A Novel Idea: Confessions of book buying addict

Borrowed and Blue

2012-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Something Borrowed
By Emily Giffin

I hate the term chicklit, I feel it possesses a bad connotation. As if what we "chicks" read is diluted, shallow, and shamefully girly. Something Borrowed is labeled under this category, but expect something honest and complicated.

The story is about Rachel White an attorney living in Manhattan. Rachel is the girl that follows all the rules works hard and yet ends up with nothing. Her childhood best friend Darcy is getting married to Dex and Rachel is the maid of honor. Rachel introduced Darcy and Dex even though Rachel liked him, she just felt that she didn't deserve him. Darcy has always been the glamour beautiful one who has everything fall in her lap, she also walks all over Rachel and Rachel lets her.
As you can probably guess this is a flawed friendship even though the basis of it is genuine, it has just become layered with abuse.
On Rachel's thirtieth birthday Darcy throws her a surprise party and Rachel ends up in bed with Dex. Afterwards Rachel realises that she has always been in love with Dex, but struggles with her loyalty to Darcy and the possibility of never finding love like this again.

I will admit at times the book is cheesy, and I find it too convenient that Darcy is a bad best friend making Rachel look more deserving of Dex, but it reminds us that we are human we make mistakes, and that there is never one person at fault. The story is told through Rachel's perspective which normally drives me nuts but Emily Giffin makes it work. Rachel is honest, and she knows that she has always let Darcy be the one to shine ever since childhood. Rachel is likeable which is a trick to pull off because she could easily have become whiny but she isn't. She knows full well how she got to where she is and makes up her mind to change things.

As most of you know this has been recently made into a movie. The movie stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Kate Hudson as Rachel and Darcy. I think the movie has potential of being on of the better romantic comedies and from what I can tell from the previews it looks as if follows the book pretty closely. The only big difference is character of Ethan (played by John Krasinski) a childhood friend to both Rachel and Darcy. The character lives in London and interacts only with Rachel mainly through phone calls, but I don't think I will mind the change as I like John Krasinski. I'm not going to rush too theatres to see this, but the book is a good easy read that's hard to put down.

My Thoughts on the movie

Something Blue
By Emily Giffin

WARNING THIS BOOK DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF SOMETHING BORROWED!

I've decided to put two books into one post since Something Blue is the sequel to Something Borrowed.
Blue it told through Darcy's perspective and what was happenening with her during all those times Rachel and Dex were together.
Darcy is a beautiful, shallow, spoiled and your typical party girl. Everything usually falls into her lap, but after her best friend and fiance run off together she finds herself friendless, and pregnant with the slacker groomsman Marcus' baby. Not wanting to admit any fault for being dumped by her fiance, she circulates the story of Rachel and Dex, carefully leaving out that she too was having an affair and is now knocked up.
In the beginning Darcy explains how she came to be the way she is, how from the very beginning she was praised only for looks and charming self. That she was never expected to work hard for everything, and that a charmed life was meant for merely because she was beautiful. Her own parents treat this way and so did everyone else. She tells us that she was secretly jealous of Rachel being the smart one, and how this made her want to compete for everything. Rachel never saw it as a competition and unbeknowst to her let Darcy win.

After Marcus dumps her and her friends and family abandon her, Darcy heads to London to stay with Ethan (Rachel and Darcy's childhood friend). Darcy and Ethan have a strange relationship, him not really trusting her and she doesn't understand why he never fell for her. Darcy has no intention of leaving Ethan's place as she has no one to take care of her. Ethan however is not one to give in to easily, and calls Darcy out on her behaviour. A strange friendship evolves from there and maybe something more.

I've read some reviews for this book saying that it wasn't as enjoyable as Borrowed mainly because of how shallow Darcy is. What I believe they have failed to see is that she tells the story on how she used to be and how that mindset justified her actions. The book is about growing as a person, learning do it yourself, and standing on your own two feet. Unlike Rachel, she is blunt and speaks without thinking, and since she based everything on looks and other material things, she isn't as likeable.
But I like Darcy, she is flawed like everyone else, but still has her good points and she in the end wants to work on her character.
Again this book is easy to read and hard to put down. If you read Something Borrowed you have to read Something Blue.

Something Borrowed

2012-01-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

Something Borrowed
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, and Kate Hudson

I liked this book, it had an interesting relationship between two best friends and how one friends takes everything and the other gives everything and never fights back. How you can love someone but if you leave things unsaid resentments build up.
I'm not sure if the movie really captured the book, it was good effort but I found it harder to sympathize with the characters. Dex is sexy but its hard to really like him when you see how he treats Rachel and Darcy, and part of me thought Rachel deserved what she got from Darcy because she never fought back.
Its a chick flick! It was a movie I could watch again, but it certainly isn't my favourite. I do hope that we get to see Darcy's story in Something Blue when she moves to London pregnant with twins. That book had more comedy in it because Darcy is outside of her element and her and Ethan make an odd couple I just feel it would make a better movie. Comically that is.
So ladies check it out, its fun but the book is better,
My thoughts on the books

The Tea Rose

2012-01-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Tea Rose
By Jennifer Donnelly

I have done it! I finished a book. Its been a while since I have posted on a book and I am happy with this book.

The story is set in East London in 1888 and is about a young woman named Fiona Finnegan. Fiona works in a Tea factory for a terrible man named William Burton. Fiona dreams of one day having her own shop along with her sweetheart Joe Bristow. The two have been saving their money for a long time and they are encouraged by her father who does everything in his power to let Fiona have her dreams. Tragedy strikes the Finnegan's when Fiona's father is killed in what appears to be an accident, and Joe has left East London for a better job and is being pursued by his bosses daughter leaving him unable to spend time with Fiona when she needs him most. This leaves Fiona as the sole supporter of her family. During this time in London Jack the Ripper is roaming the streets and killing prostitutes, this too also ties into the tragedy that Fiona suffers. Fiona fears for her life and sets off for New York to see her father's brother. While in New York she makes her fortune but she never forgets her past and vows to avenge her family, she is also still in love with Joe even though he broke her heart. Eventually she finds her self returning to London a successful woman, who now has to face her past and put that all behind her.

The Tea Rose was exactly the type of book I needed after a semester of hard work. It was easy to read and very melodramatic. I liked the characters and cared about what happened with them, I rooted for Fiona and Joe, and the bad guys were easy to hate. I needed to know what happened next, but with that being said it was predictable and it felt like something that I had read before. The Tea Rose is the first book of the Rose Trilogy, but I'm not sure I will rush out to the store and buy these books, I would like to read them but I can wait. If you love BBC period dramas this is a good book to get into, it takes you to poor East London, to glitzy New York and back to a upper middle class London. It was a well researched book, the author needed to research not only how people lived in those conditions, but Jack the Ripper, Tea factories, New York society and stock market. I will defiantly read more by this author, and at some point finish the trilogy but since I'm back in school it may not be for a while so don't hold your breath.
:)

Two more trailers. Its like I've forgotten how to read

2011-12-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

So I know I said in my last post that I would soon be posting about a book I was reading, and I haven't quite finished any books, close but no cigar. Hopefully before the new year I can squeeze one in.
Since I do enjoy posting what I am eager to see here are two more movie trailers that I'm looking foreword to watching.

