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BENEATH BLOSSOM RAIN

Name: BENEATH BLOSSOM RAIN
Author: Kevin Grange
ISBN: 978-0-8032-3433-8

DISCOVERING BHUTAN ON THE TOUGHEST TREK IN THE WORLD

by Kevin Grange ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2011

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Debut memoir of a man’s discovery of spiritual rejuvenation while hiking Bhutan's daunting Snowman Trek.

In 2007, outdoors writer Grange began his 24-day journey along the “toughest trek in the world” by tying a string of prayer flags to some rocks, only to watch them flutter free, a setback representative of “all the loose ends in [his] life. As an unmarried, middle-aged, failed screenwriter, the author tackled the trail in order to surrender “to the adventure” and peer “resolutely forward”—yet throughout, he remained firmly cemented to the worries of the past. A man at odds with his dream, Grange continually contemplated the fading likelihood of his success as a screenwriter, acknowledging that “life had its own timeline,” and that the only control he possessed was the ability to put one foot in front of the other on the trail. In this way, the book is an adventurous travel memoir focused on perspective. In one instance, Grange gulped a beer and found his taste buds tingling, not because of the beer itself, but because “[e]verything tastes better on a hiking trail.” Similarly, he soon discovered that all successes were sweetest when laced with suffering. As the author endured the grueling trail, he began viewing the world through a different lens. While in a particularly grumpy mood, a fellow hiker reminded him that every hour of sadness costs a person “3,600 seconds of happiness”—a statistic that rattled Grange out of his funk once and for all. A highly readable journey of one man's renewed lease on life.

Pub Date: April 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-8032-3433-8

Page Count: 376

Publisher: Bison/Univ. of Nebraska

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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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.