I HAVE EVERYTHING I HAD TWENTY YEARS AGO, EXCEPT NOW IT'S ALL LOWER

Name: I HAVE EVERYTHING I HAD TWENTY YEARS AGO, EXCEPT NOW IT'S ALL LOWER
Author: Suzann Ledbetter
ISBN: 0-517-59979-1

by Suzann Ledbetter ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1995

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Humorous essays on the trials of juggling career, four children, and a household in the tradition of Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry, but not yet in their league. Delivering a lighthearted look at suburban domesticity in the '90s, Ledbetter (The Toast Always Lands Jelly-Side Down, not reviewed) relies heavily on hyperbole—a tool of this trade—and trendy locutions, like ``oxygen-challenged'' goldfish and ``bovine-advantaged'' landscapes (her Missouri home). The author's subjects are such everyday occurrences as male vs. female shaving, mall shopping with a friend, giving and receiving gifts, plus such contemporary ponderables as computers, air terminals, and animal psychics. The list that follows ``You Know It's Gonna Be a Bad Day When...'' hits the right mix of finger- poking exaggeration (signing a hotel registration form with a tampon instead of the pen that was also at the bottom of the purse) and painful reality (the fearsome ``You go to wake up your teenager and find that the bed hasn't been slept in''). But ``Second Childhood,'' which wraps up the collection, is less successful. The sentimental bid to return to the satisfactions of peanut butter and crackers over bacon-wrapped chicken livers and a room decorated with ``My Stuff,'' doesn't ring true for such a self-sufficient woman. It's not enough to be flippant and funny; this slice-of-life kind of humor is social commentary as well. The most successful floats on undercurrents of compassion for the always fragile human condition. At this point, Ledbetter's reach exceeds her grasp. (The title, incidentally, is a quote from Gypsy Rose Lee.) Not the best of this genre, but lively and a reminder that there is almost nothing that can't be laughed at—including recently sacrosanct Middle America. (26 b&w illustrations, not seen) (Author tour)

Pub Date: May 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-517-59979-1

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995

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.