Along with Ogilvie's usual wonderful descriptions of life on an island in the years following the war, the reader also gets a warm and simple love story of two lonely, independent people. As usual with Ogilvie's writings, there is a twist at the end and the seeming tranquility of island living really hides intense passions. A wonderful book I have read several times.
First, I'll go to the illustrations because they are the most novel thing about this book. This is the first Pippi Longstocking book every to be published in the US with the original illustrations by the (obviously) talented Ingrid Vang Nyman. Her pictures are amazingly bright and cheery. Great amounts of reds and yellows, blues, and greens were used. It doesn't seem like there was a dull color on her pallate. The colors on the cover are pretty much the only colors used throughout the book and the result is breathtaking. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is the Sistine Chapel or anything, but the pictures are so simple looking, clean cut, and almost "primitive" (that isn't really the proper word I'm looking for, but anyway...). I was persistently amazed on Ingrid Nyman's attention to detail. Her scenes focus on the main characters and there actions, but if you look around the scenes, the detail is wonderful!
Most of Astrid Lindgren's writing in the book won't be new to her fans, but the way she changes it is very pleasing. It is just perfect for young readers. I know that this is minute point that most people probably won't notice, but I loved the way Astrid Lindgren pulled the story from its original books into present tense. I felt much more inside the story this way and this shows her mastery and skill at writing for children of all ages.
This is must-have for Astrid Lindgren and Pippi Longstocking fans and perfect for those kids whom you want to know Pippi. At the moment, there are two ways in book-form to introduce kids to Pippi, the "Pippi Longstocking Storybooks" from Viking Press and this book. Although the intentions of Viking are admirable (indeed, the way they handled it is excellent), it doesn't fit for the age bracket that this book targets. Now, you can start children off on this book, lead them to The Pippi Longstocking Storybooks, and they're well on their way to reading the three classics!
Gerd Puritz's biography of his mother did not appear until more than 40 years later. While I regret the delay, and the larger readership it might have attracted earlier, the belated biography emerges as a thoroughly researched, scholarly, sturdily constructed and neatly edited work. Included are many excellent photos and a fully detailed discography. There's an obituary notice also, provided by Lotte Lehmann, which will bring a tear to any reader's eye. It resulted from a forty year friendship, perhaps unique in the annals of the performing arts, which began unpromisingly when they both were being considered for the role of Sophie in "Der Rosenkavalier", and Elisabeth Schumann was chosen.
Her voice, which I heard only once in London's Royal Albert Hall, was as beautiful as any singer ever had. Happily, it recorded well, and almost everything in her discography can still be heard in successfully remastered digital transfers. Many who hear them have said, "The dead soprano conveys more vitality and radiance than most who are still living". Thanks to the work of her son, and the additional work of her grand-daughter Joy Puritz, Elisabeth Schumann's life is worthily recorded also.