by Mary Lowenthal Felstiner ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 27, 1994
An unusual biography of an artist who herself painted an unusual autobiography before she was murdered at Auschwitz. Felstiner (History/San Francisco State Univ.) moves fluidly between biography, history (with a feminist angle), and art criticism as she fleshes out the brief life of Charlotte Salomon and examines the factors—personal and historical—that influenced her art and determined her fate. Neither the young Charlotte nor her origins were promising: Her mother, her aunt, and other family members committed suicide. Though from a well-to-do Berlin Jewish family, the young art student was described by a contemporary as ``withdrawn, serious, pale, tall and nondescript.'' Yet the advent of the Nazis, her love affair with the mesmerizing musician Alfred Wolfsohn, exile to France and temporary internment there as an ``undesirable alien,'' and then a relatively peaceful time on the Cìte d`Azur—all these contributed to a remarkable artistic outpouring in 194142 that resulted in her masterwork, Life? or Theater? (published here in 1981). Charlotte called it a Singespiel, or operetta: 769 painted pages accompanied by text and music. Felstiner terms it Salomon's attempt to create a lasting self in a family where self-obliteration was the rule and at a time when the obliteration of her people was being effected. Complementing Charlotte's carefully shaped, personal narrative with her own more complete, thoroughly researched one, Felstiner also threads in the life of Alois Brunner, the brutal SS officer who ordered the deportation that brought Charlotte to Auschwitz, where she died at the age of 26. Felstiner buttresses her account with fascinating background details; discussing the suicide of Charlotte's mother, for instance, she offers evidence that German Jews had an extraordinarily high suicide rate at the time. Felstiner closes with the romantic notion that Salomon's Life? or Theater? is the triumph of art over evil. But overall, this artfully told account leaves one hungry to experience Salomon's unique legacy firsthand. (8-page color insert, 40 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: July 27, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-017105-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994
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by William Strunk & E.B. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1972
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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