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OUT OF SILENCE

Name: OUT OF SILENCE
Author: Russell Martin
ISBN: 0-8050-1998-7

A JOURNEY INTO LANGUAGE

by Russell Martin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1994

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Juxtaposing the pain of childhood autism with theories of how language develops and functions, Martin (A Story That Stands Like a Dam, 1989, etc.) evokes the miracle of speech and the tragedy of its loss—in a loving tribute to his nephew, Ian, and his family. After speaking his first word at 18 months, Ian woke up from a feverish sleep induced by a DPT shot unable to speak at all; isolated by inner demons, inexplicable tantrums, obsessions, and rituals, he was to be deprived for four and a half years of the ordering, socializing, connecting function of language. Martin traces the history of autism, names award-winning psychiatrists (such as Bettelheim) who blamed it on parents, covers the recognition of its epidemic proportions, especially among the children of middle-class parents in the 60's, and touches on the quiet substitution of an altered DPT vaccine in 1992 for the lethal variety that destroyed Ian. Martin's concern is with language, semantics, neurophysiology, learning theory, even the importance of narrative (at which he excels). He offers the medical reasons why Ian reacts to loud noises and to changes in his routines with terror and rage, and for the inner voices that confuse him even as he pursues peace through ritual, custom, familiarity. Eventually Ian attends school and learns to convey the ``nightmare'' of his life, the inscrutable world he inhabits, the conflicts among his thoughts, desires, expressions, and behavior. It is in this triumph that the greatest pathos of the book lies, showing a divided consciousness, aware and at war. A remarkable story demonstrating immense knowledge that has no power, good intentions that betray, and, at the very heart of it, the terrible price a child and his family paid because the most important information was in the small print that a country physician did not read. Crucial reading for parents and professionals.

Pub Date: April 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-8050-1998-7

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MYSTERIES OF BEETHOVEN’S HAIR
by Russell Martin & Lydia Nibley

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SORROW OF ARCHAEOLOGY
by Russell Martin

- BOOK REVIEW
PICASSO’S WAR
by Russell Martin

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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.