A lengthy and conscientious dissection whose studious tone seems diametrically opposed to its subject, a Creole musical form known for playful, free-floating rhythms. Tisserand, a music writer in New Orleans, probes the origins, growth, and spread of Zydeco, the vivacious, accordion-based dance music native to the Creole communities of southwest Louisiana and eastern Texas. Calling on oral histories, contemporaneous accounts, and his own research and experiences to support his effort, the author capably opens the genre to the uninitiated. He explains the distinction between Cajun and Creole, one dependent as much on race as on culture. He gives a short etymological explanation of the word Zydeco, which likely stems from a corruption of les haricots, the French word for snap beans—a staple crop for black Creole farmers. And he offers profiles of such essential and seminal Zydeco legends as the 1920s—’30s recording artist and pioneer AmÇdÇ Ardoin and “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier, credited as the first to introduce R&B and rock ‘n— roll into Zydeco and as the inventor of the modern froittoir, or rubboard. Also sketched is Buckwheat Zydeco, the performer who in recent years has been instrumental (pun intended) in the music’s mainstream acceptance. Yet in depicting the music’s popularity, particularly today, the author does miss a step. By citing Zydeco’s presence in a 1980s-vintage movie, The Big Easy, and its other uses as backup music in recent TV advertisements, Tisserand overstates the impact of the form. This sort of hype, and the excessive detail of his work, suggest the author’s passion for his subject. While everyone can learn something from his book, a little passion will also help them to put up with it. (b&w photos)
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 1998
ISBN: 1-55970-418-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Arcade
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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