The duality of Asterios — smart but arrogant; admired but devoid of social skills — comes across sharply in his relationship with the artist Hana, who over the course of the book goes from girlfriend to wife to ex.
While I can't say I agree with many of Ms. Chua's methods, I think it is important not to assume that her children's upbringings have left them devoid of social skills.
And it's not just men in their 20s that are devoid of these skills, but those in the 30s and 40s too.
But more painful will be parenting them at that level for the rest of their lives, devoid of coping skills as they remain ever-grasping to the concept that you, as a parent, owe them anything beyond the roof over their head, the clothes on their back and food on their plate.
They include the New York City couple who wanted innovative, not generic, furniture for their two young children, and a woman in New Hampshire with a keen eye for 18th-century antiques who found most new traditional American furniture devoid of grace and skill.
This showdown between the Western Conference's two best teams lived up to the pregame hype, a wonderful, high-speed exhibition of skill, devoid of shoving matches, excessive yapping or altercations.
The interest of his book lies chiefly in his portrait of Edwardian aristocrats whose idleness had left them devoid of any practical skills whatsoever.
Despite his obscure link to the man in tights, and the bombastic middle name "Jupiter", David is devoid of secret superhero skills - apart from the surprising ability to tell the shape of a girl's bum by her face.
While he's clearly a talented musician, only someone of earth, devoid of the otherworldly skills of your David Bowies or your Princes could release an album entitled Maak Jou Drome Waar (Make Your Dreams Come True) and expect to be taken seriously.
