11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
Book 146: Middlemarch by George Eliot (Finished-A Victorian Celebration).
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10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Movie Time! 'Across the Universe'
To contact us Click HERE
"An American girl (Evan Rachel Wood) and a British lad (Jim Sturgess) fall in love amid the social and political upheaval of the 1960s in this movie musical from director Julie Taymor that features classic Beatles songs and a mix of live action and animation. Or an excursion to America, Liverpool dock worker Jude (Sturgess) falls for Lucy (Wood). But when Lucy's brother (Joe Anderson) is drafted, Jude and Lucy take a stand as anti-war activists."
The soundtrack to the Beatles fanatic's life!
I'm such a fan of this movie. Where do I start?
I loved that the characters were given names from some of the Beatles' songs ("Hey Jude," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Sexy Sadie," "Dear Prudence," etc.). It was a really neat touch.
The music. It's my belief that even if you're a Beatles purist and you can't appreciate anything but the original version of the various songs, you'll find at least one song in this movie where you can appreciate if not prefer the cover to the original. The singing was phenomenal-- and not all of the actors had sung in this kind of setting before. I think Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess were in bands or some kind of musical group before, but as far as having sung in big production musical or movie musicals, there was little to no experience.
The story. I thought it was an interesting way to pull the songs together and relate them to one another. Towards the middle, when the sixties were being represented, things became quite garbled and while most viewers will probably think, "What the...?" (I was among those viewers) everything is so visually pleasing that even if the plot doesn't make a lot of sense, this hot mess on screen beyond the veil of drug use is really, really beautiful. And once more, the songs are good.
This movie is good for those who like musicals, are any level of a Beatles enthusiast, and enjoy being visually pleased. A lot of effort was put into the making of this movie and in many ways, I think it really pulled through.
"An American girl (Evan Rachel Wood) and a British lad (Jim Sturgess) fall in love amid the social and political upheaval of the 1960s in this movie musical from director Julie Taymor that features classic Beatles songs and a mix of live action and animation. Or an excursion to America, Liverpool dock worker Jude (Sturgess) falls for Lucy (Wood). But when Lucy's brother (Joe Anderson) is drafted, Jude and Lucy take a stand as anti-war activists."The soundtrack to the Beatles fanatic's life!
I'm such a fan of this movie. Where do I start?
I loved that the characters were given names from some of the Beatles' songs ("Hey Jude," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Sexy Sadie," "Dear Prudence," etc.). It was a really neat touch.
The music. It's my belief that even if you're a Beatles purist and you can't appreciate anything but the original version of the various songs, you'll find at least one song in this movie where you can appreciate if not prefer the cover to the original. The singing was phenomenal-- and not all of the actors had sung in this kind of setting before. I think Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess were in bands or some kind of musical group before, but as far as having sung in big production musical or movie musicals, there was little to no experience.
The story. I thought it was an interesting way to pull the songs together and relate them to one another. Towards the middle, when the sixties were being represented, things became quite garbled and while most viewers will probably think, "What the...?" (I was among those viewers) everything is so visually pleasing that even if the plot doesn't make a lot of sense, this hot mess on screen beyond the veil of drug use is really, really beautiful. And once more, the songs are good.
This movie is good for those who like musicals, are any level of a Beatles enthusiast, and enjoy being visually pleased. A lot of effort was put into the making of this movie and in many ways, I think it really pulled through.
A Review of 'Selected Shorts: Family Matters' by Symphony Space (Audio Book)
To contact us Click HERE
"Recorded life at the Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City and at venues across the United States, these audio anthologies feature short stories from the Selected Shorts program that airs nationwide. More than 300,000 listeners tune in to this offering weekly to hear some of their favorite tales read aloud by an assortment of distinguished actors."
I love this whole digital thing my library is doing. I can get digital books and audio books instantly and for free with my library card. It's the best invention ever.
This isn't your average audio book. i'm not even certain that this was a book to begin with. But I'm counting this, because several short stories are being told. This book was told over the radio at one point.
Each of these stories relates to family in some way, shape or form. I loved the short story format because it gives the brain a bit of a break from processing the same thing for too long. I think that it helps keep content light as well. There isn't enough time to really get into a story. I think the longest story on this audio book was forty-five minutes to an hour. Because these stories are so light, a vast majority of the stories are quite hilarious! I tried to listen to some before going to bed each night, but I don't think it really helped me go to sleep because most of the time, I was laughing too hard!
I'm not Catholic, but I think part of what made these stories so funny was the Catholic guilt! Once of the funniest stories (I'm blanking on the title and I can't go back and listen, because I've already 'returned' the audio book) was about a boy who was quite young and had a horrible aunt (or was it grandmother?) whom at one point he wanted to kill, but she knew he was planning to do this, so when he was old enough to go into the church and make his first confession, she was right there reminding him of all the bad things he'd done up until that point in his life and telling he to remember to tell the priest everything. The little boy was really confused about how confession was supposed to work! It also helped that the narrators knew how to read stories well, so they had the right tone when reading through hilarious parts. I imagined them saying everything with a serious face, which made everything funnier in my head.
There were so many crazy relatives involved in the stories that said the strangest and most unexpected things and put the main characters in the most awkward of positions that I couldn't help but laugh!
Another nice thing about this audio book is that because it is about family, it is pretty
'Selected Shorts: Family Matters' is a series of short stories that, no matter what kind of background you have, will make you laugh and realize that all of our families are just a little crazy somewhere on that family tree.
I give 'Selected Shorts: Family Matters':
Thanks for reading!
--Jude
"Recorded life at the Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City and at venues across the United States, these audio anthologies feature short stories from the Selected Shorts program that airs nationwide. More than 300,000 listeners tune in to this offering weekly to hear some of their favorite tales read aloud by an assortment of distinguished actors."I love this whole digital thing my library is doing. I can get digital books and audio books instantly and for free with my library card. It's the best invention ever.
This isn't your average audio book. i'm not even certain that this was a book to begin with. But I'm counting this, because several short stories are being told. This book was told over the radio at one point.
Each of these stories relates to family in some way, shape or form. I loved the short story format because it gives the brain a bit of a break from processing the same thing for too long. I think that it helps keep content light as well. There isn't enough time to really get into a story. I think the longest story on this audio book was forty-five minutes to an hour. Because these stories are so light, a vast majority of the stories are quite hilarious! I tried to listen to some before going to bed each night, but I don't think it really helped me go to sleep because most of the time, I was laughing too hard!
I'm not Catholic, but I think part of what made these stories so funny was the Catholic guilt! Once of the funniest stories (I'm blanking on the title and I can't go back and listen, because I've already 'returned' the audio book) was about a boy who was quite young and had a horrible aunt (or was it grandmother?) whom at one point he wanted to kill, but she knew he was planning to do this, so when he was old enough to go into the church and make his first confession, she was right there reminding him of all the bad things he'd done up until that point in his life and telling he to remember to tell the priest everything. The little boy was really confused about how confession was supposed to work! It also helped that the narrators knew how to read stories well, so they had the right tone when reading through hilarious parts. I imagined them saying everything with a serious face, which made everything funnier in my head.
There were so many crazy relatives involved in the stories that said the strangest and most unexpected things and put the main characters in the most awkward of positions that I couldn't help but laugh!
Another nice thing about this audio book is that because it is about family, it is pretty
'Selected Shorts: Family Matters' is a series of short stories that, no matter what kind of background you have, will make you laugh and realize that all of our families are just a little crazy somewhere on that family tree.
I give 'Selected Shorts: Family Matters':
Thanks for reading!--Jude
A Review of 'Maus I: My Father Bleeds History' by Art Spiegelman
To contact us Click HERE
"Maus is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. It is, as the New York Times Book Review has commented, 'a remarkable feat of documentary detail and novelistic vividness... an unfolding literary event.'
Moving back and forth from Poland to Rego Park, New York, Maus tells two powerful stories: The first is Spiegelman's father's account of how he and his wife survived Hitler's Europe, a harrowing tale filled with countless brushes with death, improbable escapes, and the terror of confinement and betrayal. The second is the author's tortured relationship with his aging father as they try to lead a normal life of minor arguments and passing visits against a backdrop of history too large to pacify. At all levels, this is the ultimate survivor's tale-- and that, too, of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.
Part I of Maus takes Spiegelman's parents to the gates of Auschwitz and him to the edge of despair. Put aside all your preconceptions. These cats and mice are not Tom and Jerry, but something quite different. This is a new kind of literature."
I needed to pick a book to read for my Holocaust class, so I picked this one, since I've already read 'Night' by Elie Wiesel.
I had heard many good things from people who read it when they were in middle school and they remembered liking it very much. So as a high-schooler, I decided to read this graphic novel.
A number of the things mentioned in this graphic novel are things that I've heard before, but what was unique compared to many novels and memoirs written about the Holocaust is that it covers the Jewish ghettos. Art Spiegelman depicts what his father says about being moved from Poland into the ghettos where eventually, most people were moved to various death and working camps across Europe. He talks about how his father and his family went into hiding, trying to disappear off the face of the earth.
Another thing that was put into this graphic novel was the relationship between Holocaust parents and their children post-Holocaust. I am not an expert on parent-child relationships, but it is apparent that something is a little different about these relationships than those of non-Holocaust-parents and their children. I think this was portrayed quite well in this graphic novel.
The art is great and very effective. Art Spiegelman drew what his father depicted, but he also drew maps and diagrams to further the reader's understanding of what Vladek Spiegelman was talking about. It was clearer in a way that other Holocaust stories haven't been or can't be.
Those of us who were never a direct part of the Holocaust will never truly understand just what happened. We will never feel the emotional, physical, and mental strains that Holocaust survivors felt. But I think 'Maus' gave us just a hint of this pain through the graphic artwork, Vladek's words, the story of one of the most terrible ways to break the human body, spirit, and mind.
I give 'Maus I: My Father Bleeds History':
Thanks for Reading! The Sequel will be posted in a couple of days.
--Jude
"Maus is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. It is, as the New York Times Book Review has commented, 'a remarkable feat of documentary detail and novelistic vividness... an unfolding literary event.'Moving back and forth from Poland to Rego Park, New York, Maus tells two powerful stories: The first is Spiegelman's father's account of how he and his wife survived Hitler's Europe, a harrowing tale filled with countless brushes with death, improbable escapes, and the terror of confinement and betrayal. The second is the author's tortured relationship with his aging father as they try to lead a normal life of minor arguments and passing visits against a backdrop of history too large to pacify. At all levels, this is the ultimate survivor's tale-- and that, too, of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.
Part I of Maus takes Spiegelman's parents to the gates of Auschwitz and him to the edge of despair. Put aside all your preconceptions. These cats and mice are not Tom and Jerry, but something quite different. This is a new kind of literature."
I needed to pick a book to read for my Holocaust class, so I picked this one, since I've already read 'Night' by Elie Wiesel.
I had heard many good things from people who read it when they were in middle school and they remembered liking it very much. So as a high-schooler, I decided to read this graphic novel.
A number of the things mentioned in this graphic novel are things that I've heard before, but what was unique compared to many novels and memoirs written about the Holocaust is that it covers the Jewish ghettos. Art Spiegelman depicts what his father says about being moved from Poland into the ghettos where eventually, most people were moved to various death and working camps across Europe. He talks about how his father and his family went into hiding, trying to disappear off the face of the earth.