W.E is the directorial debut of Madonna and I was at first skeptical since her acting chops have only been so-so, but she is also extremely creative as we all know and might be better behind the camera. However W.E/ is based on a true story and I was on unsure if any liberties would be taken but by the look of the trailer it doesn't seem to be that. Regardless it looks to be my type of movie.
The plot is about Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward Windsor, the current Queen's uncle. Edward was supposed to become King of England but he fell in love with Wallis an american divorcee. Refusing to marry anyone else he is given the choice of either marrying her and abdication or becoming the king of England.
Their is also a another plot line to the story that is set in 1998 New York, I'm unsure as to how the two story lines connect but I'm sure they do. Wally Winthrop is an unhappily married women obsessed with Wallis Simpson believing it to be the ultimate love story.

The second movie is The Artist, a film set in the 1920's and silent.
At first I thought this was something that wouldn't work but after viewing the trailer that just goes to show you that great acting isn't just in speech.
The story is about a silent film star and his declining career due to sound coming in. He meets a young actress who as the plot progresses becomes a star.

Will keep you posted on when I see the movies and what my thoughts are and eventually I will have a book posting.

Robert Pattinson Sans Glitter

2011-12-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Water for Elephants
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christopher Waltz

While this is another movie post on a blog about books, this is a book I have read and blogged about. I will at some point have another book blog but for now it is what it is.

The book I thought was okay. I hated the ending but I enjoyed the parts that were set in the depression and felt that the elder Jacob storyline took away from the younger Jacobs story. I think what I disliked about the elder Jacob's ending was that this was someone whose health was very bad and I think the author took his ending in a very weird and unrealistic direction. This was the main reason I didn't like the ending and it ruined the rest of the book for me.
However I really liked the movie. That may shock some lovers of the book but I did, and for most people that is usually the opposite; they hate the movie love the book. That isn't always the case for me. I usually like both equally and sometimes the movie more.
The story if you don't know already is about young Jacob Jankowski during the Depression, he is close to graduating from Cornell University and becoming a vet. Tragedy strikes and Jacob loses both his parents and the family had no money to leave him. So he sets off along the railway to find work in the city. The train he jumps onto is one that belongs the Benzini Brothers circus. Instead of throwing Jacob off the train, they let him stay and find him some work for the next day. Its while he is working he meets August the owner, Jacob convinces August to give him a job as a vet arguing that Ringling brothers would have a vet.
August is a truly cruel human being to the animals and the people around him. He has the power over everyone in the circus and this could mean life or death if you get on his wrong side. Jacob ends up working Rosie, a temperamental Elephant, as well as Marlena, August's beautiful wife to come up with an act. Jacob and Marlena fall in love but are threatened at every turn because of August.
The movie did for me what the book didn't. The elder Jacob's storyline was cut down, giving more focus on the younger Jacob's life in the circus. The character of Marlena (Witherspoon) was given a much darker past than what is written in the book, which I didn't feel was necessary, but it still gave her the fear of having no one and making it more difficult to leave August. Christopher Waltz was amazing, he brought more to the character than I thought. I do think if he hadn't been cast the movie would have suffered. I never understood in the book why Jacob and Marlena didn't just leave because August wasn't as scary in the book, but in the movie you understood why they couldn't just leave. He was the link that tied everything together even Jacob and Marlena. The movie captured the dark and sometimes ugly glamour of the circus and how the depression would make some men do desperate things. It was filmed beautifully, and I thought the acting was great. I was surprised at the chemistry between Pattinson and Witherspoon, they were two actors that I never thought would have chemistry but it was there. I LOVED ROSIE! ]
I loved it! I would defiantly watch it again perhaps even purchase the DVD. But I'm sure I wouldn't read the book again, but read the book first then watch the movie, just cause that's the order of how things are done.

My Thoughts on the book

I remember and I love you

2011-11-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

The War Bride
Starring Anna Friel, Aden Young, Brenda Fricker, and Molly Parker

This past week my grandmother passed away, we were extremely close, I lived with her for around six years, and she was an inspiration in my life.
I bought this movie because I love it, and it reminded me of her. When I decided I would be moving out, I ordered the movie to remind me of her. I felt like watching it this week after her passing because she too was a war bride that came over from England to Canada.

The movie is about Lily a London seamstress during WWII. She has no family only her best friends from a group home. She meets Charlie, a Canadian solider, one night at a dance. The two quickly fall in love and decide to get married. Lily finds out she's pregnant and soon after the baby is born she receives a telegram saying that she is to be sent to Canada. She and her best friend Sophie, who marries a french Canadian soldier, make the long trip to Canada. Sophie to Montreal and Lily to Spring Hill Alberta. Once Lily arrives she finds Spring Hill to be the exact opposite of what she expected and Charlie's family isn't so happy to have her. Despite this she stays and tries to win them over and work things out.

While the story isn't exactly like my grandmothers, she had a friendlier welcome and a house with plumbing, there are many close characteristics and its a charming little movie. Lily reminds me so much of her and the actor playing Charlie sort of looks like my grandfather.
Since today is also Remembrance Day it reminds us what past generations fought for and how grateful we should be.

Watch the War Bride

Because its Halloween

2011-10-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

Practical Magic
Starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman

I love Halloween, for the past few years I haven't really participated in Halloween festivities but I do love it. For one day there is no judgement over how you look, you can be whatever and no one really cares or takes a second look. I'm not just talking about ladies dressing in slutty costumes (as fun as that is) but being weirdly creative. Since I am again not partaking in Halloween activities I'm watching a Halloween movie.
While I don't feel this movie is a great movie I do love watching it. I think its the hair. Not joking I love Sandra Bullock's hair and Nicole Kidman's, its amazing they should have had a trailer for hair extensions. I also want to live in their house, its a fantastic house, i mean it has tower! The wardrobe is pretty hysterical and I'm not talking about the cooky aunts, but who else other than Sandra Bullock can pull off clogs with a ankle length skirt, and cute little white socks. I like the relationship between Bullock and Kidman as sisters, I feel the movie is weakest with the story. The movie doesn't really know what it wants to be, there isn't that much magic, its not a dark comedy but they bury Kidman's boyfriend in the backyard, and as far as a romantic comedies go Sandra Bullock's love interest doesn't come into the movie till about half way. Despite this I love watching it!
While the movie isn't scary it does have a bit of a spooky feel to it
(Except the "ladies lets clean house" line towards the end), its also a girls kick butt movie. I do love when ladies take back their power.
So if you don't like being scared out of your senses, but want something with a hint of Halloween Practical Magic is a good choice.

Hollywood history

2011-10-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Chaplin
Starring Robert Downy Jr

As some of you know I'm currently living in Hollywood studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. What you may not know is that the school was originally Charlie Chaplin's movie studio. Ever since I have arrived at school I have been dying to re watch the movie Chaplin. The other night I rented it and watched it all over again. Charlie Chaplin was just one of the most fascinating men in movie history.

