Swartz’s masterful travel writing/journalism—in the tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Ryszard Kapuscinski—brings us closer to a true feel for the essence of Eastern Europe, as well as human frailty. Having worked for 25 years as the Eastern European correspondent for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Swartz amassed a wealth of knowledge about the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Finding his old stamping grounds undergoing rapid change and witnessing a curious revisionist approach to the peoples and places he knew intimately, Swartz drolly declares his intent to set the record straight—perhaps: “How it really was; but even that was not quite true.” Swartz’s subjects range from professors, authors, artists, and a masseuse (to the Ceauáescus), to cities, each with a distinct personality and style. Paris uses you and “exists for its own sake,” while Vienna is repeatedly portrayed with the brutal honesty of a devoted admirer: Carnival marks the moment “when the Viennese disfigure their already ugly faces with even uglier masks.” In every essay, in every turn of phrase, Swartz’s writings deal with lofty themes—life and death, depression (East European—instilled), and nostalgia. Every essay is a gem of both tragedy and humor, balanced with infinite delicacy. These qualities are amply evident in what is arguably the most haunting selection from Room Service, a poignant commentary on nostalgia as witnessed among a group of elderly card players in Prague. Swartz precisely captures how, where the very objects of their past were absent, many among the older generations in communist Eastern Europe lived in a dream world. “Memory itself had become an album without pictures, and perhaps it was for that very reason that they had decided to remain in their good old days—to fill that empty space with themselves.” These 16 essays occupy that rare place where journalism becomes literature and where impressionistic portraits of individuals artfully convey the spirit of their time and place.
Pub Date: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 1-56584-418-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1998
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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