A portrait out of time true to the author’s vision about the force of belief.
British travel-writer France (Bad Times in Buenos Aires, 1999) seeks to understand how the Spanish view themselves and their country.
There is more than just a little of Quixote in the Castilian mindset, she suggests; as a political theorist writing during Cervantes’ time noted, Spain is “a nation of enchanted people who live outside the natural order.” Of course, what France finds during two extended sojourns in the country, as a student in 1988–89 and again during a passage through Castilian towns in 1998, is more complex than that. Yet there is a fascinating interplay between the value and interpretation of truth throughout Spanish history that bears an uncanny resemblance to Quixote's sortie against windmills. Among her examples: the Spanish state’s trumping-up of a threat from the Moors, the nation’s chimerical wealth during the reign of Philip II, the Church’s solace and oppression, the mirage of fundamental change during the Republic, when independent institutions of democracy and compromise never took hold, even France’s own self-deluded relationship with a radical young Peruvian during her schooldays. This is not only an extended psychic evaluation of the Spanish anima; there are also stunning and intimate descriptions of Salamanca, Avila, Toledo, Burgos, and Segovia, often enough accompanied by descriptions of strange personal encounters. Yet whether talking of Quixote or the transvestites who live across the street, the author is most interested in coping with life's complexity and uncertainties, considering whether it might be best to follow the example of Quixote and “create a philosophy, a pattern, and force yourself to follow it. If others reject it, so much the better—you can consider yourself misunderstood, but in the right.” France herself has no urge to be judgmental; she loves Spaniards too much, with all their idiosyncrasies and peccadilloes.
A portrait out of time true to the author’s vision about the force of belief.Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2002
ISBN: 1-58567-292-0
Page Count: 243
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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