tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957973211963041662024-02-02T13:53:18.506+11:00Terrific Galexy ReviewsEntertainment reviews brought to you by Terri and AlexTerrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-86184244380577879672014-11-23T23:09:00.003+11:002014-11-23T23:09:55.674+11:00Hiatus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihF7n9pizi9f_aWC9i1CF11qgnvIi9ChZaDYH6RzUZLTv2Gaq0JdOOijcU27pr67SwHyK1ROk9Ndc7D5_wEPKk-zr-X9USv3vRU0lq01eSHNS9qSy5QQFhE-xkhhd-VkOWKyBX7PcE5GzV/s1600/leaf+bite.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihF7n9pizi9f_aWC9i1CF11qgnvIi9ChZaDYH6RzUZLTv2Gaq0JdOOijcU27pr67SwHyK1ROk9Ndc7D5_wEPKk-zr-X9USv3vRU0lq01eSHNS9qSy5QQFhE-xkhhd-VkOWKyBX7PcE5GzV/s1600/leaf+bite.gif" /></a></div>
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Not sure who's still reading, but I'm now announcing an indefinite hiatus (to give y'all some closure on the lack of updates).<br />
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Anyway, my point is that I've gotten lazier; I've found that my reviews take a long time to write and I'd rather spend that time reading.<br />
<br />
I'm also sorry for not following people (back) -- I'll admit to being bad with technology and not being able to figure out Google+. Forgive me!<br />
<br />
Thank you for reading everything thus far. I still update my <b>Goodreads</b> though, so feel free to friend me there (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19501722-alex">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19501722-alex</a>)!<br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />- AlexTerrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-89963627174901124442014-11-23T22:36:00.000+11:002014-11-23T22:36:21.213+11:00Book Review: The Gemma Doyle trilogy<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUXOOvnCAegRhZiZ44PrXg7736OXWFqWu1LnSciH7Nn4O31hygzO7QwZ0Q1pODX-ts8KoeBqv3p0nk1-8IaTPyIr8QzW2H-BfIYna_8J8limpkMBs0XiQSj75rqpaUEq1O2_RTjJi2fii/s1600/a+great+and+terrible+beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUXOOvnCAegRhZiZ44PrXg7736OXWFqWu1LnSciH7Nn4O31hygzO7QwZ0Q1pODX-ts8KoeBqv3p0nk1-8IaTPyIr8QzW2H-BfIYna_8J8limpkMBs0XiQSj75rqpaUEq1O2_RTjJi2fii/s1600/a+great+and+terrible+beauty.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>The Sweet Far Thing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Libba Bray<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2003-2007</span></div>
<b>Genre:</b> Young adult, supernatural, gothic, historical fiction<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Gemma Doyle trilogy is a supernatural
Victorian boarding school story for young adults. That alone should tell you
whether you want to read this series (for me the answer was, of course: hells
yeah). There’s an indulgent, ‘comfort read’ quality about it despite its dark
themes. While this normally would be fine for me, some of these themes weren’t
your typical dramatic fantasy problems but rather actual real life issues. And
that’s why I ultimately found the series problematic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are a number of seeming contradictions in
the nature of the series itself, as if it is trying to be too many things at
once. On the one hand, it's easy to luxuriate in the girly girl passages about
the girls’ shopping expeditions and the social niceties of Victorian London –
reminiscent of your Jane Austen type of stories, which the author references a
number of times. On the other hand, there are plenty of gruesome ghostly things
mentioned in the supernatural part. Then again, there are your ‘serious’ scenes
describing family dysfunction, abject poverty and child sexual abuse – the
latter of which I really wasn’t expecting in such a squishy sort of read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was so much going on that I felt that a
number of these heavier themes shouldn’t have been included at all. Other than
creating mood whiplash, I felt they weren’t given their proper dues. I kept
thinking of the phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’, as each ‘problem’ rarely
transcends the scene in which it’s mentioned. For example, Gemma spouts a
lot of pretty and ~profound~ insights about her dysfunctional family, but only
ever seems to think about them when she’s in their actual physical presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9c5z-buThHd3-TrxjdnLb5BC1lTPLYCkUlc5I8OXVgbAYVbN7sPZf07cBZ2PBKzlomJ4IUAc_BH_GeaN5r7mk2fqLYFfuG4hgOk3na3JkmPxt6ZOJOK3BUiCXSZISFV9gf0d1tt7fSp6/s1600/rebel+angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9c5z-buThHd3-TrxjdnLb5BC1lTPLYCkUlc5I8OXVgbAYVbN7sPZf07cBZ2PBKzlomJ4IUAc_BH_GeaN5r7mk2fqLYFfuG4hgOk3na3JkmPxt6ZOJOK3BUiCXSZISFV9gf0d1tt7fSp6/s1600/rebel+angels.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While Gemma describes problems – particularly
the ‘ordinary’ real-world ones – and how horrific they are, we can’t disagree;
at the same time though, they’re given so little attention that there’s almost
a passive tolerance of them. In this
regard, it was Gemma’s musings on child sexual abuse that really made me
irrationally angry – she talks as if she knows all about it, but then she
doesn’t seem too bothered about it in the next scene, nor does she ever do
anything about it – to be fair, I don’t know what she could do in those cases,
but nevertheless I felt it made her concerns seem ungenuine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite it being 1895, the behaviours and voices
of the heroines are very, very modern. When the girls have ‘radical’ thoughts,
it doesn’t feel very radical at all as they haven’t actually moved very far
from who they already are. As for Gemma, well, her decision at the very end
came as a surprise to me – her thoughts were so varied and unfocused throughout
the series that it was surprising she even had that goal in mind: she never
once mentioned it during the entire series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, despite all my groaning, there’s still a
lot you can enjoy in this series. I don’t doubt that a lot of people would be
attracted to the gothic setting of the series, and there’s an indulgent pillowy
quality you can get lost in – indeed, despite my misgivings I read all three
books pretty quickly. This is the sort of series you let wash over you, without
trying to keep track or think too much about, lest you spot the problems. There
isn’t a lot of plot to be honest – it gets worse in the second and third books,
where there’s more and more telling instead of showing, and the tale expands in
breadth rather than depth. It seemed to unravel as things went on, and became a
bit of a chore to read in the end. Be warned also that the ending isn’t exactly
a happy one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx80Nn5Ie8jR7xgB0Un_XvIk_e337ugZyXbSMObcGP4qJzMUXJS3ccuDIyZ-jHY6VIUreNMzFdY6JMmqvhH7uR822eEYgDZjRsnrX_SdEVRhqKBZOmgs_fS7-eZiZDWDYBiLxJgsL5LjH/s1600/the+sweet+far+thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx80Nn5Ie8jR7xgB0Un_XvIk_e337ugZyXbSMObcGP4qJzMUXJS3ccuDIyZ-jHY6VIUreNMzFdY6JMmqvhH7uR822eEYgDZjRsnrX_SdEVRhqKBZOmgs_fS7-eZiZDWDYBiLxJgsL5LjH/s1600/the+sweet+far+thing.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I did like that the main love interest was
Indian, but I’m in two minds as to whether this series provides a positive
example of non-white characters. There was surprisingly more sensuality than I
would’ve anticipated, particularly given how simple the language is, so I’d
probably say it’s suitable for those aged 13+. I was a little disappointed in
the character development too – some of Gemma and Kartik’s relationship is
retconned in the third book, and I was surprised to hear Felicity, Pippa and
Ann described as Gemma’s “best friends” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rebel
Angels</i> after their uneasy and bullying-tinged interactions in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Great and Terrible Beauty</i>, as well as
the fact that none of them seemed to actually like each other, except for
Felicity and Pippa. I’m not sure what it says about me, or the book, but I
found Felicity and Ann to be a lot more likeable and interesting than our
heroine Gemma.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So in conclusion, I had a number of issues with
this series – namely plot, character development and the handling of themes.
It’s also very faux Victorian, if that’s something that will bother you. What’s
left to recommend it then? Well, there’s an addictive quality in the writing,
and an attractiveness in the mood and setting. There are also moments of great
tenderness and poignancy, though these instances were too few and far in
between. I don’t regret reading this series, but I doubt I’ll read it again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2.5/5</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-16763778123209957162014-09-13T12:41:00.000+10:002014-09-13T12:41:54.388+10:00Book Review: Chalice
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Chalice</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Robin McKinley<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2008<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Young adult, fantasy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mirasol is a beekeeper and the newly appointed Chalice
of the demesne. Inexperienced and untrained, she attempts to perform her duty
while finding her place in the Circle, for as Chalice she holds the most
important office of the twelve members. The story begins with the arrival of the
new Master – a Priest of Fire who is drawn back home only because of the death
of his brother. The demesne is suffering, and Mirasol tries her best to assist
the Master, bind the Circle, and soothe the land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The world that McKinley has created is a strange
but compelling one. The magic and the governing structure of the Circle aren’t
your typical fantasy clichés, and what is revealed of them throughout the book
only leaves you yearning for more. Each tidbit about the world was revealed
naturally and gradually, as morsels to be rolled around the mouth and savoured.
However, this can be frustrating at the same time – you never find out, for
example, what all the members of the Circle do. I’m not really sure how I feel
about this: on the one hand, it’s annoying, but on the other, it’s kind of nice
to be left wanting – the wonder and the mystery is preserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not much happens, I’m afraid. What does happen
happens very slowly, with a lot of ‘action’ taking place in the past and a lot
of passages focusing on the bees and honey that form part of Miraol’s identity.
Mirasol’s relationship with the Master is one of the key parts of the book, but
at the same time, it feels underdeveloped. Strangely, you wonder how that can
be. What they have is gentle, sweet and slow, and you can easily interpret
their relationship as a platonic one. The ending is where everything happens,
and it’s almost too sudden – despite the whole book leading up to it, I felt
that there was not enough build up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While not particularly exciting, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chalice </i>is still a pleasant story, good
for when you want to relax and wallow in something quiet and girlish. It’s the
sort of book I’d classify as a comfort read – fantasy with a domestic feel and
a gentle sort of atmosphere that lulls you. It’s not my favourite Robin
McKinley, but it is very McKinley-esque.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3/5</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-57592799303296930052014-08-19T22:26:00.000+10:002014-08-19T22:26:06.412+10:00Book Review: The Sense of an Ending<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6C31mlFzl-I7ef-dnlxvVKIpymtYYapLPkCgqwwqnesjANaJ1P8bsHpRuLIBMXvkPaYi_UwIjC3C-DevpZv2qwaqnAZCchIlRunWbfgLCncUiJXgDA7hsblhwV3GYN2lgok_aKZE0BJUt/s1600/the+sense+of+an+ending.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6C31mlFzl-I7ef-dnlxvVKIpymtYYapLPkCgqwwqnesjANaJ1P8bsHpRuLIBMXvkPaYi_UwIjC3C-DevpZv2qwaqnAZCchIlRunWbfgLCncUiJXgDA7hsblhwV3GYN2lgok_aKZE0BJUt/s1600/the+sense+of+an+ending.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Sense of an Ending<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Julian Barnes<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Contemporary drama<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Sense of an Ending </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is refreshing and pompous all at once. If you’re the type who
enjoys reading about white upper middle class British boys doing their thang,
then this is the book for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s a short novel, in which a middle-aged Tony
Webster reminisces about his school chums, his first girlfriend, and his life
beyond. The writing is elegant and precise. Through Tony, the author explores
the nature of memory and considers how people live their lives. I felt a
certain tenderness – a sort of raw delicacy – in the way this was done, and I
really enjoyed reading it. There’s something universal about the dilemmas
conveyed, and if you’ve lived an ‘ordinary’ life, it is not difficult to see
yourself in Tony – a man who has merely let his life happen to him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then, the plot. This is one of those rare
books where I would have preferred for there to be less of a plot and more meandering
ruminations on life. The whole ‘mystery’ of Veronica felt to me somewhat soap
opera-esque. While the resolution is ambiguous and points to Tony’s unreliability
(as a narrator and as a rememberer), this whole facet of the book seemed kind
of clumsy when compared to the grace of the rest. But then again, maybe like
Tony, I just don’t get it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perhaps this is why I found it easy to put the
book down and not pick it up again, despite liking it. While some may read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sense of an Ending</i> for the mystery
and its ‘literary’ appeal, I found more reward in the beauty of its language, and
its ability to prompt us to reflect upon ourselves.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">4/5</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-7756612970510883622014-08-03T22:17:00.001+10:002014-08-03T22:17:34.352+10:00Book Review: Empire Falls<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NoG_Nf1a_u3c6peNtSUwDGIHw6NrAr_fyeSZlDS6TXBYj0sTtqQVD4d-kMPQEo3ILxKF77nh3R6PRU6lYbYYc9XHX-PeE2z556556sXmdUI7EcyFofEpaIHMK-zor254BSP94Hfal9tP/s1600/empire+falls+-+richard+russo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NoG_Nf1a_u3c6peNtSUwDGIHw6NrAr_fyeSZlDS6TXBYj0sTtqQVD4d-kMPQEo3ILxKF77nh3R6PRU6lYbYYc9XHX-PeE2z556556sXmdUI7EcyFofEpaIHMK-zor254BSP94Hfal9tP/s1600/empire+falls+-+richard+russo.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Empire Falls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Richard Russo<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2001<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Contemporary drama<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Empire Falls</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> chronicles life in what used to be a thriving industrial
community in Maine, USA. The Whiting family, who were the drivers of Empire
Falls’ economy, have downsized their operations over time, leaving the town in
a state of decay. Even so, Empire Falls’ inhabitants remain hopeful that
someday, a benefactor will come to reinvigorate the empty mills and restore the
town to its former glory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our hero, as it
were, is one Miles Roby; though he was once among the brightest boys in town,
he has somehow ended up flipping burgers at the Empire Grill for the last
twenty odd years. At the start of the book, we discover that his wife has left
him, and relying on a promise, Miles endures his lot with the hope that one
day, the last Mrs Whiting will hand him ownership of the Grill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Empire Falls</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> paints a poignant picture of small-town life. Each character has
their own values, motivations and personalities. Though we may despise some of
them, Russo draws each one with great compassion, and we see them all as human.
