Cosmopolitan columnist Kurtz (Mantalk, 1987, etc.) chronicles her voyage of discovery made by criss-crossing the country on Greyhound buses. An American expatriate residing in London, Kurtz—with Australian raincoat and flask of bourbon in hand—set out to explore her native land with three one-month Ameripasses, good for unlimited bus travel. She journeyed north from Manhattan to Maine, then west to Seattle and back east as far as Nashville; west again to San Francisco, by way of Denver; down to L.A., back east across the southern route to the Florida Keys, and back to New York. Deliberately seeking out obscure places, she found herself stranded in Minnesota blizzards; dumped off at 4:00 a.m. in Dinosaur, Colorado; and sampling the Basque restaurants in a long string of western towns. Kurtz has a good ear for American speech, and gives us samples of talk from midnight conversations with strippers, cowboys, teenagers, crazies, tourists—all the bizarre variety of Yanks on the road. And she records the unwritten customs of bus travel: who gets which seats; how much to reveal in conversation; ways to repel unwanted companions. There's no deep revelation of the spirit of America here, but the ride is good fun, and the characters and dialogue are as alluring as in many novels. (Eight pages of b&w photographs, map- -not seen)
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 1993
ISBN: 0-671-77564-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
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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