LOVE IS THE ANSWER, GOD IS THE CURE

Name: LOVE IS THE ANSWER, GOD IS THE CURE
Author: Aimee Cabo Nikolov
ISBN: 978-0-692-15958-3

by Aimee Cabo Nikolov ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2018

A faith-infused, uneven memoir about navigating a turbulent life.

bookshelf

Awards & Accolades

Google Rating

A woman recounts her traumatic experiences, her redemptive love, and her abiding faith in God.

Nikolov’s debut memoir of her darkly traumatic past begins with her meeting a possible “Mr. Right,” an event she hoped might improve her life’s trajectory. The author, a Cuban-American with strong ties to the Dominican Republic, was on vacation there at Punta Cana with her free-spirited younger sister, Nicole, as the memoir opens. Nicole was eager to meet eligible guys, but Nikolov only wanted to relax and forget about men entirely—until she met “Dr. Boris,” a doctor from Bulgaria, whose gentle nature and dignified, respectful demeanor toward her won her heart and gained her trust. She found herself falling in love with “Bobby,” and this flows freely into the broadening of her memoir to tell her history of stark, almost unrelieved darkness. As a young girl, she was repeatedly sexually abused by the men in her mother’s life. When her older sister, Michelle, decided to intervene and call the police, the family was broken up, and Nikolov had all of this to confess to “Bobby” in order to be as honest as possible as their relationship deepened. He was unfazed, and the two got married—but the author’s troubles didn’t stop there. The narrative moves through more recounting of domestic stress, including Nikolov’s enjoying crack, which she describes as a “manic speed train out of myself.” Through it all, the author is often restored by her personal religious belief, although some of her faith observations seem a bit facile, shoehorned into the story of a complicated and morally challenging life. That life story is the most effectively done element of the book: Nikolov has a good ear for capturing the interpersonal dynamics of families under all kinds of stress. And the story swings back to an uplifting arc that will work on readers who’ve themselves seen some dark days and wondered if the future could be a little brighter.

A faith-infused, uneven memoir about navigating a turbulent life.

Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-692-15958-3

Page Count: 154

Publisher: Inspirational Books Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

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.