A minor but occasionally stimulating collection (nine of the 20 pieces originally appeared in Of Other Worlds) on fiction, fantasy, and related topics. Some of the items look suspiciously like fillers (a one-paragraph tribute to E. R. Eddison, for example, or the transcript of a chat on science fiction with Kingsley Amis and Brian Aldiss); and none of them is truly memorable. But Lewis' wide reading and sturdy common sense (in some ways he was a scaled-down version of Dr. Johnson) make him a rewarding, if not illuminating, critic. Even when his case is dubious ("bad art never enraptures"), his debating skills are formidable. And while not steadily eloquent, Lewis can hammer out a well-turned phrase: "We must not listen to Pope's maxim about the proper study of mankind. The proper study of man is everything." Lewis has no all-encompassing system to offer, thank goodness. He praises the work of his friend J. R. R. Tolkien indiscriminately, and he often fails to substantiate his prejudices (against The Arabian Nights, for instance). Still, when it comes to fundamentals, to showing why Animal Farm is a classic and 1984 is not, to defending H. Rider Haggard's creative importance despite his wretched style, to explaining the appeal of The Wind in the Willows, Lewis does a more than satisfactory job. The book won't stir up a great deal of interest except among his admirers, but their number seems to be large—and growing larger.
Pub Date: April 30, 1982
ISBN: 0156027682
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1982
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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