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THE DARK LADY FROM BELORUSSE

Name: THE DARK LADY FROM BELORUSSE
Author: Jerome Charyn
ISBN: 0-312-16808-X

by Jerome Charyn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 17, 1997

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Charyn's fascination with quirky New York crime stories (El Bronx, p. 21, etc.) takes its cue from his early childhood, as this brief, charming, idiosyncratic memoir shows. He was an oddly brainy young boy, growing up in a cartoonlike world of larger-than-life adult personalities, set against the rich backdrop of the Bronx during the early 1940s. His childhood, he says, was dominated by the ``magical equation that existed between mom and me.'' His exasperated, distant, womanizing father found it increasingly difficult to reach, or control, either his energetic son or his brooding, beautiful Russian wife. Indeed, his mother came to depend on Jerome so much that, for a time, she kept him out of school. He was her escort, cook, dresser, and the chief mediator between her and the onslaught of men who found her irresistible. ``Faigele,'' as she was affectionately called, suffered repeatedly from crushing spells of depression, brought on by her concern for a beloved brother caught behind German lines in Russia. Charyn's recollections of his complex, tough, yet melancholic mother, and of the circle of small-time corrupt politicos and crooks with whom she became associated (she was recruited to become the dealer at a regular high-stakes card game), come untainted by the judgments of adulthood, so full are they of inclusive, childlike love, language, pardon, and even joy. He worked to pull her through her dark periods. And she, in turn, protected him from the sporadic attentions of his father, labored at a variety of jobs to keep him fed and clothed, and encouraged his appetite for life. Wisdom fell hard into this young life, outstripping language by a long shot. In remembering the Dark Lady from Belorusse, Charyn walks alongside his muse. He unites the colorful and loving boy that was, with the unique crime writer he became. Youth was the magical place of Charyn's inspiration and it is captured here honestly and simply. (photos, not seen)

Pub Date: Oct. 17, 1997

ISBN: 0-312-16808-X

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1997

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
RAVAGE & SON
by Jerome Charyn

- BOOK REVIEW
BIG RED
by Jerome Charyn

- BOOK REVIEW
SERGEANT SALINGER
by Jerome Charyn

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.