Another attempt to jump on the bandwagon of the so-called simplicity movement, this time with a Gallic twist. This is French bestseller Delerm’s first book to be published in the US, and at first glance it would seem to fit quite comfortably among the hordes of books currently exhorting Americans to slow down and enjoy the mundane joys of life. Unfortunately, the author tends to wring the pleasure from most of the simple things he recommends for appreciation. The book, which consists of 34 short chapters (none more than three pages long), extols the virtues of, for instance, blackberry picking, going to the movies, and looking through a kaleidoscope, and it’s quite possible that readers will go and perform the activities Delerm describes, if only to escape his precious and overwrought prose. His rhapsody on an autumn sweater could double as an entry in the J. Peterman catalog: “Time for a new sweater. Time to dress in autumn tones: sweet chestnut, brushwood, conker husk, russula pink. Time to wear the season on your woollen sleeve. To celebrate the blaze before it burns itself out.” Though its armchair philosophy is tiresome, the book is somewhat attractive as armchair travel, since a number of the pleasures that Delerm endorses are specifically French, such as the moving walkway in the Montparnasse metro station or the best way to play pÇtanque. And his descriptions of food and drink, which uphold France’s position as a nation of gourmands, will delight foodies—especially the chapter on “A Sunday Morning Box of Pastries,” which puts American delicacies like Krispy Kremes to shame. Well intentioned, but remarkably tedious for such a short book.
Pub Date: May 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-312-20364-0
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Picador
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
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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