An upbeat and romantic mastectomy story? Absolutely. Robert Parker is the mystery novelist whose sensitive-macho detective always snaps brassy dialogue, the kind of bright-sexy (and honest) speech he and wife Joan exchange during the Three Weeks of her diagnosis, surgery, and lightning recovery from breast cancer. Their dual flashback dovetails effortlessly, incorporating two sons, many friends, and a chain of plucky recognitions. Joan tapes her college lectures, thinks about the boob jokes friends will no longer share, and—not unappealingly—anticipates applause for her gutsy resilience. "Ace" takes over her college courses, reassures their sons, and parries seductively. She outclasses Betty, Happy, and the doleful woman from Reach for Recovery and he surprises himself with John Wayne phrases ("He was aware that they were trite, but they were there, inside him, and he found that in extremes they were true, and they worked"). The boys (twelve and sixteen) are caring and unperturbed, her friends and students—a new-found sisterhood—are concerned and supportive, and the node tests come back negative. The medicine of choice for post-operatives and a tart tonic for anyone else.
Pub Date: Feb. 14, 1977
ISBN: 0425040186
Page Count: 211
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1977
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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