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AN EAR TO THE GROUND

Name: AN EAR TO THE GROUND
Author: Scott C. Davis
ISBN: 1-885942-85-0

PRESENTING WRITERS FROM 2 COASTS

edited by Scott C. Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 1997

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Designed ``as a salon'' for new writers from the East and West coasts, according to editor Davis (The World of Patience Gromes, 1988), this wildly uneven collection of essays claims ``local truth'' as its unifying theme, though many of the 78 entries have nothing to do with coastal locales. Davis's emphasis on ``local truth'' is perplexing: Sean Bentley's ``Night Train to Pisa'' describes a frightening episode during his first trip to Europe. Sande Smith of Philadelphia chips in a piece on France, while another writer describes her 1979 sojourn in Italy with an ex-husband. Many pieces have no ``place'' at all. There's a good bit by Lance Carden on roller coasters; Kenneth Carroll examines black anti-Semitism and Jewish racism; and in ``Fury,'' Bruce Duane Martin describes his father beating his dog to death with a bootjack—an incident that occurred in 1963 on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Others do focus on a ``local truth''; Shauna Somers declares, ``I walk Los Angeles,'' out of necessity and love, having survived nine car accidents, and to ``avenge'' the deaths of two grandparents run down by cars. Reba Owen writes of body surfing in winter off the coast of Oregon. Donna Clovis recounts the legend of the New Jersey Devil that haunts the Pine Barrens. And Ronnie Ritts contributes a breezy essay on his years as a Miami taxi driver. An interesting and admirable endeavor by Davis and his independent publishing company, but there's too much that simply isn't good and too little that thematically brings it all together. (78 b&w illustrations)

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 1997

ISBN: 1-885942-85-0

Page Count: 492

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1997

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.