Another thing that was put into this graphic novel was the relationship between Holocaust parents and their children post-Holocaust. I am not an expert on parent-child relationships, but it is apparent that something is a little different about these relationships than those of non-Holocaust-parents and their children. I think this was portrayed quite well in this graphic novel.
The art is great and very effective. Art Spiegelman drew what his father depicted, but he also drew maps and diagrams to further the reader's understanding of what Vladek Spiegelman was talking about. It was clearer in a way that other Holocaust stories haven't been or can't be.
Those of us who were never a direct part of the Holocaust will never truly understand just what happened. We will never feel the emotional, physical, and mental strains that Holocaust survivors felt. But I think 'Maus' gave us just a hint of this pain through the graphic artwork, Vladek's words, the story of one of the most terrible ways to break the human body, spirit, and mind.
I give 'Maus I: My Father Bleeds History':
Thanks for Reading! The Sequel will be posted in a couple of days.
--Jude
Movie Time!
To contact us Click HERE
AAcross the Universe (2007)
American Beauty (1999)
BBest in Show (2000)Black Swan (2010)Blood Simple (1984)
CCharlie St. Cloud (2010)
DDouble Indemnity (1944)Dragonfly (2002)
E
F
G
HHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
IInception (2010)Insidious (2011)It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
J
KKing's Speech, The (2010)
LLabyrinth (1986)Les Choristes (2004)
M
N
OOther Boleyn Girl, The (2008)
PPhantom of the Opera (2004)
Pianist, The (2002)
Q
RRear Window (1954)Roommate, The (2011)
SSecret Window (2004)Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Sweeney Todd (2007)
TTangled (2010)Time Traveler's Wife, The (2009)
U
VVertigo (1958)
WWater for Elephants (2011)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
X
Y
Z
Since Starting This Blog, I Have Watched and Reviewed 30 Movies!
American Beauty (1999)
BBest in Show (2000)Black Swan (2010)Blood Simple (1984)
CCharlie St. Cloud (2010)
DDouble Indemnity (1944)Dragonfly (2002)
E
F
G
HHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
IInception (2010)Insidious (2011)It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
J
KKing's Speech, The (2010)
LLabyrinth (1986)Les Choristes (2004)
M
N
OOther Boleyn Girl, The (2008)
PPhantom of the Opera (2004)
Pianist, The (2002)
Q
RRear Window (1954)Roommate, The (2011)
SSecret Window (2004)Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Sweeney Todd (2007)
TTangled (2010)Time Traveler's Wife, The (2009)
U
VVertigo (1958)
WWater for Elephants (2011)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
X
Y
Z
Since Starting This Blog, I Have Watched and Reviewed 30 Movies!
A Review of 'Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
To contact us Click HERE
"The Little Prince, published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's most famous novella. Saint-Exupéry wrote it while living in the United States. It has been translated into more than 180 languages and sold more than 80 million copies making it one of the best selling books ever. An earlier memoir by the author recounts his aviation experiences in the Saharan desert. He is thought to have drawn on these same experiences for use as plot elements in The Little Prince."
I read this for my college French class (except, since it was the end of school, I looked up the ENGLISH VERSION and read it that way because I was way too lazy to go through and translate everything... Senioritis, word).
Normally, I don't review children's books, but this one is kind of a book for children and "pour les grandes personnes." The pictures are simplistic (you'll find out why right away) and the concepts are easy enough for a child to understand, but there are also concepts for adults to understand that are, at times, challenging to face.
What's really neat about this book is that the Little Prince (le Petit Prince) goes on all sorts of intergalactic adventures. His home planet is not earth. It is an asteroid! And so are many of the other places that he visits whilst planet hopping. He visits a king that rules over space, but makes perfectly reasonable orders for his subjects. He meets a business man, a geographer, and a drunkard, among other things.
With each person he visits, he learns something else about life and the psyche of an adult. In a way, as the Little Prince is going through his adventures, children will learn a little bit about the world and adults readers will learn a thing or two about themselves. The Little Prince is very much a child in the beginning of the story as he tells of his routine every day, sweeping out his volcanoes and taking care of the rose who was his friend. By the end of the story, he is still a child, but a more enlightened one, in a way.
Overall, this is an adorable and very insightful book. I give "Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince":
Thanks for reading!
--Jude
P.S. There is another review about intergalactic adventures coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!
"The Little Prince, published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's most famous novella. Saint-Exupéry wrote it while living in the United States. It has been translated into more than 180 languages and sold more than 80 million copies making it one of the best selling books ever. An earlier memoir by the author recounts his aviation experiences in the Saharan desert. He is thought to have drawn on these same experiences for use as plot elements in The Little Prince."I read this for my college French class (except, since it was the end of school, I looked up the ENGLISH VERSION and read it that way because I was way too lazy to go through and translate everything... Senioritis, word).
Normally, I don't review children's books, but this one is kind of a book for children and "pour les grandes personnes." The pictures are simplistic (you'll find out why right away) and the concepts are easy enough for a child to understand, but there are also concepts for adults to understand that are, at times, challenging to face.
What's really neat about this book is that the Little Prince (le Petit Prince) goes on all sorts of intergalactic adventures. His home planet is not earth. It is an asteroid! And so are many of the other places that he visits whilst planet hopping. He visits a king that rules over space, but makes perfectly reasonable orders for his subjects. He meets a business man, a geographer, and a drunkard, among other things.
With each person he visits, he learns something else about life and the psyche of an adult. In a way, as the Little Prince is going through his adventures, children will learn a little bit about the world and adults readers will learn a thing or two about themselves. The Little Prince is very much a child in the beginning of the story as he tells of his routine every day, sweeping out his volcanoes and taking care of the rose who was his friend. By the end of the story, he is still a child, but a more enlightened one, in a way.
Overall, this is an adorable and very insightful book. I give "Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince":
Thanks for reading!
--Jude
P.S. There is another review about intergalactic adventures coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
PRIVATE LIFE by Jane Smiley ✰✰✰✰✰
To contact us Click HERE
This is one of those wonderful, gentle, flowing novels that sweeps you along through the lives of its characters. I didn’t give it five stars for stunning prose or great characterization (the usual reasons a novel gets five stars from me), but rather for the many inter-twined themes and the ways in which they spoke to me.
Do not mistake me, characters are very important to this novel, and there are a two pivotal ones, surrounded by a rather large supporting cast. Primarily, the novel is the story of Margaret Mayfield, at twenty-seven a woman on the verge of spinsterhood in late nineteenth century middle America. Margaret catches the eye of local eccentric academic, Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early, marries him, and moves with him to his Naval posting in California.As the nineteenth century becomes the twentieth, we see the novel’s themes evolve along with the marriage (the novel’s central theme). Married to a man who views himself as an important physicist and astronomer and coming from a small town that reveres him as such, Margaret comes to realize certain things over the years as secrets are revealed-but are things really as they seem? This is a brilliant skirt of the line women at this time in history had to walk within a marriage, a line of loyalty, saccharine smiles, knitting circles, and self-denial. Other characters bring the other major themes of feminism (one progressive minded individual in particular) and racism (Japanese/American relations) into the novel and into the marriage of Margaret and Andrew. It was the way in which these latter two themes were threaded through the fabric of the Early’s relationship which I found so masterful, and these elements which took this novel out of the level of another hum-drum look at a pre-feminist movement marriage, which, let’s face it, are rather boring and frankly quite irritating at times for we modern girls to read about. Yet, at the same time Jane Smiley managed to keep the marriage realistic for the time frame in which she was writing, because she doesn’t make Margaret the feminist-a very good move I thought.This is, as stated, a gentle, flowing novel about a marriage, but that said, there are many historical events popping up throughout the book. For instance, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the First World War, the Second World War, and in particular the internment of Japanese Americans at Tanforan Racetrack in nearby San Bruno. Ms. Smiley does an excellent job, aided in part by Andrew’s Naval job and in part by a friendship between Margaret and a Japanese family, due to Margaret’s interest in Japanese art, of inserting a lot of historical flavor and facts into the novel without it feeling overdone.This is another book that I listened to on audio, and I would definitely recommend Kate Reading’s lovely narration. Her smooth inflection was just perfect for the tone of the novel.If you are looking for a character based novel focusing on a turn of the century marriage and interwoven with some relevant themes and events from that time in history this is an excellent choice that I highly recommend.
This is one of those wonderful, gentle, flowing novels that sweeps you along through the lives of its characters. I didn’t give it five stars for stunning prose or great characterization (the usual reasons a novel gets five stars from me), but rather for the many inter-twined themes and the ways in which they spoke to me.
Do not mistake me, characters are very important to this novel, and there are a two pivotal ones, surrounded by a rather large supporting cast. Primarily, the novel is the story of Margaret Mayfield, at twenty-seven a woman on the verge of spinsterhood in late nineteenth century middle America. Margaret catches the eye of local eccentric academic, Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early, marries him, and moves with him to his Naval posting in California.As the nineteenth century becomes the twentieth, we see the novel’s themes evolve along with the marriage (the novel’s central theme). Married to a man who views himself as an important physicist and astronomer and coming from a small town that reveres him as such, Margaret comes to realize certain things over the years as secrets are revealed-but are things really as they seem? This is a brilliant skirt of the line women at this time in history had to walk within a marriage, a line of loyalty, saccharine smiles, knitting circles, and self-denial. Other characters bring the other major themes of feminism (one progressive minded individual in particular) and racism (Japanese/American relations) into the novel and into the marriage of Margaret and Andrew. It was the way in which these latter two themes were threaded through the fabric of the Early’s relationship which I found so masterful, and these elements which took this novel out of the level of another hum-drum look at a pre-feminist movement marriage, which, let’s face it, are rather boring and frankly quite irritating at times for we modern girls to read about. Yet, at the same time Jane Smiley managed to keep the marriage realistic for the time frame in which she was writing, because she doesn’t make Margaret the feminist-a very good move I thought.This is, as stated, a gentle, flowing novel about a marriage, but that said, there are many historical events popping up throughout the book. For instance, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the First World War, the Second World War, and in particular the internment of Japanese Americans at Tanforan Racetrack in nearby San Bruno. Ms. Smiley does an excellent job, aided in part by Andrew’s Naval job and in part by a friendship between Margaret and a Japanese family, due to Margaret’s interest in Japanese art, of inserting a lot of historical flavor and facts into the novel without it feeling overdone.This is another book that I listened to on audio, and I would definitely recommend Kate Reading’s lovely narration. Her smooth inflection was just perfect for the tone of the novel.If you are looking for a character based novel focusing on a turn of the century marriage and interwoven with some relevant themes and events from that time in history this is an excellent choice that I highly recommend.
ABDICATION by Juliet Nicholson ✰✰✰ 1/2
To contact us Click HERE
I was drawn to this novel, which tells the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, albeit as secondary characters, after watching the movie, The King’s Speech, which I loved. This is a debut novel for the author, Juliet Nicholson, but she is a well known and respected writer of nonfiction and has written on this time period. In the interest of full disclosure, I freely admit that my knowledge of this subject is absolutely minimal, so I was relying completely upon Ms. Nicholson’s background with her subject.