The movie starts when young Charlie is just a little boy and his mother is trying to be a singer on the stage, but is unsuccessful and Charlie steps up. The audience gets to see how he really did rise from poverty and taking care of his mentally ill mother to one of the most powerful and successful men in movie history. You get to see all the women in his life, his mother, girlfriends, and wives. He royally pissed off J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, and was constantly attached to scandal in his love life.

I love this movie and Robert Downy Jr, is fantastic. Charlie Chaplin was brilliant and he had such an interesting life.
Check it out.

Another Trailer

2011-10-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

War Horse
Directed by Steven Spielberg

This looks like one of those movies, that is going to make you ball your eyes out and wish the world was a better place.
To be honest I don't really know what the story is, but I think I have an idea. I think the title says it all War Horse.

I know I will want to see this but I will dread it cause it will undoubtedly make me cry. The images in the trailer along with the musical score is already taking its toll on me.

Sometimes we are still just kids at heart

2011-09-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I last posted and because of my going back to school, my posts are going to be few and far between and probably more on upcoming films and tv shows. As much as it saddens me, its okay cause I am doing some thing I love.

But I saw this trailer the other day and it almost made me cry. I'm pretty sure we all know who Elmo is, and this documentary is all about the voice of Elmo. I can't wait to watch this, its just an interesting metamorphosis, of puppet and puppeteer. Elmo could never be Elmo without this man, it just wouldn't work.
Plus it made me wish I was kid again, just pure imagination and the power of a belief in our dreams that can take us anywhere.

And who doesn't love Elmo?

A walk in someone else's shoes

2011-08-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Unbearable Lightness
A story of loss and gain
By Portia De Rossi

Its hard to believe when you look at Portia De Rossi, a beautiful actress/ex model its hard to believe that she had even a glimmer of low self esteem let alone suffer from an eating disorder.
I used to love watching the show Alley Mcbeal, and I liked all the characters including Portia's character Nell Porter. Like many I was envious of her good looks and long beautiful blond hair if, I only knew during that time how much she struggled with her self image, food, and self love. The book is brutally honest and is told from the perspective of the person with the eating disorder, which I would imagine be a hard thing to do since its coming from the person who suffered from the disorder. As someone who LOVES to eat, its hard to imagine how life would be counting every calorie, constantly calculating how I'm going to burn each of those calories, and basically becoming recluse because no one can really know what it is your doing otherwise they might take that control away. She talks about keeping a separate food diary from her nutritionist that is supposed to be for 1400 calories a day, when the real diary is written for 1000 then 900, 800 and etc. She also talks about feeling the shame of being a gay women, it even mentions Ellen DeGeneres and how she fears of losing everything like Ellen if her being gay would come out.
It was a fascinating read, and really just confirms that its not about the eating and gaining weight back, its a mental illness. I thought it was also interesting that all the pressure to be thin mostly came from her self, not an external person saying you need to loose weight, but I don't deserve this sucess cause I'm fat.
Normally reading nonfiction takes me a while but I got through this book so quickly and when I would pick it up and dive right back into it. I would recommend this book for anyone, for me it helped me to understand how the mindset of a person with an eating disorder works, but its especially great I think for someone with low self esteem who thinks there self worth lies in their looks and weight.

Part 1 of an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, it starts at about 4min

Part 1 of an interview with Oprah

An American Heiress

2011-08-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

An American Heiress AKA
My Last Duchess By Daisy Goodwin

I first saw this book when I was in London, it was in all the book stores but it was under the title My last Duchess. It sounded like the sort of thing I would love to read, but I felt I should wait and read it when it came out in Canada. A few weeks ago I saw it in a book store, and its selling point was one critic said "It was for those of us going through Downton Abbey withdrawal". SOLD!
The story is set in the 1890's and is about Cora Cash, the richest American heiress in Newport. The book starts with a bang at Cora's coming out party, her family is planning a trip to England to so that Cora can buy a title. Cora doesn't care about titles and has decided that she will marry her childhood friend Teddy Van Der Lyden she gets him alone but despite Teddy's undying love for her he won't marry her, so Cora goes to England.

By accident she meets the Duke of Wareham and she falls head over heels for him. Of course there is more to the Duke than Cora knows, and the world he lives in is full of secrets. After their wedding things begin to go wrong, the Duke's mood is changeable and there all these rules that Cora knows nothing about. Cora's story is also told through her maid Bertha Jackson, an African American woman who has been with Cora for the past ten years. Its an interesting look at the story, Bertha is treated as the lowest of the house in America, but as Duchess' ladies maid she has higher position and more benefits that she would not normally receive in America. Bertha also has her own love interest in the story, but unlike Cora she knows that she cannot go into anything blindly. Despite the class and race Bertha really does care about Cora, she sees past the poor little rich girl.

This book was fun, it felt like I was reading a BBC period drama. Cora is actually based on the real life American Heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, and there are other tidbits of historical fact in the book. Cora starts off very naive but headstrong, and vivacious. When the secrets of Duke's past start to unravel she looses a bit of her fire, I would have liked her to let him have it a bit more, but Cora still holds her ground. Overall the book was fun, I would read it again. I kinda hope it does get made into a movie or mini series cause I just love these stories. A must read for Period Drama Lovers.

Show you might like that is similar to An American Heiress ( I love it)

The Buccaneers

Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, it follows the story of four American Heiresses and their pursuit of love, titles and English Society.

Burnt Shadows

2011-07-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Burnt Shadows

Kamila Shamsie

I initially thought this book was more of a romance, but I was wrong. There is love but its not romantic.

The story starts on the eve of the bombings in Nagasaki during WWII, a young German man Konrad, has proposed to Hiroko Tanaka, a Japanese woman with a gift for learning languages. She says yes, and then the world comes in. Konrad is killed in the bombing and Hiroko is permanently scarred on her back from her silk Kimono burning its imprint onto her back.

A few year later she travels to India to meet Konrad's sister Elizabeth Burton and her husband James. Elizabeth is trying to forget that she is German, and becoming the most English wife she can be even though it makes her unhappy. The two women form a friendship and Elizabeth wants to Hiroko to stay with them permanently. Hiroko has fallen in love with Sajjad Ashraff, a young Indian man who works for James Burton. Elizabeth or Ilse as she likes to be called later, doesn't like Sajjad and even accuses him of rape when she sees Hiroko and him together.
The story later moves on to Hiroko and Sajjad's son Raza when they are living in Pakistan, and later Ilse and James' son Harry comes to visit with his teenage daughter Kim. Kim and Raza are apart of each others lives without ever meeting.

Its a very interesting story, it sort of reminded me of a combination of the movies Babel and any Merchant Ivory film, that sort of feeling except spanning over a longer amount of time. The story starts in Nagaskai, then moves to India, Pakistan and eventually New York and Afghanistan. In all of these places there is a great conflict and/or war which the characters try to understand. Despite these cultural differences almost all the characters develop either a friendship or a animosity. Hiroko and Ilse are probably the best example of the friendship, but Ilse's relationship with Sajjad is one strained with tension, later on Raza and Harry form a close relationship but Kim and Raza develop strain between them. There is a great line where Harry Burton says to Hiroko's son Raza that "your mother has no understanding of war" it only takes seconds for Harry to realize what a stupid thing it was to say, but its true how we forget that at one time or another one country was at war with another, and that enemy was evil.