It’s remarkable how realistic they all feel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like the town
itself, Empire Falls’ inhabitants seem mired in the past, and in their mindsets
and obligations. Faced with a myriad of characters trapped in their own lives, you
can’t help but reflect upon yours. What are you doing with your life? What do
you want to do? What should you be doing? How can you escape? Should you? There
are no easy answers to these questions, and considering them is both difficult and
soothing at the same time. The very ordinariness of these dilemmas is what
makes the book so relatable and so confronting at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If I have anything
to criticise here, I suppose it’d be the final act. The ‘plot twist’ was not
particularly surprising, and the slow build of tension within Miles, and its
eventual eruption, was almost deliciously satisfying. The sudden ‘event’ and
the subsequent ending both seemed abrupt. I don’t know what I expected, but I
guess I wanted something more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While what I’ve
described – a case study in stagnation, with no obvious solutions – may seem
depressing, what does come through it all is, somehow, a sense of hope. Additionally,
a healthy dose of humour suffuses the book and Russo describes the inhabitants
of the town with a generosity of spirit. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Empire
Falls </i>is an acute study of human nature, written without pretension, in
plain and gentle language. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s Rating</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">4.5/5</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-1561447678564001302014-06-08T00:11:00.000+10:002014-06-08T00:33:23.707+10:00Book Review: The Liveship Traders<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVIiywrzvSaeXTa93BbEbJSIg4cDVVFZS0HiF3-NfEldV1eVFFlk7XQTSyD1svYUpP4lmVCVmQ-X6RFMfvvBIdkQWxGQ5YMdMIia2RcpTRxxTEYDaRM8LflQhDXUfieHfGmBwZXwj_bHF/s1600/ship+of+magic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVIiywrzvSaeXTa93BbEbJSIg4cDVVFZS0HiF3-NfEldV1eVFFlk7XQTSyD1svYUpP4lmVCVmQ-X6RFMfvvBIdkQWxGQ5YMdMIia2RcpTRxxTEYDaRM8LflQhDXUfieHfGmBwZXwj_bHF/s1600/ship+of+magic.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Ship of Magic, The Mad
Ship <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>Ship of Destiny<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Robin Hobb<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1998-2000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Fantasy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Liveship Traders </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is the second trilogy set within the world of Robin Hobb’s ‘Realms
of the Elderlings’, for which there are currently fifteen books. While you
don’t need to know anything about the first trilogy – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Farseer Trilogy </i>(a.k.a. the Assassin books) – in order to
understand this one, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i>
contains major spoilers for its predecessor so you may want to read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Farseer Trilogy </i>first. In fact, if
you’re a fantasy fan and you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">haven’t</i>
read the Assassin books, don’t bother with this review and just go read them
now. The first book is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Assassin’s
Apprentice</i>. Go on. You can thank me later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyway, back to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i>. Though it’s comprised of three books (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ship of Magic</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mad Ship </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ship of
Destiny</i>), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders </i>is
better characterised as one somewhat very large novel. To put it another way,
what you have here are three books, each being some 900 pages long, none of
which work as standalones – so be ye warned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdISxyxSUXskAmwk9SMg1p8kwKvpS1cHzOE6Ec5WqZIIZLOxmADZibs_VqoaOxOK0iFC5w0fFvEMd-rS15zWDTGKGk4tI0DIGlaHgQSUz3s1_wXUOLe-lSpUFLfZx0i59KwzUE8p49OH4A/s1600/the+mad+ship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdISxyxSUXskAmwk9SMg1p8kwKvpS1cHzOE6Ec5WqZIIZLOxmADZibs_VqoaOxOK0iFC5w0fFvEMd-rS15zWDTGKGk4tI0DIGlaHgQSUz3s1_wXUOLe-lSpUFLfZx0i59KwzUE8p49OH4A/s1600/the+mad+ship.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The name of the trilogy essentially describes
its premise. In the Cursed Shores, there is substance known as wizardwood – a
sentient wood that can only be sourced from the Rain Wilds. A ship built from
wizardwood will “quicken” and come to life only after three family members from
successive generations have died upon its deck. At the start of the trilogy,
the liveship Vivacia is about to quicken – an event to set in motion everything
else in the series. The plot is almost impossible to describe without spoilers,
so pro-tip: don’t read the blurbs. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Liveship Traders</i> involves multiple plots and characters and is a slow burn
sort of deal in the bestest sort of way. If you like seafaring adventure
stories, fantasy, and being patient, this is the series for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hobb has built a fully realised fantasy world
both traditional and unique; its features are rich but not obnoxiously so;
everything in the world, from its seal hunters, its religions, its cultures and
its magic, simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">belongs</i>. Hobb
brings a spark to traditional fantasy elements like mythical serpents, to innovations
like wizardwood and even to the small domestic rituals shared between Bingtown
folk and the Rain Wilders. The Rain Wilds in particular inspire a sense of
wonder – something all too often lacking in fantasy fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0q4w_hZ9XZpka_s3e0mDoituxheWfZgFcV_dLE5vmcGdKRAv7o-9N6yocLk240BA-Z1adgm5PevVRMkwQzLXkRg-glAcMnwyGNQeu3qFwBgi-dK1qPhI8PWb8aySC1sjoKSpPFvnc0Ie/s1600/ship+of+destiny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0q4w_hZ9XZpka_s3e0mDoituxheWfZgFcV_dLE5vmcGdKRAv7o-9N6yocLk240BA-Z1adgm5PevVRMkwQzLXkRg-glAcMnwyGNQeu3qFwBgi-dK1qPhI8PWb8aySC1sjoKSpPFvnc0Ie/s1600/ship+of+destiny.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to a multitude of settings, we are witness
to a multitude of points of view. As a sample of this variety, we have Wintrow,
the boy in training to be a priest; Althea, the tomboyish daughter of the
Vestrit family; Kennit, the ambitious pirate; Paragon, the mad ship; Ronica,
the pragmatic Vestrit matriarch; Brashen, the disgraced Bingtown son; and
Malta, the girl you want to smack in the face. Personal, political and
fantastical plot lines are woven together masterfully for all these characters,
and if you ever get weary of one story-line, you know that a fresh point of view
is not far away. Similarly, there is a mixture of light (ooh~ island
exploration~) and dark (sexual violence) material. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i> is one of those rare series where the tone, plot,
setting and characters are balanced, so that you rarely feel overwhelmed or
underwhelmed by any one aspect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My only issue was that the ending seemed way too
unrealistic (and yes, I do realise this is a series about talking ships).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div id="spoiler" style="display: none;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Being a human myself, I found it very hard to believe
the way everyone just capitulated to Tintaglia’s demands – I mean, I understand
why, but these people seemed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">happy</i> to
cause and ensure the eternal subjugation of their entire species forever. I may
be exaggerating a bit, but well, as far as I can tell, this does not seem like
people at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwM9uyHQIW1n8onL_aaSQk2LFIAw8GGatoXXmpoK01KLnTySjJlzke0mX7Y0CPRRJVJzyzoQ6KUA50Is-MwHzbMJpsCWr_kHA5IW9re4bESjlWAKs8FkWWlWJI1PkzK3Hjbz6u0H9CH0c/s1600/KentBrockmanHailAnts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwM9uyHQIW1n8onL_aaSQk2LFIAw8GGatoXXmpoK01KLnTySjJlzke0mX7Y0CPRRJVJzyzoQ6KUA50Is-MwHzbMJpsCWr_kHA5IW9re4bESjlWAKs8FkWWlWJI1PkzK3Hjbz6u0H9CH0c/s1600/KentBrockmanHailAnts.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheQuisling">most people</a> anyway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While this plot-point is a minor proportion of
the story as a whole, it altered my esteem for the entire series – a series
that, up to this point, had been pretty consistently awesome. Otherwise, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i> wrapped up in a
relatively satisfying, albeit open-ended way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display='none'}" style="cursor: pointer;" title="Click to show/hide content" type="a"><b><Spoiler alert, obviously></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While this may be a tired comparison, I’d say
that if you enjoy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i>,
you’d probably like this series too. It’s similar in that it covers a broad
scope of characters, settings and dilemmas and it’s different in that it’s
actually finished. In any case, your priority here should be to read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Farseer
Trilogy</i> – not only will it enhance your reading of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i>, but it’s also excellent. I mean, it’s less
“balanced” than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Liveship Traders</i>,
but if I’m to be completely honest, its wildness is precisely why I like it
better of the two.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">4/5</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-83644234754461690172014-04-22T23:12:00.000+10:002014-04-26T23:02:29.697+10:00Book Review: The Goldfinch<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJgHHayB3RDnJ1X2baRnNUPPkwvpwx3izscmL6U6lAij5gLIYdf5gawICBPgksmz4VnNrOVCL4CYs_UxJz_TgVGpuG1N33D0SQzdK4nzqjLS-mBGhgkoTjZRW5Wu9e_kQ4YYbSGfHyFWg/s1600/the+goldfinch+-+donna+tartt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJgHHayB3RDnJ1X2baRnNUPPkwvpwx3izscmL6U6lAij5gLIYdf5gawICBPgksmz4VnNrOVCL4CYs_UxJz_TgVGpuG1N33D0SQzdK4nzqjLS-mBGhgkoTjZRW5Wu9e_kQ4YYbSGfHyFWg/s1600/the+goldfinch+-+donna+tartt.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Goldfinch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Donna Tartt<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Drama, Crime,
Contemporary fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recently named winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize
for fiction, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Goldfinch </i>tells the
story of Theo Decker, a boy who survives the bombing that takes his mother’s
life. In the chaos that follows, Theo is taken in by a posh New York family
and, well, suffice to say that a painting of a bird is involved, and things
don’t get easier for our teenaged hero. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tartt has a gift for language and detail – based
on her descriptions, I find myself wanting to see New York in real life. From
the very beginning, when Theo and his mother are caught in the rain through to
Theo’s time spent alone in Hobie’s furniture store, you can almost believe
you’re there with Theo himself. Theo’s remembered places and experiences are
both dreamlike and solid at the same time; they feel real even when they’re
unrealistic. Despite its heft, the book is easy to read; there’s a cushiony
feel about the prose that makes it easy to sink in to; it’s almost comforting
in a way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Any yet, there were many times I found it hard
to immerse myself in his story. Why? Multiple reasons, really. Perhaps dumbest
of all is the whole business with the timeline. When is the book set? It’s not
clear. Such a simple matter, and yet so irritating. We start with Theo as a
grown man in Amsterdam before the narrative segues into his childhood. I had
thought that this meant that the Amsterdam stuff was happening present-day-ish,
but then aspects of Theo’s adolescence felt too modern. Instead of
concentrating on Theo’s story, I found myself distracted by thoughts like: So
the accident happened after 9-11? Is the Amsterdam stuff happening in the
future then? When did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unleashed </i>come
out? Isn’t that kind of text-speak outdated? Why is there old digital clock
font in a modern-day text? What? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Similarly, other aspects of the writing threw me
out of the story. Particularly during the accident at the start, I wasn’t
sure if Theo was retelling a story or if we were living it with him in
real-time. This might seem trivial, but it does change how you interpret
events. Another issue I had was with Theo himself. He’s meant to be a teenage
boy, but there’s something about his observations that make him sound like a mature, well-to-do white woman. It’s more than precociousness (and boy is he
precocious); I mean, improbable art history expertise aside, what
thirteen-year-old boy recognises when someone is dressed in Valentino and knows
that the lipgloss stick thingy is a “wand”? It would seem that this book was
written by someone even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more </i>out of
touch with today’s youth than yours truly, and that’s a worrying thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another aspect of Theo that felt unrealistic to
me was his ordeal with drugs. I can’t place my finger on it, but something
about the casual but meticulous way things are described feels very researched
and calculated. It’s as if the author’s trawled Internet forums about substance
abuse and included her findings in the book as something ~edgy. Now, I know
nothing about the author and her history. For all I know, she’s had experience
dealing with substance abuse and knows what she’s on about. As a reader,
however, something about it just did not feel genuine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So too did the parts of the book dealing with
art and art appreciation. The detailed and technical art discussions sounded
like excerpts from someone’s essay rather than actual thoughts or experiences
of actual people. Unfortunately, I got the impression that the author wanted to
show off how cultured she was – which is sad, as I suppose the intent here was
to inspire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other than the style, I also found the plot and
characters a little unsatisfying. I am fine with the whole concept of this
being one of those direction-less, that’s-how-life-is sort of books, but what I
did not expect was for the narrative to jump from setting to setting and genre
to genre. On the one hand this was exciting. You got new characters and drama
and action and humour and a bildungsroman crime caper all in one – the book was
never boring. On the other hand, it was also frustrating. Every time I thought
the author was going to go deeper into a relationship or situation, things moved
sideways instead. As a corollary, many of the characters never rise far above their
stereotypes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve complained a lot, but a lot of this comes
from how good the book is. I was so captivated by Theo’s experience that it
became really noticeable when things felt unnatural and wrong. And here, I
guess, I come to the controversy that is the ending. Feel free to skip this
paragraph now, but I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that there is no
ending. In the last chapter, Theo engages in some navel-gazing that does
nothing to wrap up the plot. To me it felt like a cop out. It’s as if the
author couldn’t or wouldn’t decide how she wanted things to go, so they didn’t
go anywhere at all. Instead, we get a discussion on the book’s ~themes~. The
worst part of this is that Theo’s undergraduate introspective philosomaphising
isn’t even riveting, though I may have been blinded by anger at this point. The
words sound pretty though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Goldfinch </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is a richly detailed account of one troubled boy’s life, tenderly
and lovingly drawn. However, I find it hard to recommend: it annoyed me too
much with its pretentiousness, its implausibility and its failure to provide narrative
closure. In short, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Goldfinch </i>a
good book, but it’s not great, and you can probably find something better. Then
again, what’s my opinion worth? There’s only one Pulitzer winner here and it
sure as hell ain’t me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3/5</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-23493540498090110292014-03-12T22:37:00.002+11:002014-03-12T22:52:25.769+11:00Book Review: Fooled by Randomness<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkDRIio0v083se7fLjIThEKNNjnrxy4zpx1UdQ4ifnx0din53dtcqHD2SLUN8DOJmSXC7G2XAzD5YVlZ4JoS4EALwGA6vycV7y_blMhN3kUi1gCpRaoN8u2JfgU7topzt0CPlYPF9d8EI/s1600/fooled+by+randomness+2nd+ed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkDRIio0v083se7fLjIThEKNNjnrxy4zpx1UdQ4ifnx0din53dtcqHD2SLUN8DOJmSXC7G2XAzD5YVlZ4JoS4EALwGA6vycV7y_blMhN3kUi1gCpRaoN8u2JfgU7topzt0CPlYPF9d8EI/s1600/fooled+by+randomness+2nd+ed.jpeg" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Fooled by
Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (2nd edition, updated)<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Nassim Nicholas Taleb<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2005; first edition
2001<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Non-fiction,
Economics, Philosophy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the two take-home lessons from this book are:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>1. People underestimate the role of chance in their lives; and<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>2. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is smarter than you.<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, there are more nuances involved, but
that’s the general gist of it. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fooled by
Randomness</i> basically tells us about the role of probability in life, how
people perceive this role, and how they are wrong. The author posits that
people tend to see patterns where there are none and attribute to skill what
has happened by luck. The book explores a number of interesting logic concepts,
including that of hindsight bias, survivorship bias and a number of others
whose technical names I don’t know. These ideas are generally associated with
how people construe “success” and are usually explained in the context of
trading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, in matters of probability, finance and
philosophy, I am about as knowledgeable as Jon Snow; I don’t have an interest
and I really only read this book because my brother recommended it. As such, I’m
probably not the target audience here and I can’t (won’t) assess how “sound”
the author’s ideas are, especially when he discusses theories made by people
I’ve never ever heard of, and especially when he doesn’t explain said theories
fully. To give you an indication of my level of knowledge (or ignorance), I had
to look up what “bullish” and “bearish” meant, and was slightly disappointed to
discover that the terms had little to do with animals.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For me personally, the most interesting ideas were
the concept of “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over” – you can’t judge a thing until
it’s done – and how the time frame you take as a reference point alters the
significance of any event. The only explicit bit of “financial” advice I could
spot was in the author’s musings over the “black swan event” – the rare but
disastrous random event – and how he prefers to guard against this while being
accepting of other smaller losses. So if you’re reading this to get rich then,
well, good luck. Anyway, that’s how I interpreted it all, though what would I
know? I mean, what you’re reading now are essentially the thoughts of a
peasant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The writing has a distinct style that reeks of
the author’s personality. You may like it, you may hate it. I was surprised at
how dense the prose was, right from the get-go. The author, who has had a long
career as a trader (I don’t even know what that means), fancies himself an
intellectual who is above those other, lesser, money-grubbing, MBA-holding kind
of traders. He comes across as arrogant, self-indulgent and pretentious, and
adds so many philosophical/classical/historical namedrops and references that
at times I found it impossible to understand what he was on about (but then
again, I am a peasant). Even so, Taleb has a certain charm; he’s interesting
and funny and he writes to the reader as if to a fellow comrade-in-arms – as if
you, like him, are one of the intelligent elite (unless of course, you’re a
journalist, have an MBA and/or are a liberal left-wing “pseudothinker” – then
he despises you). At the same time, you get the feeling that if you ever met
him in real life, he’d probably think you’re an idiot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As mentioned, the author discusses a number of
interesting concepts. However, the problem for this idiot is the way these
concepts are presented and how the style and structure of the book affect them.
Taleb occasionally spells them out, but most of the time they’re couched in
anecdotes and blend into other messages or ideas. It’s a bit like going to a
lecture where the speaker goes off on tangents, but due to the alien nature of
the topic, you’re not really sure when and if he’s getting to some important
point or if he’s just gone rogue. You can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">try</i>
to learn but the guy does not make it easy. Some ideas are very clearly
explained (like the Monte Carlo engine – always wanted to know what that was), yet
at other times, everything gets muddied. The author often sort of mentions
something only to change the topic without having fully explained it. If this
helps at all, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fooled by Randomness </i>is
the sort of book where (a) chapters don’t necessarily delineate topics (for
example, the “it ain’t over” idea is sort of explored in dribs and drabs here
and there); and (b) the author may occasionally veer into rants about a
particular journalist he hates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I can’t shake the idea that this book could have
been much, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">much</i> shorter. The author
makes the same point again and again but in slightly different ways, as if
unable to decide which way he likes best. Unfortunately, this just makes
everything harder to understand. In the end, I was also left with the impression
that nothing had been explored in very much depth, despite the fact I read an
entire book. As interesting as Mr Taleb’s ideas – and personality – are, the end
result is not very accessible to the average idiot reader. To someone with a
background in finance or philosophy though, this book will undoubtedly hold
more value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you’re looking to learn, you’d be better
served reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles on logic and reasoning. If,
however, you’re after an evening of interesting conversation with a clever, bookish,
finance-y guy, then <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fooled by Randomness</i>
is probably just the thing for you.</span> </div>
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<b>Alex’s Rating:</b> <i>3/5</i></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-73194711055379882062014-02-28T23:59:00.002+11:002014-03-01T00:09:47.095+11:00Book Review: The Apprentice Journals<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG2LQN58ELDQ79VC1rGD6fXHTOyP0DASeqPOI082nZjs07bR_v0NPB7Jks84ku55ps2zvAaQRPkRJFSBHZMIJ-wr1eZrpbNUSg4NpOTfY_D4XU9LKdBCus_NWemyNKiKZ3TN22nXFkAbW/s1600/the+apprentice+journals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG2LQN58ELDQ79VC1rGD6fXHTOyP0DASeqPOI082nZjs07bR_v0NPB7Jks84ku55ps2zvAaQRPkRJFSBHZMIJ-wr1eZrpbNUSg4NpOTfY_D4XU9LKdBCus_NWemyNKiKZ3TN22nXFkAbW/s1600/the+apprentice+journals.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Apprentice
Journals <br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> J Michael Shell<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Science fiction,
Fantasy, Romance, Erotica<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the future envisioned by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Apprentice Journals</i>, civilisation as we know it has been
destroyed. Why? Because we humans were so caught up in our dead environments
that we lost touch with the Elementals – spirit-like embodiments of the
classical elements that make up our world. This is turn led to the Elementals
forgetting all about our existence, meaning that when they had their giant,
world-wide, non-human-friendly, natural-disaster-causing orgies, they sort of
decimated mankind. In the new world order that emerges, some humans are born as
Apprentices, people who have the power to communicate with Elementals and manipulate
the elements. Apprentices to what, you ask? Well, the book never tells us.
