Here is a trip to the circus to be enjoyed by sociologists, etymologists, history buffs, and the morose of all ages. Feiler (Learning to Bow, 1991, etc.) spends a season in whiteface with the Clyde BeattyCole Brothers troupe to prove his theory that the circus is in many ways a microcosm of life in the US. By interviewing everyone from the prop guy to the human cannonball, he spotlights a diversity of lifestyles, a mosaic of races and prejudices, and a family unity that, indeed, seem uniquely American. Along the way we are provided with a rich education in circus history, a compendium of popular phrases that were born beneath the big top, and a primer on the finer points of classic acts. Those seeking the difference between European and American styles of tiger training need look no further. Those who think that performers have it easy need only hear the words of an acrobat: ``I have to make it exciting. Not only can I hang by my hair but I can juggle while hanging by my hair.'' There is humor, but most of all there is pain: physical pain, romantic heartache, weariness, and familial tragedy. In their perseverance, the 200 or so troupe members show themselves to be what they most want to be recognized as: simply human. With subject matter as intriguing as this, Feiler does well to maintain an unembellished narrative voice. However, the structure he relies on, a play-by-play of what's up in the ring intercut with what is really going down in the performer's life, seems forced. And his inability to resist ending nearly every chapter with a cliffhanger sentence merits a pie in the face. In the age-old tradition of truth coming from the mouth of a fool, this clown's rendition of circus life bounds with humanity. (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 12, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-19758-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
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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