ONE DAY WE'LL ALL BE DEAD AND NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER

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ONE DAY WE'LL ALL BE DEAD AND NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER

Name: ONE DAY WE'LL ALL BE DEAD AND NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER
Author: Scaachi Koul
ISBN: 978-1-250-12102-8

ESSAYS

by Scaachi Koul ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017

An uneven introduction to an iconoclast whose voice will likely resonate with a specific generation.

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A debut collection of essays by a BuzzFeed Canada senior writer.

Canadian journalist Koul writes about all manner of things, ranging from her family’s Indian culture to race and gender issues. Her essays are sporadically funny and often touching, but occasionally they feel insubstantial. The opening essay, “Inheritance Tax,” is a meditation on fear, family, and mutual protectiveness. “Size Me Up” is a David Sedaris–esque story about shopping. “If you are a woman reading this, you know this to be true: the possibility of getting stuck in a garment at a store where the employees have to cut you out of it is the beginning of the end of your life,” writes the author. “It’s like the saddest version of a C-section, where the baby is just a half-naked lady with no dignity.” The book is heavily weighted toward stories about Koul’s family—interstitial segments relay wry text messages between the author and her father—and her boyfriend, “Hamhock,” a “sweet, precious moron.” The author occasionally delves into more serious territory, writing about cultural racism in “Fair and Lovely” and delivering a biting essay on drinking and rape culture in “Hunting Season.” The focal point of the collection is “Mute,” an essay that relates the incident for which the author is most well-known, for better or worse. It details how serial Tweeter Koul managed to enrage the internet into Gamergate-level backlash by stating she would like to see more articles by nonwhite, nonmale writers, spurring rape and death threats. It’s a terrifying story, but Koul’s conclusions are less reflective than understandably defensive. “It’s no wonder I keep fighting with riff-raff on the internet,” she writes. “I’m expecting human interaction, and all they’re offering are beeps. I was dumb enough to want a hug from a machine.”

An uneven introduction to an iconoclast whose voice will likely resonate with a specific generation.

Pub Date: May 2, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-250-12102-8

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Picador

Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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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.