Those that “finish” their training are just called Finished Apprentices, so I’m
guessing they’re Apprentices to Apprentices? Or Elementals? I don’t know. I
don’t know what’s going on. And that, incidentally, pretty much summarises my
experience of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Apprentice Journals</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That said, my favourite thing about the book was
in fact its magic system. Superhuman powers in science fiction tend to be
mental in nature and a result of some sort of mutation. Here, however, we have
a post-apocalyptic world with elemental environment-based magic. It’s pretty
unique and also intense. From the first page you’re plunged right into it,
which can be intimidating given how technical it gets, but after the initial
weirdness and learning curve you get to appreciate how intricate it is. The
magic stuff plays a major part in the book, so if you hate magic then this is
not the post-apocalyptic book for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the main character is a white dude named
Spaul. He’s an Apprentice journeying north in what remains of the good ol’ US
of A, for no obvious reason, but that’s cool, maybe he’s just like drifting or
whatever. Along the way he meets a girl named Pearl, who’s black, hot and mute.
That’s pretty much it. Well, a lot of things happen, but it’s hard to explain
what the plot is, since all the ‘events’ seem like side quests to the main
plotline of this northward yet directionless journey. A lot of time is spent
travelling between settlements or chilling at the beach, but there are also
occasions where stuff gets really odd – so odd it feels like you’re reading a
different book entirely. There are abrupt forays into what feels like different
genres or different times, and while this didn’t make for a cohesive world or
story, it certainly kept things interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, there are a number of issues I had with
this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let’s start with race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So apparently, even in the post-apocalyptic
world of the future, we have some old world race issues. Two things in
particular almost made me choke when I read them. The first is town of Tara.
Taking us right back to Civil War race relations, the town is essentially a
black slave ranch run by white dudes, the leader of whom has a (hot) black
woman on the side. The second is the portrayal of black people. If the “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">negra</i>” being slaves weren’t enough, you
also have Pearl’s father and the butler guy speaking like blatant stereotypes
(“Hear that you l’il sheet-eater, </span><s><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Mistah Kurtz</span></s><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Missuh ‘Prentice
gonna fix yo’ feets!” p25), though to be fair, the Irish guy is also
stereotyped (“Aye, and yer a fishin’ machine, Spaul! Aye’ve never seen any so
fast as ye!” p 54). I mean, you can also tell that the author has an interest
in language, but what he does with it is not enough. The overall approach lacks
rigour and the quirky bits feel half-baked. This makes the written-in accents –
only present in black people and that one Irish guy – stand out even more, which is especially egregious given this story was published <i>just last year</i>. There is a huge focus on race in this book and it’s a
problem because the topic is handled with very little sensitivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s where I get to the sex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll be honest: from the blurb and the cover,
I’d assumed this would be a young adult novel. How wrong I was! In the very
first chapter, Spaul talks about “loving” some Fierae Elementals. Throughout
the course of the book, he takes part in Elemental orgies, is offered sex/daughters,
causes orgies, and last but not least, has lots and lots of sex with Pearl (or
to be more precise, Pearl’s body – a whole other can of worms I won’t even get
into). Strangely, it’s never super explicit. There are just orgasms: orgasms
everywhere. The entire book was like one big masturbatory fantasy. This wasn’t
exactly what I was looking for, but hey, if you’re after some white dude/black
girl magic sex in natural settings, then take note.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What makes this situation worse is the fact that
Pearl is so objectified – she’s the kind of character whom everyone thinks is
gorgeous and whose items of clothing are meticulously described. I may be
totally off base here, but my overall impression, from the sex, the idolisation
of Pearl and the handling of race issues, was that the guy has a fetish. The
Spaul character brings to mind those (white) guys who think they’re progressive
for being able to appreciate the ‘exotic’ beauty of </span>‘<span style="color: black;">foreign</span>’ (non-white) women. I
don’t know if I’m just being crazy here and reading too much into things, but that
was my honest impression. I often felt uncomfortable reading the book and not in a good way.</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To sum, reading this novel is like stumbling
upon the weird part of the Internet: it’s unlike anything else you’ve seen
before, it deals with something weirdly specific (and somehow sex-related), and
it’s somewhat but definitely frightening for reasons you can’t quite explain. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Apprentice Journals </i>is undoubtedly unique.
While I really liked the “atmosphere” and magic system, the (human) world-building
felt lacking and I’m not sure what to make of the strange “plot”, which, by the
way, ends with sequel bait. I’m also massively leery of how the author handles
race issues: it’s suspect at best and racist at worst. That said, this book is
certainly an interesting read if only for its strangeness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2/5</i></span><br />(Disclaimer: I received this book for free
through Goodreads’ First Reads.)</div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-29411882548588764772014-02-11T19:40:00.000+11:002014-02-15T21:28:57.485+11:00Book Review: Love in the Time of Cholera<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGKWf6ql2xqiQkez-b_UCVOLLLEEM0oZnELzwkcwzmXUP3EJ1dTns6DoeL2fI3zgKPhTj3OldeKjuqc_69jaqAxzDmxOkVFxEGg1rjl05dc1h-92NHBds6hkGVWRLJknZxsEPy-hsFygS/s1600/love+in+the+time+of+cholera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGKWf6ql2xqiQkez-b_UCVOLLLEEM0oZnELzwkcwzmXUP3EJ1dTns6DoeL2fI3zgKPhTj3OldeKjuqc_69jaqAxzDmxOkVFxEGg1rjl05dc1h-92NHBds6hkGVWRLJknZxsEPy-hsFygS/s1600/love+in+the+time+of+cholera.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Love in the Time of
Cholera <br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Gabriel García Márquez;
English translation by Edith Grossman<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1985, translation
1988<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Romance, General and literary
fiction, Erotica, Drama, Historical fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Florentino Ariza falls in love with the
beautiful Fermina Daza, but just as the two are about to marry, Fermina breaks
it off. Worse, she marries the prestigious Doctor Juvenal Urbino instead. Florentino
lives a dissolute lifestyle as he pines for his true love, while the seemingly
perfect Urbinos struggle with their marriage. Some fifty years later, the old paramours
reunite, giving Florentino a second chance to declare his feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Put this way, the plot sounds very
straightforward, and I suppose it is. And yet, the book is absolutely captivating.
Márquez brings his characters to life in a way that is simply masterful. The
protagonists are only ever almost likeable (for me, at least), but there is no
doubting that they are human in all their flaws and virtues. As you read their
stories, you become intimately acquainted with who they are, how they feel and
how they think, though at the same time, there is something about each person
that is left a mystery. An exquisite depth and breadth of human experience is captured
within these pages, from the mundane to the alarming. The book covers events as
varied as Fermina’s and Urbino’s greatest argument (there was soap!) to
Florentino’s defecation in a carriage and the brutal murder of a woman
following infidelity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cholera</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is set in an
unnamed city, presumably in Colombia, during the turn of the 20th century. It’s a context with various social, political and yes, medical
concerns which all go to shaping the identity of the characters. Though the
flavour of the setting suffuses the entire book, it never overwhelms; rather,
it forms a natural part of the story, the characters and the writing. On that
note, there is something sensual, visceral and almost <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sweaty</i> about the way this book is written. I admire the English
translator for having achieved (or preserved) this atmosphere, but at the same
time, I can only at speculate as to how much has been lost in translation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I will mention now that while romantic love is
the focus of the book, sex and sex-related topics feature prominently. It is at
this point that I turn to our hero Florentino Ariza. While some may see him as
the ultimate romantic, to me, he is, more than anything, one seriously creepy
dude. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s the most polarising
character of the book. <o:p></o:p></span>Be ye warned for the spoilery discussion below (though
you might want to know about these things if you intend to read the book as a
romance) – highlight to read.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><major spoilers></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: white;">So, how is Florentino creepy? Well, he “falls in
love” with the thirteen year old Fermina at the moment he first he lays eyes on
her, transforming into what we nowadays would call a stalker. While we get a
great sense of his passion and obsession, there is no real sense of <i>why </i>he “loves” her so fiercely; he just
does, or thinks he does. When he is rejected, he swears to stay faithful to
her: after all, her husband has to die at some point. Later, after Florentino is
sort of raped on a boat, he becomes a sex maniac. He dedicates himself to
seeking out women who’ll have sex with him and he documents his encounters in
writing. His various affairs (622 apparently) comprise a large portion of his
life and of the book. But of course, our hero must stay true to his One True
Love, meaning he basically treats these women as (thankfully consensual) sex
objects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: white;">As overblown and ridiculous as Florentino’s
feelings might seem at times, it’s easy to believe that he believes them.
Despite his shifty behaviour, it’s also possible to root for him and wish for
his happiness… for most of the book. For this reader, our hero crosses the moral event horizon
when he goes all Humbert Humbert on us near the end, which, as a friend deftly
put it, is “totally not cool”. At this point, I found him so morally repugnant
that I was all the more amazed at my ability to still kind of sympathise for
him. It’s a testament to the author’s skill that he can write a character so
vile and so human, whose actions can be seen as both romantic and sociopathic
at the same time. I found the ending, with all its romantic airs, to be highly
unsettling. The book’s brilliant like that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b></spoilers></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Love
in the Time of Cholera </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is an exploration of love and lust; it demands its reader to think
about love and what it is. You may conclude that this is a story of the deepest
love, or alternatively, that none of the characters know love at all. It makes
you wonder what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> know of love.
Additionally, the book touches on themes of time and mortality. The foibles of
the human body and the vicissitudes of aging are thrown into the limelight, adding
another dimension to our thoughts on love – how it lasts and how it changes.
There are no easy answers. These notions are integrated organically within the
story, and to read and think about them is thus never a chore (…and that is all
I will say about the book’s ~themes, for I am neither doing homework nor writing
a set of CliffsNotes).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beautifully written and startlingly human, I
highly recommend<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Love in the Time of
Cholera</i>. While it’s an immersive read, you should know that it’s not a
necessarily a comfortable one. It’s primarily a meditation on love, but it also
deals with sex, perversion and degenerating bodies, which might not be what
everyone is after. For what it’s worth, I personally found it tender, sad and
disturbing – and much too ominous to be romantic (seriously, look at
Florentino, man). It’s not so much a love story as a story about love. The book
can be wonderfully romantic, frighteningly sinister, or something else
entirely, depending on your interpretation, and that’s what makes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love in the Time of Cholera</i> such a
masterpiece.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i>4.</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">5/5</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-37576838948807189452014-01-02T15:45:00.000+11:002014-01-02T16:07:44.752+11:00Book Review: The Book Thief<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg_mGhLBn705PwWWt_WLHwkcNhCV3IVJGvl7PpR2PZB4ScDAQbVMOPnd-n9qYk3l13T51aGBwKyFUpQ_AYiUs2BmmIz9frcf_2jgDikLaXujSJM00gJuBr-i-wgEC0vdypV6priEu0TYk/s1600/the+book+thief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg_mGhLBn705PwWWt_WLHwkcNhCV3IVJGvl7PpR2PZB4ScDAQbVMOPnd-n9qYk3l13T51aGBwKyFUpQ_AYiUs2BmmIz9frcf_2jgDikLaXujSJM00gJuBr-i-wgEC0vdypV6priEu0TYk/s320/the+book+thief.jpg" width="203" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The Book Thief <br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Markus Zusak<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2005<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Historical fiction, Young
adult<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Set in Nazi Germany, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book Thief </i>tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a German girl
who goes to live in the fictional town of Molching after being fostered to new
parents. It’s a Holocaust bildungsroman that’s proven massively popular, so
much so that it’s now also a movie, coming soon to a cinema near you. <br />
<br />
The first thing you notice about the book is the writing style. Death serves as
the narrator, and in addition to the story proper, we occasionally get Death’s
commentary, which comes in the form of asides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">An
Illustration of what I mean</span> *~<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is what Death’s commentary looks like in the book.<br />
Passages like this interrupt everything and they’re everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just everywhere.<br />
Is ‘commentary’ even the right word?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Extensive use of imagery pervades the novel and the prose itself can be rather
stylised. For the most part, it’s very readable, but now and then you get the
feeling that words and phrases were carefully chosen and polished for maximum
poetic effect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">A
Sample of Mr Zusak’s Writing, taken from Page Fourteen</span> *~<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“For hours, the sky remained a devastating, home-cooked red. The
small German town had been flung apart one more time. Snowflakes of ash fell so
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lovelily </i>you were tempted to stretch
out your tongue to catch them, taste them. Only, they would have scorched your
lips. They would have cooked your mouth.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s a very quirky style and it demands to be
noticed. Its popularity with readers is understandable: it’s unique, it’s
lyrical and it has that lush quality about it. However, I personally was put
off by the self-consciousness of it all; it just wasn’t to my taste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Heck, here’s another,
this time from Page Three Hundred and Eighty-two </span>*~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“At times, in the basement, she woke up tasting the sound of the
accordion in her ears.”<br />
There are more like this, but I can’t be bothered finding them. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You get the gist.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most of the time, the style is relatively simple
and neutral, but every so often some particularly ~poetic phrase comes along
and takes you out of the story and into the mechanics of the writing. In these
cases, the language and format feel particularly clumsy and childish, kind of
like something a teenager would write (no offence to the Rimbauds out there).
For these reasons, I also wasn’t entirely convinced by Zusak’s portrayal of
Death as an entity. Having Death narrate your story is a brave choice, but I’m
not sure it’s one the author pulled off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Oh, and the German </span>*~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another minor problem I had was with the use of German words. They
were sometimes translated into English and sometimes not. This just left me
confused as to whether I was supposed to know the meanings of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> the German words to properly read
this book.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
For a novel entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book Thief</i>,
I expected more books and more thievery than what there actually is. Instead, the
main concern of the book is Liesel’s day-to-day life, full of childhood
adventure, schoolyard fights and nostalgia. We have the kind father, the shouty
but loving mother, the boy who loves you and the enemy neighbour. They’re the
ingredients for a slice-of-life sort of tale, and while there is nothing wrong
with this – indeed, I liked it <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– I
believe that the title and blurb of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Book Thief </i>give the impression that the story is a lot more epic than it actually
is. So if you’re after an ‘exciting’ Holocaust novel, this probably isn’t the
book for you.<br />
<br />
On that note, one thing that irked me was the somewhat facile treatment of the
historical context. Now, perhaps it’s because the first pieces of Holocaust
fiction I read were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Reader </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maus</i>, but I found this book to be almost
insultingly simple. While this may all be very well for a middle grade or (young) young adult reader (a story where Germans are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i> guys? woah!), I would have liked more complexity all around. The
characters are all pretty much either good or evil and what little exploration
of moral issues there is seems rather shallow. For example, consider ‘The World
Shaker’ (which, bizarrely, is printed in tiny, hard-to-read font), a book that
features within <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book Thief</i>.
Written and illustrated by the persecuted Max, it includes an illustration of a
man in The Führer Shop (page 475) selling containers of “FEAR”, “HATRED” and
“small moustaches ½ price”. Now, if this isn’t the stuff of Year 8 Art projects,
then I don’t know what is. I know this is classed as a young adult novel, and
perhaps I’m being unfair, but I expected, well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>. Like an emo teen’s poetry on the livejournal of yore, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book Thief</i> isn’t nearly as deep as
it wants to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">The Reader and Maus </span>*~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">are both excellent books, by the way <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(or at least, they were when I read them some ten years ago, wow,
crap I’m old. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They’re by Bernhard Schlink and Art Spiegelman respectively. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’d recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Reader </i>if
you want a bit more of an exploration into the ‘German side’ of things and I’d
recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maus </i>(which is a comic)
generally, but also as an introduction for those just starting to learn about
the Holocaust).<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
In addition to the pretentious style and the simplification of the context,
another thing that irritated me was the ending. Now, we all know that this tale
won’t end with flowers and sunshine, but still, it was so sudden and abrupt to
the point where it felt almost like laziness. It’s as if the author thought,
hmm, crap, how do I end this? Oh, I know! And yet I found myself getting teary-eyed
even in my annoyance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know this review reads like a litany of
complaints, but I did enjoy this novel overall. It’s hard not to feel for – or
at least like – Liesel and her family and the other ‘good’ characters. Her
coming-of-age in a small town was, as odd as it sounds, a pleasure to read.
