Personal reminiscences of an aspiring American writer's life in France, mixed in with a vigorous dose of French history, by the author of A Faint Cold Fear, Year of the Dragon, etc.—a treat for Francophiles and Daley fans alike. Daley first traveled to France a few years after the end of WW II, when, at age 23, he dreamed of writing the great American novel and had resolved to follow Fitzgerald's trail. In Nice, he fell in love almost instantly with a local girl, battled red tape and disapproving parents to marry her and bring her back to the States, and began a lifelong association with a country he had relished at first sight. A later stint as a Paris-based foreign correspondent during the de Gaulle era offered opportunities to wander around the country with his family and interview interesting local people, making this reminiscence a generally pleasant mixture of personal tales (the long, strange life of his Swiss/British/French hotelier father-in-law) and brief snatches of local history (the resident popes of Avignon). The charm of the book lies in its details—e.g., Daley's officially registering his daughter's birth by handwriting her vital statistics in an enormous ledger at the local marie. Most readers will also sympathize with Daley's eventual exasperation at French society's xenophobia and the gnawing homesickness that finally brought him back to the States. An engaging story of a man's love affair with a country, and a congenial portrait of one writer's life.
Pub Date: July 14, 1991
ISBN: 0-316-17185-9
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