The book was not what I expected at all, I thought it would be some romantic saga of two families that spans decades, which it is in its own way, but its more about culture's discovering each other's similarities and the consequences of war and hatred. This was an excellent book, it was lush with detail, managing to find the beauty in each country as well as its flaws. It was really slow, and there were times when I really wanted to stop because of how slow, but again I wanted to know what happened. The ending was disappointing but I suppose that was the only way it could of ended, it just left you wondering and hoping of what happened next.

New Trailer: Dirty Girl

2011-07-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

This movie looks really cute, its set in the 80's and stars
Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Mila Jovich, Mary Steenburgen, William H Macy, and Tim McGraw

SWOON! Its Sean Bean!

2011-07-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Anna Karenina
Directed by Bernard Rose
Starring Sophie Marceau, Sean Bean, Alfred Molina,
Mia Kirshner and James Fox

This movie is for the period drama lovers! It is an absolute must see for the costume drama freaks like me. I saw this one back when it first came out, and was mesmerized. I'm going to keep this post short and sweet because I only really have good things to say. The story is set in 19th century Russia. It is really two stories but the main one is that of Anna. A respected Russian noblewoman married to a much older man. She meets the young handsome Count Vronsky and falls in love. Anna has never felt passion in her life and is torn between being with the man she loves or giving up honor, respectability and also her son. The second couple are Levin and Princess Kitty. Levin has been in love with Kitty for so long but Kitty is enamoured with Vronsky and fails to see what she really wants is right in front of her.

First off I've never read the book which the movie is based on, written by Leo Tolstoy. Its on my must read list, but I think knowing the ending has made it difficult to pick up and read. My point is though, I don't know how well it follows the book, but I believe it is the only version to actually have been filmed in and around St.Petersburg Russia which I felt added to the feel of the movie. Russia really looks like a beautiful country even in the winter they certainly made use of all the beautiful historic Russian palaces, as well as the gorgeous country scenery . The music also added to the whole as well with composers Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Prokofiev.
There is an international cast, and I like that the actors didn't speak with fake Russian accents or English accents unless the actor was English. I can't stand when American actors speak with English accents when the movie is not set in England, but they are only speaking this way because that seems to be a rule of period dramas, if its old gotta have an English accent. Anna is played by the beautiful french actress Sophie Marceau (fell in love with her years ago when I first saw this and attempted to have her bangs; disaster), I think her performance was great but I don't know how well it follows the book, I just adored her when I first saw this. The handsome Sean Bean plays her lover Count Vronsky, I confess I have had a crush on him since this movie even though I've always found him a little scary in movies. The movie is directed by Bernard Rose who also directed Immortal Beloved, another great period drama.
This movie is romantic, sad and beautiful to watch. It is a gem in the costume drama lovers crown.

Watch Anna Karenina

Faux or Fairy Tale

2011-07-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Princess Caraboo
Starring
Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, Wendy Hughts, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Stephen Rea

I've been feeling nostalgic lately, so I've been watching alot of movies that I used to watch as a kid. Princess Caraboo is one of them. This movie, as far as I can tell, isn't that well known and it was hard to find. I've never seen it in a store, but my dear friend and main follower Adrienne, kindly found it online and bought it for my birthday.
Its just like I remebered, and for the record I wanted to be Princess Caraboo.
The movie is loosely based on a true story in 1817 when a young exotic woman is found speaking a strange language, who calls herself Caraboo.
The men that find her think she is begging decide to turn her in to the vicar. The vicar isn't convinced she is a beggar so he takes her to the Worrall's. The Worralls are a wealthy family, and Mrs. Worrall decides that she will help this young woman until more can be found out about her.
Mr. Worrall later sends her to the magistrate when Mr. Frixos, the butler, convinces him that she is a beggar. Caraboo (Phoebe Cates) convinces a young man also waiting to be tried that she is a princess, the young man tells the court, and Mrs. Worrall comes to her rescue. The story is told by Mr. Gutch, a local printer and journalist, who is entranced by this young woman and wants to know more about her story. The Worralls are soon convinced that Caraboo is a princess, she also manages to convince a Cambridge professor who studies the east, as well as the English society, and the Prince Regant himself.

I loved this movie, and still do. If you can find it watch it and find out for yourself if she was a real Princess.

Watch Princess Caraboo

Elegance is an attitude

2011-07-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Elegance
By Kathleen Tessaro

Most would classify this book under "chick lit" but I'm happy to say that its not as goofy as most and has a more sophisticated cover. I thought it was more along the lines of Eat Pray Love, funny but learning about who you really are.

The story is about Louise Canova, an American living in London with her English actor husband. After a not so thriving career as an actress Louise works for the box office of a small independent theatre company, her husband doesn't listen to her and they have a bed the size of a small country both thinking they need this much space away from each other. On an evening out with her ex model mother-in-law and other ageing glamazons, she is mistaken for being pregnant and right there decides something must change. She finds copy of a style book called Elegance by Madame Dariaux, a how to on becoming elegant. After reading the first few chapters she promptly throws out almost of her closet and tries to reinvent her entire self. We learn that Louise's background was full of insecurity, how her mother tried to use Louise to fulfill lost dreams, that in turn led Louise into developing an eating disorder as well as other teenage angst . Her marriage is pretty messed up too, her husband is a clean freak and doesn't seem to really notice that his wife has thrown out her entire closet, but convinces her she needs therapy because he feels nothing is wrong on his part about their marriage. He also mistakes Louise makeover as an act of shallowness, and not for what it really is.

There were times that I really didn't like Louise,her choices drove me nuts but I still had a respect for her, she was honest, and could spot bullshit. She has the most amazing friends (aside from one in the begining) that she at first fails to apperciate but later learns how amazing they really are.

While it was still light reading, it had more to it than I expected not just a makeover book. In the words of Cher from Clueless it was makeover for the soul. While there were times I didn't like Louise I still wanted to know what happened. The writting was more witty than goofy, and still had an honesty. I don't know if I would ever read this one again but I would like to read more from this author.

Meryl my hero! Iron Lady Trailer

2011-07-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Iron Lady

Just watched the trailer for this. It is only a teaser trailer but it has peaked my interest. The movie is about the first female British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher played by Meryl Streep. Judging by the picture she has transformed herself once again for a role. I don't know much about Margret Thatcher I think I was too young to really understand politics ( I wonder how long I can use that excuse) but I don't think its very far fetched to say that Thatcher kicked some serious bum, and who doesn't love to see women kick some ass.
The movie also stars two other favorites Jim Broadbent and Anthony Head AKA Giles.

Mixed Feelings

2011-07-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Falls
By Joyce Carol Oates

I picked this up on a whim unsure of what I wanted to read; I have never read any books by this author so I didn't quite know what to expect. Part of me was pleasantly surprised and another part of me was like "really?".