It’s warm and bittersweet, with a healthy dose of charm. Her relationships, and
especially that with her father, shine with a real humanity and sense of love.
All in all, there’s such a bright-eyed earnestness about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Book Thief</i> that I couldn’t help but be moved despite all my
problems with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">~* <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">One Last Thing </span>*~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Happy New Year!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3/5<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-11677936753285453412013-12-11T09:58:00.000+11:002013-12-11T09:58:33.878+11:00Book Review: The Lions of Al-Rassan<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2oRFKmX5x0e1uhotEznkNVg5pWhHGTpyuqZdFVIyyA52o3JoAbuNlmS-U7pVMi1Hz45evlGfUCslqXGcUmNNmEtK20gcKVuhyphenhyphenCx-LXBgkR2rcbuPUMrUM6_upu6g6z6HsYB34RReK9O9/s1600/the+lions+of+al-rassan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2oRFKmX5x0e1uhotEznkNVg5pWhHGTpyuqZdFVIyyA52o3JoAbuNlmS-U7pVMi1Hz45evlGfUCslqXGcUmNNmEtK20gcKVuhyphenhyphenCx-LXBgkR2rcbuPUMrUM6_upu6g6z6HsYB34RReK9O9/s320/the+lions+of+al-rassan.jpg" width="212" /></a><b>Title:</b> The Lions of
Al-Rassan </div>
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<b>Author:</b> Guy Gavriel Kay<br />
<b>Year Published:</b> 1995<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Historical fantasy<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was desperate for a standalone historical
fantasy set somewhere other than in ye olde generic medieval European village,
and I picked this one up on the basis it was set in an analogue of Islamic
Iberia. Knowing nothing about the author, I could only hope that the book did
its setting justice. Not one chapter in, I knew I’d made the right choice when
I stumbled upon the words “urine flask”.<br />
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Full of rich and evocative detail, <i>The Lions of Al-Rassan </i>is a sweeping
epic about the lands of Al-Rassan and (former) Esperaña. The Asharites, who
conquered the peninsula in years past, have splintered after the fall of the
khalifate, and the once united Al-Rassan is now a collection of warring
city-states. In the north, three Jaddite kingdoms have emerged after
Al-Rassan’s decline. Of Al-Rassan’s petty kings, King Almalik of Cartada is on
the rise, and this stirs tensions throughout the entire region. It is in this
volatile environment that our story begins.<br />
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To describe the plot would be to spoil the novel
– even the events of the blurb don’t happen until a good way into the book – so
I will only say that it involves political manoeuvrings both at court and on
the battlefield. Kay moves masterfully between matters of state and matters of
the heart, allowing you to follow the broader history of Al-Rassan as well as
the personal journey of its protagonists. There are battles, quiet family
moments, verbal smack-downs and daring escapes. The balance between all these
different elements is done so well, the transitions so natural, that it’s all a
joy to read. Overlaying all of this is an almost painful sense of poignancy.
The transience of power and greatness is a recurring theme. The fall of an
empire is mourned even as it is celebrated and wars are inescapable even before
they begin. In my opinion, this exploration of war, politics and human nature
is really what sets <i>The Lions of
Al-Rassan</i> apart from your typical fantasy novel. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The book features a large cast of colourful
characters, though the story largely revolves around three. The first is Jehane
bet Ishak, a Kindath physician and owner of the aforementioned urine flask. As
a “neutral” and relatively apolitical figure, we are introduced to the Asharite/Jaddite
conflict through her eyes. The others are the legendary assassin/poet/diplomat Ammar
ibn Khairan of Cartada and renowned military leader Rodrigo Belmonte of Jaddite
Valledo. Our trio develop deep friendships in a time of unrest, and one of the
most interesting aspects of the book was how their personal, religious and
political affiliations influenced their relationships and vice versa. As I
feared, however, a dreaded love triangle did emerge – though thankfully not as
the focus of the novel.<br />
<br />
All three are improbably super special awesome and yet, shockingly, remain
likeable. In fact, so many people in this book are so super special awesome
that it beggars belief. Despite this, I found it hard to dislike most of the
characters in the book. Kay allows you to relate to those on different sides of
the conflict and I believe that this help balances out the Sue-ness to some
degree.<br />
<br />
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I’d recommend <i>The Lions of Al-Rassan</i> to you with reservations. There are barely
any fantasy elements in this story, with the closest thing to “magic” being a
boy’s (rarely used) psychic abilities. The focus, rather, is on politics and
people and a world that is ours but not. Kay draws heavily from Spanish history
but refuses to be bound by things mundane as ‘facts’. It’s fantasy after all,
and Kay has been able to pick and choose all his favourite bits and shape them
into whatever story he wants. However, being so close to history, Kay’s Al-Rassan
may seem overly simplistic. For example, the Asharites, Jaddites and Kindath
are quite overtly analogues of Muslims, Christians and Jews. The relationship
between these three groups is surprisingly complex and layered – when compared
to other fantasy worlds – yet as soon as we compare these dynamics to real life
it feels like history-lite. Adding to this historically superficial feeling is
the sizeable number of tropes and clichés (action girls, a masked carnival,
prostitutes with hearts of gold) as well as the improbably advanced state of
medical knowledge evinced throughout. Similarly, some of the characters –
particularly the women – and their interactions and values feel very, very
modern. Again, this is fine if you read the book as a<span style="font-family: inherit;"> fantasy, but it sort of
falls apart if you’re trying to picture an historically sound 11th century Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The writing itself is very descriptive, drawing a
rich picture of Al-Rassan’s sumptuous palaces, lively cities and crowded
markets – which, funnily enough, are a refreshing change from ye olde forests
and castle towns. At the very beginning, all the various terms, characters and
historical references might feel overwhelming, but it gets a lot easier once you
become familiar Kay’s world. The writing style is a little on the dense side,
and the author seems to like telling us about some event upfront, then going
back and describing how things got to be there. For this reason, I found it
easy to put down the book at times – I enjoyed the read, but didn’t always feel
compelled to read on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<i>The Lions of Al-Rassan</i><span style="font-size: small;"> wormed its way
into my affections very quickly. I really loved reading about an Islamic-influenced
world and I was also glad at how richly that world was developed. Further, the
story and its characters are vibrant, and this, in addition to all your
favourite tropes, lends some fun to what otherwise could have been a dry and serious
piece of historical fiction. Granted, the cheesy bits made me roll my eyes at
times, but being in the perfect mood for this, I found myself charmed overall.
There is a lovely, bittersweet mood that suffuses the book. Despite seemingly
endless warfare, Kay paints a vision where the common bond of humanity offers
hope for the future. If you’re after something different from the usual fantasy
fare, definitely give this one a try.</span><br />
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<b>Alex’s Rating:</b> <i>4.5/5</i></span><!--EndFragment-->
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-28195082586927559052013-11-22T10:53:00.003+11:002013-11-22T22:33:59.708+11:00Book Review: Fragile Things<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGzx_gKPIsOp7x4ywTllwU7ON5ZgyoAx8MOTxf096wX2i1lR8u-Yqov0uFtmoMY2MfOYQffj-xDUOBFpw1i510C5-unadXoqHXSp0dU21yt-6DaS3eh4VXOdqkF7hxAqp_IJo8J2Wzna6/s1600/fragile+things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGzx_gKPIsOp7x4ywTllwU7ON5ZgyoAx8MOTxf096wX2i1lR8u-Yqov0uFtmoMY2MfOYQffj-xDUOBFpw1i510C5-unadXoqHXSp0dU21yt-6DaS3eh4VXOdqkF7hxAqp_IJo8J2Wzna6/s320/fragile+things.jpg" width="208" zsa="true" /></a></div>
<b>Book Review:</b> Fragile Things</div>
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<b>Author:</b> Neil Gaiman<br />
<b>Year Published:</b> 2006</div>
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<b>Genre:</b> Science fiction, Fantasy, Short stories, Poetry</div>
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I have praised Neil Gaiman for his creativity (<i><a href="http://terrificgalexy.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/movie-review-mirrormask.html">MirrorMask</a></i>) before and I have no doubt his imagination contains so much more. <i>Fragile Things</i> is the perfect example of how grand and endless his imagination is. Comprising of short stories and poems, this book will make you decipher the stories yourself and test your own imagination.</div>
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Confession: I don’t like Neil Gaiman’s full length novels. </div>
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I have tried dipping into <i>American Gods</i> and <i>The Graveyard Book</i>, I love the concept but hate the added little mundane works between the storyline. I’m a straight to the point and move along kind of reader. But give me his short stories (<i>Fragile Things</i>), TV episodes (<i>Doctor Who</i>), graphic novels (<i>Sandman</i>) and movie adoptions of his novels (<i>Stardust</i>) any day and I can guarantee you I will love them…. well none have failed me yet. Except <i>Coraline</i> the movie, I don’t like stop-motion.<br />
Yes, I’m annoyingly picky like that.</div>
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<i>Fragile Things</i> bring snippets of mysterious and brilliant, short stories into reality. There is no beginning and there is no end. </div>
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Imagine waiting for a friend on a street corner, minding your own business. You notice a man across the street leaving a book on a chair then walking away. You wonder why he left the book. Did he do it on purpose? Who is he? Then your thoughts trail to, what is in that book? Is it important? Was it left for someone else? How long will it take for someone to notice the book lying there? From there it leads to, who will pick it up? Would someone randomly take it? Will it be thrown away like trash?<br />
You are even tempted to walk across the street to look at the book yourself in hope maybe it was left for you but you think better of it and decide not to. This insignificant event will be forgotten. But what if it was significant, maybe not to you, but to someone or something else? </div>
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These are the questions that Neil Gaiman leaves you with at the end of every short story. Under the book <i>Fragile Things</i>, our world is bigger, more dangerous and much more mysterious. </div>
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Personal favorite is ‘<b>Other People</b>’. Not wanting to ruin the story, it involves the afterlife of someone who has lived an ‘evil’ life. Evil can be found in any type of person and punishment may not be as simple as physical pain. Gaiman does a fantastic representation of what goes around comes around… in a more literal sense. How he gets these ideas in his head, we may never know.</div>
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There is also a sequel to <i>American Gods</i> following Shadow to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1:place>, poems and a Sherlock Holmes story involving alien invasions.<br />
<br />
<i>Fragile Things'</i> many story lines are short and unfinished
allowing the mind to run wild. The writing is simple and unspecific to a
point. Naturally, I loved<i> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">it. </span></div>
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There is something for everyone in <i>Fragile Things</i>. For the readers who prefer a tale with a beginning and an end, I will not recommend this book. For the over imaginative readers out there, this book will set your mind off in all directions. </div>
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The next time you see that man, there’s definitely a lot more too it than accidentally leaving a book.</div>
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<b>Terri's Rating:</b> <i>4/5</i></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-4481056192175241492013-11-16T13:12:00.000+11:002013-11-16T13:12:55.652+11:00Book Review: Switch Bitch<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJU7L-wFzqfW84MQx0E89-juo3WkfId21yHqRTRPrm4jOdkNxUAZfth6rRMp_B8VjZ5BvXQ8xPxV7fk8zSf4dYS9JzA8_x9SVI2DF5hV8DeNfQh7xsFj2FInx7I6gDUTZvHddByt1Esqz/s1600/switch+bitch+-+roald+dahl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJU7L-wFzqfW84MQx0E89-juo3WkfId21yHqRTRPrm4jOdkNxUAZfth6rRMp_B8VjZ5BvXQ8xPxV7fk8zSf4dYS9JzA8_x9SVI2DF5hV8DeNfQh7xsFj2FInx7I6gDUTZvHddByt1Esqz/s320/switch+bitch+-+roald+dahl.jpg" width="208" /></a><b>Title:</b> Switch Bitch</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Roald Dahl<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1974<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Short stories, Erotic humour <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
Dark, funny and always bizarre, Roald Dahl’s short stories usually climax in
some sort of terrifying, karmic twist. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Switch
Bitch </i>is a collection for four such tales, where sex is the word of the day
and the word of the day is sex.<br />
<br />
In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘The Visitor’</b>, we are introduced
to Uncle Oswald, a pompous, hedonistic womanizer who finds himself stranded in
the Sinai Desert. He is rescued by the wealthy Mr Aziz, who takes Oswald to his
desert palace where temptation awaits in the form of Aziz’s wife and daughter.
The story begins a little slowly, but the atmosphere – the sense of entrapment –
and Oswald’s morally dubious character are built to wonderful effect. By the
end of it all you’re not sure whether to feel bad for the poor bastard, though
you’ll definitely be amused at his expense.<br />
<br />
Next comes <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘The Great Switcheroo’</b>,
wherein our narrator fancies sleeping with his neighbour’s wife. A plot is
hatched: each man learns the other’s “routines” so that they can impersonate one
another and swap wives for a night. The ins and outs of this horrible plan are
carefully detailed and the tension is built up masterfully. Mr Horrible Husband’s
comeuppance proves to be very satisfying. Serves him right.<br />
<br />
The third tale, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘The Last Act’</b>, was
my least favourite. It tells the story of Anna as she deals with the loss of
her beloved husband. Unlike the protagonists of the other tales, Anna seems
like a genuinely sweet person – or at least someone who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">isn’t </i>an intentional asshole – and her fate just feels depressing.
Without the bite of ‘justice’, this story comes across as more dark than darkly
funny. Further, it lacks the hook of a high-concept premise and is considerably
less exciting, with the story feeling directionless for the most part. For these reasons, ‘The Last Act’ doesn’t quite fit with the
rest of the collection and creates a bit of mood whiplash.<br />
<br />
In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘Bitch’</b>, we have another of Uncle
Oswald’s adventures. This was perhaps my favourite story. The premise is certainly
novel: a scientist invents a perfume that fills men with uncontrollable lust.
The development, testing and eventual ‘use’ of this dangerous substance are
detailed meticulously, with the scientific jargon adding to the realism and
hence the suspense. It’s (relatively) fast-paced, action-filled and light-hearted
compared to the other stories. To me, it was also the funniest of the lot. <br />
<br />
If you only know Dahl as a children’s author (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Matilda</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantastic Mr Fox </i>and
so on), a collection like this might take some adjusting to. If you’re worried
about ruining your childhood, know at least that the sex scenes aren’t explicit.
The raunchiest of them happens in ‘Bitch’ and that one is full of hyperbole;
generally, the sex scenes serve to humour rather than titillate. Know also that
sex isn’t exactly the key feature of all these stories, but rather, more of an
excuse of a theme to justify bringing these stories together. Both surprisingly
and unsurprisingly, these stories were first published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playboy</i>. So there you go.<br />
<br />
Dahl’s trademark wicked, twisted humour are present in all four tales, which
are also fun to read for the puzzle-solving aspect of their characters’
conundrums. Tense and tightly plotted, each story is easily read in one
sitting. There’s a somewhat ponderous yet comfortable feel to the writing style
here – necessarily different from Dahl’s children’s books – which may factor into your enjoyment of these stories. It took me a while to get into
‘The Visitor’, for example, since it started off so slowly.<br />
<br />
A further warning: these stories were written in the 60s, and they do feel a
little dated (wives are synonymous with housewives, for example). That said, I
still found them incredibly readable. Recommended for someone appreciative of
dirty jokes and after a quick, clever, twisty read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alex’s
Rating:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">4/5</i></span> </div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-54861418872107391952013-09-24T18:24:00.000+10:002013-09-24T18:24:34.699+10:00Movie Review: Tired of Kissing Frogs (Cansada de Besar Sapos)
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsboYYelo6ur27awsHad0WgrxdDFXW4XYAt8OuK2JuUgjeFvOG1lxxGBV1-G2L3f-m_xqVjsBiyp7s9Phzo00jUpFTvZOwAOhuYl4zm4b697W_jxO-aBSVB43mc7i9tRR7VrPzw0wmoLph/s1600/cansada+de+besar+sapos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsboYYelo6ur27awsHad0WgrxdDFXW4XYAt8OuK2JuUgjeFvOG1lxxGBV1-G2L3f-m_xqVjsBiyp7s9Phzo00jUpFTvZOwAOhuYl4zm4b697W_jxO-aBSVB43mc7i9tRR7VrPzw0wmoLph/s320/cansada+de+besar+sapos.jpg" width="224" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Tired of Kissing Frogs (Cansada
de Besar Sapos)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Director:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Jorge Colón<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Year Released:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 2006<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Running Time:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 100 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Classification:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> R<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Romantic comedy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Generally speaking, you
don’t watch romantic comedies for their ability to broaden your worldview. What
you want is a fun and wish-fulfilling love story that can make you happy (until
you go home alone and realise that you have absolutely no one – no one at all –
and that you are so, so lonely and the only thing that can numb your pain for
now is a tub of ice-cream, eaten in front of the TV, cat optional). With this in
mind, I sat down to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tired of Kissing
Frogs </i>with low expectations, curious as to how a Mexican romcom would
differ from the usual (English-language) ones. To my surprise, the film 1) adhered
to the typical (Western) romcom tropes – including the stupid ones – and 2) was
shockingly, painfully dull.<br />
<br />
The premise of the movie is your typical silly romcom premise: our heroine
Martha (Ana Serradilla or Mexican Natalie Portman) catches her boyfriend cheating
on her and dumps his ass. Having been thusly burned, she joins an online dating
service called “Cansada de besar sapos” and decides to “act like a man” – that
is, become a ~playa. Of course, Martha goes on dates but doesn’t actually sleep
around – we can’t have a slut as a heroine after all – and on the side she strikes
up a friendship with cute waiter/aspiring actor Xavier (José María de Tavira).