There are two primary characters in the novel, Evangeline, a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, invited to visit, but staying with her godmother, Lady Joan Blunt, and May, the Blunt’s young female chauffeuse (that is the female term for chauffeur) and secretary to Sir Philip Blunt, who is a member of Parliament and legal advisor to Edward VIII. Through these two characters we watch the relationship of Wallis Simpson and Edward grow and become a scandal that rocks the monarchy and nation. In addition we are introduced to a rather large host of characters, among them May’s Jewish relations and the Blunt’s Fascist housekeeper. I enjoyed the variety of characters in the novel, but for the most part I found them very one dimensional, flat-no one grew as a person; several of the characters were whiney and unlikeable, or felt rather clichéd, such as the Jewish mother-in-law.There was a fair amount of action in the novel, from political unrest involving Fascist marches and speeches, to paparazzi following the King and Wallis, to the legal wrangling of whether or not abdication would be necessary. Relationships also play a big part, but not always in the way that the reader might expect. I felt that the author did a good job keeping the pace of the novel moving forward, and this was a fast read. We all know how the story ends, but she made getting there an interesting tale.I have not read a good deal about the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but I would imagine that most authors take one of two roads, telling the tale either as one of a great romance-a man who loved a woman so completely that he gave up a throne for her, or as a tale of betrayal of a people-how could a king put one woman above his subjects. Juliet Nicholson very definitely takes a stand on one side of that fence, but I write spoiler-free reviews, so if you want to know, you must read the book! My only complaint with the book was that the characters were a little wooden, stereotypical at times, and that a couple where whiney to the point of getting on my nerves. The historical aspects were quite well done. Overall, it was a very solid debut novel, and I will certainly look forward to Ms. Nicholson’s sophomore effort. If you are a fan of all things Wallis and Edward, or like me, you simply want to learn more, I recommend this one.
I was drawn to this novel, which tells the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, albeit as secondary characters, after watching the movie, The King’s Speech, which I loved. This is a debut novel for the author, Juliet Nicholson, but she is a well known and respected writer of nonfiction and has written on this time period. In the interest of full disclosure, I freely admit that my knowledge of this subject is absolutely minimal, so I was relying completely upon Ms. Nicholson’s background with her subject.
There are two primary characters in the novel, Evangeline, a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, invited to visit, but staying with her godmother, Lady Joan Blunt, and May, the Blunt’s young female chauffeuse (that is the female term for chauffeur) and secretary to Sir Philip Blunt, who is a member of Parliament and legal advisor to Edward VIII. Through these two characters we watch the relationship of Wallis Simpson and Edward grow and become a scandal that rocks the monarchy and nation. In addition we are introduced to a rather large host of characters, among them May’s Jewish relations and the Blunt’s Fascist housekeeper. I enjoyed the variety of characters in the novel, but for the most part I found them very one dimensional, flat-no one grew as a person; several of the characters were whiney and unlikeable, or felt rather clichéd, such as the Jewish mother-in-law.There was a fair amount of action in the novel, from political unrest involving Fascist marches and speeches, to paparazzi following the King and Wallis, to the legal wrangling of whether or not abdication would be necessary. Relationships also play a big part, but not always in the way that the reader might expect. I felt that the author did a good job keeping the pace of the novel moving forward, and this was a fast read. We all know how the story ends, but she made getting there an interesting tale.I have not read a good deal about the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but I would imagine that most authors take one of two roads, telling the tale either as one of a great romance-a man who loved a woman so completely that he gave up a throne for her, or as a tale of betrayal of a people-how could a king put one woman above his subjects. Juliet Nicholson very definitely takes a stand on one side of that fence, but I write spoiler-free reviews, so if you want to know, you must read the book! My only complaint with the book was that the characters were a little wooden, stereotypical at times, and that a couple where whiney to the point of getting on my nerves. The historical aspects were quite well done. Overall, it was a very solid debut novel, and I will certainly look forward to Ms. Nicholson’s sophomore effort. If you are a fan of all things Wallis and Edward, or like me, you simply want to learn more, I recommend this one.
BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett ✰✰✰✰✰
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This is an outstanding novel that wraps itself around its theme of opera in such a lovely, natural way. Ann Patchett was inspired to write her novel by the Lima Crisis, when the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru was overtaken by terrorists in 1996-97. The idea to intersperse opera into the plot line of her novel occurred to her because she felt that the whole situation of the hostage crisis was like an opera plot.
***I TRY TO BE SPOILER FREE, BUT THIS ONE MIGHT CONTAIN A COUPLE OF MINOR SPOILERS***The novel involves one setting, the mansion home of the vice president of an unnamed South American country where a birthday party is being hosted for a Japanese industrialist. During the party, just after the headline entertainment, the world famous opera soprano, Roxane Coss, has sung, terrorists take over the mansion, hoping to kidnap the country’s president, only to discover that he was not in attendance. There are fifty-eight people in the mansion for the entire length of the crisis, thirty-nine hostages and nineteen terrorists, but the reader gets to know only a handful of each group well. In addition, there is one outsider, a Red Cross worker who works as the liaison between the terrorists and the government, who comes and goes freely. Ms. Patchett does an excellent job of juggling her cast (because one does begin to feel as if one is living in the middle of an opera here) of disparate characters from a wide range of nationalities. Russians maintain gruff slavic mannerisms with brooding storied souls. Japanese are gracious and reserved. Even cooking dinner for fifty-eight couldn’t break the effusive stride of the fine-dining loving French ambassador. Characterizations were tight and consistent, and that was impressive. One character was pivotal, that of Gen Watanabe, the translator for the Japanese industrialist for whom the party was thrown. Gen has a unique talent for languages, and his polyglot status makes him indispensable not only to the terrorists in their efforts to communicate with their group of multinational prisoners, but among the captives themselves as they settle in to life together. I loved his character and the touching ways his gifts enabled him to interact with the others throughout the book.Opera plays more than one role in the plot. It is the initiator of the whole event in that it is what brings them all to the party, and then it becomes the balm that soothes their souls as they exist from day to day. On a larger scale, the whole plot of the book shares the structure of an opera, and you can not, if you are familiar with how opera plots play out, and if you read into the foreshadowing written into the novel itself, help but know on some level how this novel is going to end.My own relationship with the music within the novel was very personal, as I, like Roxane Coss, was an opera singer, and I too was a lyric soprano. On one hand it was a lot of fun, as in many places I heard the marvelous scores of the world’s grandest composers swelling through my head as I read. But on the other, it was a little irritating, because things that the average reader might not even notice really bothered me. For instance, a couple of pieces that the author had Roxane sing are not lyric pieces; one was for a dramatic soprano, sung only in the advanced years of their career, as it is very taxing on the voice, and the other was for a coloratura soprano-a lyric soprano might be able to do one or the other, but not both. The other element bothered me even more. Roxane went two weeks without singing at all, supposedly because she lacked an accompanist. She couldn’t even sing a scale without one. What a load of hooey! For one thing, I have never met a single professional singer who would go more than a day or two, unless they were sick, in which they didn’t vocalize, and no singer even needs a piano (which Roxane had) for that. With a piano, every singer can at least peck out one-handed their starting pitches for their exercises. Secondly, pretty much every singer can muddle their way through their parts and even some measure of the accompaniment of an opera score, so I found the whole drama regarding an accompanist overwrought, although I did love Mr. Kato’s character. Let me make it clear: opera singers come up through university and conservatory systems and have to pass piano proficiency exams. Admittedly, many of us play quite abysmally, and we love and are grateful for the talents of our wonderful accompanists, who spend so many hours behind the scenes and never get any credit, but the real Roxane Coss’ of the world can play their own exercises when necessity demands. Ultimately, I had to let the little things, which I knew the average reader wouldn’t even catch, go, and just read the book. Unless you are very familiar with opera repertoire, I don’t think that you would catch these things, and Roxane probably just comes across as a typical prima donna.***END OF SPOILERS***Overall, as a novel, I loved this book. The opening section is one of the most captivatingly, alluringly written of any novel I have ever read and the ending took me completely by surprise. It would make a fantastic book club read, because there is definitely a depth to the characters, and their relationships with each other and their captors (you could definitely use the term Stockholm Syndrome), which would make for excellent discussion. If your book club enjoys getting into deeper analysis, there is also a good deal of symbolism in the book. There were truly beautiful relationships in this novel-complex, multi-layered-of the sort that develop only under very intense conditions. The plot certainly reflects that of many an opera, and indeed, the Chicago Lyric announced in February (click to link to announcement) that it has commissioned an opera based on the novel, which will premier during its 2015-16 season, by Peruvian composer Jimmy Lopez, with Libretto by Nilo Cruz; Sir Andrew Davis will conduct and Roxane Coss will be sung by Danielle de Niese. Author Ann Patchett said she never had any desire to ever see this book made into a movie, but she always felt that it would make a wonderful opera. It will be interesting to see! The Lyric is a fantastic company, and the legendary soprano Renee Fleming is at the helm of the project, so I would say that Ms. Patchett’s book is in very good hands.
This is an outstanding novel that wraps itself around its theme of opera in such a lovely, natural way. Ann Patchett was inspired to write her novel by the Lima Crisis, when the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru was overtaken by terrorists in 1996-97. The idea to intersperse opera into the plot line of her novel occurred to her because she felt that the whole situation of the hostage crisis was like an opera plot.
