Especially in contrast to Stephen Berg's comparable anthology, In Praise of What Persists (p. 216), this is an unimpressive gathering of essays and interviews—a few of which don't even provide what's promised in the title and subtitle. A memoir of John Berryman (by William Heyen) seems out of place here; so does an academic essay on love poetry—not at all "first person"—by Daniel Halpern. And the best pieces have all appeared before in book form: a John Updike credo from Picked-Up Pieces, Cynthia Ozick's much-encountered grappling with Henry James, Eudora Welty's fine "Words into Fiction" from The Eye of the Story. The more engaging items among the remainder are brisk, direct autobiographical sketches by Anne Tyler, Maxine Kumin, Francine du Plessix Gray, Alice Adams—and Mary Gordon. ("Above all I did not wish to be trivial; I did not wish to be embarrassing. But i did not want to write like Conrad, and I did not want to write like Henry James") Editor Oates offers her musings on "the ontological status of the writer who is also a woman?" Among the poets, Dave Smith is academic but at least clear, while John Hollander manages to be academic, mystical, and sentimental at the same time. And the speakers in the spotty, occasionally stimulating interviews include Saul Bellow, John Hawkes, E. L. Doctorow, Bernard Malamud, and Margaret Atwood. Unusually strong on female representation; otherwise—disappointing.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1983
ISBN: 0865380457
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Ontario Review
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1983
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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