And, well, guess what happens. Go on, guess.<br />
<br />
In addition to this set-up there are the usual romcom staples: Andi (Ana
Leyevska) is Martha’s sassy best friend and colleagues Joaquin (gay and wry)
and Daniela (kinky and ditzy) serve as comic relief. Add in a “crazy” scene
where Martha and Andi have to dress up as strippers and you have all the
ingredients for a romcom. Yet somehow, the recipe doesn’t quite work. <br />
<br />
Mainly, I think it’s the pacing and the script and the entire logic of it all. Things
happen so slowly that you can see all the events – the breakup, the dating
montages, the misunderstanding – lined up before you long before they come to
pass. It’s no fun when you get to the scenes either; they’re already tired by
the time they arrive, having come at you with the speed and subtlety of an
approaching street cleaner. Another consequence of this is that you find it
really easy to spot all the irrational, nonsensical situations in the story (such
as the whole playa thing) without losing track of or being distracted by what’s
going on on screen. <br />
<br /><a href="http://terrificgalexy.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/movie-review-holiday-in-handcuffs.html"> I’m pretty tolerant of dumb premises</a>, but in this case, everything is so workman-like
and clichéd that it all comes across as bland bland bland. The story and the
dialogue are so stock standard that it feels like a checklist for a romcom
rather than a romcom itself. During the parts where they needed character or
relationship development or whatever, there’d often be some sort of montage
with a song. You get the feeling that the writers put in a montage and a song whenever
they didn’t know what to write. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of montages
and a lot of songs.<br />
<br />
Worse, quite a bit of it is poorly edited. I normally don’t notice these sorts
of things but by golly I noticed it here. Not only are the montages poorly put
together (the music changes can be abrupt) but you also become actively
conscious of the different cuts. It’s clumsily done and there are times you
notice things like the colours or lighting or “look” being different between
shots. The bright side of this I guess is that I have a newfound appreciation
the work done by editors and continuity checkers.<br />
<br />
Not even the novelty (to me) of its Mexican origins helped alleviate the
dullness. Like the cast, the city setting is stylish, pretty and strangely vanilla,
with nary a cultural quirk to be found. Had the dialogue been in English I
could have easily believed that we were somewhere in the US or Britain.<br />
<br />
I mean, I guess they tried. The performances aren’t bad and the actors do what
they can with what they’re given. Ana Serradilla brings a liveliness and
likeability to Martha and there are some genuinely funny moments throughout. There’s
also a realism to the story and romance, particularly towards the end, and this
lends a sense of freshness to the movie. As a result, the relationships seem
real and relatable. <br />
<br />
The flip side of this of course, is that realism is boring. If I wanted to know
what ~real life~ is like, I’d just go outside. Sometimes, I wondered if it was
the realism that made the movie feel way longer than it was, but then I’d
remember the “crazy” shenanigans near the beginning and remember that that was
boring too. Just because the characters are doing wild things doesn’t mean the
movie itself is wild. The most intriguing thing I found about this film was its
lesson in how much technology had changed between 2006 and today. Needless to
say, that’s not a good sign.</div>
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<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1.5/5</i> </div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-50756675155626167352013-08-29T10:57:00.000+10:002013-08-29T10:57:24.874+10:00Book Review: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ql0PoB2MLW1ZhW_BBwULcTxn3FZ9myWDPmNjQfahmTTcCUEOwvtYm4NqSMxtaDTFgRMwNHVyHbgJE1tRxG3ZmPpaRA6vTGyqxmMIp179XnnTXuotop2mcOnIuewTwxseWjM9KWZQpAol/s1600/oranges+are+not+the+only+fruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ql0PoB2MLW1ZhW_BBwULcTxn3FZ9myWDPmNjQfahmTTcCUEOwvtYm4NqSMxtaDTFgRMwNHVyHbgJE1tRxG3ZmPpaRA6vTGyqxmMIp179XnnTXuotop2mcOnIuewTwxseWjM9KWZQpAol/s320/oranges+are+not+the+only+fruit.jpg" width="208" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Title:</b> Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Jeanette Winterson</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1985</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Contemporary fiction, Lesbian fiction, Bildungsroman</div>
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The 1991 Introduction to
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit</i>
describes the novel as experimental, threatening and comforting all at once.
The book is said to offer “a complicated narrative structure disguised as a
simple one”. It “exposes the sanctity of family life as something of a sham; it
illustrates by example that what the church calls love is actually psychosis
and it dares to suggest that what makes life difficult for homosexuals is not
their perversity but other people’s. Worse, it does these things with such
humour and lightness that those disposed not to agree find that they do.” The
Introduction also tells us that “[i]n structure and in style and in content <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oranges </i>was unlike any other novel” and
that its story “has broken down many more barriers than it has reinforced.”<br />
<br />
Oh, and did you know? The Introduction was written by the author herself.</div>
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I mean, don’t get me
wrong, she may very well be right about all of these things, but there’s still
something off-putting about it all – she brings to mind that guy you know who
spouts his opinions as fact and worse, is somehow always right. My impression
of the author, from reading the Introduction, was one of great arrogance. Sadly,
this impression was to colour my subsequent reading of the book.<br />
<br />
That said, I started off liking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oranges </i>a
lot. It’s a semi-autobiographical account of the author’s upbringing in a
fiercely evangelical Pentecostal family in the UK. The narrator Jeanette has
been adopted because her mother wishes to dedicate a child to God, meaning that
Jeanette is essentially raised to become a missionary. Her childhood exposes
her to her deeply religious mother, her mother’s friends and enemies, and the
beliefs of her church. The author has a light touch with her words, using clear
language – sorry, that is to say, a “beguilingly straight-forward syntax” –
which gives a real child-like innocence and freshness to the book. There’s a
quirkiness and humour that touches everything as well – for example, her
mother’s vendetta against Next Door, the episode where Jeanette goes deaf and
everyone thinks she’s filled with “the Spirit”, and Jeanette’s confusion at her
teacher’s failure to appreciate her craft project, which involves
cross-stitching the words “THE SUMMER IS ENDED AND WE ARE NOT YET SAVED.” </div>
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<br /></div>
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About halfway through
the story, the narrator reveals herself to be a lesbian. Since I’d heard this
novel described as “that orange lesbian book”, I wasn’t surprised; what did
surprise me was how suddenly it came about. Her childhood is pretty much
asexual then bam, she’s attracted to the ladies. That fact that 1)
homosexuality is mentioned and 2) the cast is mostly female (indeed, Jeanette’s
father is almost a nonentity) doesn’t count as foreshadowing, not really. When
her sexuality emerges, Jeanette doesn’t even question it. She accepts her
“Unnatural Passions” pretty easily and only shows confusion and anger when,
surprise, surprise, the people at her church do not approve. The way it’s
written is in character, I suppose, but I’d expected a little internal conflict
or reflection at least, given her religion and all. Whatever the case, it
doesn’t happen.<br />
<br />
As the book goes on, it veers a bit into magic realism with the appearance of
an orange demon. I found this a bit jarring and unnecessary, almost as if it
had been put in for quirkiness’ sake. The book also incorporates within it
various asides and allegories which carry a distinct fairy-tale mood. I found
this charming at first, but over time, they increased in both frequency and
abstraction. The chapter ‘Deuteronomy’ is just the author philisomaphising on
the nature of history. I found it all a bit excessive and the further I read,
the more I was reminded of the Introduction. There’s so much ~symbolism~ (with
passages reflecting on themes like perfection, change and so on) that the
latter part of the book reeks of self-indulgent literary pomposity. The high
(low?) point for me comes on p110, with these profound words:</div>
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It is the nature of
stone to convert bone.<br />At one time or another
there will be a choice: you or the wall.<br />Humpty Dumpty sat on the
wall.<br />Humpty Dumpty had a
great fall.<br />The City of Lost Chances
is full of those who chose the wall.<br />All the king’s horses
and all the king’s men.<br />Couldn’t put Humpty
together again.</blockquote>
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<br />
At this point, I had to resist the urge to throw the book across the room.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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I mean, this sort of
thing might be your cup of tea, and more power to you. It certainly isn’t mine.
For me, the value added by these sorts of passages is but a candle to the giant
sun of the author’s ego that shines through the same. Perhaps things would have
been different if I’d never read the Introduction, but I’ll never know. As it
is, it feels like the author added these bits chiefly to show how intellectually
enlightened she is. The story could have easily worked without them. And
frankly, for a novel with “interests [that] are anti-linear” that’s meant to be
“read in spirals”, I didn’t find the structure all that amazing (it’s pretty
much chronological with allegorical asides inserted) – nor was it particularly
groundbreaking: there are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">plenty</i> of
modernist novels that have weirder/awesomer timeline/point-of-view shenanigans
going on. To all those kids who have to analyse this for school: my heart goes
out to you poor sods, it really does.<br />
<br />
As for what remains of the actual story, well, we see Jeanette dealing with the
fallout that comes from her lesbianism being revealed. I’m not sure if she
becomes more unlikeable because she actually does unlikeable things (especially
with her bitterness towards her ‘first love’), or because I was biased against
her due to all the heavy-handed symbolism in the narrative. The book ends
somewhat abruptly and I would have liked to see a more rounded finish. This is
not to say there has to be a resolution as such, but the way it’s written feels
like it was cut off partway through a chapter. Then again, maybe I just failed
to appreciate the “spiral narrative” of the book.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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I cannot fault the
writing; I really enjoyed the style, which was simple and elegant with a
pleasing rhythm. I also enjoyed the story of Jeanette’s life, with its humour
and quirks and its observations on the church. It was engaging and fun, with a
real sense of warmth. After a while though, the symbolic crap started to cloud
over everything else, and having read the Introduction, my impression wasn’t so
much “Woah mind blown! Deep author is deep!” as it was “Wow, can you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">get</i> any more pretentious?”.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit </i>is indeed a threatening novel. If
you happen to be in the same room as me while I’m reading it, you must accept
the implicit threat of bodily harm caused by my throwing of the book. Don’t
worry too much though, it’s less than two hundred pages and I have weak arms.
And more likely than not, I won’t be throwing it – as I said, it’s a mostly
enjoyable read.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3.5/5</i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-51797224135979436502013-08-21T18:50:00.001+10:002013-08-21T18:50:35.514+10:00Book Review: Pull of the Yew Tree
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_5dsosSX0PVkxEio10LofiSiQdwjc0dM82G-glt6EuqeQJrjWTgZDc2UvKjaWrJAuGOqfFxbpVw83M3BphkSeyaOfDVW6vr3Dbdm-W4mMAGnWYASHzvtACaTGDZLx_3EfxFzvmfP7wk5/s1600/pull+of+the+yew+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_5dsosSX0PVkxEio10LofiSiQdwjc0dM82G-glt6EuqeQJrjWTgZDc2UvKjaWrJAuGOqfFxbpVw83M3BphkSeyaOfDVW6vr3Dbdm-W4mMAGnWYASHzvtACaTGDZLx_3EfxFzvmfP7wk5/s320/pull+of+the+yew+tree.jpg" width="207" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Title:</b> Pull of the Yew Tree (The Chronicles of Crom Abu #1)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Pauline Toohey</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Historical fiction, Drama, Romance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br />
<br />
Set in 15<sup>th</sup> century Ireland, Pull of the Yew Tree tells the story of
three rival clans: the Fitzgeralds, the O’Byrnes and the O’Tooles. Brought
together in an uneasy alliance, they must deal with local Irish rebels, the
English conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster, each other and themselves.
Amidst this political minefield, there’s also a love story: Jarlath Fitzgerald
and Ainnir O’Byrne fall swiftly and deeply in love, but events conspire to keep
the two apart.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
There’s so much
happening during period of history that it’d be easy to lose track of what’s
going on and who everyone is, especially if you (like me) know next to nothing
about the War of the Roses. However, the author narrows the focus down to a
couple of conflicts – some political, some personal – so by and large it’s easy
to follow. One thing I liked was how the author included a character list at
the beginning to indicate which characters were fictional. The blurb sort of
makes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pull of the Yew Tree </i>sound like
a dramatic retelling of historical fact, but it’s more historical fiction than
anything else. At any rate, the book is mostly about Jarlath and Ainnir (both
fictional), so if you’re after a young, passionate and aching sort of romance
in a historical setting, this could be the book for you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br />
The characters and their relationships with one another are easily the best
part of the novel. They all have distinct, vibrant personalities and it’s hard
to not sympathise with them. The Jarlath/Ainnir romance felt really fresh to
me; I normally dislike “love at first sight” kind of set-ups, but in this case,
it felt natural. Both characters can be somewhat stereotyped – Jarlath as the
loveable rogue turned brooding hero, Ainnir as the feisty young princess – but
they make a very lively pair and it’s hard not to like them. I will mention
that I think their main problem could have easily been resolved with a few
conversations, but I’ll give it a pass for now. You want them to find their
happy ending and I found myself reading the book for the romance rather than
the political intrigue.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
On that note, if you’re
after some juicy political intrigue, you might be somewhat disappointed. Since
the focus is on the Fitzgeralds and the O’Byrnes, there’s not much on the other
Irish clans, and the Yorkist/Lancastrian conflict remains largely distanced and
strangely separated from the smaller scale conflicts at hand. Personally, I
would have liked more intrigue. As it is, there’s only enough to show that
conflicts exist, but not enough to give them meat. The politics feel
superficial even when they come to the fore – for example, (spoiler) when
Jarlath goes to England, I didn’t really get what he was actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">doing </i>there and why, other than some
vague sense of fighting for York (/spoiler). Similarly, some of the characters’
reasons for doing things don’t quite feel fleshed out. We have some characters
change their minds or make decisions all in the space of a few paragraphs,
where the change seems to have come about because the plot required it, rather
than because of any deeper sort of motivation.<br />
<br />
The broad-strokes approach to historical fact allows you to fill in the gaps as
you please, which may or may not be a good thing for lovers of historical
fiction. I’m no history buff myself, so I can’t say how accurate the book is.
The only thing that caught my eye was the presence of “Romance of the Three
Kingdoms” in Earl Thomas’ library – “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, I’m
assuming, being a translated version of the 14<sup>th</sup> century classical
Chinese text of the same name. I mean, I guess it’s not physically impossible
for such a thing to exist in the library of a 15<sup>th</sup> century Irish
Earl, but it is highly implausible, so, if you’re a history pedant, you might
want to take note.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br />
Most of the narration is written in neutral prose, with the occasional foray
into lyricism. The best examples of this come in the rich descriptions of the
setting, with its rolling hills and green forests, and the various literary and
mythical references to figures like Tristan and Isolde. While I appreciated a
pretty turn of phrase here and there, I wasn’t sure if they were always used to
best effect. Sometimes they added to the atmosphere, other times they felt like
dead weight cluttering up the story. Overall, however, I thought the
descriptions were done nicely, and that the author evoked a sense of place very
well.<br />
<br />
For me, the main problem with the writing occurs in some of the dialogue, which
sometimes gives the impression of Ye Olde Englishe – and not in the
Shakespearean way, but the way where it feels like someone is trying to give an
impression of Ye Olde Englishe. At other times, the dialogue was a bit more
modern or neutral, which I preferred, and which was more consistent in tone
with the rest of the book. At other times still, there was a bit of “show your
research” going on, and gratuitous facts were added, sometimes in an almost
textbook tone. The narration, in third person, also jumps from character to
character, sometimes between paragraphs, and this confused me more than once.
