With nothing near the sympathetic engagement he finds with Joyce, Burgess comes rather diffidently to this once-over-lightly biography of Hemingway—short text, page-sized pictures, the barest critical attention to the work. But saying that (which might be said of many in this series), it's also true that Burgess' not over-fond tone works nicely: "Superstitious, morbidly touchy, he growled about wringing various bastards' necks, and then he went moodily off to kill elk and moose, black bears and little birds." There's probably nothing here that can't be found in Carlos Baker or A. E. Hotchner or Scott Donaldson, but it's the picking-over that lends spice; Burgess has a taste for the curiously eclectic biographical detail, such as Hemingway's speech defect: "lambdacismus (an inability to pronounce the lateral consonant, so that lilies in his mouth were wiwwies)." On Hemingway's early, mean, and inept parody of Sherwood Anderson, The Torrents of Spring: "The only author Hemingway ever proved capable of parodying was himself." Burgess shows respect for Hemingway's innovative prose procedures and sadness about his increasingly pathological life—all in that graceful Burgess style, not too tricky for once—but finally it's like a little wave too late and from too far away: a gesture, and of no consequence whatsoever.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1978
ISBN: 0684185040
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978
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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