A collection of short stories, always able and sometimes notable, range from England to Africa to the continent, from lighter sketches to soberer commentaries on beaten, broken lives, and are distinguished by their quietly perspicacious view of human existence and experience. For those who remember her The Grass Is Singing (1950) there are several, desolate South African scenes: a woman maintains her gracious notions on an isolated South African farm but submits to the coarsest relationship possible with an itinerant insurance salesman; subdued, apologetic Mrs. Slatter holds as her only hope- in her life with a brutal, unfaithful husband- the fact she may grow old quickly; a young girl, running away from home, will walk the streets willingly rather than return. The title story concerns the sad dependence of an aging man- once successful with women- and professionally prominent- on a younger woman; there is the defective boy whose only lien to the world in which he lives is the body of his mother; and there's a sinister, searching story of the aftermath of the war- as two young English doctors try to find the congenial, sentimental Germany of the past in her present and see only the lingering stigmata of Naziism..... An audience- while deserved- may be difficult to assure.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1957
ISBN: 0445083905
Page Count: 317
Publisher: T.Y. Crowell
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1958
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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