bookshelf

TEMPTED WOMEN

Name: TEMPTED WOMEN
Author: Carol Botwin
ISBN: 0-688-11646-9

THE PASSIONS, PERILS, AND AGONY OF FEMALE INFIDELITY

by Carol Botwin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 1994

bookshelf

Botwin (Men Who Can't Be Faithful, 1988, etc.) enters the dialogue on female infidelity previously dominated by Dalma Heyn (The Erotic Silence of the American Wife, 1992). On the basis of 250 letters she solicited as part of an office-affair survey, as well as on ``other case histories,'' Botwin claims that ``we are currently living in a world of tempted women''—one in which 40% of wives cheat (Botwin calls this a conservative estimate, despite the finding in a recent National Opinion Research Center survey that only 13% of marriages face infidelity). Moreover, unlike Heyn—who sees most female infidelity in an upbeat light—Botwin believes that unfaithful wives ricochet from bed to bed in a state of unhappiness and confusion: Her text is larded with quotes from letters by cheating wives who underscore the general theme of angst. According to Botwin, studies show that women have affairs for different reasons than men—among them, marital dissatisfaction and a desire for friendship rather than sex (women who work are particularly susceptible). What's more, women apparently feel much more guilt about extramarital relationships than men do. Still, Botwin identifies an emerging group of younger women who behave more like men in affairs—taking the part of the aggressor and feeling perfectly satisfied with an emotionless roll in the hay. But, in the end, Botwin seems to want most unfaithful wives to assess whether their affairs are the ``real thing'' and to contemplate what's gone wrong in their marriages. The author's concluding chapters focus on post-infidelity marital reconciliations—complete with an earnest affirmation that troubled husbands and wives are urged to repeat. Statistics on infidelity are often contradictory, and Botwin selects only those that prove her points. Moreover, her sampling group simply isn't broad enough to reveal much and her advice has a tinny, arbitrary ring. But someone had to contradict Heyn—it's only too bad that it wasn't a writer of greater depth and sagacity. (First serial to Redbook)

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 1994

ISBN: 0-688-11646-9

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1993

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.