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THE BOOK OF MEN

Name: THE BOOK OF MEN
Author: Colum McCann
ISBN: 978-1-250-04776-2

EIGHTY WRITERS ON HOW TO BE A MAN

edited by Colum McCann ; Tyler Cabot ; Lisa Consiglio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2013

A mixed bag. Each piece is intended to respond to “an essential question: What is a man?” but the answers remain elusive.

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A collection of 80 pieces on the essence and challenges of manhood that almost reads like a literary parody of self-help books.

According to the introduction, the book commemorates the 80th anniversary of Esquire, a magazine that “has always sought to instruct.” Here, the instruction concerns “what it means to be a man and how to live up to that responsibility.” The project is a collaboration between the magazine and Narrative 4, which attempts to “connect people and communities everywhere through the sharing of stories," and the collection’s contents were curated by novelist McCann (TransAtlantic, 2013, etc.), a co-founder of Narrative 4 and Esquire contributor, along with editors from each. The pieces span much of the globe, crossing gender lines (some of the best are from women, some of whom don’t seem to treat manhood as seriously as many men do), featuring journalists, novelists and a few nonwriterly ringers (actor Gabriel Byrne, songwriter-producer Joe Henry). There is plenty of violence and copious amounts of tears, and there is sex that is usually more an expression of power, however twisted, than of romantic love. Some of the shortest are some of the best, such as this two-sentence contribution by Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid: “What did it even mean, walk like a man? Still, Omar was in enough pain to take off his makeup and start trying.” There’s a provocative piece of reportage on a transgendered performer by novelist Michael Cunningham, which ends with the question, “Men. I mean, what are we anyway?” There’s also an instructional piece by Vanessa Manko that initially seems to be about sex—“It is done with the body, not with the mind. She should feel when you begin to move and if she precipitates the wrong direction, you’ve done something wrong”—but is really about the tango (which is really about sex). None of the pieces are titled, and many blur the distinction between fiction and nonfiction.

A mixed bag. Each piece is intended to respond to “an essential question: What is a man?” but the answers remain elusive.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-250-04776-2

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Picador

Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
AMERICAN MOTHER
by Colum McCann with Diane Foley

- BOOK REVIEW
APEIROGON
by Colum McCann

- BOOK REVIEW
LETTERS TO A YOUNG WRITER
by Colum McCann

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.