The Life of Saint Nicholas

Blechman, R. O.

ISBN 10: 1556705069 / ISBN 13: 9781556705069

Published by Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1996

About this Item

Signed and inscribed by author/illustrator R. O. Blechman to previous owner on title page. First edition. Hard bound in dust jacket.

Seller Inventory # 76355

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Life of Saint Nicholas
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1556705069
• ISBN 13: 9781556705069
• Binding: Hardcover
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Illustration
  • Signed / Inscribed
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

The Life of Saint Nicholas relates in enchanting pictures and text how Saint Nicholas came to be a loving symbol of generosity throughout the world. This marvelous tale, told tongue in cheek, begins in Italy, with an ancient manuscript unearthed by a truffle farmer, and travels through time to reveal St. Nicholas' early childhood, adolescence, and coming of age in Rome. 200 + four-color illustrations.

Reviews

For readers used to seeing Blechman's cartoons in the New Yorker, it's a delight to see him range across an entire book with his distinctive, minimalist, shaky-lined drawings. While his figures are small and simple (dwarfed by a large, troublesome, usually absurd world), Blechman's wit is grand and sophisticated. Here, in this merry romp of puns and mockery, he relates the story of Saint Nicholas, a tale, he informs us, that can only now be told because an Italian farmer discovered an ancient manuscript while (what else?) digging for truffles. In a hilarious schematic, Blechman presents the manuscript's "travels to its final destination" (Akron, Ohio), a journey that involved a tussle between Sotheby's, the Italian government, and R. Jay Gatchall of J-Mart wealth and fame. This piquancy shapes Blechman's entire rendering of the life of good-hearted St. Nick, from days of childhood miracles to his unexpected (and diabolically clever) transformation into the jolly, red-clad being we dutifully worship at department stores each December. A perfect antidote to the commercialization of the season. Donna Seaman