***I TRY TO BE SPOILER FREE, BUT THIS ONE MIGHT CONTAIN A COUPLE OF MINOR SPOILERS***The novel involves one setting, the mansion home of the vice president of an unnamed South American country where a birthday party is being hosted for a Japanese industrialist. During the party, just after the headline entertainment, the world famous opera soprano, Roxane Coss, has sung, terrorists take over the mansion, hoping to kidnap the country’s president, only to discover that he was not in attendance. There are fifty-eight people in the mansion for the entire length of the crisis, thirty-nine hostages and nineteen terrorists, but the reader gets to know only a handful of each group well. In addition, there is one outsider, a Red Cross worker who works as the liaison between the terrorists and the government, who comes and goes freely. Ms. Patchett does an excellent job of juggling her cast (because one does begin to feel as if one is living in the middle of an opera here) of disparate characters from a wide range of nationalities. Russians maintain gruff slavic mannerisms with brooding storied souls. Japanese are gracious and reserved. Even cooking dinner for fifty-eight couldn’t break the effusive stride of the fine-dining loving French ambassador. Characterizations were tight and consistent, and that was impressive. One character was pivotal, that of Gen Watanabe, the translator for the Japanese industrialist for whom the party was thrown. Gen has a unique talent for languages, and his polyglot status makes him indispensable not only to the terrorists in their efforts to communicate with their group of multinational prisoners, but among the captives themselves as they settle in to life together. I loved his character and the touching ways his gifts enabled him to interact with the others throughout the book.Opera plays more than one role in the plot. It is the initiator of the whole event in that it is what brings them all to the party, and then it becomes the balm that soothes their souls as they exist from day to day. On a larger scale, the whole plot of the book shares the structure of an opera, and you can not, if you are familiar with how opera plots play out, and if you read into the foreshadowing written into the novel itself, help but know on some level how this novel is going to end.My own relationship with the music within the novel was very personal, as I, like Roxane Coss, was an opera singer, and I too was a lyric soprano. On one hand it was a lot of fun, as in many places I heard the marvelous scores of the world’s grandest composers swelling through my head as I read. But on the other, it was a little irritating, because things that the average reader might not even notice really bothered me. For instance, a couple of pieces that the author had Roxane sing are not lyric pieces; one was for a dramatic soprano, sung only in the advanced years of their career, as it is very taxing on the voice, and the other was for a coloratura soprano-a lyric soprano might be able to do one or the other, but not both. The other element bothered me even more. Roxane went two weeks without singing at all, supposedly because she lacked an accompanist. She couldn’t even sing a scale without one. What a load of hooey! For one thing, I have never met a single professional singer who would go more than a day or two, unless they were sick, in which they didn’t vocalize, and no singer even needs a piano (which Roxane had) for that. With a piano, every singer can at least peck out one-handed their starting pitches for their exercises. Secondly, pretty much every singer can muddle their way through their parts and even some measure of the accompaniment of an opera score, so I found the whole drama regarding an accompanist overwrought, although I did love Mr. Kato’s character. Let me make it clear: opera singers come up through university and conservatory systems and have to pass piano proficiency exams. Admittedly, many of us play quite abysmally, and we love and are grateful for the talents of our wonderful accompanists, who spend so many hours behind the scenes and never get any credit, but the real Roxane Coss’ of the world can play their own exercises when necessity demands. Ultimately, I had to let the little things, which I knew the average reader wouldn’t even catch, go, and just read the book. Unless you are very familiar with opera repertoire, I don’t think that you would catch these things, and Roxane probably just comes across as a typical prima donna.***END OF SPOILERS***Overall, as a novel, I loved this book. The opening section is one of the most captivatingly, alluringly written of any novel I have ever read and the ending took me completely by surprise. It would make a fantastic book club read, because there is definitely a depth to the characters, and their relationships with each other and their captors (you could definitely use the term Stockholm Syndrome), which would make for excellent discussion. If your book club enjoys getting into deeper analysis, there is also a good deal of symbolism in the book. There were truly beautiful relationships in this novel-complex, multi-layered-of the sort that develop only under very intense conditions. The plot certainly reflects that of many an opera, and indeed, the Chicago Lyric announced in February (click to link to announcement) that it has commissioned an opera based on the novel, which will premier during its 2015-16 season, by Peruvian composer Jimmy Lopez, with Libretto by Nilo Cruz; Sir Andrew Davis will conduct and Roxane Coss will be sung by Danielle de Niese. Author Ann Patchett said she never had any desire to ever see this book made into a movie, but she always felt that it would make a wonderful opera. It will be interesting to see! The Lyric is a fantastic company, and the legendary soprano Renee Fleming is at the helm of the project, so I would say that Ms. Patchett’s book is in very good hands.
LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST'S CHILDHOOD PAL by Christopher Moore ✰✰✰
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This humorous take on the life of Jesus, subtitled “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is certainly stepping out from my usual reading fare, but I was in the mood for an audio on the lighter side and this one was getting a lot of buzz, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.As a reviewer, one of the things that I try to do is write with my audience in mind, and knowing that many of my readers are Christians, I am going to target this review towards those readers in particular, given the nature of this particular book, but the book actually might appeal more to other readers, so the rest of you might not want to tune out.
Based upon the author’s premise that Jesus spent those lost years of his young adulthood, about which we know nothing, seeking out the three wise men who visited him at his birth, believing that they are meant to teach him how to be the messiah, Lamb takes the reader on a journey through the East as we follow Jesus, known as Joshua, and Biff, as they study with each of the wise men in turn, learning the teachings of Confucius and Buddha, and yoga in India. Author Christopher Moore toes an odd line with this book. He takes a subject which clearly appeals to a Christian audience, but then throws in a narrator, Biff, who sees it as his job to experience all of the seedier side of life on behalf of his best friend, the Messiah of the world, who clearly must be above such things.For the most part, Jesus Christ is treated with respect and I was not offended as a Christian, but I would be the first to recognize that there might certainly be people of faith who would find this book offensive. More than religious reasons, I think that the element that would bother people the most would be the strong language; there is a large segment of the Christian audience who can appreciate the humor of this book, slightly irreverent though it might be, and, I was disappointed that the author chose to use this type of language in a book with this subject matter because I felt that it was incongruent and narrowed his audience. There is also a lot of sexual innuendo in the book. While the sex is not graphic, it is a recurrent theme, and frankly, at times got a little bit overdone, to the point that around disk eight (of twelve) I considered quitting listening. I persevered for two reasons-first, I rarely give up on a book, and second, I was very curious to see how the end of Christ’s life was handled in this strangest of books.Surprisingly, the mission of the Messiah and his crucifixion were handled in a very sensitive fashion, and there were many touching moments in the final three disks. There was far less humor, and the author really toned down the less savory elements in the final chapters of the book, which was as it should be. I was actually glad that I hung in there to listen to the end of the book, but it was not enough to bring up my rating from three to four stars, as the things that I mentioned above simply weighed the middle of the book down too much for my liking.In the odd way of these things, this audio is likely to be a contender for my number one spot of the year. It is absolutely five star. While I did not always enjoy the story (mostly because it was outside my comfort zone), there was nothing about the audio that I could fault; characters had distinct voices and personalities, timing made the humor shine through (this audio is just plain laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places, and I loved it), and gravity entered the tale when it was supposed to. If this is a book which appeals to you, I highly recommend the audio-it is outstanding.
This humorous take on the life of Jesus, subtitled “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is certainly stepping out from my usual reading fare, but I was in the mood for an audio on the lighter side and this one was getting a lot of buzz, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.As a reviewer, one of the things that I try to do is write with my audience in mind, and knowing that many of my readers are Christians, I am going to target this review towards those readers in particular, given the nature of this particular book, but the book actually might appeal more to other readers, so the rest of you might not want to tune out.
Based upon the author’s premise that Jesus spent those lost years of his young adulthood, about which we know nothing, seeking out the three wise men who visited him at his birth, believing that they are meant to teach him how to be the messiah, Lamb takes the reader on a journey through the East as we follow Jesus, known as Joshua, and Biff, as they study with each of the wise men in turn, learning the teachings of Confucius and Buddha, and yoga in India. Author Christopher Moore toes an odd line with this book. He takes a subject which clearly appeals to a Christian audience, but then throws in a narrator, Biff, who sees it as his job to experience all of the seedier side of life on behalf of his best friend, the Messiah of the world, who clearly must be above such things.For the most part, Jesus Christ is treated with respect and I was not offended as a Christian, but I would be the first to recognize that there might certainly be people of faith who would find this book offensive. More than religious reasons, I think that the element that would bother people the most would be the strong language; there is a large segment of the Christian audience who can appreciate the humor of this book, slightly irreverent though it might be, and, I was disappointed that the author chose to use this type of language in a book with this subject matter because I felt that it was incongruent and narrowed his audience. There is also a lot of sexual innuendo in the book. While the sex is not graphic, it is a recurrent theme, and frankly, at times got a little bit overdone, to the point that around disk eight (of twelve) I considered quitting listening. I persevered for two reasons-first, I rarely give up on a book, and second, I was very curious to see how the end of Christ’s life was handled in this strangest of books.Surprisingly, the mission of the Messiah and his crucifixion were handled in a very sensitive fashion, and there were many touching moments in the final three disks. There was far less humor, and the author really toned down the less savory elements in the final chapters of the book, which was as it should be. I was actually glad that I hung in there to listen to the end of the book, but it was not enough to bring up my rating from three to four stars, as the things that I mentioned above simply weighed the middle of the book down too much for my liking.In the odd way of these things, this audio is likely to be a contender for my number one spot of the year. It is absolutely five star. While I did not always enjoy the story (mostly because it was outside my comfort zone), there was nothing about the audio that I could fault; characters had distinct voices and personalities, timing made the humor shine through (this audio is just plain laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places, and I loved it), and gravity entered the tale when it was supposed to. If this is a book which appeals to you, I highly recommend the audio-it is outstanding.
THE CROWN IN THE HEATHER by N. Gemini Sasson ✰✰✰ and 1/2
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In 1290, Scotland was left without a king and at the mercy of a ruthless English monarch, Edward I, who would become known to history as Longshanks, a moniker used by the author, although it was not used at the time of the telling of her tale, to help differentiate him from his son, Edward II, another character in the novel. More pertinent to the novel, Edward I is known to history as the Hammer of the Scots, and any reader of N. Gemini Sasson’s novel can begin to see why.
This book is the first of a trilogy and covers the early shifting among the clans of the Scots as they ally themselves with one of two claimant for the throne of Scotland: Robert the Bruce and John Comyn. William Wallace, the legendary Scottish resistance fighter, is a peripheral character in the book, and James Douglas, another slightly later legend is a young man in this book, fast gaining respect and acclaim. This novel spans from 1290 until 1306.I have read many books on this subject, and while I think that Ms. Sasson is a good writer when one is discussing basic mechanics and prose style, I do not always think that she does a very good job presenting her history in a clear and orderly fashion. If I were not familiar with the people and events, I think I would have trouble-particularly with regards to following the beginning of the novel, after which she settles into her tale and things become a bit more clear. Another element which drove me absolutely crazy was her use of multiple first-person narrators, especially in the beginning of the novel when the book is also weaving around in time, as the reader is lost both in regards to time and teller. One of the disadvantages of choosing to write a book in first-person narration is that it is limiting. It used to be a cardinal rule that if you wrote a book in that viewpoint you could only have the one narrator; currently it seems to be in vogue with authors to break the rule, yet as I discuss it with readers, very few seem to like multiple first-person narration-it is simply too confusing to try to figure out who is speaking.Despite the irritation I felt with the choice of way to narrate the story, it is nearly impossible to finish this novel and not continue on with the series, as the characters in the fight for Scottish independence were such compelling men and women and their cause was such a just one, and, as I stated above, Ms. Sasson is quite a good writer. Also, to her credit, while her story was rather discombobulated in the beginning, she did pull things together in the latter half of the book, and I have confidence that the second book will be stronger. Based on other books that I have read, I also believe that the author has done her research and that these books are accurate in their history. For those interested in continuing the series, the second book is Worth Dying For, and the conclusion is The Honor Due a King. Overall, this is a novel I recommend for those interested in learning more about Robert the Bruce, his bid for the crown of Scotland, and Scotland’s fight for independence from England.
In 1290, Scotland was left without a king and at the mercy of a ruthless English monarch, Edward I, who would become known to history as Longshanks, a moniker used by the author, although it was not used at the time of the telling of her tale, to help differentiate him from his son, Edward II, another character in the novel. More pertinent to the novel, Edward I is known to history as the Hammer of the Scots, and any reader of N. Gemini Sasson’s novel can begin to see why.
This book is the first of a trilogy and covers the early shifting among the clans of the Scots as they ally themselves with one of two claimant for the throne of Scotland: Robert the Bruce and John Comyn. William Wallace, the legendary Scottish resistance fighter, is a peripheral character in the book, and James Douglas, another slightly later legend is a young man in this book, fast gaining respect and acclaim. This novel spans from 1290 until 1306.I have read many books on this subject, and while I think that Ms. Sasson is a good writer when one is discussing basic mechanics and prose style, I do not always think that she does a very good job presenting her history in a clear and orderly fashion. If I were not familiar with the people and events, I think I would have trouble-particularly with regards to following the beginning of the novel, after which she settles into her tale and things become a bit more clear. Another element which drove me absolutely crazy was her use of multiple first-person narrators, especially in the beginning of the novel when the book is also weaving around in time, as the reader is lost both in regards to time and teller. One of the disadvantages of choosing to write a book in first-person narration is that it is limiting. It used to be a cardinal rule that if you wrote a book in that viewpoint you could only have the one narrator; currently it seems to be in vogue with authors to break the rule, yet as I discuss it with readers, very few seem to like multiple first-person narration-it is simply too confusing to try to figure out who is speaking.Despite the irritation I felt with the choice of way to narrate the story, it is nearly impossible to finish this novel and not continue on with the series, as the characters in the fight for Scottish independence were such compelling men and women and their cause was such a just one, and, as I stated above, Ms. Sasson is quite a good writer. Also, to her credit, while her story was rather discombobulated in the beginning, she did pull things together in the latter half of the book, and I have confidence that the second book will be stronger. Based on other books that I have read, I also believe that the author has done her research and that these books are accurate in their history. For those interested in continuing the series, the second book is Worth Dying For, and the conclusion is The Honor Due a King. Overall, this is a novel I recommend for those interested in learning more about Robert the Bruce, his bid for the crown of Scotland, and Scotland’s fight for independence from England.
