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ELLA IN EUROPE

Name: ELLA IN EUROPE
Author: Michael Konik
ISBN: 0-385-33851-1

AN AMERICAN DOG’S INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURES

by Michael Konik ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2005

Ella tends to bring out the best in people, and she certainly brings it out in her owner: Whenever he finds himself drifting...

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A highly convivial tour with dog, from Los Angeles freelancer Konik.

Ella, a big, white, good-tempered, Labrador-greyhound mix, serves as her proud owner’s unpaid claque. “No matter your failings,” he writes, “you [are] still a hero to your dog.” In return, Ella gets unabashed affection from Konik (Telling Lies and Getting Paid, etc., not reviewed). She also gets a trip to Europe—a small recompense, now that she is 70 (in dog years), for all the pleasure she has brought into her master’s life. Unlike the US, which severely circumscribes the freedom of dogs, Europe weaves them into life’s daily tapestry. The Louvre, the casino in Monte Carlo and a pizza joint in Cannes turn Ella away, but they’re about the only ones that do. It simply takes Konik’s breath away that he can be everywhere with his great good friend. Ella in a gondola? No problem. Ella in a bar watching the World Cup? Of course. Ella also visits a Hermès shop, dines at Le Grand Véfour restaurant (three stars, Guide Michelin) and is offered a glass of wine to soothe her jangled nerves during a lightning storm. These pages offer plenty of easy fun, but they tug at something deeper as well: When Konik writes, “Ella reminds me that comfort with oneself is the key to comfort in your environment, no matter how grand (or squalid) it is,” he touches on one of the great tools of travel. When we deny ourselves everyday access to animals such as dogs, he further reminds us, we lose our ability to comfortably associate with a population of creatures and forsake their affirming, heart-bracing qualities. That’s quite a loss.

Ella tends to bring out the best in people, and she certainly brings it out in her owner: Whenever he finds himself drifting into the mawkish, the author takes a look at his dog and starts behaving himself. (Photos throughout)

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2005

ISBN: 0-385-33851-1

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2004

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.