The story is set in the early 1950's in Niagara falls and Ariah Littrell, a young woman but considered past the age of marrying, has married a young Reverend. On their wedding night the young man jumps into the falls. Ariah then waits for seven days for his body to turn up. While she is waiting Dirk Burnaby, a lawyer and well respected man, stays with her and becomes transfixed with her. Weeks later Dirk finds Ariah and proposes marriage to her, telling her he is madly in love with her. The two scandalize their families and friends and marry. For a while to two have a blissful existence and have three children. Ariah is convinced that one day Dirk will leave her just like her first husband, Dirk constantly assures her that he won't, but tragedy does eventually find them. Dirk is approached by a woman named Nina who is also referred to as the woman in black. She is desperate for someone to take her case but has been refused by every lawyer in town including Dirk. By accident Dirk and Nina meet and she pleads him into taking her case which will become known as the Love Canal.

The first part of the book is told thru Ariah and Dirk, and the second half is their three children and how the aftermath of the case changed their lives. Ariah kind of reminded me of Agnes from The Crimson Petal and the White, always imagining the worst and a bit nutty, and sometimes selfish. Dirk was very likable in that he changes the most, when he meets Ariah he becomes the faithful family man, and then when he meets Nina he tries to become a champion. The book reminded me of an HBO TV movie, and I wondered why it hasn't been made into one. It has been described as a very American Novel which is fairly accurate, but at times I found it to be melodramatic. Don't get me wrong I like a bit of melodrama, and this is well written melodrama, but I only really like it when I am expecting it. Regardless it was good; I would often put it down and dread picking it up but when I did I always surprised by it. The ending was really the only way it could end, but I needed something more from Ariah. The second half is really about Ariah and Dirk's children but it needed something from Ariah about the past. Oates' characters are complex, full of background, and well written. I feel the story got sort of forgotten but the characters stayed strong.

I don't think I will read this again but the book has me interested in other works by this author especially the book Blonde about Marylin Monroe, but I will have to save that for another time.

Disappointing

2011-06-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Glassblower of Murano
By Marina Fiorato

I bought this book almost immediately after I finished the Botticelli Secret because I enjoyed it so much and had high hopes for this.

The story is set in contemporary Venice as well as seventeenth century Venice. In contemporary Venice there is Leonora, an artist who has just gone throughout a painful divorce and has decided to leave her life in London to explore her Italian roots as well the art of the glass blowing. She finds love but also discovers secrets of her ancestor Corradino Manin a famous Glass blower who sold his methods to King Louis XIV of France for the beautiful palace of Versailles.

While I do love settings in Italy and historical fiction this book was just okay, it wasn't as fun or fast paced as the Botticelli Secret, and the story sort of reminded me of Anne Fortier's book Juliet, which I enjoyed more than this. It was lacking in something and most of the time I really didn't care what happened to the characters. Regardless of this book I still plan on reading more of this authors work, she has beautiful settings and I love historical fiction. For me this was miss, but I will say it was full of historical detail, as well as showing the reader an art form that was worth dying over.

The Botticelli Secret

Lovely

2011-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Mother and Child

Starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington,
Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L. Jackson

I watched this movie a few weeks ago but it is one of those movies that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. It has three main characters Karen(Bening) a woman who gave up a baby girl when she was fourteen, Elizabeth (Watts) who was adopted but has no ties to anyone, and Lucy (Washington) a married woman who is unable to conceive a child of her own and wishes to adopt.
Each character is going through their own set of struggles but ultimately it comes down to family and how we grow into ourselves.
The stories dont' really interconnect much, but have a similar feeling to them, until the very end when everything comes full circle. I thought this movie looked pretentious but I am happy to say that I was wrong, there were moments when I thought dialogue came out a bit forced but it was soon out of mind by the great actors. Annette Bening is amazing I don't understand how this woman has not been given an Oscar. I don't really have much else to say except that I really enjoyed it and that it was well done.The movie mostly examines the relationships in families, and that its not legalities, or blood that hold you together its love.

A heartbreaking read

2011-06-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sarah's Key
By Tatiana De Rosnay

This book is set in WWII Paris France, and present day Paris France. The two main characters are Sarah, a ten year old Jewish girl who is rounded up with her family and other Jew's to be held in Vélodrome d'Hiver with no food, water or toilets. Later on the families are taken to camp where they will be later moved to Auschwitz. Just before the Sarah and her family are taken away, she hides her little brother in a cupboard promising to come back for him. This character later connects with Julia, an American journalist living in present day Paris with her French husband, who is asked to write a story on the anniversary of the round up. Julia during her research discovers her own connection to the round up thru her husbands family, when they discover that family home once belonged to a Sarah's family.

This book is full of research, we all know what happened in those horrific camps, but this book shows us that we mustn't forget but also something that has been kept quiet for years due to shame. It does take a awhile for the two stories to connect, and about halfway it is mostly told through Julia as she searches for Sarah. You can't help but love Sarah, she has to grow up quickly, and has an incredible amount of courage. Its too bad that the book stops telling it from her POV. While I sympathize with Julia and what is going on with her life, I felt that her personal issues took away from Sarah's story. I think it would also have been great if we could have heard some other characters thoughts on Sarah's story, ex. Julia's father-in-law as an old man and a little boy, Zoe Julia's daughter, and William Rainsferd. But these things weren't necessary to make the book a good read.
It only took me a few days to read, and kept me on edge.

The Sequel

2011-06-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

World Without End
By Ken Follet

This is the sequel to the succesfull The Pillars of the Earth set two centuries later. There are four main characters that all come together in the beginning and witness a murder in the woods outside Kingsbridge.
The four start as children and are brothers Merthin and Ralph, sons of Sir Gerald, Caris a daughter of a wealthy fleece merchant, and Gwenda the daughter of a labourer who also happens to be a thief. Another major character is Godwyn, Caris' cousin and a greedy, selfish monk.

As children the four meet and head to the woods they witness a fight break out and a murder. Merthin stays behind and help the lone survivor Sir Thomas bury a letter that has vital information. Through out the rest of the book, the letter is mentioned but doesn't seem to really have any effect on the main characters lives, and is resolved in the last few pages of the book. But it is this catalyst that starts off the story and binds these four together. Merthin is soon apprenticed out as builder, and his brother Ralph is to become a squire. Caris, after the death of her mother and witnessing the nuns nursing, wants to become a doctor but is told that women are not allowed. Desperate not to be trapped in a marriage with children she helps her father with his business but also visits the wise woman in the woods to learn about healing. Caris and Merthin are also childhood sweethearts that are constantly separated for various different reasons throughout the entire book.
Ralph grows up to be a viscous young man, obsessed with the Lady Phillipha and later Gwenda. Gwenda has the worst circumstances of all, but is also incredibly smart, and a survivor. Her father has taught her how to pickpocket, and but later is thrown to the wolves by her father and betrayed by her mother.

