A highly wrought biography depicting a literary woman's self-authorship. Veteran literary biographer Gordon (Eliot's New Life, 1988, etc.) shows Charlotte Brontâ (181655) transmuting her deadening life into the flame and flesh of great fiction. The early death of her mother, Maria, in 1821, followed by the loss in 1825 of her two older sisters, 11-year-old Maria and 10-year-old Elizabeth, left young Charlotte to care for the remainder of her family and to ``shape herself,'' as she later did her fiction. Although self- described as the `` `puniest' of Papa's children,'' Charlotte outlived her n'er-do-well brother, Branwell (181748), and sisters Emily (181848), author of Wuthering Heights (1847), and Anne (182049), author of Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). The remote locale and inhospitable climate of the English moors were put to creative use by Charlotte, firing her fortitude and determination to write despite the obstacles that a woman of talent and ambition faced in Victorian England. In Gordon's account, Charlotte endured the numbing toil of two positions as governess, first in 1838 and again in 1841, and transformed these draining and disappointing attempts at economic independence into vital aspects of Jane Eyre (1847), her most famous novel, and Shirley (1849). As a teacher in Brussells from 1842 to 1844, Charlotte's unrequited love for the married headmaster of the Pensionnat Heger school resulted in the first of several depressive episodes and also sparked her first novel, The Professor (written in 1846, published in 1857), and illuminated aspects of her last, Villette (1853). Gordon gives us a Brontâ who forged self and work alike by dint of an inner fire, previously unseen within mythologies of the Brontâ family. The book certainly earns its subtitle: Gordon writes with such high drama that her language and imagery threaten to overwhelm her themes.
Pub Date: Jan. 30, 1995
ISBN: 0-393-03722-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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