An American scientist sent to the South American jungles to investigate curare and other plants finds himself and his almost grown son and daughter completely cut off from civilization and threatened by change of chieftains among the head hunters who had been their friends. So they escape- and by sail boat eventually reach New York to find it a wasteland. The only survivors of a world wide plague, distributed in chemical-biological warfare, are gangsters and ignorant guttersnipes. The girl escapes one man bent on making her his prisoner by poisoning him with her fingernail dipped in curare. The boy is shot-but not badly hurt. Eventually, they join forces with a family of refugees from the plague in Iceland, and then meet with aviators back from a 15-year expedition to Mars. Two Martian women are released to dig their way under the earth there to populate the world, while the rest of the survivors set out in the plane to return to Mars. Plenty of opportunity for some cynical commentary on the contrary forces at large in the world, and situations that are a blend of superman and the comic strips, in straight farce. Can't see it in production, as there is little build up to a climax or opportunity for action.
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1950
ISBN: 0670295035
Page Count: 127
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1950
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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