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MY NAME'S NOT SUSIE

Name: MY NAME'S NOT SUSIE
Author: Sharon Jean Hamilton
ISBN: 0-86709-361-7

A LIFE TRANSFORMED BY LITERACY

by Sharon Jean Hamilton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 1995

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A curiously illuminating autobiography of a woman who moved from abused and abandoned toddler to Ph.D. teacher of English and credits it all to ``literacy.'' Literacy is in quotes here because as Hamilton (English/Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ., Indianapolis) uses the term, it refers not simply to the ability to read but to how knowledge gained through writing and reading, from fairy tales to bureaucratic records to Proust, can transform a life. To prove her point, she tells the story of her own life, from when she was eight-month-old Karen Agnes Fleming, taken from her mother by Winnipeg's Children's Aid Society to live in a series of shelters and foster homes, until she was three and a half. Isolated, sickly, fearful of men and given to rages, she was nevertheless adopted. Her new mother set aside a part of every morning to cuddle with her on the couch and read, and later encouraged her to write. Hamilton begins to develop the ``reservoir of vicarious experiences'' that she believes prepares everyone to meet life. Her real experiences include teaching elementary school during the day and performing as a stripper at night, marriage, having a child, more degrees, more teaching, until she achieves her Ph.D. and becomes a university professor. Each chapter opens with a brief discussion of aspects of literacy that seem like excerpts from a doctoral dissertation. Moreover, Hamilton may give too much credit to Anne of Green Gables and Remembrance of Things Past and not enough to the adoptive mother who was what psychotherapist Alice Miller characterizes as the all-important ``witness,'' validating a child's intrinsic value. Compelling, nonetheless, and for readers who can stick with it, a more valuable guide to turning around a troubled life than yet another self-help staircase.

Pub Date: Oct. 25, 1995

ISBN: 0-86709-361-7

Page Count: 151

Publisher: Heinemann

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995

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.