Dillard, author of a sustained spiritual exploration in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, takes on Job's question in this densely packed meditation, which whirs with images of dying moths and angel wings, and centers on the accidental burning away of a young child's face. "Holy the Firm" (from esoteric Christianity) is the name of a hidden substance, the basest and "dullest," which is yet "in touch with the Absolute." Dillard fantasizes a circle joined and passing through the brightest idea: "Hold hands and crack the whip and yank the Absolute out of there and into the light, God pale and astounded. . . His right hand is clenching, calm, round the exploding left hand of Holy the Firm." The answer to a burnt child is, in a sense from Job ("Who are we. . ."), but we may need the light (from a candle, a torched child) and the sacrifice. A difficult, restless rumination—remarkably, in these days of liturgical placebos, God obsessed and disdaining easy comfort.
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1977
ISBN: 0060915439
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1977
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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