Dave Barry Is Still At It. Laughing will only encourage him—but that would be okay.
Dave Barry has written more than a score of funny books, a full 69% of them bearing the words “Dave Barry” in the title (Dave Barry Turns 50, 1998, etc.). Now, maintaining Dave Barry’s high standards, Dave Barry turns political pundit, employing Dave Barry’s firm grip on matters governmental as well as a lot of other foolishness.
We are assured that this profoundly cogent text is totally research-free. That leaves plenty of room for everything we must know about Washington’s ways. Naturally, this includes a quick history of civilization through the birth of the nation. As Dave Barry notes, the colonists “had dared squeeze the tube of independence . . . and there was to be no putting it back.” Later, a “low point came in 1967, when the tinder box of urban unrest reached the boiling point.” Not since the late Bill Nye has there been such elegant historical syntax. Barry’s intimate knowledge of governmental organization surely qualifies him for a Cabinet post, perhaps at the Department of Infrastructure (which, we learn, was created in error instead of “Yarn Safety Week”). Helpfully, there’s a strangely familiar version of the Constitution. Perhaps it’s the one carried in Senator Byrd’s vest pocket; perhaps it’s the prevalent usage of “shall” regarding interns, the Supreme Court, and other objects of national derision. Concluding, for little discernible reason, with much ado about Florida, there’s some courtroom dialogue worthy of the Marx Brothers. The author suggests requiring political candidates, like race-car drivers, to wear the logos of their corporate sponsors. Finally, he advises us to simply consider the federal government as an extravagant entertainment we’ve paid plenty for. For full enjoyment, ignore all the references to the Giant Prehistoric Zucchini.
Dave Barry Is Still At It. Laughing will only encourage him—but that would be okay.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-50219-X
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
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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