There were a few times where we get inside a character’s head and the next
paragraph begins with “Eyes looked to the sky” or something similar, where it
turns out that said eyes belong to the narrating character. I’m not sure if I
just got used to it or whether it evened out, but I noticed these things less
as I got towards the end.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
I’d be lying if I said I
never judge a book by its cover, and I totally judged this book for its use of
Papyrus (though I’ll hasten to add that my dislike of Papyrus has no bearing on
my rating). A word of warning: the cover image may give you the impression that
the book is Young Adult, but I wouldn’t quite say it falls into that category,
given the loose references to sex. The book also has a nice velvety feel and is
without a doubt the nicest feeling book I own. My other cover-related complaint
concerns the publisher’s logo on the back, which looks suspiciously like it was
created using Microsoft WordArt, the likes of which you may remember from PowerPoint
presentations circa 1998. Now, I understand that it’s an independent publisher,
that there may be budget constraints, and that it’s not related to the actual content
of the book itself, but this sort of thing projects a lazy and unprofessional
sort of image, which is not a good look for either the publisher or its authors.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pull of the Yew Tree </i>is Pauline
Toohey’s debut novel, and I get the sense she’ll only improve over time. Parts
of the book fell a bit flat for me – namely, the “nakedness” of the plot and
the occasional changes of heart or events that didn’t quite convince. Another
problem for me was the patchy writing, though as this is a debut novel, it
seems like the sort of thing that will even out in future. For these reasons,
there were times I didn’t want to pick the book up again after having put it
down. The strength in this book lies in its characters, as well as the
atmosphere the author is able to evoke; hopefully the next book in the series
will demonstrate stronger writing and delve further into the politics
underlying the setting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b>Alex’s Rating:</b> <i>2.5/5</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
(Disclaimer: I received
this book for free through Goodreads’ First Reads.)</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-36752992005875732002013-08-04T00:27:00.000+10:002013-08-04T00:27:46.062+10:00Book Review: Cat's Eye
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGUZDOFdRjFpMPENHbWF-F7Vz8ZwVAE12gA72rQDG0IgKiRUT-gCsgs5V0WVRd5WdG0EmKGKweLAmJV-F2zqHMd4YSRRlr1vC5nGkrATk-j1Pdd0139ytDIuVeZK2pcsS7VwiD71VrjFJ/s1600/cats+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGUZDOFdRjFpMPENHbWF-F7Vz8ZwVAE12gA72rQDG0IgKiRUT-gCsgs5V0WVRd5WdG0EmKGKweLAmJV-F2zqHMd4YSRRlr1vC5nGkrATk-j1Pdd0139ytDIuVeZK2pcsS7VwiD71VrjFJ/s320/cats+eye.jpg" width="203" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Title:</b> Cat’s Eye</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author:</b> Margaret Atwood</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1989</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> General and literary fiction, Contemporary drama</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Elaine Risley returns to
Toronto for a retrospective of her paintings. As she navigates her way through
the city, she ruminates on her past – from her carefree childhood and tortuous
experiences at school through to her adult life as an artist. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cat’s Eye</i> is the sort of story where it’s
less about what happens next and more about immersing yourself into the
memories of the narrator, experiencing, for a while, life through the eyes of
another.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Elaine’s early childhood
evokes both joy and melancholy. It’s an almost idyllic time, where the Risley
family travel around WWII-era Canada and most of Elaine’s time is spent running
and playing in the woods with her brother Stephen. However, there is a pall
over the whole proceedings, for we know it won’t last.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Elaine’s troubles begin
when the family settle in Toronto. Introduced to the world of little girls, she
finds herself partaking in their rituals and eventually becomes a victim of
bullying. The author captures very well that particular brand of nastiness that
can come from young girls, which makes this portion of the book especially
painful to read. It’s realistic, distressing, and potentially triggering for
those who have undergone similar experiences in real life. Worse, Elaine thinks
of her tormentors as her friends. She notes that </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“[h]atred would have been
easier. With hatred, I would have known what to do. Hatred is clear, metallic,
one-handed, unwavering; unlike love.”</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
The cruelty of children
– and, as we later discover, of adults – is something against which Elaine is
powerless. We want to save her, but as readers, we’re as impotent as she is. It
makes you wonder: what would you do if your child were in this situation? The
only consolation is that with Elaine as a present-day narrator, we know <i>her</i>
suffering, at least, has an end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
When Elaine enters
adulthood she takes control of her life. A consequence of this is that the book
becomes much less stressful to read. At the same time however, I found myself
losing sympathy for Elaine. While she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i>
things, the reasons behind her actions are sometimes not explored; it’s as if a
veil has suddenly been drawn between her and the reader. Elaine the adult is
strangely passive; her affair with her professor, for example, is something
that sort of happens to her, rather than a relationship in which she actively
participates. I also didn’t really get a sense of why she becomes an artist and
nor did I “feel” her art. Her surreal paintings, though obviously related to
her past, are never explained directly. I can understand why she paints Mrs
Smeath, for example, but I would’ve liked to know how she made the more
particular artistic choices, like why she chose to paint Mrs Smeath in various
states of undress, why she chose to paint her former lovers nude, why she
painted those lovers with a woman (herself?) bearing a glass sphere head, and
so on. It’s not that these things <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i>
to be explained – and some may prefer that they aren’t – but the deliberate
opacity between art and artist is something I found frustrating given how deeply
Elaine’s experiences are previously described.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
Elaine’s relationship
with the sexes is an important aspect of the book. To put things simply, Elaine
sees boys as her “secret allies” and prefers the company of men. Her childhood goes
some way to explaining why she doesn’t like other women and it’s easy to
understand her callousness towards Cordelia as an adult – yes it’s mean, but
it’s also human. What’s annoying though is the fact that Elaine – well into
adulthood – seems aware of her prejudices, yet continues to lump all women into
various categories of “other”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVF7nfUR4hSNHT-JL1JGJD9Zu61VCZCHnxsDfBUrTCd0StUaRJD8Z8lD9xG8vjoZeOZD9OQqxnWPjrASLHWnOf47hhBfBxMQ84Mfo7HHY5HgaHgVxPnw76sYWUbSbDaIu-xdnv4tIIvl_/s1600/im+not+like+other+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVF7nfUR4hSNHT-JL1JGJD9Zu61VCZCHnxsDfBUrTCd0StUaRJD8Z8lD9xG8vjoZeOZD9OQqxnWPjrASLHWnOf47hhBfBxMQ84Mfo7HHY5HgaHgVxPnw76sYWUbSbDaIu-xdnv4tIIvl_/s320/im+not+like+other+girls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Elaine Risley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
The strangest part of this is how she joins those meetings of female artists.
It’s hard to fathom. If she dislikes women and finds it so hard to relate to
them, why join at all? It’s unclear whether she’s trying to be part of the
“sisterhood” or whether she’s there to promote her art or whether it’s
something else entirely. When we’re introduced to the group, Elaine is already
there, telling us what she thinks of the others. There’s nothing about why
she’s there in the first place. Again, I found this lack of information – this
lack of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why</i> – frustrating rather than
pleasantly intriguing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
I can’t help but see the
whole situation around Elaine’s retrospective as reflective of Margaret Atwood’s
own experience as a poster child for feminism. Elaine rails against a
journalist’s attempts to elicit some sort of feminist interpretation of her paintings,
but in the end, accepts that other people will impose their own meanings on
things, appropriating her art to their own ends. It’s an interesting critique
and as valid as it is, in this particular case I feel as if Elaine’s irritation
is largely self-inflicted – she pretty much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lets</i>
these misunderstandings happen (those arty farty painting titles don’t exactly
help), then complains about being misunderstood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cat’s Eye</i> isn’t exactly an enjoyable read, but it’s worth reading.
The book is achingly tender and at times outright painful. If you’ve had an “ordinary”
life of first world problems, you’ll probably find something here to remind you
of your own childhood – anything from the sort of bullying described to schoolyard
games of marbles to the collecting of silver cigarette papers (for the purpose
of making some future amazing thing). There is a haunting, nostalgic quality to
the narrative, especially when it comes to descriptions of Elaine’s family. The
novel is beautifully written and vividly detailed, with narration so eloquent
that it seems a pity Elaine’s not a writer. Whether or not you like Elaine,
whether or not you agree with her actions, it’s hard not to be touched by her
experiences. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cat’s Eye</i> is the sort of
book that reaches into your chest and squeezes. Recommended.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">4/5</i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-39263801838912573892013-07-14T01:36:00.001+10:002013-07-15T04:33:04.779+10:00TV Series Review: Merlin (2008)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmNety_8KiS1NoRk5MQbTJbO5TcvphCma03IVvIoHEXLkDN1uV-BR8Ppio-1Q5wK7ZL3ejQ8e3HyTZQmhwtjRQaNZoVliqHzHwnlPqx1HGUVe-jD0LB_Zj8925soXwVmTGa3fhdfSjnTa/s1600/merlin-series_4014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmNety_8KiS1NoRk5MQbTJbO5TcvphCma03IVvIoHEXLkDN1uV-BR8Ppio-1Q5wK7ZL3ejQ8e3HyTZQmhwtjRQaNZoVliqHzHwnlPqx1HGUVe-jD0LB_Zj8925soXwVmTGa3fhdfSjnTa/s320/merlin-series_4014.jpg" width="217" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Merlin (TV Series 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Creators:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Julian Jones, Jake Michie,
Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy<b><br /></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Original
broadcast:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
2008-2012<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Series length:</b> 5 seasons, comprising
13 x ~45 minute episodes per season<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Status:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Complete<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Classification:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> PG<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Historical fantasy, Family,
Action/Adventure, Comedy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Man. Where do I even begin?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This show. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This </i>show.
I invested five years of my life in this show and what started out for me as
light-hearted squee morphed into some sort of rabid hate-watch towards the end.
The finale made me so mad that instead of sleeping I spent a night rolling
angrily around in bed. When I finally fell asleep, I woke up the next day,
still mad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So yeah. If you’re looking for a rant, you’ve come to the
right place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Review behind the
cut. Warnings for foul language and major spoilers, including the finale. For
those who haven’t seen the show but are thinking about it, they’re the sort of
spoilers you’d want to know about before you decide to watch. Trust me.)</span></b> </div>
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<h3>
<u>The Premise</u></h3>
<h3>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head) abhors magic and has outlawed its use in
all the land. Merlin (Colin Morgan), a young wizard, arrives in Camelot to stay
with his uncle Gaius (Richard Wilson), the court physician. He must learn to
control his talents or else risk death. Because of hijinks, Merlin becomes
manservant to Prince Arthur (Bradley James). In this version of the myth,
Merlin and Arthur are about the same age and their epic bromance lies at the
heart of the show. Morgana (Katie McGrath) is introduced as Arthur's flirty,
rebellious not-sister, and Gwen (Angel Coulby), in a surprise twist, is Morgana's
sweet, adorkable maid. At the beginning of Season One, Gwen has a crush on
Merlin.</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtxsqpoRGt1nhhNbnQe-HvCtDwxqSrj9_4FjjeXSrIoFbOjqqonq-Kf1NjPSZcIKdUy6KOdyDTum1dfX8YzTB_AmfiH7gbk6ZyYeZqt6kUhNycZ9KqOtJen-btn0bOpjkOCVTtye8Q0vq/s1600/merlin+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtxsqpoRGt1nhhNbnQe-HvCtDwxqSrj9_4FjjeXSrIoFbOjqqonq-Kf1NjPSZcIKdUy6KOdyDTum1dfX8YzTB_AmfiH7gbk6ZyYeZqt6kUhNycZ9KqOtJen-btn0bOpjkOCVTtye8Q0vq/s320/merlin+cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main cast of <i>Merlin</i>. From left to right: <br />
Gwen (Angel Coulby), Morgana (Katie McGrath), <br />
Gaius (Richard Wilson), Merlin (Colin Morgan), <br />
Arthur (Bradley James) and Uther (Anthony Head).</td></tr>
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<h3>
<u>The Pros</u></h3>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s an interesting set-up, if you don't mind the
anachronism stew and butchering of Arthurian legend. The cast, by and large,
are loveable, and the bantering between the characters brings a great sense of
fun to the show. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merlin </i>is essentially
a weekly adventure series with a few joke episodes thrown in, which makes it
easy to follow and dip in and out of. It’s kinda silly and cheesy, the sort of
thing you can watch with your kids, I suppose, at least until all the death
kicks in…</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
For the fannish types out there, you can basically ship anyone you want and
find some sort of justification for it. As crazy as parts of the fandom are
(were?), this show has spawned some truly excellent fic, which is a joy in
itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bromance, however, is easily the best part of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merlin</i>. The interactions between sensitive, cheeky Merlin and noble boofhead Arthur are a large part of the show's appeal. There's a lot to like about their relationship, which encompasses physical comedy and bantering as well as heartfelt moments where they show their trust and respect for one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also, there’s a bunch of shirtless knights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YYxSUcMbVcru4W_SzpBEYcuI2tuFed0c48dzhT543Ypcc0k-R6JquXq-nU1kblC42SIj6-efBr9bMeklIcO88BOCJq-Z6ugM0D0Et1aNSYMhE7r-eX6bjVxObEVxgx-_G4u1wP64dL3s/s1600/merlin+knights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YYxSUcMbVcru4W_SzpBEYcuI2tuFed0c48dzhT543Ypcc0k-R6JquXq-nU1kblC42SIj6-efBr9bMeklIcO88BOCJq-Z6ugM0D0Et1aNSYMhE7r-eX6bjVxObEVxgx-_G4u1wP64dL3s/s320/merlin+knights.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Knights of the Round Table, comprising (L-R) Sir Gwaine, <br />
Sir Lancelot, Sir Leon, Prince Arthur, Sir Percival and Sir Elyan. <br />
The ladies of Camelot (Population: 2) are spoilt for choice!</td></tr>
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<h3>
<u>The Cons</u></h3>
The crux of the show’s problems is this: while the writers
set up some interesting character arcs and conflicts (such as Morgana’s slide
into evil, Gwen’s eventual romance with Arthur and the eventual return of magic
to Camelot), they seem reluctant to actually, you know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">write</i> these things. Consequently, what we get is many fillery
monster-of-the-week type episodes and then sudden jumps in plot and
characterisation (forward, backward, sideways, twirling) depending on where the
overarching plot needs things to be.<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Basically, you have two choices when it comes to character
development: shitty or none.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Morgana gets the worst of it. She goes from being flirty
step-sibling (S1) to troubled girl (S2) to moustache twirling villain (S3-5) –
who either smirks (S3) or sneers (S4-5) every five seconds – all without any
sort of believable, human transition. She’s also suddenly Arthur's half-sister
after the writers cut out the flirting. Gwen doesn’t really get to do or be
anything unless she needs to fulfil some sort of plot function.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In most episodes, Arthur insults Merlin only to reveal at the end that Merlin
is a valued friend. As you can tell, this doesn't quite work when it happens in
nearly<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> every single episode</i>. It sort of, you know, undermines all the character and relationship development that happened beforehand, if you can stretch your memory back to say, last week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On that note, pretty much every episode has this formula:
Problem arises -> Problem can only be fixed by magic -> Arthur somehow
becomes unconscious -> Merlin fixes the problem with magic -> Problem solved.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I can only assume that Arthur develops brain damage from all those knocks on
the head, because seriously, there is no other explanation for why he is such a
DUMB ASS, particularly in the later seasons, particularly as regards…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>The Fuck You Cake</u></span></h3>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The magic reveal. Oh my god. So being in Camelot, Merlin has
to hide his magic from Arthur. It's a source of major tension set up from the
very first episode of Season One. For maximum awesomeness, you would expect the
magic reveal to happen maybe at the start of Season Two or Three, so you have a
whole season to explore the implications. But no. I had hoped, at first, that
Arthur would discover Merlin’s secret, and there’d be all this angst and stuff
about how he’s torn between his friend/what is right and his father/the law.
But then Giles dies in Season Four. Hmm, okay, so the biggest obstacle to the
magic reveal is gone. Maybe this can still work. Maybe Gwen can find out or
something, and then there’d be angst between the three of them? But no, that
doesn’t happen either. So when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i>
the magic reveal happen? Well, it happens in the fucking series FINALE. Oh my
god. I cannot express how much this annoyed me. It makes everyone look like a moron
since Merlin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ALWAYS</i> SAVES THE DAY
WITH MAGIC. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ALWAYS</i>. Worse, there
seems to be no good reason for the reveal, other than because it’s the last
episode ever. <a href="http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tv/merlin-co-creator-julian-murphy-on-series-emotional-conclusion/#/0">Creator Julian Murphy has said that this was intentional</a>,
since they didn’t want to remove the tension and humour caused by Merlin’s
secret life. While this is understandable, the whole thing becomes ridiculous
when literally years pass without anyone finding out, making the entire
population of Camelot (save Gaius) look wilfully, irredeemably stupid. Sick of
all this nonsense after Season Three, I mentally screamed for a magic reveal
during every episode of Season Four; in Season Five, I screamed out loud. The
lack of development, especially after so long, makes things repetitive and
frustrating. All in all, it’s perhaps the worst case of arc fatigue I’ve seen
in a series – the fact they had a five year plan makes it worse. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
That said, the actual reveal itself was pretty emotional and heart-wrenching.