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Devouring Stephen King: The Dark Tower III The Wastelands
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I'm having the trickiest time trying to figure out how to talk about The Wastelands without giving anything important away about the whole Dark Tower series, but I'm not sure I can, so just be slightly aware that, if you want to go into The Dark Tower books knowing literally nothing, you probably shouldn't read this. Otherwise keep going, because, to be honest, there's nothing that's really that earth-shattering that happens in this book that you need to not know about, if you know what I mean.
Which is not to say that this book isn't good. Oh no no no no no. The Wastelands is AWESOME. And I'll be honest- I've seen a few reviews of it before where people were like 'oh, it's my favourite book in The Dark Tower series' and I was kind of like 'really?' because apparently I didn't fully appreciate its spectacularity the last time I read it! Which isn't to say that it's instantly become my favourite of them all, BUT I definitely have a lot more love for it than I did before.
SO. The Wastelands starts where The Drawing of the Three left off, more or less, as Roland's teaching Eddie and Susannah how to be gunslingers, and musing on how they remind him so much of his old dead friends (it actually feels a little hinty, and book 4 is allll about Roland and his old friends. But having said that, I think King wrote it 6 years or so after this, and so maybe didn't even realise what he was hinting at in this. But I think he kind of did...) and they find their way to the path of the beam, and hence to the proper start of their journey. Only took two and a bit books, but still- world building my friends, world building.
And so, they begin their quest, only Roland, their leader and their almost-kidnapper-only-they-like-being-kidnapped, is going crazy because of this thing he did at the end of the last book that I can't really talk about but that affected his memories of things that happened in the first book that I also could talk about but don't really want to and, well, it all leads, through linked dreams and awesome wanderings in New York, to something else that I can't really talk about because it's sort of unimaginable but really awesome at the same time, and it leads to things that not only cures Roland, but cures Eddie of his mean elder brother's influence, and ALSO marks the start of this storyline that's one of the weakest in all the books and ends up being not so important in the end. So that's not so good.
But seriously, it's amazing, and THEN the second half of the book happens, and it's all action, all the time. The band of travellers end up in this city that's kind of broken (fun fact: the city is called Lud, and its inhabitants are luddites, and they have no idea how the technology [that's broken] works. I feel like this is clever.) and, whilst this is the longest section page numbers-wise, it also feels the shortest AND the most exciting. Seriously- there's so much movement and action and everyone's split up and there's so much happening, and I swear that at one point I didn't take a breath for about 3 chapters because, like 'ohmygoshwhatsgoingtohappenIcan'tbearit!!!' aaaand breathe. So, yeah, that was fun, and also tense, and even though I knew it would all be ok because I've read them before (and because there are like4 5 more books in the series, and come on, don't pretend this is a spoiler) I still sort of doubted it, which, let's be honest, is the absolute best quality a re-read book can have.
Similarly, the ending has left me all tense too, because I really can't remember how the situation that King cruelly leaves them in resolves itself, and so, again, I'm slightly on edge. Where, I should add, I'll be for 9 more books (and that's just Stephen King books!) because the silly man just abandoned these guys for that many books before he went back to them. Which, I can't really say I mind now, because characters and basically everything in them are remarkably consistent, but I can't even imagine how annoying it must have been to have to wait for the next one and the next one to come out in the 90s/00s. Because these books are the big awesome, and you should really read them so you know what I'm talking about next time! (Unless you already have, in which case, let's discuss! Roland: friend or foe?!)
I'm having the trickiest time trying to figure out how to talk about The Wastelands without giving anything important away about the whole Dark Tower series, but I'm not sure I can, so just be slightly aware that, if you want to go into The Dark Tower books knowing literally nothing, you probably shouldn't read this. Otherwise keep going, because, to be honest, there's nothing that's really that earth-shattering that happens in this book that you need to not know about, if you know what I mean.Which is not to say that this book isn't good. Oh no no no no no. The Wastelands is AWESOME. And I'll be honest- I've seen a few reviews of it before where people were like 'oh, it's my favourite book in The Dark Tower series' and I was kind of like 'really?' because apparently I didn't fully appreciate its spectacularity the last time I read it! Which isn't to say that it's instantly become my favourite of them all, BUT I definitely have a lot more love for it than I did before.
SO. The Wastelands starts where The Drawing of the Three left off, more or less, as Roland's teaching Eddie and Susannah how to be gunslingers, and musing on how they remind him so much of his old dead friends (it actually feels a little hinty, and book 4 is allll about Roland and his old friends. But having said that, I think King wrote it 6 years or so after this, and so maybe didn't even realise what he was hinting at in this. But I think he kind of did...) and they find their way to the path of the beam, and hence to the proper start of their journey. Only took two and a bit books, but still- world building my friends, world building.
And so, they begin their quest, only Roland, their leader and their almost-kidnapper-only-they-like-being-kidnapped, is going crazy because of this thing he did at the end of the last book that I can't really talk about but that affected his memories of things that happened in the first book that I also could talk about but don't really want to and, well, it all leads, through linked dreams and awesome wanderings in New York, to something else that I can't really talk about because it's sort of unimaginable but really awesome at the same time, and it leads to things that not only cures Roland, but cures Eddie of his mean elder brother's influence, and ALSO marks the start of this storyline that's one of the weakest in all the books and ends up being not so important in the end. So that's not so good.
But seriously, it's amazing, and THEN the second half of the book happens, and it's all action, all the time. The band of travellers end up in this city that's kind of broken (fun fact: the city is called Lud, and its inhabitants are luddites, and they have no idea how the technology [that's broken] works. I feel like this is clever.) and, whilst this is the longest section page numbers-wise, it also feels the shortest AND the most exciting. Seriously- there's so much movement and action and everyone's split up and there's so much happening, and I swear that at one point I didn't take a breath for about 3 chapters because, like 'ohmygoshwhatsgoingtohappenIcan'tbearit!!!' aaaand breathe. So, yeah, that was fun, and also tense, and even though I knew it would all be ok because I've read them before (and because there are like
Similarly, the ending has left me all tense too, because I really can't remember how the situation that King cruelly leaves them in resolves itself, and so, again, I'm slightly on edge. Where, I should add, I'll be for 9 more books (and that's just Stephen King books!) because the silly man just abandoned these guys for that many books before he went back to them. Which, I can't really say I mind now, because characters and basically everything in them are remarkably consistent, but I can't even imagine how annoying it must have been to have to wait for the next one and the next one to come out in the 90s/00s. Because these books are the big awesome, and you should really read them so you know what I'm talking about next time! (Unless you already have, in which case, let's discuss! Roland: friend or foe?!)
Sunday Sundries: The Midway Point
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Well. This week was going fine until Wednesday night, when I was out having fun at a gig (my friend knows the drummer, it's all very cool) and my mum was simultaneously having a high temperature, and as we later found out, a urine infection (apparently a common chemo infection type thing, obviously not all that pleasant for her, but nothing to properly worry about. I think) and was at the hospital by the time I got home. Cue: hospital visits and housekeeping and general grumpiness and disproportionate anger at various situations. And the week started so well!
So. I'm attempting to put all that out of my mind for tonight at least (I'm writing this early Saturday evening, because I'm not sure when I'll have time tomorrow cause the hospital steals all mine) because me and Alley and Alice and Megs are going to be attempting to watch Clueless together across 4 different time zones and it could be a complete disaster or it could be the greatest thing ever or, obviously, both. I'll know by the time I post this, and if I have time I'll put a little ps at the bottom of this post to let you know how it went. But if I don't, you know, leave me alone, my mum's in hospital! (And also, I had to sleep. Probably. This is all getting very meta...)
Anyway, so there's that. But the real purpose of this post is to lay out allll my reading progress for the first 6 months of the year because I like to do my little admin tasks and to see what I've done and what I've still got left to do. Yes, even though I complain because the challenges are 'all too much!' for me, actually, this part of them, the tallying up of what I've done is the actual best bit. Apart from the reading, I guess, but who cares about that?! (Me. I do. And you probably do too if you're reading this.)
SO! Where to begin? I really don't know. Let's see...
I've read 11 Stephen King books so far this year, which seems like less than I feel like I've read which is probably because The Tommyknockers was so very very bad. I guess I've had a few self-enforced breaks from Stephen King this year too, which probably explains the slightly low numbers there.
For The Classics Club I've read 6 books, which isn't amazing but isn't really bad either, and I don't really think of that as a challenge so much as just a guide to the classics I should read, mainly because I basically own all of the ones on my list and haven't read most of them yet, so there's that.
Aaaaand, what else is there? Ok, well, let's talk about the Back To The Classics challenge. Cause it's my least impressive achievement and yet, YET, I'm still quite impressed with myself. I may have only read one extra classic since last time (I'm now at 3 out of 9) BUT I am currently reading another one, and I have firm plans for another (Grapes of Wrath readalong in October you guys? You'll love it!) so I feel pretty good about my plans. Although less good about reading Crime and Punishment at any point ever. Feels like a winter book to me...
And then there's the TBR Challenge, in which I'm almost where I should be at this point of the year- I've read 5 of 12 books so far, and I would have read 6 if one of them hadn't BORED me from the very beginning (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Don't even tell me that it changed your life or whatever, because I just can't. Still, at least I got rid of another book) so, yeah, that feels pretty good too! I think I have a few of these on my Fuck the Patriarchy reading list for July and August (more on that later) too, so... I think it'll get done. It'll be good.
And finally, and this is my BIGGEST achievement- in the Off the Shelf challenge, which, last time I'd read a grand total of 3 books for, I've now read THIRTEEN books for! Which is still not really enough considering that I've got waay more books than that that I need to read, and I'm still reading library books, AND I didn't add to that list at all last month, but I'm still super proud of that, and it's only 2 books where I should be at this point to make my hopeful yearly total, so it's all good.
Aaaand, now I feel good about my challenges again, so yay! And since today marks the beginning of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon, I think I'm going to add that book list (which I've modified slightly since I made it) to my current challenges tab, where, by the way, you can always go to look at my progress if you're so inclined, even though I realise literally no one cares about my challenges progress but me. But I do, so y'all have to hear about it! Ha.
Oh yeah, and apparently I'm doing some 3-day readathon thing like next week? That I've managed to mostly forget about as soon as I signed up for it, but which I am pretty dedicated to because OH! I agreed to read 20 books in July and August, and 3 days of reading as much as I can therefore sounds like a pretty good idea! Um, so yeah, there's that, which I probably could have waited til next week to inform you about, but there we go. Sensibleness=not really a thing with me at the moment. Oh yeah, and ALSO I haven't finished a book for about ten million years (I dunno, a week?) so it could be a lean lean blog week. You poor bastards.
