As with many volumes of selected letters, this one is studded with interesting material but patchy overall.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) scholar Anderson (River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain, 2003, etc.) presents a collection of her heretofore unpublished personal and business letters.
This collection is by no means exhaustive, and in his introduction, editor Anderson laments that many of Wilder’s letters were lost. Still, the letters written to her daughter Rose Wilder Lane during the production of the Little House series open a window into the author’s writing process and her apparent collaboration with her daughter on the series. The anthology is often uneven, especially the first few chapters, in which many of the letters are edited in a manner that leaves their contents unclear and others are short postcards that convey no relevant information. Anderson provides some brief context, but only readers intensely interested in the minutiae of Wilder’s life—for instance, what kind of melons she sent to her husband—will find these engaging. Anderson warns that passages that “contain redundant information” will be replaced throughout the book with either ellipses or italicized summaries of the contents, but in these early chapters, the ellipses are ubiquitous, and it is rarely clear what redundancies have been edited. Eventually, though, the collection becomes delightful as Wilder begins work on her famous book series. Letters sent to her daughter, editor, agent, and fans all demonstrate intriguing aspects of her childhood, home life, and writing process. It’s unfortunate that the collection contains so few of the letters written to Wilder by others. One of the pleasures of reading correspondence is the feeling of intimacy conferred by seeing a relationship unfold. With only one side of the many relationships portrayed here, some of that intimacy is lost.
As with many volumes of selected letters, this one is studded with interesting material but patchy overall.Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-241968-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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