tolstoy, the youngest son in his family, inherited the family estate by Russian law, and Yasnaya Polyana's heavenly qualities come across strongly in Chute's telling. Aside from some early trips to Europe, and his early years as an artillery lieutenant in the Caucasus, Tolstoy spent most of his life on his estate and from there became a power rivalling the Tsar. In Russia, Chute reports, ``the meridian of moral force, said one supporter, went right through his living room.'' Following War and Peace and midway through Anna Karenina, he fell into a spiritual conversion that left him denying his own novels; gradually, he decided to give away everything. But his wife Sonya held back, made him sign over his great novels to her and the family. The rest of his life was a battle with Sonya as he fought various false gods and bureaucracies. He died at a village railway station, in flight from Sonya and with the world press attending. Undemanding fare, but suitable for young adults and for their elders wanting a glance into Tolstoy's more private realm.
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-039131-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1991
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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