So. I'm attempting to put all that out of my mind for tonight at least (I'm writing this early Saturday evening, because I'm not sure when I'll have time tomorrow cause the hospital steals all mine) because me and Alley and Alice and Megs are going to be attempting to watch Clueless together across 4 different time zones and it could be a complete disaster or it could be the greatest thing ever or, obviously, both. I'll know by the time I post this, and if I have time I'll put a little ps at the bottom of this post to let you know how it went. But if I don't, you know, leave me alone, my mum's in hospital! (And also, I had to sleep. Probably. This is all getting very meta...)
Anyway, so there's that. But the real purpose of this post is to lay out allll my reading progress for the first 6 months of the year because I like to do my little admin tasks and to see what I've done and what I've still got left to do. Yes, even though I complain because the challenges are 'all too much!' for me, actually, this part of them, the tallying up of what I've done is the actual best bit. Apart from the reading, I guess, but who cares about that?! (Me. I do. And you probably do too if you're reading this.)
SO! Where to begin? I really don't know. Let's see...
I've read 11 Stephen King books so far this year, which seems like less than I feel like I've read which is probably because The Tommyknockers was so very very bad. I guess I've had a few self-enforced breaks from Stephen King this year too, which probably explains the slightly low numbers there.
For The Classics Club I've read 6 books, which isn't amazing but isn't really bad either, and I don't really think of that as a challenge so much as just a guide to the classics I should read, mainly because I basically own all of the ones on my list and haven't read most of them yet, so there's that.
Aaaaand, what else is there? Ok, well, let's talk about the Back To The Classics challenge. Cause it's my least impressive achievement and yet, YET, I'm still quite impressed with myself. I may have only read one extra classic since last time (I'm now at 3 out of 9) BUT I am currently reading another one, and I have firm plans for another (Grapes of Wrath readalong in October you guys? You'll love it!) so I feel pretty good about my plans. Although less good about reading Crime and Punishment at any point ever. Feels like a winter book to me...
And then there's the TBR Challenge, in which I'm almost where I should be at this point of the year- I've read 5 of 12 books so far, and I would have read 6 if one of them hadn't BORED me from the very beginning (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Don't even tell me that it changed your life or whatever, because I just can't. Still, at least I got rid of another book) so, yeah, that feels pretty good too! I think I have a few of these on my Fuck the Patriarchy reading list for July and August (more on that later) too, so... I think it'll get done. It'll be good.
And finally, and this is my BIGGEST achievement- in the Off the Shelf challenge, which, last time I'd read a grand total of 3 books for, I've now read THIRTEEN books for! Which is still not really enough considering that I've got waay more books than that that I need to read, and I'm still reading library books, AND I didn't add to that list at all last month, but I'm still super proud of that, and it's only 2 books where I should be at this point to make my hopeful yearly total, so it's all good.
Aaaand, now I feel good about my challenges again, so yay! And since today marks the beginning of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon, I think I'm going to add that book list (which I've modified slightly since I made it) to my current challenges tab, where, by the way, you can always go to look at my progress if you're so inclined, even though I realise literally no one cares about my challenges progress but me. But I do, so y'all have to hear about it! Ha.
Oh yeah, and apparently I'm doing some 3-day readathon thing like next week? That I've managed to mostly forget about as soon as I signed up for it, but which I am pretty dedicated to because OH! I agreed to read 20 books in July and August, and 3 days of reading as much as I can therefore sounds like a pretty good idea! Um, so yeah, there's that, which I probably could have waited til next week to inform you about, but there we go. Sensibleness=not really a thing with me at the moment. Oh yeah, and ALSO I haven't finished a book for about ten million years (I dunno, a week?) so it could be a lean lean blog week. You poor bastards.
Top Ten Tuesday
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Oh the trials I've had with this week's TTT! First of all I was going to do it because I misunderstood the point of the list and had one all ready, and then when I realised I was like 'ohhh, fuck this' but NOW I'm like 'hmmm... I'm not looking like finishing a book any time EVER so I should probably make a list'. And so this is it! The most begrudged list ever, because I love you all so much that I don't want you to miss me for a whole week. I'm amazing, I know.
Top Ten Books for People Who Liked X Author
If you like Stephen King, you might like:
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker- I literally know nothing about horror novels beyond Stephen King, but I read Dracula last year and it was extremely awesome, and also, I know it inspired 'Salem's Lot in all kinds of ways, so there's that.
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley- Because, whilst it's mildly scary and peril-ish, it also deals with the emotional side of things in a way that Stephen King often does too. And it's sort of awesome.
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins- Ok, hear me out, because even though this is all mystery rather than horror, it's definitely a bit creepy and uneasy making and well, utterly amazing. And basically I just want everyone to read it, so go and do that!
If you like Margaret Atwood, you might like:
4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- Clearly I've only read Atwood dystopias, but this is kind of a great one that I think remains relevant today. Or I did when I read it years ago...
5. 1984 by George Orwell- You know. Another dystopia and all that. And also, it's terrifying. Like The Handmaid's Tale
If you like Nora Ephron, you might like:
6. Bill Bryson- Because they both have the knack of making the everyday hilarious, and of being awesome. Damn, I'm sad about Nora...
7. How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran- See: Hilarious. And amazing.
8. Girls- Lena Dunham is like in LOVE with Nora Ephron, and I think that sometimes comes through in her tv series. And it's awesome so you should just watch it anyway.
And if you liked The Help by Kathryn Stockett:
Then there's really no hope for you. I recommend therapy, OR if you really want to read about the 'black experience' in America, then go for The Color Purple by Alice Walker, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
Oh the trials I've had with this week's TTT! First of all I was going to do it because I misunderstood the point of the list and had one all ready, and then when I realised I was like 'ohhh, fuck this' but NOW I'm like 'hmmm... I'm not looking like finishing a book any time EVER so I should probably make a list'. And so this is it! The most begrudged list ever, because I love you all so much that I don't want you to miss me for a whole week. I'm amazing, I know.Top Ten Books for People Who Liked X Author
If you like Stephen King, you might like:
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker- I literally know nothing about horror novels beyond Stephen King, but I read Dracula last year and it was extremely awesome, and also, I know it inspired 'Salem's Lot in all kinds of ways, so there's that.
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley- Because, whilst it's mildly scary and peril-ish, it also deals with the emotional side of things in a way that Stephen King often does too. And it's sort of awesome.
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins- Ok, hear me out, because even though this is all mystery rather than horror, it's definitely a bit creepy and uneasy making and well, utterly amazing. And basically I just want everyone to read it, so go and do that!
If you like Margaret Atwood, you might like:
4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- Clearly I've only read Atwood dystopias, but this is kind of a great one that I think remains relevant today. Or I did when I read it years ago...
5. 1984 by George Orwell- You know. Another dystopia and all that. And also, it's terrifying. Like The Handmaid's Tale
If you like Nora Ephron, you might like:
6. Bill Bryson- Because they both have the knack of making the everyday hilarious, and of being awesome. Damn, I'm sad about Nora...
7. How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran- See: Hilarious. And amazing.
8. Girls- Lena Dunham is like in LOVE with Nora Ephron, and I think that sometimes comes through in her tv series. And it's awesome so you should just watch it anyway.
And if you liked The Help by Kathryn Stockett:
Then there's really no hope for you. I recommend therapy, OR if you really want to read about the 'black experience' in America, then go for The Color Purple by Alice Walker, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
Skarsgard, I Love You, But Clearly Not Enough To Keep Watching Generation Kill
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I'm fairly convinced that Alexander Skarsgard is a perfect human being- he's Swedish, he's a pacifist, he's really really funny, and well, HAVE YOU SEEN HIS FACE AND ALL THE REST OF HIM?! Ahem, but no really, I think he's the shiz, and so naturally, I'm all about wanting to see all the things he's ever done ever that exist on film. Especially if they involve him getting all topless and stuff. Ahem.
So anyway, naturally after watching ALL THE TRUE BLOOD and sitting through Melancholia (GOD, Melancholia...) and watching the Paparazzi video over and over again on YouTube, I figured it was time to watch Generation Kill, because full episodes! Much Skarsgard! Plus there's always the possibility of his taking his top off, because, you know, I hear it gets all hot in Iraq!
But. I totally forgot that I really really really hate watching war things. Like, literally all war things. I've been lured into watching a fair few war things because they involved actors that I basically want to jump all over and do bad things with (Black Hawk Down: Orlando Bloom/Josh Hartnett/Ewan McGregor, Platoon: Johnny Depp, Jarhead: Jake Gyllenhaal) but about 15 minutes in I'm bored out of my MIND. Here are a few reasons why:
So, his face propelled me through 3 and a half episodes (where, honestly, I can't really tell you much about what went on. Things got blown up and the Marines didn't have enough batteries) and then I just decided that I had to move on with my life because I'm never going to like war things. Never. Even with Skarsgard. Even with Depp, for gods sake! As far as I can tell, though, Generation Kill seems like it's probably a good example of a war thing, so by all means, if that's a thing you like, then you should probably give it a go. Just don't get sucked into the Skarsgard trap, because even he's not worth it. Wow, that was difficult to write...
I'm fairly convinced that Alexander Skarsgard is a perfect human being- he's Swedish, he's a pacifist, he's really really funny, and well, HAVE YOU SEEN HIS FACE AND ALL THE REST OF HIM?! Ahem, but no really, I think he's the shiz, and so naturally, I'm all about wanting to see all the things he's ever done ever that exist on film. Especially if they involve him getting all topless and stuff. Ahem.So anyway, naturally after watching ALL THE TRUE BLOOD and sitting through Melancholia (GOD, Melancholia...) and watching the Paparazzi video over and over again on YouTube, I figured it was time to watch Generation Kill, because full episodes! Much Skarsgard! Plus there's always the possibility of his taking his top off, because, you know, I hear it gets all hot in Iraq!But. I totally forgot that I really really really hate watching war things. Like, literally all war things. I've been lured into watching a fair few war things because they involved actors that I basically want to jump all over and do bad things with (Black Hawk Down: Orlando Bloom/Josh Hartnett/Ewan McGregor, Platoon: Johnny Depp, Jarhead: Jake Gyllenhaal) but about 15 minutes in I'm bored out of my MIND. Here are a few reasons why:
- I really fucking hate war: I do. So I don't especially like watching people doing it, and I find it really hard to sympathise with soldier characters when I do especially in conflicts that I don't necessarily agree should have happened (aaand, this is where I stop before I insult anyone who knows anyone in the military. Which isn't what I'm trying to do! This is just how I feel about fictional accounts of wars and things.)
- Face blindness: When there are loads and loads of actors all wearing the same uniform, I get this ridiculous face blindness that completely invalidates the point of watching things because there are cute boys in them. Admittedly, I can usually find the person I watched it for (although, I swear, it took most of the Black Hawk Down to find Orlando Bloom) but not being able to distinguish between anyone else's faces sure does make it hard to figure out relationships between characters, and thus work out a lot of plot points. So that's kind of a problem.
