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THE BEATLES ARE HERE!

Name: THE BEATLES ARE HERE!
Author: Penelope Rowlands
ISBN: 978-1-61620-350-4

50 YEARS AFTER THE BAND ARRIVED IN AMERICA, WRITERS, MUSICIANS & OTHER FANS REMEMBER

edited by Penelope Rowlands ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2014

A bonbon for fans but a legacy better served by more substantive journalism.

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Journalist and critic Rowlands (Paris Was Ours, 2011, etc.) delivers a collection of light-as-a-feather remembrances of the Beatles’ British invasion.

This latest round of idol worship is mostly harmless to the rose-colored memories of Beatles fans. The author cribs an out-of-context quote by John Lennon about a “scrapbook of madness” to describe it. However, this collection is vexing in its seesawing arc among screaming tweens who remain steadfast Paul-worshipping Beatlemaniacs at 64 and beyond, all-too-clever New York intelligentsia defending careers built on iconoclasm, and the occasional superfluous blurb from the likes of Cyndi Lauper or Billy Joel (these latter bits are so bland they would be completely at home in any tribute issue of Rolling Stone). The book takes its roots from a 1964 Gay Talese article in the New York Times, “Beatles and Fans Meet Social Set.” The accompanying photograph finds a screaming Rowlands at the center of the madness, flanked by identical fans, clutching a sign that reads “BEATLES PLEASE STAY HERE 4-EVER.” In other entries, the author tracks down the photographer and even the other girls in the photo, but it’s hard to say why these are important developments. Others are beyond superfluous. An email from the novelist Phillip Lopate simply reads, “Thanks for the offer, I’m flattered, but honestly, the Beatles had no impact on me at the time.” It’s telling when a book that is meant to be a nostalgic look back at a different time in America is punctuated by an acidic anecdote from the novelist Fran Lebowitz during which she recalls being at a party where Sir Paul was playing the piano. Her reaction? “Hey, I’m trying to talk here.” Other contributors include Joe Queenan, Greil Marcus, Peter Ames Carlin, Pico Iyer and Barbara Ehrenreich.

A bonbon for fans but a legacy better served by more substantive journalism.

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-61620-350-4

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Algonquin

Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013

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.