All the laconic scholarship and lightning sharp interpretations and insights which have made Graves' studies of the Greek myths one of the most seductive source books of the decade are here brought to bear with equal effectiveness on the Book of Genesis. True, the mating of religious matters with myths can offend the orthodox, for after all Hellenic polytheism is a far cry from Jewish monotheism. But Graves, along with his co-author Raphael Patai, makes short shrift of objections in a succinct, satin-tongued introduction. The offering frequents both the canonical and apocryphal tracts, and thus sheds light on much Biblical obfuscation. Among the touchier items: how Adam and Eve were initiated into the act of love; why Noah took to drink and how Ham "unmanned" him; what was what with Sodom, Potiphar, Behemoth and Leviathan; and the possibility that an earlier matriarchal culture was done in by the later patriarchy (elsewhere a consistent concern of Graves). Pietistic glossings, rabbinic expansions and multi-references are treated all over from the creation and cosmology through the Fall, the Flood, the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Important for any literate home or library.
Pub Date: March 20, 1963
ISBN: 185754661X
Page Count: 600
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1963
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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