Longhorn Reviews

Los comerciantes de Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, 1920-1980

[Longhorn Review] Los comerciantes de Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, 1920-1980

Material Type: All, books — Tags: history, Mexico — Posted on November 16, 2008, 11:55 am

By: Steffen, Cristina

Interesting book with lots of information about the time period and interpersonal
relationships/dynamics between influential families in a typical Mexican
town.

Reviewer: Longhorn Reviewer

The Fosse style

[Longhorn Review] The Fosse style

Material Type: All, books — Tags: falstaffpicks, jazz dance — Posted on November 14, 2008, 12:22 pm

By: Debra McWaters

Choreographer for musicals "The Pajama Game," "Damn Yankees!," "Sweet Charity,"
"Cabaret," "Pippin," and "Chicago," among others

Reviewer: Beth

Nature and its symbols

[Longhorn Review] Nature and its symbols

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: animals, falstaffpicks, iconography, imagery, plants, symbolism in art — Posted on November 14, 2008, 12:19 pm

By: Lucia Impelluso

These volumes in the

(Guide to Imagery series) continue to be of use to students
studying iconography. Over and over again, the answers to meanings of subjects
within artworks are found in these volumes.

Reviewer: Laura

Trisha Brown : so that the audience does not know whether I have stopped dancing

[Longhorn Review] Trisha Brown : so that the audience does not know whether I have stopped dancing

Material Type: All, Books — Tags: dance in art, exhibitions, falstaffpicks — Posted on November 14, 2008, 12:14 pm

By: Peter Eleey

The Walker Art Center presents the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience
Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing, the centerpiece of a spectrum of
programs honoring the 40-year career of this contemporary dance icon at a moment of
increasing interest in the broad sweep of her work and its influence. Providing an
in-depth look at Brown’s visual arts practice, the exhibition features a survey of
the artist’s drawings going back thirty-five years, a live early performance work in
the gallery, and videos of seminal early performances.”

from e-flux: (http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/5332)

Reviewer: Beth

Buried Child

[Longhorn Review] Buried Child

Material Type: All, books — Tags: family, Midwest, play, pulitzer prize — Posted on November 10, 2008, 3:02 pm

By: Shepard, Sam

Last Fall, Sam Shepard made a visit to the Fine Arts Library. The evening before
he arrived, I thought I should read his Pulitzer Prize winning play, Buried Child.
In addition, Beth Kerr, Theatre/Dance Librarian told me if you can only read one
thing before Shepard arrives, read Buried Child. This play is about a dysfunctional
family, set on a farm in the Midwest. Shepard does an excellent job describing the
strained relations amongst the three generations of family members. The family
secret, the mystery of the “Buried Child” is revealed in the third act of the play.
Now I recommend it to patrons who look at the Shepard materials on display and want
to read something by him.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography

[Longhorn Review] Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography

Material Type: All, books — Tags: biography, Music, Neil Young, rock — Posted on November 10, 2008, 3:00 pm

By: McDonough, Jimmy

I’m a huge Neil Young fan. I grew up in the 1970s and remember listening to so
many of his songs on the radio. A few years ago, my favorite cousin Joey was
visiting for SXSW and brought Shakey with him. During the day, he sat on the porch
and could not put it down (at night he was downtown rockin’ out). He said the book
was really interesting, especially if you like Neil Young and music from the 60s and
70s. We had a copy at the Fine Arts Library and I checked it out. What an excellent
biography. Young is very private and this is the first in depth account of his life.
I highly recommend this account of Young’s life.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

The Road

[Longhorn Review] The Road

Material Type: All, books — Tags: fathers and sons, fiction, post-apocalyptic, pulitzer prize — Posted on November 10, 2008, 2:58 pm

By: McCarthy, Cormac

There is nothing funny about Cormac McCarthy’s latest novel. It is a compelling,
provocative story about a man and his boy trying to survive in a post-apocalyptical
environment. It is so real and so frightening, it seems that McCarthy displays
prescient tendencies. Has he been there and back? Can he see the future? Is it this
bleak? Reading this novel is a spiritual experience. I am deeply indebted to Reggie
Akers, Fine Arts Library circulation supervisor, for recommending it to me. My
vision of the future has been transformed.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

Colors Insulting to Nature: A Novel

[Longhorn Review] Colors Insulting to Nature: A Novel

Material Type: All, books — Tags: coming of age, family, fiction — Posted on November 10, 2008, 2:54 pm

By: Wilson, Cintra

My friend Stephanie recommended this book to me. She picked it up in the Bay Area
where the author is a local celebrity. Turns out Wilson is also a performing artist
and arts critic, even more reason for me, as Fine Arts Librarian, to delve into this
novel. It is another coming of age story, this one of Liza Normal (who is anything
but normal). Her raison d’etre is to become a successful actress and/or singer. The
book is the trials and tribulations of this quest. The characters that surround Liza
include her loudmouth mother, reclusive brother, and a whole host of bizarre and
endearing characters. Wilson’s book is hilarious. From the first few pages, until
the very end, I was completely engaged and amused.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz

Carousel of Progress: A Novel

[Longhorn Review] Carousel of Progress: A Novel

Material Type: All, books — Tags: coming of age, family, fiction, Los Angeles, Southern California — Posted on November 10, 2008, 2:51 pm

By: Tanney, Katherine

I love fiction especially coming of age stories. I was having lunch with Nancy
Schiesari, a Radio-Television-Film professor and lauded cinematographer earlier this
Spring and she recommended Carousel of Progress to me. The story is about a teenage
girl growing up in L.A. whose parents are getting divorced. There is so much truth
and honesty in this tale, the characters are so real, and the dynamics of the
relationships so complex. Tanney grew up in L.A. and now lives in Austin, just like
me. Schiesari knows Tanney personally because Tanney is also a cinematographer. The
story was so familiar, it was hard to put down.

Reviewer: Laura Schwartz