The book was okay. Its well researched and like Pillars it was interesting to learn how people lived, however it wasn't as nearly as good as Pillars of the Earth, and at times it felt like it was trying copy it. There was a lot of the same structure to the story, and the characters were very similar in to the main characters in Pillars, but it lacked a sort of unity. The characters in Pillars were all tied in to the building of the cathedral in some way, in this the cathedral still stands and the big building project is a stone bridge. A big job, just not as interesting as a cathedral. In Pillars, the country was at war and there succession of the throne was undecided. This left people unsure of who you could rely on or support. While there are battles, it doesn't change much for most of the characters, as the battles are overseas.
This book was darker, and you were unsure of who was going to survive, cause the plague has come and wipes people all over Europe out, but when you think of a plague you pretty much assume everyone is going to kick it.
Overall, it was still a page turner, but I don't think I would read it again. Read Pillars of the Earth, but you can skip this one.

The Pillars of the Earth

Almost Finished

2011-06-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

The Crimson Petal and the White
By Michel Faber

To start with I haven't actually finished this book, I read it years ago and always said I would never read it again because it is a long book (around 800 pages). Then the mini series aired on the BBC while I was visiting friends in London and it made me want to read it again.

I'm almost half way, but I'm not sure I will finish, it could become one of those books I read every once in a while picking up from where I left off.
The story is set in dirty Victorian London in the poorest and most disgusting areas.

Romola Gari as Sugar

Gillian Anderson as Mrs. Castaways

This is not a love story or a story of being saved, its dark, real and some critics have said this book is how Charles Dickens would have written if he had been allowed to be more honest and less flattering. The synopsis says that the story is about Sugar but we don't really get to know her till about halfway. Sugar is a teenage prostitute with really bad case of Eczema, who is willing to do anything, but she is also incredibly intelligent. She is known for never disappointing, however Sugar hates men, and uses her experience with her customers for material in a book she is is writing. In a roundabout way its her way of taking revenge. One night she meets William Rackham, heir to a perfume factory, William is a fairly smart man, but Sugar is far more intelligent then him and plays with his vanity. William becomes smitten with her and decides he must have Sugar all to himself. William however is low on money, his father has cut him off and he is reluctant to get involved in the family business. William has a wife, Agnes, who is mentally ill, she never leaves the house and rarely has visitors. The one thing that can be said for reading the book, is that it really does explain Agnes' illness and how she came to be this way. Sugar becomes fascinated with Agnes as her relationship with William progresses and even encounters Agnes from time to time. Agnes believes that Sugar is her guardian angel, not knowing that she is in fact Williams mistress.

Amanda Hale as Agnes

There are other characters but these three are the ones that the story centers on the most. I won't go into too much detail only cause I am halfway through, and most of what I am writing about is based on the series.

The series from what I remember and rereading the book, follows the story accurately but its still kinda slow. Its in four parts which it needs to be for such a huge book, and the acting is excellent. Romola Garai plays Sugar, and she is exactly who I pictured for the part, but the one who really stands out is Amanda Hale as Agnes. We see Agnes being treated by her Doctor (I'm still unsure on his motives) who puts her through physical and emotional abuse every week, failing to see that it is him making her worse. There is also the creepy Mrs. Castaway, Sugar's Madam played by Gillian Anderson, my only complaint is that there wasn't more of her, but it would have made an already long show even longer. There is alot of nudity, some neccessary and some unneccessary. The purpose is to see how things really were, the series certainly doesn't glamorize the world of prostitution but neither does the book.

Chris O'Dowd as William

The ending of the series follows the book, but after the length of the book and time committed the reader has committed to it some would say its unsatisfying. I don't really know how I felt about the ending, but I do wish there was a sequal, but the writer has said that will never happen.
This book is not for those who are interested in light reading, if you love historical fiction its good, but how desperate are you to want to know what happens? As well written as the book is, you could always just skip it and watch the series.

Watch The Crimson Petal and the White

An Update: I didn't finish it the second time

A Dark Summer read

2011-05-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

The House at Riverton
By Kate Morton

This is the first book written by this author, and out of all three of Kate Morton's books this one really sets the tone for her writing style.

The story is about sisters that reside in pre WWI England. Hannah and Emmeline Hartford are the daughters of the younger son Frederick Hartford. Every summer the family, including their older brother David, visit Riverton and their grandparents. One summer a young maid named Grace comes to work for the family as a housemaid, her mother before her was a housemaid, but had to leave after becoming pregnant with Grace. Grace is the narrator of the story as a young women and as an elderly woman living in a home haunted by secrets. Grace watches the Hartfords, and admires their closeness, feeling envious of never having had a sibling. As an elderly woman, Grace is contacted by a young woman, Ursula, who is making a movie about the events that happened at Riverton. The two become close but the stories of what happened return to Grace and won't let her rest until they come out. We learn quite a bit about Grace, what her dreams are, the story though really belongs to Hannah, the middle and most headstrong Hartford child. Hannah is desperate for independence but is just a few years shy of the roaring twenties when there was more freedom for women.

One Christmas David brings home a friend, Robbie Hunter, at the time it seems like nothing special but he is the man who changes everything. Years later after the war Hannah marries in hopes of finding some freedom only to be disappointed, and Emmeline just the right age for the twenties has become a party girl. Grace has now become Hannah's ladies maid and the two now have a closeness. Grace concerned at what Hannah's marriage has done to her, sticks by her instead of pursing a life of her own. Robbie enters the picture again, a changed man from the war, and both Hannah and Emmeline fall in love with Robbie.

This was my second time reading this book, and I enjoyed it more. It reminded me of the movie Gosford Park, how the servantsl live side by side with the people they work for and know all their secrets. I've never thought this book was as good as the Forgotten Garden, but its good if you like dark, almost gothic stories, and the atmosphere of the roaring twenties gives it an almost darker quality. I liked Grace, but I also would have liked it if the story was told through other characters point of view, at one point its more detailed to show what happens with Hannah, but it goes back to Grace telling and only seeing through the servants eyes. It almost feels like the theatrical version and I would like the extened directors cut version. I would have liked to have known more about Grace's mother, Frederick Hartford, and learn more of Emmeline. The first half is slower, but by the time Hannah is married the pace picks and things start happen quickly. The further along it gets, Grace reveals more secrets about the Hartfords and even her own.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Jane Eyre 2011

2011-05-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Jane Eyre
Starring
Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jaime Bell, Judi Dench

When I first heard that a new version of Jane Eyre was being made I was pretty excited, but then I wondered about the chemistry of the two actors. Jane played by Mia Wasikowska is the actual age of the Jane in the book, and Michael Fassbender who plays Rochester is also the right age of the character in the book. My point is I was wondering about the creep factor; back then an age difference wasn't so uncommon but today our minds have different associations with it. Jane in other adapatations is usually played by an actress older than the actual character, I believe this is mainly because the character of Jane is so mature and wise beyond her years that it is difficult to find an actress of that age to play someone who is a teenager, but who has had to grow up quickly. The creep factor quickly disappeared when you see how talented these two actors are, and they make you believe that their is a genuine love of equals between them.