- There are no ladies!: Or rather, there are ladies, but they're always always victims of some kind because they're the civilians whose lives are being destroyed by whatever conflict. They don't get a voice, obviously, and since we still live in the dark ages, there obviously aren't any women in various dangerous situations, even though they let women in the army these days. Go figure. Oh wait, sorry, I did forget one other lady thing- there's the women that they left at home that they talk about in rarely a respectful or loving manner. Cause that's what has to happen if you get a bunch of dudes together...
So, his face propelled me through 3 and a half episodes (where, honestly, I can't really tell you much about what went on. Things got blown up and the Marines didn't have enough batteries) and then I just decided that I had to move on with my life because I'm never going to like war things. Never. Even with Skarsgard. Even with Depp, for gods sake! As far as I can tell, though, Generation Kill seems like it's probably a good example of a war thing, so by all means, if that's a thing you like, then you should probably give it a go. Just don't get sucked into the Skarsgard trap, because even he's not worth it. Wow, that was difficult to write...
Devouring Books: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
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"Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the Earth put here just to nourish loneliness?"
Ah. Just when you think you'll never finish a book ever again because you're halfway through Vanity Fair and can't get into anything else, but you also can't carry that around with you because it's massive, you pick up a Murakami book and finish it in two days, and also remember what reading's all about. I mean, that's what you do if you're me, obviously. How I've lasted 3 months without reading a Murakami book is beyond me, but finally, finally! More weirdness and confusion and sadness and completely wonderful loveliness.
Let's see. Where to begin? Firstly, Sputnik Sweetheart was translated by a different dude than the guy who translated the other two Murakami books I've read, which isn't something that I'd normally mention except that, well, I could kind of tell! At least, I could a bit at the beginning (which was before I knew it had been translated by some other dude) where I was like 'this feels a bit... clunky' and then checked out the translator and it was some guy who wasn't the other guy (isn't this the best storytelling ever?) Anyway, basically all this meant was that at the beginning I was slightly apprehensive that this maybe wasn't going to be that good, but something happened that meant either the translator or I got more into it, or maybe that the story just took over from the writing, but either way, I loved it.
So, like all Murakami things I've read so far (all three of them) Sputnik Sweetheart kind of defies classification. It's very mysterious, and yet not a mystery (although at times I was like *gasp* revelations!); there are events and moments that seem unconnected to the main narrative, although I'm sure if I thought about them for long enough I'd come up with some kind of explanation; and there are some homosexual feelings expressed but it doesn't at all feel like a GLBT book. Above all, I guess, it fits into the very special 'Murakami' Genre: all the hallmarks are there (ears, cats, different worlds, super sophisticated exploration of sexuality) and, well, at the moment this select genre (which is made up of, I think, 12 novels) is kind of my favourite, so how could I dislike Sputnik Sweetheart?
You want to know about the story? Ok, so the narrator (whose name we never discover because there's a wonderful passage about how he can't talk about himself, because he doesn't really even know who/what he is yet, so how can he tell us any 'facts' about himself?) is one of Murakami's lonely boys (TM) who loves a girl who is his best friend, but who feels no desire for him, or anyone, until she meets a woman who she does have sexy feelings for, and although it sounds kind of like a love triangle, it very much isn't because there's no struggle, just an acceptance that everyone likes who they like, and that no-one in the situation can do anything to change it. It's all very complex and sad and kind of super wonderful.
So... I've come to that point as I do in every Murakami review where I don't want to say anymore, because 1) I don't want to really give anything away, and 2) there's not really anything I can say to do his books justice. And to be honest, I can't think of any solid reasons as to why you MUST read them- all I can tell you is that they make me feel ridiculously sucked in and attentive and AMAZED and just, sometimes paradoxically, really happy. But that's just me! You might be pissed off by the crazy, and just want concrete happenings, and that's fine, but it's apparently just not what I'm looking for with Murakami. And I'm never disappointed!
I read this book as part of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon. If you'd like to donate to Rape Crisis, please visit this Justgiving page. Thanks!
"Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the Earth put here just to nourish loneliness?"Ah. Just when you think you'll never finish a book ever again because you're halfway through Vanity Fair and can't get into anything else, but you also can't carry that around with you because it's massive, you pick up a Murakami book and finish it in two days, and also remember what reading's all about. I mean, that's what you do if you're me, obviously. How I've lasted 3 months without reading a Murakami book is beyond me, but finally, finally! More weirdness and confusion and sadness and completely wonderful loveliness.
Let's see. Where to begin? Firstly, Sputnik Sweetheart was translated by a different dude than the guy who translated the other two Murakami books I've read, which isn't something that I'd normally mention except that, well, I could kind of tell! At least, I could a bit at the beginning (which was before I knew it had been translated by some other dude) where I was like 'this feels a bit... clunky' and then checked out the translator and it was some guy who wasn't the other guy (isn't this the best storytelling ever?) Anyway, basically all this meant was that at the beginning I was slightly apprehensive that this maybe wasn't going to be that good, but something happened that meant either the translator or I got more into it, or maybe that the story just took over from the writing, but either way, I loved it.
So, like all Murakami things I've read so far (all three of them) Sputnik Sweetheart kind of defies classification. It's very mysterious, and yet not a mystery (although at times I was like *gasp* revelations!); there are events and moments that seem unconnected to the main narrative, although I'm sure if I thought about them for long enough I'd come up with some kind of explanation; and there are some homosexual feelings expressed but it doesn't at all feel like a GLBT book. Above all, I guess, it fits into the very special 'Murakami' Genre: all the hallmarks are there (ears, cats, different worlds, super sophisticated exploration of sexuality) and, well, at the moment this select genre (which is made up of, I think, 12 novels) is kind of my favourite, so how could I dislike Sputnik Sweetheart?
You want to know about the story? Ok, so the narrator (whose name we never discover because there's a wonderful passage about how he can't talk about himself, because he doesn't really even know who/what he is yet, so how can he tell us any 'facts' about himself?) is one of Murakami's lonely boys (TM) who loves a girl who is his best friend, but who feels no desire for him, or anyone, until she meets a woman who she does have sexy feelings for, and although it sounds kind of like a love triangle, it very much isn't because there's no struggle, just an acceptance that everyone likes who they like, and that no-one in the situation can do anything to change it. It's all very complex and sad and kind of super wonderful.
So... I've come to that point as I do in every Murakami review where I don't want to say anymore, because 1) I don't want to really give anything away, and 2) there's not really anything I can say to do his books justice. And to be honest, I can't think of any solid reasons as to why you MUST read them- all I can tell you is that they make me feel ridiculously sucked in and attentive and AMAZED and just, sometimes paradoxically, really happy. But that's just me! You might be pissed off by the crazy, and just want concrete happenings, and that's fine, but it's apparently just not what I'm looking for with Murakami. And I'm never disappointed!
I read this book as part of the Fuck the Patriarchy Readathon. If you'd like to donate to Rape Crisis, please visit this Justgiving page. Thanks!
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST'S CHILDHOOD PAL by Christopher Moore ✰✰✰
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This humorous take on the life of Jesus, subtitled “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is certainly stepping out from my usual reading fare, but I was in the mood for an audio on the lighter side and this one was getting a lot of buzz, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.As a reviewer, one of the things that I try to do is write with my audience in mind, and knowing that many of my readers are Christians, I am going to target this review towards those readers in particular, given the nature of this particular book, but the book actually might appeal more to other readers, so the rest of you might not want to tune out.Based upon the author’s premise that Jesus spent those lost years of his young adulthood, about which we know nothing, seeking out the three wise men who visited him at his birth, believing that they are meant to teach him how to be the messiah, Lamb takes the reader on a journey through the East as we follow Jesus, known as Joshua, and Biff, as they study with each of the wise men in turn, learning the teachings of Confucius and Buddha, and yoga in India. Author Christopher Moore toes an odd line with this book. He takes a subject which clearly appeals to a Christian audience, but then throws in a narrator, Biff, who sees it as his job to experience all of the seedier side of life on behalf of his best friend, the Messiah of the world, who clearly must be above such things.For the most part, Jesus Christ is treated with respect and I was not offended as a Christian, but I would be the first to recognize that there might certainly be people of faith who would find this book offensive. More than religious reasons, I think that the element that would bother people the most would be the strong language; there is a large segment of the Christian audience who can appreciate the humor of this book, slightly irreverent though it might be, and, I was disappointed that the author chose to use this type of language in a book with this subject matter because I felt that it was incongruent and narrowed his audience. There is also a lot of sexual innuendo in the book. While the sex is not graphic, it is a recurrent theme, and frankly, at times got a little bit overdone, to the point that around disk eight (of twelve) I considered quitting listening. I persevered for two reasons-first, I rarely give up on a book, and second, I was very curious to see how the end of Christ’s life was handled in this strangest of books.Surprisingly, the mission of the Messiah and his crucifixion were handled in a very sensitive fashion, and there were many touching moments in the final three disks. There was far less humor, and the author really toned down the less savory elements in the final chapters of the book, which was as it should be. I was actually glad that I hung in there to listen to the end of the book, but it was not enough to bring up my rating from three to four stars, as the things that I mentioned above simply weighed the middle of the book down too much for my liking.In the odd way of these things, this audio is likely to be a contender for my number one spot of the year. It is absolutely five star. While I did not always enjoy the story (mostly because it was outside my comfort zone), there was nothing about the audio that I could fault; characters had distinct voices and personalities, timing made the humor shine through (this audio is just plain laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places, and I loved it), and gravity entered the tale when it was supposed to. If this is a book which appeals to you, I highly recommend the audio-it is outstanding.
This humorous take on the life of Jesus, subtitled “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is certainly stepping out from my usual reading fare, but I was in the mood for an audio on the lighter side and this one was getting a lot of buzz, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.As a reviewer, one of the things that I try to do is write with my audience in mind, and knowing that many of my readers are Christians, I am going to target this review towards those readers in particular, given the nature of this particular book, but the book actually might appeal more to other readers, so the rest of you might not want to tune out.
Based upon the author’s premise that Jesus spent those lost years of his young adulthood, about which we know nothing, seeking out the three wise men who visited him at his birth, believing that they are meant to teach him how to be the messiah, Lamb takes the reader on a journey through the East as we follow Jesus, known as Joshua, and Biff, as they study with each of the wise men in turn, learning the teachings of Confucius and Buddha, and yoga in India. Author Christopher Moore toes an odd line with this book. He takes a subject which clearly appeals to a Christian audience, but then throws in a narrator, Biff, who sees it as his job to experience all of the seedier side of life on behalf of his best friend, the Messiah of the world, who clearly must be above such things.For the most part, Jesus Christ is treated with respect and I was not offended as a Christian, but I would be the first to recognize that there might certainly be people of faith who would find this book offensive. More than religious reasons, I think that the element that would bother people the most would be the strong language; there is a large segment of the Christian audience who can appreciate the humor of this book, slightly irreverent though it might be, and, I was disappointed that the author chose to use this type of language in a book with this subject matter because I felt that it was incongruent and narrowed his audience. There is also a lot of sexual innuendo in the book. While the sex is not graphic, it is a recurrent theme, and frankly, at times got a little bit overdone, to the point that around disk eight (of twelve) I considered quitting listening. I persevered for two reasons-first, I rarely give up on a book, and second, I was very curious to see how the end of Christ’s life was handled in this strangest of books.Surprisingly, the mission of the Messiah and his crucifixion were handled in a very sensitive fashion, and there were many touching moments in the final three disks. There was far less humor, and the author really toned down the less savory elements in the final chapters of the book, which was as it should be. I was actually glad that I hung in there to listen to the end of the book, but it was not enough to bring up my rating from three to four stars, as the things that I mentioned above simply weighed the middle of the book down too much for my liking.In the odd way of these things, this audio is likely to be a contender for my number one spot of the year. It is absolutely five star. While I did not always enjoy the story (mostly because it was outside my comfort zone), there was nothing about the audio that I could fault; characters had distinct voices and personalities, timing made the humor shine through (this audio is just plain laugh-out-loud funny in many, many places, and I loved it), and gravity entered the tale when it was supposed to. If this is a book which appeals to you, I highly recommend the audio-it is outstanding.
