Solipsism on a road trip South of the Border.
Still captivated by all things Mexican, gringo travel journalist and soulful memoirist Cohan (Native State, 2003, etc.) conducts a survey of his favorite countryside.
The author was at first in a fugue and a funk. Then he was in transit, on a magazine assignment to cover Mexico from the mist-capped mountain districts to the pollution-capped Federal District. Señor Cohan traveled from his home base in San Miguel de Allende to Oaxaca and Guanajuato, Xalapa and Tlacotalpan, no doubt severely stressing his computer’s spell check as he sampled historic sites and restaurants. He made quick visits to gardens in the jungle and old Franciscan missions, then moved on to the Yucatán and Villahermosa, Palenque and the Mayan ruins. He drank the water, ate the tamales and talked the talk. The text is peppered with Spanish words: the author had a refresco under a pirule tree, followed an amigo to the zócalo. Along the way, Cohan pays homage to the Aztecs, sneers at Presidente Vicente Fox, examines the cult of Frida Kahlo and gives a nod to that natural wonder, Salma Hayek. This romantic hombre is ultimately taken with the Mexico beloved by the likes of John Huston and Luis Buñuel. But Huston and Buñuel are just ghosts now, and San Miguel and Oaxaca have become disfigured by tourists in T-shirts and shorts.
Solipsism on a road trip South of the Border.Pub Date: May 2, 2006
ISBN: 0-7679-2090-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Broadway
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
