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VERSE BY VERSE

Name: VERSE BY VERSE
Author: Pete Zenz
ISBN: 978-1-5127-7314-9

by Pete Zenz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2017

An ambitious if uneven effort to update the Torah.

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Debut author Zenz offers a poetic rewrite that aims to make Scripture more accessible.

For readers who find Scripture too difficult, too long, or too boring, the poet aims to remake it in easy, contemporary verse. It’s a great idea, if a hard one to pull off. Zenz admits the religious challenges: for the devout, the Bible is sacred, and adjusting its message, whether by intent or by mistake, is seen as sinful. However, this book, which focuses on the Torah, sometimes seems to ignore these pitfalls. Indeed, the Bible is not only spiritually significant; it’s one of the pillars of world literature, and rewriting it is akin to rewriting Shakespeare. The troubles start in this book’s first lines of Genesis: “In the beginning of the earth, / Of living things, there was a dearth.” It’s hard to improve on the King James Version’s timeless opening, “In the beginning,” so the poet’s foundation is sound. But his addition—“of the earth”—is odd, as Genesis 1 starts out not just before the Earth, but before everything: there are no sun, no stars, no planets, no nothing, so these three extra words are misleading. The second phrase is equally problematic, as its nonstandard syntax—which opens awkwardly with the prepositional phrase “of living things”—sets up a forced rhyme of “earth” and “dearth.” Of course, there are much stronger passages elsewhere, each of which reveals the poet’s skill. One high point is his rendering of the sacrifice of Isaac: “So up Moriah the old man went, / Isaac knowing naught, / With wood and knife and stony flint, / The sacrifice he brought.” Much of the genius of the original Torah comes from its concision, and the poet replicates that effect here, wasting no words as Abraham brings his son to the altar. But it’s hard to maintain that level of quality throughout; as a result, this book serves mostly to remind readers of the Bible’s own poetic genius.

An ambitious if uneven effort to update the Torah.

Pub Date: March 8, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7314-9

Page Count: 168

Publisher: Westbow Press

Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.