A Greek Odyssey

Name: A Greek Odyssey
Author: Tia Mitsis
ISBN: 978-1-925388-57-2

by Tia Mitsis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2016

Repetitious prose dilutes a potentially rich travel book experience.

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A personal journey along the back roads of Greece.

Australian by birth, Greek by blood, Mitsis (When Study Goes Wrong, 2015) brings a unique perspective to this book, in which she relates a trip through her ancestral homeland. She lures readers away from the usual suspects (Athens and the Greek islands) and introduces them to smaller, out-of-the-way places, some of which are tied to her own personal heritage. The book’s tone wavers between that of a Fodor’s or Frommer’s travel guide and that of a series of chatty texts. “What does Greece mean to me?” she asks in her introduction. “I wasn’t born there, I didn’t grow up there, yet it somehow draws me to it.” A few sentences later, she says, “Home is and always has been Australia. Yet something inside me draws me towards Greece.” Unfortunately, this tendency toward repetition continues throughout the book: beaches, landscapes, and towns are all described as “stunning,” as are Lake Prespa, Agras, and Mystras. However, the author does show both her curiosity and her winning respect for history. As she writes about the Turkish invasion of Parga, for example, which forced the locals to flee to nearby Corfu, she adds a colorful detail: “In order for them not to leave their ancestors behind, they had to dig them up, burn them, and then store their ashes.” More of these types of vivid footnotes would have been welcome. Instead, the book falls into a pattern; each sojourn offers a quote, some history, often a reference to something “stunning” (mountains, a castle, a monastery), and, in true travel guide style, a “How to Get There” addendum. At first, this format is appealing, but eventually, the places all blend together; readers will be hard-pressed to differentiate between Nafpaktos (“A stunning little town”), and Dodoni, which offers “stunning views around the area.” The book would also have profited greatly from maps, blueprints, or any other sort of visual component.

Repetitious prose dilutes a potentially rich travel book experience.

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-925388-57-2

Page Count: 180

Publisher: Inhouse Publishing

Review Posted Online: April 18, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

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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.