The domestic correspondence between Mr. Cuddle-Wuddle (Stein) and Baby Precious (Toklas) reveals the inner hearts and inner workings of the 20th century’s most famous lesbian marriage. Over their 39 years together, Stein and Toklas left little notes to each other, snippets of poetry and passion which, awash in love and devotion, commemorate the pair’s daily doings. Rife with affection and candor, Stein’s late-night scribblings to her beloved touch upon the heights of their love; its nether-regions, however, are also adumbrated when Stein, for example, comments (all too often) upon the frequency and consistency of Toklas’s bowel movements. Other fragments touch with endearing frankness upon their sex lives, as when Stein self-consciously whips up her phallic pen to fill Toklas with carnal pleasures. A London honeymoon, the pressures of the world wars, flowers, and cigarettes decorate these valentines with the quotidian aura of their lives, and even when the occasional tiff looms, one can hardly doubt the sincerity of the affection described. Photographs, sketches, shipping labels, and receipts, which are printed alongside the notes, round out this intimate view into the women’s lives. For scholars of Stein, the giddy wordplay of the notes illuminates her previously published work as well as the details and desires of her life. Though this collection holds obvious interest for both Stein’s fans and scholars, it offers only approximately one-third of the extant 312 notes (295 of them from Stein, 17 from Toklas) with no annotations to complement Turner’s brief introduction. Though it is somewhat jarring to adjust one’s perception of Gertrude Stein to include her alter ego Mr. Cuddle-Wuddle, the effort provides many warm examples of her genius and her heart. The collection makes a convincing case for Toklas’s assertion that “notes are a very beautiful form of literature”—personal, provocative, and tender.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-312-19832-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