Mia Wasikowska pulled it off wonderfully I thought. There were a few times I thought she was too much of a little girl, for example, when she goes to bed with her doll at night and not too much later we see her kissing a man twice her age. Fassbender is almost too sexy for Rochester but he captures the light and the dark of the character that I'm okay with looking at him. The timeline of the story does go all over the place but it still follows the book and what is important to the story is still there. There were a few script things I didn't like, the character of Grace Poole is only seen once and we are never told of what her role is in the house. There was a little too much St. John ( played by Jaime Bell), not that I dislike Jaime Bell but it is a love story between Jane and Rochester. Like all book adaptations they have to cut down a huge book into two hours and this version like I said before captured what was important. This version is darker than some, has just enough steamyness and the way it was filmed reminded me of the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, it was a nice balance of contemporary and old school film making.

If you love the book, you will probably enjoy, and for those of you who don't know the story I would say that it could hold your attention and keep wondering how things come about.

the book

A Legendary Love Story

2011-04-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

Furious Love
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century

By Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger

If you think you know about celebrity romance and tabloid gossip you don't know really. Today most of us would agree that the Brangelina story has been the most scandalous story of a celebrity marriage, their pictures covered tabloids for a good couple years after but really they got nothing on this couple.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. This biography in particular deals with them as a couple and as individuals. Now if you don't know the story Elizabeth Taylor was on her fourth marriage when she met Richard Burton. At the time she was married to Pop Singer Eddie Fisher whom had previously been married to actress Debbie Reynolds. While Fisher was with Reynolds Elizabeth was married to Fisher's best friend producer Mike Todd. Mike Todd was killed in a plane crash and Elizabeth was obviously devastated, and found solace with Eddie Fisher. Fisher divorces Reynolds and marries Elizabeth but it was doomed to fall apart and it all happened on the set of a giant blockbuster called Cleopatra. Richard Burton at the time was married but was well known womanizer, his career at the time was going well and said to be the next great British actor, the next Laurence Olivier. Without going into details the two have an affair that rocks the world, have you ever heard of anyone else being condemned by the Vatican? Their twenty two year relationship is filled with passion, booze, fights, jewels, and all of it in the public eye.

Its rare for me to read non fiction, I usually find it a struggle but I blazed through the first three quarters and held off for the last, I suppose its because I know that it is going to end in divorce. Not that I didn't enjoy it, I thought it was fantastic, juicy read it was just that their relationship was so intense and passionate that I hated to read that it would fizzle, but the passion and love remained for both. The book is also filled with parts of Burton's poetry and beautiful love letters to Elizabeth however not including his final letter which she received a few days after his death and remained by her bedside till her death.

Secret Daughter

2011-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Secret Daughter
By Shilpi Somaya Gowda

I had heard good things about this book, my best friend had read it last summer and loved it, the guy at the book store said I would love it, and so many customers have come into my store with a copy of this from the neighbouring book store; its safe to say that I had high expectations.

The story starts in India in a remote village when Kavita gives birth to her second baby girl. To save her child from being killed Kavita walks for three days to Mumbai to give her baby to the orphanage. Its a decsion that she regrets for the rest of her life, but it was the only option other than death.
In sunny California two doctors Somer and Kris are trying to have a baby but keep suffering from miscarriages. When they are told that Somer will never be able to have a baby, Kris (originally from India) suggests they adopt a baby from his home country. Somer eventually agrees after seeing a picture of Asha a baby girl with gold eyes. As a young woman Asha has a desire to know where she comes from, she decides to spend a year in India with her father's family, eventually deciding to look for her birth parents.

I intially didn't like this book, and I think it was because I really didn't like Somer or Kris. The characters are written to be imperfect, with emotions that are meant to be honest but human. I just wanted to slap some sense into them and stick them into couples counselling. Kris adapts himself to Somer when they first meet cause its easier, but when they travel to India he becomes someone she doesn't know. When Kris realizes that his Indian culture makes up a part of him, Somer has an inability to immerse their family into Indian culture even though her husband his Indian and so is her daughter. As someone who is the result from a biracial relationship that was not at all like this (not Indian or adopted so maybe its different) I found it difficult to understand why these two failed to see what they were doing to each other. The characters are purposefully written this way so that by the end of the book they are far more likable, have grown as a family and they finally realize that your not born into a family you make one. Despite my dislike of Somer and Kris I did want to know what happen and I'm glad I continued. The relationship between Kavita and her husband Jasu was interesting with how to grew into something more. Kavita eventually gives her husband the son he's wanted but life doesn't go the way he expected, and while he is someone you start off hating you come to sympathize with especially when you see that he is committed to his wife and also has regrets. Asha was a great character torn between wanting to know where she comes from and not hurting the only family she has ever known. You really want her to find what she is looking for, but still be who she is.
To wrap it up, I cried at the end of this book, which doesn't happen often. The plot was great and the writing was good. By the end I really liked all the characters, and was happy with the final outcome. It wrapped things up in a way that allowed the reader to be satisfied and yet realistic. Read it!

Russian Winter

2011-03-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Russian Winter
by Daphne Kalotay

I LOVED THIS! I finished it in a less than a week, its just my type of book. Historical fiction, love story, and a mystery.
The story is set in modern day Boston and in Stalinist Russia. Nina Revskaya is the main character, as a young girl Nina's mother takes her and Nina's best friend Vera to audition for the Bolshoi ballet. Years later Nina is becoming a star in the ballet world, and falls in love with the handsome poet Victor Elsin. During this time we see the horrors of what was going on Russia and how precious time was.
As an old lady housebound and in a wheelchair, Nina decides to auction off her jewelry collection including an amber bracelet and earrings. A young woman named Drew, who works for the auction house, informs her that another piece, a pendant, was donated by an anonymous donor that belongs with the amber bracelet and earring.
The donor is Grigori Solodin, a professor in Russian literature, who has also translated Elsin, Nina's husband. Grigori is searching for his own past and believes that Nina holds the answer.

I really did love this, I thought the writing was good and enjoyed the characters. I liked how the jewelry tied in with the story, and in the end holds the answers that the characters are searching for. Nina was a really interesting character, as a young woman she is so unsure of herself never quite trusting, but doesn't seem to know that what she has is the real deal; then as an elderly lady she is haunted by her actions and the people she left behind. The Stalinist Russia setting was terrifying, and you never knew what characters were going to survive. Other reviews felt the pacing was slow, I however didn't. With the mixing of the past and present I thought it was good balance and allowed the pacing to feel quite natural.
I always seem to enjoy books that tie the present with the past, after all it is how things came to be and while its not healthy to live in the past its important to never forget it.
If you love history, ballet, and fabulous jewels you will love this!

Seductive, Captivating but not for me

2011-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

Mistress of the Sun
By Sandra Gulland

A few years ago I found the Josephine B trilogy and read about half way through the first book and then quit cause I got bored.

I figured it was because I knew how it ended, the books are based on the real life wife of Napoleon, Josephine Bonaparte. I never
finished the first book let alone the trilogy, but I thought I would give this one a chance because it sounded like it was a fictional character. Well actually its not.
The main character is Louise de La Vallière the real life mistress of Louis XIV of France. The story starts off with Louise as a child and pestering her father to buy a wild horse called Diablo. Diablo is impossible to tame until one night six year old Louise uses bone magic to tame the wild horse because her father plans to kill and sell the horse for meat. Well low and behold the bone magic works except the horse will only let Louise near him. Then the horse mysteriously disappears and Louise's father dies leaving the family destitute. Along the way Louise ends up with one leg shorter than the other, mute and in a convent. Eventually her mother takes her away and she becomes a lady in waiting in the court of the sun king. Louis falls for her and the two have an affair that must be kept in secret but everyone already knows.