Finally, after all this time, we fans (those of us left, anyway) get what we
want. So, at least there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> a reveal
and we got to see Arthur's reaction before...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u>The Icing on the Fuck You Cake</u></span></h3>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">...Arthur dies. Dafuq? I mean, fine, he can die, but he
hasn't even achieved anything yet. Albion is not united and magic has not
returned to the land (as promised). Where was the Golden Age? And seriously, he
dies <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just </i>after having found out
about Merlin's magic? Greatest King of All Time my ASS. So at the end of this
mostly fun/happy show – which is why people watched it in the first place – we
have this major downer ending… which doesn't even make sense! To rub salt in
your wounds, we then get a cut to Merlin as an old man hobo/hipster in modern
times... still waiting for Arthur to return. Great! The only good thing to come
from this whole debacle is the theory that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gwen</i>
(who is now Queen) is the one who unites Albion and so on – in other words,
Arthur’s greatest contribution to the kingdom is… Gwen. Though, if that’s the
case, wouldn’t you rather bring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her </i>back
in Albion’s time of greatest need? Just sayin’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQRhUVVn7vBTsoxaaJ4jlS9nij9uX56HP7FbGoXOgC7o5O0ZBXmIEhLDPuGs3ljPhKy4ctmTYAvfBLz8Q5NKH0FfCM6nRzFEqE4dDK7FX-dU7T8z_J_BU4fQGolVn0qRwXKgIwEfCZQak/s1600/morgana+smirk.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQRhUVVn7vBTsoxaaJ4jlS9nij9uX56HP7FbGoXOgC7o5O0ZBXmIEhLDPuGs3ljPhKy4ctmTYAvfBLz8Q5NKH0FfCM6nRzFEqE4dDK7FX-dU7T8z_J_BU4fQGolVn0qRwXKgIwEfCZQak/s1600/morgana+smirk.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgana/Evil!Smirk OTP 5EVA!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3>
<u>The Cherry on top of the Icing on the Fuck You Cake</u></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Morgana’s death is super anti-climactic.</span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh, and Gwaine dies too.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<h3>
<u>Final Thoughts</u></h3>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Ultimately, I’m glad this show has finished, if only to put me out of my misery
and to allow the cast to move onto bigger and brighter things. If there is a
poster child for wasted potential, this show is it. We have a wonderful cast
(special love for Colin Morgan) and an original set-up, both squandered because
of what I can only assume was fear: fear of disturbing the status quo, fear of
making hard decisions. There were so many things – things like Merlin’s
questionable morality and the breakdown of Morgana and Gwen’s friendship – that
could have been explored, but weren’t. The series begins with a light-hearted
tone, hinting at depth and angst to come. However, when things get darker and
edgier, the show doesn’t fully commit. Situations change drastically but
characters either remain unchanged or transform into different creatures
entirely. The result, in the end, feels half-baked and illogical. Unless you’re
happy to watch this show casually, it’s highly frustrating and rage-inducing. As
you can tell, I have a massive love-hate relationship with this show, and kept
watching it long after my anger outweighed my enjoyment. If it had just been mediocre,
I wouldn’t have minded so much. What hurts most about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merlin</i> is not what it is, but what it could have been.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2.5/5</i><br />
(Edited to add: I'm probably being unfair here, but the memory of this show is too painful)<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-49442284372930783162013-07-08T15:26:00.001+10:002013-07-12T04:42:04.987+10:00Movie Review: Monsters University<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJXobo0d7vrRQTXyI1y80c3iHzqBIQYT6UgbJBCkCLfE2KASWheBXNVEd4dR2RHnymAvNNp_uZXRkzOPsb_rOl9qkqsd8B-R1xl0r9aK98MqzQtG1X4fWbWJnPwtF6M7L_G725JPxBMDi/s1600/220px-Monsters_University_poster_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJXobo0d7vrRQTXyI1y80c3iHzqBIQYT6UgbJBCkCLfE2KASWheBXNVEd4dR2RHnymAvNNp_uZXRkzOPsb_rOl9qkqsd8B-R1xl0r9aK98MqzQtG1X4fWbWJnPwtF6M7L_G725JPxBMDi/s320/220px-Monsters_University_poster_3.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Title: </span></b><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Monsters</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></span></st1:place></span><br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"></st1:placetype></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Director: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Dan Scalon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Year Released: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Running Time: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">104 mins<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Genre: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Animation, Family and kids, Comedy<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The most anticipated prequel has hit the screens, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters</i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></i></st1:place>!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Monsters</span></i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> is the story of how Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) meet before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc</i>. If you don’t know who Mike and Sulley are and have no idea what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc.</i> is, then you must </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">go, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">now</b>, watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Inc.</i> then come back to this review.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt;">If you have seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc. </i>go re-watch it anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But first,<em> Blue Umbrella,</em> the most recent Pixar short played before the movie is brilliant and is completely new to the design of Pixar. If anyone can make people feel for inanimated objects, Pixar can. </span></o:p></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Back to the review.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Monsters</span></i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> did not leave me disappointed and is exactly what I thought the movie would be. I wouldn’t say it was the best but definitely is on par with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc.,</i> if not, then a little less only because it uses the same characters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc</i>. so doesn’t feel original – which it shouldn’t feel, since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters University</i> is a prequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc.</i> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The start of the movie is just too cute. Little Mike is sooo cute to the point I felt disappointed when older Mike gets off the bus in front of the University. This movie is purely about chasing your dream and not giving up. Mike is inspired to be a Scarer and will do what he can to be one. The storyline is very cliched. It has your usual jocks, cheerleaders, punks and losers. Both Mike and Sulley have to prove their worth by joining forces with the members of the Oozma Kappa fraternity (the losers) to win the Scare Games. The only thing not cliched about this movie is there is no love interest which is a plus. There was no room for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Monsters</span></i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> has all the ‘Pixar’ needed to make it a funny family film. If you have seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc</i>. you will love the guest appearances in this movie. As for the new characters, I found Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) terrifying and I use the word terrifying because I don’t like anything that has more than 4 legs. Eeuuggghhh…… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The character designs of the Dean and Art (Charlie Day), a member of the Oozma Kappa fraternity was the most interesting. I may not like insects, but for the role of the Dean, an insect was the most appropriate. As for Art, he is just all furry with tree trunk legs and tiny arms. A little bit awkward appearance-wise but the most mysterious and funny of them all. </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As for the other Oozma Kappas, they were ordinary. I understand that’s the point but their unique abilities were awkward. It made the last competition unconvincing even though Pixar did its best to illustrate Oozma Kappas' weaker potentials. I felt more towards the Oozma Kappas as a group rather than them as individuals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is some character development in this movie, mostly focusing on Sulley… and Randall has some screen time. It’s not a very successful development when most people know how Sulley and Randall will be in the future. The focus of this movie is on Mike and I loved it. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc.</i> I favoured Sulley over Mike. I found Mike bossy and a little selfish. In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters</i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></i></st1:place>, he’s still a little selfish but it was driven by his dream. He might be bossy towards the Oozma Kappas, but he never gave up on them and did his best to help. This is typical of the main character in college films but having believed Mike was bossy and selfish, it was nice to see it wasn't the 'true Mike’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My favourite part is the end of the film and how they become Scarers. It’s not what one might think it would be, but it proves hard work does pay off. There are funny scenes but I preferred the story itself. The funny bits were a bonus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ll definitely be re-watching <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters</i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></i></st1:place> again and may even follow that with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc.</i> True to a Pixar film, I’m sure there are a lot of Easter egg surprises in the film I have missed. I enjoyed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters University </i>and recommend everyone to go watch it, just remember: relax and enjoy. Mike and Sulley will always be the lovable monsters they are.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Terri’s Rating:</strong> <i>4/5</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: There was one fault I found. I may be wrong but in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monsters Inc. </i>as Mike and Sulley walk to work, I’m quite sure Mike mentions he met Sulley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span>Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-45584882585318143952013-07-03T17:10:00.000+10:002013-07-03T17:10:54.264+10:00Movie Review: Despicable Me 2
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Y3eScmiw106cWpw2ahDYg73CGgUVfDqwWUxsAE0VVDbueOmps9vLvdHhRHJlWoaOD0q0F0voXlEJiQSC8XD2PI_pKx2ZbIRfeAwnfoLJBqHSYzdZvbPYMtJWVuSCdMmq_8BlHYzs0PJ4/s348/despicable+me+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Y3eScmiw106cWpw2ahDYg73CGgUVfDqwWUxsAE0VVDbueOmps9vLvdHhRHJlWoaOD0q0F0voXlEJiQSC8XD2PI_pKx2ZbIRfeAwnfoLJBqHSYzdZvbPYMtJWVuSCdMmq_8BlHYzs0PJ4/s320/despicable+me+2.jpg" width="202" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Despicable Me 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Directors:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Year Released:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Running Time:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 98 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Classification:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> PG<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Comedy, Kids and Family,
Animation, Action/Adventure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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(Note: this review
contains spoilers for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Despicable Me </i>(the
prequel))</div>
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2010’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Despicable Me </i>stands out as one of the
more original kids’ films of the last five years. In that movie, evil genius
Gru (Steve Carell) attempts to steal the moon. Because of plot reasons, Gru adopts
three little girls. Because it’s a kids’ movie, Gru relinquishes his villainous
ways to become a good father. All in all, it’s a pretty cute film, full of
laughs and “awww”.</div>
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Understandably then, you
had to wonder where they’d go with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Despicable
Me 2</i>. It necessarily lacks the villainous glee of the first movie, which is
both good and bad: good, because it means there’s character development; and
bad, because it’s not as original. In the sequel, Gru has his hands full being
a parent and intends to start a business making jams and jellies. All seems well
until he is suddenly kidnapped by Lucy (Kristen Wiig), an agent from the
Anti-Villain League. Apparently, someone has created a chemical that turns its
victims into mutant purple killing machines. The AVL “recruits” Gru in the hope
that his expertise in villainy will enable him to uncover the identity of the
villain responsible. Personally, I liked that they made Gru an “ex-villain” rather
than a sudden, all-out hero.</div>
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Like the first movie,
there are plenty of laughs to go around, whatever your age. The humour ranges
from slapstick, mostly played out by Gru’s adorable Minions, to send-ups of
stereotypes, like the improbably tough Mexican wrestler villain El Macho and
the fitness freak blonde girl with whom Gru goes on a date. I actually laughed
out loud a lot during this movie, which is more than I can say for most
comedies.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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From the promotional
materials and from the moment she shows up on screen, you know that Lucy is
Gru’s designated love interest. Gru’s daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) also
gets a love interest in the form of the dashing Antonio (Moisés Arias). Sadly,
the romantic plot developments in the film felt exactly like that: they were
moments I felt I had to endure in order to get to the rest of the story and
were only palatable when intertwined with comedy, like when Gru goes all
overprotective dad over Margo’s new boyfriend.</div>
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The animation is cute
and colourful and I found myself admiring Gru’s home décor more than once. The
3D is used effectively: I liked that I was able to look <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">into</i> the sets, rather than at them, particularly in big, busy
locations such as the mall. If you want to get the “most” out of the 3D, then
you may want to stay for the credits as you’ll get to see some Minions shoving
stuff at you through the screen.</div>
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Conceptually, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Despicable Me 2 </i>is “less” than its
predecessor: the villain protagonist angle is gone, a predictable romance plot
has been added and there’s less interaction between Gru and his kids. That
said, I think I liked this film more. While Gru’s relationship with his
daughters is more static, there are still plenty of heart-warming “family”
moments of the kind that made the first movie so memorable. There’s also a greater
sense of chaos compared to the very plot-driven prequel and I’m pretty sure
it’s funnier as well. The cute little Minions also get to play a bigger part, which,
admittedly, may or may not be a good thing, depending largely on whether you’re
a parent who’ll now have to fork out on Minion toys (now available at a store
near you).</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Despicable Me 2 </i>is a fun, funny, fluffy family movie and a pleasant
way to spend an afternoon. It’s no masterpiece of cinema, but with the current
crop of movies out right now you could easily do worse.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3.5/5<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-85441522862089043982013-07-01T16:35:00.001+10:002013-07-01T23:32:42.135+10:00Book Review: The Fallen Series<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TZAwYb4jT5Yxzd3JBPd3D2tC1baWq6c_Kdpga_65EzymPhacy9jjeciipOJYB-vCjUhv-Vr6akC40SIEdPpIiNoblwhQ8EfN7qiGomnn78fJc5UsuJ0vCADIsmF6_OGF2g6lJOQd-Mjb/s1600/fallen-by-lauren-kate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TZAwYb4jT5Yxzd3JBPd3D2tC1baWq6c_Kdpga_65EzymPhacy9jjeciipOJYB-vCjUhv-Vr6akC40SIEdPpIiNoblwhQ8EfN7qiGomnn78fJc5UsuJ0vCADIsmF6_OGF2g6lJOQd-Mjb/s320/fallen-by-lauren-kate.jpg" width="212" xya="true" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Fallen Series </span><br />
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<ul>
<li>Book 1: Fallen</li>
<li>Book 2: Torment</li>
<li>Book 3: Passion</li>
<li>Book 3.5: Fallen in Love</li>
<li>Book 4: Rapture</li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author: </b>Lauren Kate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2009 - 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre: </b>Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fallen</i></b>, the first book in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fallen Series</i>: A young girl named Lucinda “Luce” Price, is sent to Swords & Cross Reform School after being accused of murder. There she falls into a love triangle between the sweet-talker <st1:place w:st="on">Cam</st1:place> and the cold, mysterious yet handsome Daniel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>is like any YA romance. Luce is torn between two boys and spends most of her time worrying about them and the rest avoiding floating dark shadows only she can see – it is a fantasy novel after all. Of course the real storyline is why Luce is drawn to Daniel (cold mysterious boy) even though he actively distances himself away from her and what is he hiding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To be fair, a friend told me the entire story before I read this series. I found the storyline typical in the way of the 'early' romance, but refreshing when it came to YA fantasy. If it wasn’t for knowing what was to come I don’t think I would have continued to book 2. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fallen</i> lacked depth in all the characters and I didn’t care much for them even though the book ended with the intention of the reader wanting to know why and how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>*Warning spoiler*</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Book 2, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Torment</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i> felt like filler. There was no need for it and nothing happens. This book was only written to enhance the danger Luce has on her life (which isn’t much) and was like a tip toe in cold water before jumping into book 3. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the end of book 1, we find out Daniel, <st1:place w:st="on">Cam</st1:place> and most of the Swords & Cross students are fallen angels. They were banished from heaven centuries ago because Daniel had broken the rule and fell in love with Lucinda. In every 'Lucinda life time', Daniel, being an angel can not die, will meet Lucinda and fall in love with her again and again. When Lucinda realises the truth she bursts into flames, most of the time in Daniel’s arms, and is then reborn again with no memories of their past life…. yep, I dig the whole reincarnation thing, just not sure about the spontaneous combustion... <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-usYUi4djRz5kuX_k4x0q_bUg-AY8xmQhAUO6OjjoihQiLONUZoPWQWHu70TGXnL8H19Wy_usQKAgAwWD-i9e9prJgEvxbcnCgX7G5tdbdnMd1HohvPDRB6v6e6rQ_3ecJE5V9jSh7cc7/s400/passion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Essentially in <em>Torment</em>, Daniel leaves Luce at a school for Nephilim (angel half breeds) and then goes off to form more secrets and make more mysteries. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-usYUi4djRz5kuX_k4x0q_bUg-AY8xmQhAUO6OjjoihQiLONUZoPWQWHu70TGXnL8H19Wy_usQKAgAwWD-i9e9prJgEvxbcnCgX7G5tdbdnMd1HohvPDRB6v6e6rQ_3ecJE5V9jSh7cc7/s1600/passion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-usYUi4djRz5kuX_k4x0q_bUg-AY8xmQhAUO6OjjoihQiLONUZoPWQWHu70TGXnL8H19Wy_usQKAgAwWD-i9e9prJgEvxbcnCgX7G5tdbdnMd1HohvPDRB6v6e6rQ_3ecJE5V9jSh7cc7/s320/passion.jpg" width="211" xya="true" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Passion</i></b> is by far the most interesting book of the series. Luce travels back through the centuries to her past lives in order to escape the present, and to learn from her past. It is mentioned quite often, every life Luce arrives at, there is a lesson to be learned. Besides from Daniels devotion to her, I don’t see the lesson. I don’t understand why Lauren Kate, the author, continues to write it when there is no obvious lesson.<o:p></o:p> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of Luce’s past life stories are bittersweet and romantic. It is these stories that are most memorable. Luce also has the ability to take over the body of 'past life’. I hate it. Every time she does it, it feels like she's depriving ‘her past self’ (technically not her) from Daniel…. very selfish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Passion </i>deals with mostly the travelling and Daniel trying to find her. The main storyline may be simple, but I enjoyed the minor stories in between the travelling… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What can I say, I am a romantic-ish person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnlDB8QQb7bkQ2W9AW3aor9pUKGB7f8GeU-_JJXQa2qsnLIvs55mExTQC8mn-EBnGg0fAtUprHpq8mCaVveXgI-sFEOBE-xBPFeZaE-XhxIBGhfyycMeUTxNzt5kKesgah4k8ivtHdEe3/s1600/RAPTURE-Cover-fallen-by-lauren-kate-26640741-1664-2544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnlDB8QQb7bkQ2W9AW3aor9pUKGB7f8GeU-_JJXQa2qsnLIvs55mExTQC8mn-EBnGg0fAtUprHpq8mCaVveXgI-sFEOBE-xBPFeZaE-XhxIBGhfyycMeUTxNzt5kKesgah4k8ivtHdEe3/s320/RAPTURE-Cover-fallen-by-lauren-kate-26640741-1664-2544.jpg" width="208" xya="true" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fallen in Love</i></b> sets during a particular time in book 3. It focuses on the one place and time with most of the characters. It’s not great and there is no need to read it. I suggest skipping over and heading straight for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rapture</i></b>.<o:p></o:p> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Everything merges in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rapture</i></b>, with the biggest question answered and a double twist. The answer to the question is predictable, the double twist was unexpected. I like part of the twist but had trouble believing the second as it damaged the reputation of a well known angel. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rapture </i>contains more action and expands on the bigger picture. There is a small quest, some deaths and some 'baddies' thrown in there to keep it interesting. Then there is the end where everything sort of falls into place with one or two unexplained things (which maybe left for a spin-off)? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The end is predictable but is the best and appropriate for angels who fall in love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The one smart detail Lauren Kate had in the books was to name God 'The Throne'. The Throne, in the novel, is selfish, vain and unfair. But by using the name The Throne, it is less likely to be compared with.......God. And she had The Throne as a woman. (Thumbs up from me, not that it really matters.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This series could and should have been shortened to keep it more interesting but then again I personally like fast-paced novels. There was a good base storyline which could have been written better. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did I enjoy the series? Some parts. Will I recommend it to readers? Only to people who love YA romance. So if you like YA romance, I say go for it especially if you think reincarnation is romantic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Terri's Rating: </strong><i>2.5/5</i></span></div>
