The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dramatic changes in Europe have produced a virtual industry of publications. Now comes the book we've been waiting for: master travel writer Morris's (Sydney, 1992; O Canada, 1992, etc.) uncannily astute reflections on how Europe has developed over the past 50 years. It is 51 years exactly since Morris, then named James, a young Anglo-Welsh soldier in Trieste, first took notes on his European experience. Although Morris's 1972 gender change is not discussed directly in these writings, they offer a deeply personal and subjective view of a continent observed by a perceptive eyewitness who, it so happens, has had the added advantage of experiencing it as both man and woman. Morris's is a truly unique voice. The book consists of vignettes loosely structured under five chapter headings. It begins with ``Holy Symptoms,'' characteristically serious but witty responses to the role of paganism and Christianity as ``universal defining factors'' in European history. Morris, an ardent Welsh patriot, brings a singular understanding to the subject of Europe's ethnic and geographic diversity and the bloody business of nation-building in the next two sections. The final chapters cover Europe's increasing homogenization and the six attempts to unify the continent, from the Holy Roman Empire to the European Union. Morris's understanding of both the follies and the dignity of patriotism lie behind her ability to laugh at and delight in others' idiosyncrasies. With the Germans, Morris admits to having a love-hate relationship, and her pieces on Germany's rich cultural legacy set against its Nazi past are among the most moving in the book. The glory of France she finds ``insidiously seductive'' because it strikes her as ``perfectly humorless,'' whereas it is the ``sycophancy of older Austrians'' that she most dislikes. For every nation, for every region or town, from Finland to Greece, Morris delivers a precise, moving, and eloquent reflection. Fifty Years of Europe is a delight.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-679-41610-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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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