A poignant, liberating memoir–recognizable for many and liberating for most.
A formerly closeted man blows the lid off of his homosexuality “like gangbusters.”
From an early age, Anderson knew he looked and felt differently than the other boys in his Minnesota hometown in the ’50s. In nonlinear recounted stories and dreams, the author details his younger years being bullied by his peers for simply being different. Through exploring his strange attraction to men, he befriends a handsome wood-shop teacher in seventh grade, but that relationship ends disastrously when the teacher accuses him of being a “little fruit.” The pressure to conform and live a “normal” heterosexual lifestyle overrides his burgeoning sexuality–Anderson writes, “By then, I could think myself into practically anything.” His studies at the University of Minnesota cultivate a love for literature fostered by his mentor, an erudite English teacher who introduces him to his future wife. His post-graduate years find Anderson teaching as well, a career he never imagined for himself. Confused, Anderson “compartmentalize(s)” love interests: he courts Judy, a fellow University student, and concurrently expresses interest in a creatively cultured Irish Catholic man who fades into memory as Judy becomes a safe haven for his sexual ambivalence. The pair swiftly marries and bears a daughter (who later confesses to lesbian feelings), though bouts of “certain longings and attractions” test the boundaries of the marriage, including Anderson’s unrequited dalliances with other men. Anderson switches into a publishing career, and soon experiences a “one-man Renaissance,” in which he stopped suppressing his homosexual feelings. The author finally divorces after 16 years of marriage and undergoes therapy and personal experimentation, emerging a healthy and happy gay man navigating a new life with no regrets, including retaining a close friendship with his ex-wife and fending off the loss of his eyesight. Ultimately, these “pieces” amount to a consummate memoir, but they lack structure in the early chapters. Still, persistent readers will find cohesion and narrative clarity within Anderson’s chronicle.
A poignant, liberating memoir–recognizable for many and liberating for most.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4357-2061-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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