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CHILDREN OF THE MANSE

Name: CHILDREN OF THE MANSE
Author: Lewis Richard Luchs
ISBN: 978-0578035239

by Lewis Richard Luchs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2011

A touching story of hope, courage, generosity and the resiliency of children.

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In the 1940s, one family adopts four abandoned siblings in this true and tender recollection written by the eldest son.

When a health issue triggers a search for their biological family’s medical history, the author and his sister, now middle-aged, sift through a bureaucratic haystack of adoption records and letters from the county home where they, and their two siblings, had spent two grim years. Even before that lowly stretch in the county’s care, the Luchs children had a chaotic home life with their alcoholic father—a petty criminal who, after serving time in prison, disappeared from their lives—and their unstable mother, who frequently abandoned them. But enter a compassionate social worker who, at young Luchs’ insistence, promised to keep the children together and found a loving and well-educated Presbyterian minister and his wife who unflinchingly welcomed all four into their comfortable home. Descriptive details abound, bringing the book to life through its many charming stories, usually involving Janey, the youngest of the family. As the eldest, the author has a keener memory of the neglect and abuses that he and his siblings endured, and, thus, bears the deepest scars. While cherishing the handful of happy times he had with his biological father, Luchs recounts his conflicted feelings for the man, and that Luchs forlornly held out hope that he would see him again. The author does an admirable job of examining the complex emotions he has toward his biological and adoptive parents and describes his struggle to fully embrace his adoptive parents and relinquish his role as surrogate parent to his siblings. This well-written, honest book would be best suited for those who have an interest in the adoption system of the past, or for those who enjoy the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

A touching story of hope, courage, generosity and the resiliency of children.

Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2011

ISBN: 978-0578035239

Page Count: 306

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: March 10, 2011

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.