A rollicking sequel to Rain of Gold (1991), which was likened in these pages to a Latin American Roots. Villase§or owes more to the magical realism of Gabriel Garc°a M†rquez, however, than to the thoroughgoing journalism of Alex Haley. The result is a portrait of the author's Mexican forebears that partakes freely of myth, huge symbols, and even the occasional nod to pop-culture touchstones like Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Villase§or revels in shaggy-dog stories, tales of picaresque misadventures, and especially folklore shaped for his own purposes. He opens with a retelling of the famous Nahuatl water serpent myth, with a delightful twist: If the villagers of his ancestral home eat sufficiently hot chilies, the fierce serpent will find expelling her human food so terrible that she will pick another town on which to dine. This saves the life of Villase§or's grandfather. Grandfather has gifts, among them the ability to converse with his broken-down stallion—think of Don Quixote's Rocinante here—and he rules his dusty roost with fierce love and passion. So great are his gifts that he feels compelled to announce them to all who will listen: ``I'm not some skinny little backward Indian-savage who knows how to talk horse to horses,'' he proclaims, ``I can force the entire animal kingdom to its knees in the name of God-given Christianity!'' Horse tamer, patriarch, and defier of all authority, Grandfather teaches his children well, and his descendants are fond of quoting the master. ``Remember what our grandfather always tells us,'' one says fondly, ``that a smart man is never wild or stupid, but has all the patience of the lion, and the lion and the jaguar aren't in the business of getting hurt or taking chances.'' That patience, Villase§or seems to suggest, is the clue to the Mexican people's survival, and his affectionate, tongue-in-cheek look into the past is a pleasure in every respect. (Author tour)
Pub Date: March 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-385-31566-X
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1995
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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