A decidedly episodic and savory blend of memoir and cookbook, by the playwright and novelist (Lilianne: Resurrection of the Daughter, 1994, etc.). Alternating recollections of time spent in Cuba, Nicaragua, the Caribbean, and Brazil, as well as descriptions of her life in various regions of the US, with a variety of straightforward and appealing recipes (from French fried chitlins to Brazilian hominy and chicken-fried steak), Shange weaves together a book that is both a celebration of the nourishing symbolism of food and community in African-American and Caribbean life (``a true connection to the past and what is to be as well as all that went between'') and a gentle introduction to the craft of preparing wholesome food. Too scattered to be a memoir and too eccentric to serve as a thorough cookbook, If I Can Cook is nonetheless an entertaining and deeply personal celebration of African-American cuisine and the life (and history) it represents.
Pub Date: Feb. 25, 1998
ISBN: 0-8070-7240-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
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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