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Puppetry: A World History (review)

Article in Asian Theatre Journal · September 2006

DOI: 10.1353/atj.2006.0022

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Review
Reviewed Work(s): Puppetry: A World History by Eileen Blumenthal
Review by: Kathy Foley
Source: Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Fall, 2006), pp. 421-422
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press on behalf of Association for Asian Performance
(AAP) of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)
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 BOOK REVIEWS 421

On the problematic si
trary transitions, and
sionally named in Japa
identified as the autho
hungry for more. Fuku
clusion, but her study
hope that she can cont
course of Noda's more
Nevertheless, Fukush
oretical text that, despit
of contemporary Japan
understanding of the w
structure ofJapanese c
KEVIN WETMORE

Loyola Marymount University

PUPPETRY: A WORLD HISTORY. By Eileen Blumenthal. New York: Ha

N. Abrams, 2005. 272 pp. 350 illustrations (210 color). $65.

Eileen Blumenthal's work is ambitious in that it embraces the puppetry of

countries in all ages and attempts through illustrations to give the visual info
mation that will represent the vast diversity of what she terms the "construc
actor." As a coffee table book and an introduction to contemporary puppe
for adult audiences in the United States and Europe, it will enter the libra
of most puppeteers. The captions and images allow one to view the work
performers one has heard but not seen, as well as to learn of new artists.
lavish images catch the eye and the mind. Those interested in a theoret
approach to object theatre as a global practice will also find the essays thought
provoking.
For selected Asian genres or specific performers, Blumenthal gives
rich reportage. Her description of traditional Korean puppetry is excellent,
and, indeed, a Korean namsadang figure graces the front cover. She is expan-
sive in dealing with the work of I Wayan Wija, one of the top Balinese per-
formers of the last thirty years. However, most Asian artists do not get this cov-
erage, so the book will be less crucial to scholars of Asian puppet practice.
Ultimately, constraints of space and Blumenthal's organizational
method work against her noble aspirations of global coverage. The pictorial
focus means that text is limited. Blumenthal's choice to divide her discussion
into short topical essays on aspects of puppetry means that discussion of a
genre such as Javanese wayang is dispersed through the book. Readers come
away with themes but do not gain a firm sense of the contexts in which the
different forms arise.
The book begins with an overview history tracing all of puppetry in a
quick survey of twenty-five pages. Thereafter Blumenthal gives her break-
down of types of puppets: those manipulated from the inside (including hand,
finger, and body parasite [where the manipulator wears the image]), those

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 422 BOOK REVIEWS

manipulated from the o

first two categories, and e
the animation process. S
practice. Her discussion o
tries to clarify the relat
Punch and Judy, karagd
explore politics and pupp
"public service." The essa
try to country and cent
specific puppeteers who h
time to explain the contex
vice" category discomb
vision puppetry in Sesame
Hindu epics in Southeast
Faye. Later in the same
Doody hawking Wonder
I questioned if all fit tog
Western art puppetry
strength of the book. Blu
globe but is limited by s
and has read extensively
Asian Theatre Journal as
long-standing cultural sig
ern object theatre pract
last century are well know
of seminal artists such
gives the work a feeling
give Asian artists greater
tions of appealing to the
However, there is a goo
for those who are beginn
In sum, this is a text t
borders. Because of the t
tent will be zigzagging f
insight into the lively wo
tice and find a strong ac
tally embedded in a wid
tioner might not employ
-show that she is writin
likely understand the pu
and enhanced-it constru
eye and shows that majo
dance of puppets across
KATHY FOLEY

University of California, Santa Cruz

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