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Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-5962337260985489992013-06-27T12:31:00.003+10:002013-07-14T01:40:03.142+10:00Movie Review: The Woman In Black (2012)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Director: </b>James Watkins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Released: </b>2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Running Time:</b> 95mins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Classification: </b>M<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre: </b>Horror, Drama, Thriller<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After reading the book, I decided to give the 2012 <em>The Woman in Black</em> movie a try. The movie did not stay completely true to the book, however the changes made improved the process of the storyline and in some ways gave the audience a restful ending (or maybe just for me).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p>*I've also done a <a href="http://terrificgalexy.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-woman-in-black.html">review on the book</a> written by Susan Hill for anyone who is interested. I strongly suggest you read the book first before watching the movie.*</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike the book, the movie starts straight in the midst of the horror with the deaths of 3 children and the presence of the woman in black<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>The genre is set and the mystery begins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Daniel Radcliffe portrays a convincing Arthur Kipps, characteristically. Thanks to Radcliffe’s previous movies (namely <i>Harry Potter</i>), appearance wise he looks too short to be a man and too young to have a child however as the movie progresses, his appearance is forgotten, replaced by his acting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are some minor changes to the characters in the movie and some added surprises that, if you are the fan of the book, may or may not like. I personally thought the changes gave the movie more to play on and had to be done to make the movie longer and more visually interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The biggest change is the existence of Arthur’s son. Arthur’s wife dies from childbirth and leaves him with their son. This happens at the start of the story and it is his son who propels the story further than the ending written in the book. (For those who haven't read the book, Arthur's son is not born until the end of the story). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the book, Arthur lacks action and is left frightened; in the movie he attempts to solve the horror to save his son. To do this, the script writers included a thorough explanation of the woman’s history and existence and showed the consequences when one meddles with her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I preferred the changes. The book was brief and did not have as much <u>death</u> as a horror reader would have liked. I also preferred the ending. The ending can be considered happy depending on how you look at it. There is proper finish to Arthur’s story. As for <strong>the woman</strong>, it can not be sure what truly happens to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The actors, houses, locations are all perfect for the era and Eel Marsh House looks exactly as described in the book. Even the marsh lands look perfect. The colour of the movie stays dimly light and foggy, blending into the costumes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This horror film plays heavily on noise. Without the sudden knocking, whispering and scary music, this movie would not be a horror. The noises were perfectly timed and will definitely make the audience jump in their seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just remember, if you are looking for something a bit more visually frightening you might want to skip this movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I spent most of the movie with my eyes under the pillow and hands clapped around my ears (I hate scary films). The reason I continued watching was to see why the woman did the things she did (even though I have read the book, the movie explained this more clearly with some extra touches) and how everything was resolved. I was much more satisfied with this altered story then the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As much as I enjoyed the book, I preferred the altered storyline of the movie. The storyline in the book was simpler and was perfect for a short novel. For a movie, the changes enhanced what the book already had and added more dimensions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This movie is not for everyone. For anyone who likes the more mystery horror stories, I suggest you give it a try but if you are looking for something fast-paced with more gore, try something else (you will most likely find this movie boring). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Terri's Rating: </strong><i>3.5/5 </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I do not like scary movies, so the rating is based predominately on the storyline and the cinematic effects.</span></div>
Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-72443418549508958052013-06-24T10:54:00.002+10:002013-06-25T13:23:04.902+10:00Book Review: The Study Series<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLjhOFdii2zutkyekZdJVtoLFeklhARaeskdPbl3i0fmFDmVVgwQJZ3pud_XfU4X0qiYdpScWuS0A7iMyopV8HHgpmcl0hZmBKblvNcVYf7v5tTiXjwRojR64g3QZmnvufuEFbKqG8-Np/s1600/poison+study.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLjhOFdii2zutkyekZdJVtoLFeklhARaeskdPbl3i0fmFDmVVgwQJZ3pud_XfU4X0qiYdpScWuS0A7iMyopV8HHgpmcl0hZmBKblvNcVYf7v5tTiXjwRojR64g3QZmnvufuEFbKqG8-Np/s320/poison+study.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Title:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Poison Study, Magic
Study <i>and</i> Fire Study<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Maria V Snyder<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 2005-2008<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre:</b> Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yelena is a convicted murderer. On the day of
her execution, she is given a choice: take the noose or become food taster for
the Commander of Ixia. Naturally, she chooses the latter. At the palace, she is
trained to taste for poisons by Valek, the Commander’s loyal and mysterious
Chief of Security. To prevent Yelena’s escape, Valek poisons her with
Butterfly’s Dust – from then on, she must return to him for a daily dose of the
antidote or else face a painful death as the Butterfly’s Dust takes effect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So begins <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study</i></b>, the first book in Maria
V Snyder’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Study Series </i>(also known
as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yelena Zaltana Novels</i>). It’s
an interesting premise, rife with potential. As Yelena adjusts to her new life,
she meets General Brazell, father of the man she killed, and a magician from
the neighbouring country of Sitia, who senses Yelena’s magic – magic being
outlawed in Ixia. How can she stay safe? Who can she trust? There’s a lot of
tension in this novel, which gives it an enjoyable, exciting sort of mood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still, the lack of poisons in a book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study </i>is disappointing. There is
only a brief period of poison taster training before the narrative drifts into
Yelena learning to fight, Yelena being suspicious of General Brazell and Yelena
taking baths. There isn’t much “plot”; the action, as it is, is mostly
character-driven. That brings me to Yelena herself. She’s an Action Girl, and
I’ll admit I didn’t like her at first – I felt she had a modern, misplaced
sense of entitlement, which was bold considering she’s easily replaceable.
However, over time, I came to appreciate her good qualities – she’s strong, frank,
hard-working and wants to help people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of the best parts of the book is the
romance. It’s not a surprise that Valek becomes a love interest, and the
captor/captive dynamic makes it a bit more interesting. Thankfully, there’s no
insta-love, so it was good to see their relationship actually develop. Valek
himself is painted as a devoted and manly badass, and despite his curly
shoulder-length hair (wat), he was probably my favourite character and I’m sure
many of you will swoon for him (even though he's a pretty shady guy when you think about it).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdPgvLdeWOhjqoMnomfQJWYMNmXim4sLiHnaktkBqpPFuJ9pwHZO7k2g_hGzOTrmmzKcX4bsg1TG_kntmMJn2RNAwoc36xrjz_G2T6nMDTER_z-eZnUR-YMwgnBZCrCpkCTYzM8c5VVJF/s1600/magic+study.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdPgvLdeWOhjqoMnomfQJWYMNmXim4sLiHnaktkBqpPFuJ9pwHZO7k2g_hGzOTrmmzKcX4bsg1TG_kntmMJn2RNAwoc36xrjz_G2T6nMDTER_z-eZnUR-YMwgnBZCrCpkCTYzM8c5VVJF/s320/magic+study.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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While <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study </i>works as a standalone, its
sequels, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic Study</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire
Study</i></b> do not. The plot from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic
Study </i>doesn’t even finish, meaning you’ll have to read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire Study </i>for closure. Spoiler alert: at the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study</i>, Yelena lives. She decides
to go to Sitia to learn to control her magic. Like its predecessor, both <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic Study </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire Study</i> lack actual study of magic or fire. Instead, the books
are mostly about how Yelena hunts down an evil magician who rapes, tortures and
murders girls to steal their magic.</div>
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Like many others, I felt
that the series weakened with each book. The key issue is the matter of the plot.
While the first book deals with Yelena’s struggle to survive, the next two have
her playing detective, justice-meter and all-round hero, since no one at all competent
exists in her world other than Valek. Yelena’s rape and torture in Book #1 are
harrowing, formative events. In Books #2 and #3, rape and torture are used almost
gratuitously as drama-adding plot devices. The events of Book #3 are also especially
repetitive, with a lot of people travelling around, getting captured and
stabbing or being stabbed with the paralysing substance Curare. What makes it
worse is how – perhaps due to a lack of personal stakes for Yelena – the
antagonist feels like a Monster of the Week, rather than a Big Bad, even though
their storyline stretches across two books. Also, while some characters are
likeable (eg. Ari and Janco), others are annoyingly one-dimensional (Roze) and
one character is outright spin-off bait (Opal Cowan, now featured in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Glass Series</i>).</div>
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I had hoped that the
world would be built up a bit more, since there are so many interesting
concepts at play. It’s not often you read a fantasy set in a socialist military
dictatorship like Ixia, but other than a bunch of colour-coded uniforms, you
don’t get much exploration of the way it works. The capitalist democracy(?) Sitia,
on the other hand, gets a bit more depth in terms of the plains nomads Sandseed
clan and jungle tree-dwelling Zaltana clan – but that’s only in terms of their
lifestyle, so to speak. You don’t really see how the Sitian government works; we
only know there is a Council and that it takes them a long time to make
decisions. The only virtue of this, according to Yelena, is how it means that
no one person shoulders the blame for mistakes. Also, beggars apparently do not
exist in Ixia. Mmm… okay then. It’s a bit too simplistic for my liking, but
what can you do?</div>
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I think another reason
why the sequels aren't as loved is because there is less Valek. Valek and Yelena's romance is one of the highlights of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study</i>
and there’s less of that in the sequels. Their relationship also doesn’t seem
to develop beyond the stage of becoming a couple. I would have liked to see
Snyder explore how their previous captor/captive relationship colours their
current one, or maybe something about how Yelena feels conflicted about Valek
being an assassin of magicians (ie. people like her). But no. Instead we have one
(1) token fight where she calls him out on his murderous ways and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she’s</i> portrayed as being in the wrong. Otherwise,
every time they meet, they just banter for a bit before their clothes fall off.
FYI, after disrobing, the sex scenes comprise, at most, of a vague paragraph
about how Yelena feels Valek inside her and how their souls bond. In other
words, these scenes adhere to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight
</i>school of sexytimes writing, to give you an indication of what they’re like.</div>
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Yelena also falls victim
to Mary Sue-itis. Big time. She goes from showing magic potential in Book #1 to
gaining more and more super special snowflake abilities with each book. Worse
is how she seems to disbelieve all the things people say about her. Beautiful?
Me? Powerful? Me? Soulfinder? Me? I rolled my eyes so hard and so frequently they
almost got stuck at the back of my head. Yelena also makes decisions that don’t
seem to make sense, but of course it works out in the end because of course it
does. She flip-flops on matters of trust and she only wants to help people if
it’s done her way. However, she’s the only character with actual thoughts, so
of course she solves <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i>the
problems, no matter how nonsensical she may be. The prime example of dumb
that’s stuck with me is how she chooses her horse. So she’s just discovered she
can talk to a horse (they think in English, apparently, only without auxiliary
verbs and without the word “I”). So... how does she think she should choose a
horsey companion? Why, by colour of course! It’s like she’s not even trying.
And of course she gets the most special horse there is.</div>
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The writing in this
series is simple. The style is easy-to-read and conversational and the chapters
are short, with a tendency to cliff-hang at the end. It’s also the only reason
I see for classifying this book as “Young Adult”, since Yelena is already nineteen
years old (and Valek’s in his early thirties) and there’s a lot of dark
material here (namely, the brutal rapes, tortures and murders). While it’s the
sort of prose that’s easy to gobble up, it also felt lazy in parts. Some things
I could forgive for being part of Yelena’s thought processes (such as a garment
being called “skirt/pants” and Valek wearing a “sneak suit”), but other words
and phrases jarred. The language is modern, with “Mr.” and “occupational
hazard” being terms I did not expect to see in this world of swords and horses.
The most striking instance of this is when Moon Man exclaims “wah-lah!”, which
I can only assume is a bastardised form of the French “voila!”. I literally
could not believe it and had to read the sentence a few times before it sank
in. One last pet peeve is how Valek takes to calling Yelena “love”, using the
word at the end of almost every sentence. Rather than sounding romantic, this
just reminds me of kindly old British groundskeepers, because I’ve learned from
TV that that’s how they speak, innit, love?</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Study Series </i>starts off well. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poison Study</i> is an easy, addictive read with a tantalising romance
and tense mood. However, the sequels are less captivating. Yelena becomes a
Sue, the romance stalls and the world isn’t as complex as it needs to be. The
main conflict is not uninteresting, but the repetitiveness and dumb are really
frustrating and sap the life out of things. To sum, the books aren’t
unpleasant, but they’re not particularly great either. Still, the glass magic
mentioned toward the end sounds interesting, so I may yet get sucked into
reading the author’s next series about Opal.</div>
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(Note: newer editions of
these books include a map at the start. There is also a sequel series for
Yelena in the works.)</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alex’s Rating:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3/5</i></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95797321196304166.post-53994136673976436742013-06-20T16:57:00.000+10:002013-06-27T12:10:19.708+10:00Book Review: The Woman in Black<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b>Title: </b>The Woman in Black</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author: </b>Susan Hill<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year Published:</b> 1983<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genre: </b>Horror, Supernatural, Gothic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A junior solicitor by the name Arthur Kipps is summoned to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. It is not until he sees a strange woman dressed in black wondering the premises that he realises the cold, dark uneasiness of Eel Marsh House is not just from the marsh lands nearby, but from the presence of something evil. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*This review is purely from the book itself and not the movie.*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The pros about a horror <u>novel</u> is the reader can stop when it gets too ‘scary’ and, depending on their imagination, the supernatural world can be altered for the ‘less brave’: rather than having a pitch black room, add a tiny window for some extra natural light etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s how I get through a horror novel; however I did not need to utilise my own advice for <em>The Woman in Black</em>. There is horror and the supernatural, but the main reason to read the book is for the ‘why’ and the 'end'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>The Woman in Black</em> starts with Arthur explaining his present life after the incident before talking about the past. From the first couple of pages it is clear Arthur survived the ordeal and lives a normal life, of course still been haunted by bad memories. By starting like this, the story loses some suspense on what happens to the main character. To find him living normally doesn’t make his experience serious or frightening enough for the story to be terrifying. I would have prefered if Susan Hill had just dived straight into the main story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a slow build up in the first part of the novel. From his present describing how he wishes not to mention the past and to the start of the past, the story trugs along. Something’s going to happen but when…… I found myself thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep in mind this book is fairly short. Only 200 pages so the first half is more than bearable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second half is when things get exciting, from hearing strange noises, phantom winds and … obviously…. seeing a woman in black. It is like a dark cloud has descended into that half of the book, refusing to leave and making the reader wanting to know ‘what happened and why’ desperately. I loved the sudden noises, the uncertainty of where the cold wind is from and the old creepy house. Having the story told from Arthur’s voice and his descriptions makes the story more visually and mentally enhancing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>The Woman in Black</em> is set during the Edwardian era (1901-1910) which just adds to the haunting texture of the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ending was a surprise. I like it and I hate it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please skip to the next paragraph to avoid spoilers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The idea of the unsolved evil bothers me. I like that it’s not a happy ending, but I hate the story of this woman still lingering around the town and house taking lives. I think I would have been more content with the story still lingering if Arthur’s future, after the incident, wasn’t so normal and he was mentally shredded from the experience. He would be one of the many that were and will be victims of the Woman in black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But on a happy point, the story is set so precisely during a specific era, a specific place and a specific kind of evil that after reading it, the Woman in black should not suddenly (with no help of the imagination) appear in front of you thanks to the story being so well grounded with no link to the present day (unless Eel Marsh House does exist). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I would love it if Susan Hill made this novel longer and maybe stretched the suspense a bit further. I didn’t get enough of the book especially near the end. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good scare but does not want to read a long novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After reading this, I am so looking forward to seeing the movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Terri's Rating:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>3.5/5</i></span><br />
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Terrific Galexyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11906061827982204630noreply@blogger.com0