A brief but valuable narrative of travel by essayist Ehrlich (A Match to the Heart, 1994, etc.), exploring the sacred and the profane in contemporary China. Ehrlich's search for an authentic Chinese culture and spirituality at first leads only to frustration. She climbs Emeishan, a mountain sacred in both Buddhist and Taoist traditions, only to find it overrun by crass commercialism. The few monks who operate a guesthouse for pilgrims don't impress Ehrlich as being very devout; instead, they are obsessed with TV. When she reaches the peak, she finds partially constructed ``Las Vegasstyle'' hotels and aggressive, ravenous monkeys who steal food and jewelry from tourists. Ehrlich suggests that much of this shambles can be traced back to Mao's Cultural Revolution, which irrevocably destroyed many of the remaining elements of an ancient culture. The second half of the book offers a slightly more optimistic view. Ehrlich travels to Lijiang, a remote city in the mountains near Tibet, and discovers a stubborn, persistent strain of ancient Chinese culture. She meets an aged musician who was imprisoned for 20 years by Mao and kept his sanity while in isolation by singing Taoist melodies to himself. Now free, his commitment to preserving elements of Chinese culture has led to the formation of a small orchestra, which has revived ancient musical traditions. In the book's last pages, Ehrlich travels with the orchestra to London on their first international trip, bringing the music of a lost culture to the West. The book is a fine travelogue but would have been more compelling if the author had provided a bit more on her own spiritual journey. In all, though, a worthy read. (3 b&w illustrations, not seen) (Quality Paperback Book Club selection; regional author tour)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8070-7310-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1997
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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