by Tony Kornheiser ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997
Radio performer, sportswriter, and columnist for the Washington Post, Kornheiser (The Baby Chase, 1983) offers his off- the-cuff takes on events (more or less recent, but mostly less) on the boulevards of modern society and in the purlieus of the District of Columbia. His natural targets: the hype attendant on the famous, the habits of the wealthy, and domestic life in general. Along with a couple of nice pieces about his relatives, the collection of columns presents the standard boomer stuff of current syndicated humorists. With some wit he does riffs on cigars and cars, clothes and kids. He doesn't neglect his gender studies or forget the nostalgia typical of guys who fondly remember their lost hair and view their burgeoning wattles with alarm. It's frequently done with hoary gags that end with punch lines like ``We need the eggs!'' and one-liners in a rhythm perfected long ago by Prof. Henny Youngman. (Rim shots—bada-bing, bada-boom—are articulated to maintain the proper pace). The material, to be candid, isn't timeless. There is snappy comment about Hugh Grant and Tonya Harding and allusions to the likes of Joe Isuzu and John Sununu. The author professes comic carnal admiration for a variety of bodacious babes who may once have been semifamous but are now nowhere to be found. A recurrent thematic element is the big-shot airline passenger ``who did caca doody on the plane's food cart because they wouldn't give him another drink.'' Who can lose interest in material like that? It's all good, clean fun, though nothing remarkable. The jests are likable enough and ephemeral as a Post-it note. Pleasant fooling around by a conventional iconoclast.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-375-50037-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1997
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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