A quirkily humorous assemblage of remembrances conveyed zestfully.
A writer recounts his most peculiar experiences working in the hospitality industry.
Debut author Wallen got a job at a hotel in his early 20s—he needed the money and still considered himself a lover of people. But after years of service, he found his youthful optimism transforming into a “deep seeded misanthropy,” the result of so many encounters with customers who ranged from narcissistically insufferable to outright insane. Most of the stories revolve around hotel guests suffering from a morally significant lack of self-awareness. In one tale, the author remembers that a customer, enraged over the best room rate Wallen could cite, repeatedly screamed: “Ridiculous! Give me a lower rate! Now!” The man only left when threatened with bear mace. Another guest, when he discovered his room wasn’t stocked with as much coffee and shampoo as he would have liked, shrieked: “I am not a commoner!” Other customers transcended eccentricity and flirted with behavior more pathological. A woman dishonestly claimed she was promised a free room, and when denied her demand, angrily asserted: “Excuse me! I went to medical school! I am a doctor! I save lives!” Wallen called the board of health—she encouraged him to—and she was not, in fact, a physician. The stories the author relates cover the spectrum from the predictable (guests having sex in the hot tub) to the dangerous (a man discharging his gun while cleaning it in his room). Wallen writes in a mockingly informal tone, generously sprinkling his prose with expletives and consistently delivering winning punchlines. Each of the tales can be read on its own, which makes the book a breezy experience, but also means one never gets to see the author’s perspective develop—he begins with a heavy dose of cynicism. Still, one can’t help but admire the inventively mischievous ways he handled the most egregiously obnoxious guests; he even convinced a customer lodging a complaint against a co-worker that she died years ago.
A quirkily humorous assemblage of remembrances conveyed zestfully.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5462-5142-2
Page Count: 216
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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