In 1986, Buruma (Behind the Mask, 1984) visited Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. His purpose: to examine the extent to which Western-style modernization has influenced Eastern values. His conclusion: These countries are engaged in "an endless search for meaning and national identity" with no clear consensus on a solution. Curiously, Buruma starts in Burma, the one country that has kept Westernization at bay, where Rangoon molders away surrounded by "vast suburbs of brown huts on stilts in slimy water." The West intrudes only in the black market, where TV sets, wristwatches, even pages of old American magazines are snapped up. And so it goes: Thailand is a "sexual supermarket"—and also a land where the king and fundamentalist Buddhists have fostered the resurrection of a serene village culture; Malaysia looks to Islam for cohesion, while its women prance about in miniskirts and high heels; primarily Chinese Singapore comes across as a "perfect suburban paradise," but its officials dither that it will be swamped by Malays and condemn same-sex disco dancing as inimical to procreation; South Korea celebrates its "5000-year-old" civilization with folk festivals in baseball stadiums. Fascinatingly detailed, but confusingly organized and already partially outdated—the downfall of Marcos and the 1988 Burma riots have superseded the text.
Pub Date: June 1, 1989
ISBN: 0753810891
Page Count: 267
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1989
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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