Word: causticity
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DIED. EZER WEIZMAN, 80, pragmatic, influential former Israeli President; in Caesarea, Israel. Wry, caustic and often chauvinistic--he once responded to a young woman who wanted to be a combat pilot by asking, "Have you ever seen a man knitting socks?"-- he built and commanded the Israeli air force from 1958 to 1966 and the following year helped lead the military's rapid, pre-emptive victory in the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. Later, as an ardent peace advocate, he met with Palestinians, vocally criticized hard-liners and through his rapport with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat helped cement that country...
...offers the best look yet at a man who described himself as "someone whose principal work-and-amusement is writing, and reading and thinking about things." He had a love affair with learning, and he gave his correspondents glimpses of this passion that were enhanced by vivid imagination and caustic...
...worst teenage film acting of this year. Let’s just say that Bobby’s pals - sounding more like Van Halen than Hanson - should stay put playing in the garage (lest their man-boy voices betray their steroid use). Joe Mantegna, having grown tired of the caustic straight talk from his David Mamet days, instead opts for the sappy rubbish of what is effectively Joan of Arcadia Redux...
...knowledge of the original material isn't a prerequisite for enjoying "Gemma." Though it takes a bit of getting used to the mixture of text and comix, it rewards patience with its involving story that offers plenty of unexpected twists. One of the book's particular pleasures is its caustic examination of the English and French culture clash. The wealthy Anglais who buy property in Normandy but never bother to interact with the natives, short of buying bread and cheese, are held up to scorn, as are the snobby nouveau riche native French who hold the English in contempt...
Just as the power of Flaubert's original novel comes from the author's almost clinically objectivist approach, the humor of "Gemma" springs from Simmonds' dead-on observation. Thanks to the use of Gemma's diaries as part of the narrative, "Gemma Bovery" often feels like a caustic and richly deserved counterpoint to the irritating Bridget Jones franchise. Imagine Bridget on amphetamines and you have a fair idea of Gemma Bovery. The characterizations of Gemma as a rudderless yuppie, Charlie as the befuddled schlub, various French and English twits and even Joubert, the largely sympathetic baker/narrator are all razor sharp...