THE PERFECT STORM by Sebastian Junger ✰✰✰✰
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In October 1991, a rare meteorological event occurred in which more than one major storm converged simultaneously on the area off the coast of Nova Scotia, resulting in a storm the likes of which those born to the sea had never seen the likes of, a “perfect storm”. Author Sebastian Junger focuses his tale on the crew of the swordfish boat Andrea Gail, which disappeared in the storm, telling through them the story of the lives of Gloucester, Massachusetts fishermen past and present, and interweaving lessons in meteorology, maritime history, and rescue operations.
I had thought that the book was going to be only about the crew of the Andrea Gail, so I was a little surprised when I realized that a good deal of the book is comprised of the stories of other people caught up in the maelstrom of the storm and about meteorology. Personally, I found the story of the ditching and rescue of the para rescue jumpers who’s helicopter went down to be perhaps the most compelling of the whole book, so I was happy that the story went beyond that of just the Andrea Gail. There were a few places where I felt that explanations of weather phenomenon slowed the forward momentum of the narrative, but for the most part the information was compellingly written and added to the reader’s understanding of the gravity of the situation.At a short 227 pages, this is a fast read, of which the last seventy-five pages really flies. Like most good narrative nonfiction, it is peopled with with characters you come to care about, grieve for, and Junger does an excellent job wrapping up everyone’s stories in the last few pages. The only reason that I did not give this book five stars was because I felt that some of the scientific passages became a little weighty and interrupted the pacing of the book. All in all, a great read.
In October 1991, a rare meteorological event occurred in which more than one major storm converged simultaneously on the area off the coast of Nova Scotia, resulting in a storm the likes of which those born to the sea had never seen the likes of, a “perfect storm”. Author Sebastian Junger focuses his tale on the crew of the swordfish boat Andrea Gail, which disappeared in the storm, telling through them the story of the lives of Gloucester, Massachusetts fishermen past and present, and interweaving lessons in meteorology, maritime history, and rescue operations.
I had thought that the book was going to be only about the crew of the Andrea Gail, so I was a little surprised when I realized that a good deal of the book is comprised of the stories of other people caught up in the maelstrom of the storm and about meteorology. Personally, I found the story of the ditching and rescue of the para rescue jumpers who’s helicopter went down to be perhaps the most compelling of the whole book, so I was happy that the story went beyond that of just the Andrea Gail. There were a few places where I felt that explanations of weather phenomenon slowed the forward momentum of the narrative, but for the most part the information was compellingly written and added to the reader’s understanding of the gravity of the situation.At a short 227 pages, this is a fast read, of which the last seventy-five pages really flies. Like most good narrative nonfiction, it is peopled with with characters you come to care about, grieve for, and Junger does an excellent job wrapping up everyone’s stories in the last few pages. The only reason that I did not give this book five stars was because I felt that some of the scientific passages became a little weighty and interrupted the pacing of the book. All in all, a great read.
I AM THE CHOSEN KING by Helen Hollick ✰✰✰✰
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In this her middle book of the 1066 Trilogy, Helen Hollick picks up where she left off at the end of The Forever Queen. Emma of Normandy is aging and watches in growing sadness as her ineffectual son, who will become known to history as Edward the Confessor, flies in the face of everything she and her second husband Cnut worked so hard to build for England.
This book is not about Emma; it deals somewhat with the reign of Edward, but even he is not the author’s primary protagonist. The focus shifts to Emma’s and Cnut’s most trusted friend, Godwine, Earl of Wessex, and his family, particularly his son Harold. Their family, like Emma’s, is pulled right from the history books, and their story is the stuff of legend-believe me when I say it makes for some great reading in the hands of a good story-teller.The plot is multi-veined, and with 1066 in the trilogy title, it is probably rather obvious that at some point in time William of Normandy is bound to show up. Now would be the time. One of the things that I very much appreciate about Helen Hollick is that she develops her characters from childhood, allowing the reader to see exactly how and why these historical figures evolve into the thinkers and enacters that they become. Her treatment of William is no different, and I was utterly captivated by his history-I disliked him thoroughly, but I must say he is one of the more fascinating historical personages I have ever read about.There is very little that I can say about the plot without giving away everything, so I am simply going to say that the story shifts back and forth between England with her dying king (Edward) and rumbles as to who his successor is going to be, and Normandy, where William is consolidating his position as duke and shedding his vassalage to France. The 1066 invasion does happen at the end of this book. The events that occurred in England after the death of Edward were startling, and it is truly amazing just how close England came to 1066 being a year nobody would have remembered. I will drop one tantalizing hint and say that it was a treason of the most despicable kind-one act by one person who of all people should have been loyal. As usual Helen Hollick puts in just enough period detail to give the reader a wonderful sense of “being there” in the Middle Ages with her characters. You can visualize their environments and clothing, smell and taste their food, etc. This book also delves into the practice of hand-fast wives, an accepted form of marriage in a time when a man might fall in love with a woman who was not of his social standing. These marriages were seen as valid and the children were not bastards; however, if the man had to marry for political reasons, say in the case of a nobleman, to marry for an alliance, his hand-fast wife could later be set aside, although this usually just meant living in a separate house. If he never had a son by his “Church blessed” marriage (hand-fast marriages were a pagan ceremony) then his hand-fast son could inherit.Like the first book, Ms. Hollick closes this one out with a very lengthy author’s note detailing all of the twists and turns between fact and fiction in her tale. Of all the historical fiction writers that I read, she is absolutely the best at the end of book author’s note, and I always appreciate her efforts to set the record straight.Readers often complain about the middle books in planned trilogies, but this one is definitely as strong as the first. Harold and the rest of Godwine’s clan are a riveting group of characters, and William of Normandy, while a despicable man in my estimation, sure makes for good reading. I definitely recommend this one to all who enjoyed the first book.
In this her middle book of the 1066 Trilogy, Helen Hollick picks up where she left off at the end of The Forever Queen. Emma of Normandy is aging and watches in growing sadness as her ineffectual son, who will become known to history as Edward the Confessor, flies in the face of everything she and her second husband Cnut worked so hard to build for England.
This book is not about Emma; it deals somewhat with the reign of Edward, but even he is not the author’s primary protagonist. The focus shifts to Emma’s and Cnut’s most trusted friend, Godwine, Earl of Wessex, and his family, particularly his son Harold. Their family, like Emma’s, is pulled right from the history books, and their story is the stuff of legend-believe me when I say it makes for some great reading in the hands of a good story-teller.The plot is multi-veined, and with 1066 in the trilogy title, it is probably rather obvious that at some point in time William of Normandy is bound to show up. Now would be the time. One of the things that I very much appreciate about Helen Hollick is that she develops her characters from childhood, allowing the reader to see exactly how and why these historical figures evolve into the thinkers and enacters that they become. Her treatment of William is no different, and I was utterly captivated by his history-I disliked him thoroughly, but I must say he is one of the more fascinating historical personages I have ever read about.There is very little that I can say about the plot without giving away everything, so I am simply going to say that the story shifts back and forth between England with her dying king (Edward) and rumbles as to who his successor is going to be, and Normandy, where William is consolidating his position as duke and shedding his vassalage to France. The 1066 invasion does happen at the end of this book. The events that occurred in England after the death of Edward were startling, and it is truly amazing just how close England came to 1066 being a year nobody would have remembered. I will drop one tantalizing hint and say that it was a treason of the most despicable kind-one act by one person who of all people should have been loyal. As usual Helen Hollick puts in just enough period detail to give the reader a wonderful sense of “being there” in the Middle Ages with her characters. You can visualize their environments and clothing, smell and taste their food, etc. This book also delves into the practice of hand-fast wives, an accepted form of marriage in a time when a man might fall in love with a woman who was not of his social standing. These marriages were seen as valid and the children were not bastards; however, if the man had to marry for political reasons, say in the case of a nobleman, to marry for an alliance, his hand-fast wife could later be set aside, although this usually just meant living in a separate house. If he never had a son by his “Church blessed” marriage (hand-fast marriages were a pagan ceremony) then his hand-fast son could inherit.Like the first book, Ms. Hollick closes this one out with a very lengthy author’s note detailing all of the twists and turns between fact and fiction in her tale. Of all the historical fiction writers that I read, she is absolutely the best at the end of book author’s note, and I always appreciate her efforts to set the record straight.Readers often complain about the middle books in planned trilogies, but this one is definitely as strong as the first. Harold and the rest of Godwine’s clan are a riveting group of characters, and William of Normandy, while a despicable man in my estimation, sure makes for good reading. I definitely recommend this one to all who enjoyed the first book.
I, ROBOT by Isaac Asimov ✰✰✰
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Written by Isaac Asimov in 1950, I, Robot is a set of nine related, consecutive short stories told as a journalist’s third person writings based on the reminiscences of robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin, given in the year 2057.
Each of the stories has its own unique plot but follows the same premise-that the behavior of the robots must be governed by The Three Laws of Robotics. It is impressed upon the reader from the very beginning that these laws are incorruptible and that it is these laws which keep humans in command and safe in a world (and universe) where humans and robots coexist. As the stories progress, the logic involved becomes increasingly more complex and the solutions require far more ingenuity.It was fascinating to see where Asimov envisioned technology evolving to and what he believed regarding space and physics. At the end of the book you also get a glimpse of what he foresaw on the horizon for global governance and economics-interesting stuff!The reason I did not give the book a higher rating is only because I felt that after a time the similar theme grew a bit tiresome for me, as I am not a huge fan of logical thinking, or for that matter of science fiction books (I read this one for the book club I lead for a group of home schooled high schoolers). If I were a bigger fan of either of the two main elements, no doubt the book would have garnered another star.
Written by Isaac Asimov in 1950, I, Robot is a set of nine related, consecutive short stories told as a journalist’s third person writings based on the reminiscences of robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin, given in the year 2057.
Each of the stories has its own unique plot but follows the same premise-that the behavior of the robots must be governed by The Three Laws of Robotics. It is impressed upon the reader from the very beginning that these laws are incorruptible and that it is these laws which keep humans in command and safe in a world (and universe) where humans and robots coexist. As the stories progress, the logic involved becomes increasingly more complex and the solutions require far more ingenuity.It was fascinating to see where Asimov envisioned technology evolving to and what he believed regarding space and physics. At the end of the book you also get a glimpse of what he foresaw on the horizon for global governance and economics-interesting stuff!The reason I did not give the book a higher rating is only because I felt that after a time the similar theme grew a bit tiresome for me, as I am not a huge fan of logical thinking, or for that matter of science fiction books (I read this one for the book club I lead for a group of home schooled high schoolers). If I were a bigger fan of either of the two main elements, no doubt the book would have garnered another star.
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