Reinecker’s debut volume, set primarily in postwar Germany, is her personal exploration of the consequences of growing up in a dysfunctional family headed by an absentee father and ruled by an unaffectionate mother.
Herbert Reinecker was a member of the Hitler Youth, later becoming a German war correspondent propagandist—facts mentioned almost in passing by the author since, by the early 1950s, her father had become a celebrity author in Germany and, for Reinecker, a brilliant, distant star. His near-constant absence from the family, punctuated by infrequent three- or four-day visits, became the defining anguish of her life. There was always a reason—he was working on a radio play, he had to be at “the studio,” he couldn’t find proper housing for the family in whatever city he was in, etc. As her father’s fame and wealth increased, so did his emotional and physical distance from his family. Eventually, the author began to understand that his absences had more to do with the various other women in his life than with the demands of his work. While she basked in the reflected light of being his daughter, she spent most of her time trying to gain his attention and love, often through rebellious behavior that resulted in her being expelled from a variety of prestigious boarding schools. In 1965, she married an American GI, and they moved to Minnesota the following year. What she could not escape, however, were her feelings of inadequacy. The narrative centers on, and is especially vivid in re-creating, the longing of a young girl for a normal family as she struggles to find a sense of self-worth and purpose. Readers are likely to be less forgiving than Reinecker of her egotistical, philandering father, who seemed to feel that his responsibilities were fulfilled by providing financial support, or the mother who berated and spanked her with a wooden spoon at minor provocations. But, as this engrossing, memorable memoir shows, Reinecker’s journey to discover who and what led her to be the person she is today has allowed her to make peace with her past.
Absorbing with a tinge of sadness.
Pub Date: April 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1483408989
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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