Really, it wasn't that simple, though the book is often that awkward.
A short book that adds little to the exhaustive analyses of the band, this exists for two reasons: first, to share a fan’s passion for the music; second, because publication coincides with “the 50th anniversary of the release of their first album, 'Please Please Me.' "
Charles is most prolific as a mystery writer (The Dust of Death, 2007, etc.), but he has also worked as a music promoter. He offers a third reason for the book: “to try and shed some light on the reasons for their incredible success.” And so he does: “The answer is simple. They wrote and recorded great songs." Single by single, album by album, Charles gushes: “To many people—even today—‘She Loves You’—is The Beatles at their fab mop-top best;" “ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is another excellent catchy Beatle classic"; “ 'I Should Have Known Better'...sounds as brilliant today as the day it was recorded"; “ ‘Rubber Soul’ is still, to me, a flawless gem. . .purely and simply, ‘Rubber Soul’ is a beautiful album; I still enjoy it as much today as I did the day it was released”; “listening to ‘Rubber Soul,’ as in fact I do while writing this, it sounds like a masterly piece of work, with all the songs working together perfectly, each one in its right place.” The interjection of first-person narrative adds nothing to the appreciation, which is further undermined by the author’s propensity for exclamation points (“The early seeds of Beatlemania were being sown!”). Inevitably, all things must pass, and the author gives two explanations for the band’s breakup: “One, [manager] Brian Epstein died and, two, John Lennon met the person, Yoko Ono, for whom opportunism was an art form....Everywhere John went, Yoko went; it was really as simple and as awkward as that.”
Really, it wasn't that simple, though the book is often that awkward.Pub Date: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0802313560
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Dufour
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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