Los Angelino rap musician Ice-T unbuttons his shirt about ghetto life and the storm that hit when his song ``Cop Killer'' seemingly fueled a weak-minded kid to murder a cop. Ice-T defends his record label, which stood behind him, but admits that ``Warner Brothers cannot afford to be in the business of black rage.'' ``Who gives a fuck? is one of the first questions a kid will ask himself growing up in the ghetto. He'll look around at the broken-down buildings, the shabby projects, the cracked schoolyard playgrounds, and it doesn't look like anybody gives a fuck.'' Rap rolls off Ice-T's tongue like jive filled with ground glass. He affects street smarts, a this-is-the-way-it-is stance, and yet admits, ``Anything that comes out of my mouth could be totally wrong, but this is how I see the world around me.'' But isn't there something forced in his story of kids getting $250 tickets for jaywalking and parking offenses just so the cops can collect fingerprints? There are sex ploys with groupies who have a mission to score on him: ``If you are only out to fuck, do not be afraid to lie. Do not be afraid to lie.'' But this changes into T's guide to good manners: ``Men have to learn courting and mating skills. You help yourself by learning a few basics. If you can dance, that will help. Give a woman a reason to like you. Wash your ass. Do some sit-ups. And once you get your physical act together, read some books. Learn something. Be interesting. Get some flavor about yourself.'' Later: ``If you sat up around a nun long enough, she'd probably want to fuck you...You got to deal with them on a mental level, you got to deal with them on a spiritual level.'' You deal from a 150,000 first printing to even make 'em hear you.
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-312-10486-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1994
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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