THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING 2013

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THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING 2013

Name: THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING 2013
Author: Dave Eggers
ISBN: 978-0-544-10550-8

edited by Dave Eggers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2013

A motley collection to match every mood a relentless reader might have.

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Celebrated editor and author Eggers (Hologram for the King, 2012, etc.) returns with his 12th—and final, he says—edited collection of pieces selected by student members of 826 National.

Eclectic is indeed the best word to describe this odd assembly. There are works of fiction (long, short), nonfiction (ditto), tomfoolery and earnestness—and a relentless sense of multiculturalism. There are selections about Guatemala, Cuba, Tokyo, Haiti, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Spain and numerous other locales—including the United States. Just about all socioeconomic classes appear, as well, but the focus is on those who are struggling. The final grim story takes place in a grim iron mine in a grim section of India, and earlier tales present the homeless, the deprived and the criminal—outliers of many sorts. There are lies and sex and violence and numerous manifestations of the notion that we are not a very good species. To their credit, Eggers and the students selected pieces from some sources that are generally off most general readers’ radar—Byliner, Storyville and even a piece from tumblr.com. But noted periodicals are represented here, as well, including the New Yorker, Paris Review and National Geographic. Though many of the authors will also be new to many readers, there is a gripping bullfighting story by Karen Russell, a spy story with a graphics feature by Jennifer Egan and a snarky explanation of a term paper assignment from the late Kurt Vonnegut Jr. There’s also an amusing tale by Nick Hornby about a bitter divorcée, a journalist who starts a column called “Bastard,” which features tales about her ex-husband. Religion appears rarely but has a prominent role in a surreal tale about a religious settlement on a West Indian island where a deep (bottomless?) hole lures some followers to take a leap of faith.

A motley collection to match every mood a relentless reader might have.

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-544-10550-8

Page Count: 512

Publisher: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
SOREN'S SEVENTH SONG
by Dave Eggers ; illustrated by Mark Hoffmann

- BOOK REVIEW
MOVING THE MILLERS' MINNIE MOORE MINE MANSION
by Dave Eggers ; illustrated by Júlia Sardà

- BOOK REVIEW
THE EYES & THE IMPOSSIBLE
by Dave Eggers ; illustrated by Shawn Harris

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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.