An advice book that too frequently relies on outdated gender stereotypes.
A debut relationship guide for women looking for men who will treat them like princesses.
This self-help relationship book is divided into 36 short chapters covering such diverse topics as “Do you wear your sexy underwear for you or your man?” and “Divorce—the slow fading of your bond to each other.” Each chapter is divided into two sections titled “Personal” and “Professional” to separate the advice the author has gleaned from life experience (she’s been married to her current husband for 10 years, and was married to her first husband for 16 before she was widowed) and the knowledge she has gained through her career as a psychologist. The sections are so similar, however, that readers may find that this distinction feels needlessly complicated. The overall conceit that the book “contains real stories and allusions to common fairy tales we know from our childhood” also feels a bit threadbare; James frequently refers to women as “princesses” (“Just remember, he married you because you are his princess and you have to be sure to be like a princess”), but the only story she specifically references is “Cinderella.” Most of the advice is grounded in generalizations about men and women that seem old-fashioned: “Equal rights does not mean it’s permissible to ask a man for a date, to call a man, tell off color jokes, get drunk, or use profane language.” The author frequently addresses readers as “Girlfriend,” but she may not come across as particularly relatable, as most of her personal stories are about how wonderful her current relationship is. It might have been helpful to balance these observations with harder lessons she’s learned, but the book instead presents romantic relationships in broad, impersonal terms. Her chapter about divorce, for example, includes the assertion that “it is easy to get out of a marriage”—something that many divorcees might disagree with.
An advice book that too frequently relies on outdated gender stereotypes.Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1492926825
Page Count: 182
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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