Lots about the difference between Japanese Buddhist aristocratic culture and Shinto popular culture—with examples from films, plays, novels, prostitution—pegged, indeed chained, to the familiar idea that "hedonism is held in check by social taboos." I.e., "what one sees on the screen, on stage and in comic-books is usually precisely the reverse of normal behavior. The morbid and sometimes grotesque taste that runs through Japanese culture—and has done so for centuries—is a direct result of being made to conform to such a strict and limiting code of normality." Nonetheless Buruma rejects the idea that the Japanese are unique: rather, they resemble Europeans of the Middle Ages. So: "while the heroes and heroines of this book tell us something about the culture that created them. . . they tell us far more about ourselves." As cultural analysis, this is neither coherent nor subtle. Buruma starts off by distinguishing between Japanese progenitors Izanagi and Izanami and Adam and Eve—or "pollution" vs. Original Sin. He likens the samurai to the European knight-errant—save for "the Christian ideal of principled, indiscriminate compassion." He seconds Ivan Morris' observation that all Japanese heroes are anachronisms. As an olla podrida of comments and description, however, this has its truths and its voyeuristic attractions. Across the board, high to low, "everyone is dressed for his or her part." While the Westerner "appeals to a sense of logic," a Japanese appeals "to his own heart." Etc. As to the Japanese underside, we visit a strip tease (which climaxes in a magnifying-glass display of genitals), take in the violent and/or pornographic plot-lines of innumerable popular entertainments, see the salary man (sheepish) at home and (randy) after hours. But with the same few, stereotypical points made over and over.
Pub Date: April 26, 1984
ISBN: 0394537750
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1984
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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