A slender but important volume of nearly all the letters that passed between Nelly Sachs, a Nobel laureate in literature, and Paul Celan, one of the greatest poets of this century. Celan (19201970) and Sachs (18911970) were united by shared experiences and temperaments. Both were only children, German- speaking Jews whose lives had been shattered by the rise of Hitler. Both were poets, writing in German as a conscious act of refusal to capitulate to the Nazi terror by reclaiming the language as their own. The Rumanian-born Celan lost both his parents in the death camps and spent much of the war in forced labor; after the war he fled the wave of Communism sweeping through his country, eventually settling in Paris. Sachs was somewhat more fortunate, fleeing with her ailing mother to Sweden just before the war began. As this collection of their correspondence indicates, each was a sensitive person who bore the scars of the Nazi era with a stoicism that ultimately led to nervous breakdowns and, in Celan's case, suicide. Their 16-year-long correspondence has, as Celan biographer John Felstiner points out in his helpful introduction, ``a dynamic of [its] own: a tenderness, a certain desperate fellow-feeling of real survivorhood.'' In their letters, particularly those from Sachs following a breakdown and lengthy hospitalization, one senses the desperate fight being waged against solitude and the terrors of darkness. Often, though, another, gentler tone breaks through. A letter from Celan, written during a Brittany vacation, reveals a doting and proud father with a gentle wit. Sachs displays an almost grandmotherly attitude toward Celan's young son, Eric. The book is aided immeasurably by a set of very thorough notes and a chronology of the lives of the two poets. Poignant reading and an absolute must for anyone interested in 20th century literature or the effects of the Holocaust on those it touched.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-878818-37-6
Page Count: 140
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1995
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
© 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.
