bookshelf

45

Name: 45
Author: Scott Dikkers
ISBN: 978-1-4555-9285-2

A PORTRAIT OF MY KNUCKLEHEAD BROTHER JEB

by Scott Dikkers Peter Hilleren ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2015

A disappointing twist on the bestselling 41: A Portrait of My Father (2014). Readers may wish the authors had aimed at...

bookshelf

A sometimes-amusing sendup of Jeb Bush, contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

In this parody written in the voice of former President George W. Bush, his brother, Jeb, is variously described as a bonehead, a fat dope, a natural-born bumbler, and a heroic blubber-butt in need of guidance on “his journey” to the White House. Who better to show him the way than big brother George, who helped Jeb learn to walk (“Those who cannot walk cannot lead”) and shared his childhood of “Freemason rituals, bloodlettings and animal sacrifices,” with “masked Illuminati sex parties” on weekends? In a slight follow-up to their 2006 parody, Destined for Destiny: The Unauthorized Autobiography of George W. Bush, The Onion founder Dikkers and public radio producer Hilleren recount the facts and foibles, real and imagined, of Jeb’s life and career, from his ineptitude with women (an exception being his marriage to a “pretend” Mexican woman) and his profiting from business failures (a family tradition) to his “great vision of a lower tax on corporations and a ‘choose life’ license plate” as two-time governor of Florida, where he also helped keep alive comatose Terri Schiavo and fought “powerful coral-reef interests” to promote offshore drilling. As it happens, clueless author George often upstages his subject, with ceaseless bragging about his own accomplishments, his penchant for communicating through images (he paints hot dogs and Tater Tots to order them in a restaurant), and his qualifications to serve as a presidential adviser on the Mideast. Jeb, alas, often seems a poor target for parody: “He’s kind of like a marshmallow. Kinda white, puffy, with an unassuming, bland character.”

A disappointing twist on the bestselling 41: A Portrait of My Father (2014). Readers may wish the authors had aimed at bigger game: the flamboyant Donald Trump, say, parodied in the voice of his developer father.

Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4555-9285-2

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2015

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE JOKE AT THE END OF THE WORLD
by Scott Dikkers

- BOOK REVIEW
TRUMP'S AMERICA
by Scott Dikkers

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.