A work by a down-to-earth writer who tells it like it is, even when life seems harsh, unfair, or downright bizarre.
A gritty collection of true-life stories featuring themes of retribution and comeuppance.
As the subtitle suggests, Bradley (Reflections on Freedom, 2013) writes in a conversational, no-nonsense style that fits the raunchy content of the anecdotes in this slim, autobiographical volume. After a few tales from childhood and adolescence, he turns to his experiences in the U.S. Army, which he characterizes in retrospect as “brutal idiocy.” Gleefully leaving the military behind, he settled first in Walla Walla, Washington, then in Corpus Christi, Texas. Throughout the text, the author demonstrates a low tolerance for bullies of many stripes. Whether he’s targeting a corrupt police officer, a cruel military superior, or a serial rapist, Bradley describes his code of ethics in this way: “I do not respect ‘the law’, especially when it is unjust but I have only ever victimized people who victimize others.” Thus, he dispenses his own brand of justice and imparts cutting nuggets of wisdom: “Place blame on life and see if it cares or stand up and be a survivor. Fuck being a victim of circumstance.” Over the course of 44 brief chapters, he displays for readers a curious combination of bravado and humility and, ultimately, a growing maturity. He discovered a sense of family among people who showed him compassion when he was down and out—battling depression, substance abuse, and dire economic straits. Those people included Wild Bill, a Vietnam veteran fighting cancer; Wheelchair Mike, a homeless paraplegic; and the denizens of Sweet Lips, a topless bar. After Wheelchair Mike is murdered in a cruel, grotesque manner, Bradley elegizes: “If there’s an afterlife, I hope he’s there with two legs, a big bottle of Heineken and ‘a fine assed mamacita’ as he liked to say.” Not every chapter fires on all cylinders in terms of emotional impact. However, there are enough that do for the book to warrant a look, particularly by readers with strong constitutions who can stomach large doses of reality.
A work by a down-to-earth writer who tells it like it is, even when life seems harsh, unfair, or downright bizarre.Pub Date: Dec. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692318461
Page Count: 108
Publisher: Mojoincc
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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