An upbeat and romantic mastectomy story? Absolutely. Robert Parker is the mystery novelist whose sensitive-macho detective always snaps brassy dialogue, the kind of bright-sexy (and honest) speech he and wife Joan exchange during the Three Weeks of her diagnosis, surgery, and lightning recovery from breast cancer. Their dual flashback dovetails effortlessly, incorporating two sons, many friends, and a chain of plucky recognitions. Joan tapes her college lectures, thinks about the boob jokes friends will no longer share, and—not unappealingly—anticipates applause for her gutsy resilience. "Ace" takes over her college courses, reassures their sons, and parries seductively. She outclasses Betty, Happy, and the doleful woman from Reach for Recovery and he surprises himself with John Wayne phrases ("He was aware that they were trite, but they were there, inside him, and he found that in extremes they were true, and they worked"). The boys (twelve and sixteen) are caring and unperturbed, her friends and students—a new-found sisterhood—are concerned and supportive, and the node tests come back negative. The medicine of choice for post-operatives and a tart tonic for anyone else.
Pub Date: Feb. 14, 1977
ISBN: 0425040186
Page Count: 211
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1977
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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