I like Sandra Gulland's writing I just can't get into the characters it would be really great if she stopped using existing historical people and came up with something of her own. After doing a little reading on Louis, it sounded like the French court was full of great gossip, its a great setting it just needs some new players. Louise was kinda annoying at times boring if I'm honest. She was incredibly naive and while she was gifted with horses ( I guess it was all that bone magic) she was kinda stupid. For example did you know you will have a red haired child if you have sex while the woman is having her period, and that unicorns like to rest in small covered areas but they are rarely seen. While this mentality was probably pretty common its really hard for a modern day reader to get, and hard to make you like the character.

I almost didn't finish this book but so many people seem to love this book, I thought I would give it a chance. If there is one book I would say don't take my advice on it would be this one because many really do love the book.

More favourable reviews
Amazon.ca Reviews
Another book Blog
Calgary Herald Review

Tess-1979

2011-03-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Tess
Director Roman Polanski
Starring

This is a beautiful version of Tess of the D'urbervilles, every shot looks like a painting. It deserves every bit of praise that it got. There are some adaptation changes but not so much that it feels like your watching a completely different story; it still is Tess.

I do wish there was more of the milkmaids, and their friendship with Tess, you don't get to see them bond and form that tight knit group like in the book. Instead the focus is more on the Tess alone, and then Tess and Angel.

Ugly Flappy Bonnet shot

Tess is played by Nastassja Kinski and is the only person who can make an ugly flappy bonnet look good. Kinski is the Vogue model of Tess. Even the poster looks like its straight out of a magazine. While Kinski is a good Tess, at times she lacked something. The audience rarely gets to see her charming nature that adds to her beauty and thus makes her a whole. This Tess is very subservient and it makes it hard to believe that she is proud.

In this version we do get to see what happens after the rape, how Alec tries to buy her with gifts and even moves her into the house. In the book it says that she lives with Alec for a considerable period of time. I think this often taken out of adaptations because it doesn't help Tess's argument that it was rape, but by taking it out we don't see the the power that Alec has over Tess.

The Angel and Tess relationship is still very sweet and lovely then of course it turns ugly and you really HATE him in this one. Angel is still the one despite everything, even though he doesn't deserve her.

This movie is an excellent version of the book even with the changes. There are times when it feels long, and the spiritual part of the book isn't there as much as in others but it still feels like Hardy.

A great movie to watch

Dark and disturbing

2011-03-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'd know you anywhere
by Laura Lippman

Firstly I have to say that instead of buying this book, I got it out of the library. I really, really wanted to buy it, but felt that it wouldn't be something I would want to read again; not because it wouldn't be any good but that I would know all the twists and it might terrify me like "Still Missing" did.

The story is about Eliza Bennedict a stay at mother and wife. At the age of fifteen Eliza was abducted by a man called Walter Bowman. Eliza walks upon Walter burying a young girl, instead of killing Eliza like his other victims he kidnaps her and the two spent six weeks on the road together. Years later Eliza and her family have moved back to the country after Living in London, a couple of months after they have settled in Eliza receives a letter from Walter who is still on death row saying he would like to communicate with her. At first Eliza has no desire to communicate but Walter is persistant and has outside help in a woman called Barbra LaFortuney. Barbra is an ex teacher and has decided to help Walter to get Eliza to recant her testimony so that death penelty be dropped and Walter remain in prison. There is also the character of Trudy Tackett, the mother of Holly Tackett who Walter took after Eliza and later killed. Trudy hates Eliza for being the girl who lived and when she discovers that Walter has been communicating with her confronts Eliza.

The characters were so interesting and detailed in this book. The reader has a chance to get know each character and their relationships with each other, but the most fascinating relationship is between Walter and Eliza. Both view the relationship as one that changed their lives forever and both truly know each other. This book is a page turner, it only took me a few days not only that it was well written, and well researched. The only thing that did bother was the first half of the book is told between the present and the summer of 1985 up until Holly is taken, then the second jumps in with all these characters like Trudy , a journalist who has never quite believed Eliza's story and then never jumps back to that summer until the final confrontation between Eliza and Walter. I also would have liked to see a relationship develop between Trudy and Eliza's daughter Iso. Iso is how Trudy gets to see Eliza; there are numerous times in the book when the characters involved see a resemblance between Iso and Holly Tackett. It would have been nice to have Trudy have her shell of hate and resentment crack so more.
I would defiantly recommend this book for anyone. I'm really starting to get into the crime novel genre, this was an excellent book and I will definatly read more by this author.

Very sad, but excellent

2011-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Creation
Starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly

I found this movie fascinating. Most of us have heard of Charles Darwin and his book On the Origin of Species but do most of us actually know anything about Charles Darwin. This movie deals with the period of time before and during he writes his groundbreaking, world changing book. Darwin as it turns out was family man, who did have religious views but finds them torn apart after the death of his daughter Annie. He is constantly battling with his conscious and doesn't know if he wants to be known as the man who killed god. It doesn't help that he is haunted by his young daughter, blames himself for her death, belives that his devout wife will never forgive him, and that he will never be able to live with himself.
The actors were great, I especially liked the chemistry between Paul Bettany and Martha West (Annie). I truly believed that this was a family that looked out for on another. The movie is sad, but has the happiest ending possibly, don't get it if you need a pick me up.

Title problems, but a good read

2011-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Doctor and the Diva
By Adrienne McDonnell

The title and the cover of this book are very misleading. It looks like an expensive historical romance novel which it really isn't. There is infidelity but its not a very romantic story. That being said I did enjoy and found it really easy to get into and found it even more interesting when I found out that it was inspired by an actual opera singer ancestor of the author.

The story is set in Boston starts in 1903 and takes us to all corners of the earth and ends around 1915.
The two main characters are Dr. Ravell a young and successful obstetrician who secretly helps couples with infertility. This is how he meets Erika Myrick and her husband Peter Myrick. The couple have been struggling for over ten years to have a baby both believing that the problem is Erika. Erika also is mezzo soprano opera singer who is becoming quite well known in Boston, Ravell falls in love with her when he hears her sing. Erika has given up on any hope that she will become a mother and secretly makes plans to move to Italy and study opera. Weeks before she confides her plans to Ravell. Fearing that he will never see her again he does the unthinkable, and takes fate in his own hands.

I liked the characters but I could see how others wouldn't, they all make selfish choices but if we placed them in our time and society I'm sure most of us would be singing another tune. The character I actually thought was the most cruel was Erika's husband Peter. Peter is a good and well intentioned man, but he is also a man of his time. He loves Erika but wants to keep her safe in the house and only to have her sing when he is ready for her to have the praise and esteem. He also has a constant fear that she will leave him and believes that a baby will make her stay but feels no guilt when he wishes to travel the world without her. Most women I imagine would find Erika heartless and cruel. But which is worse a life of resentment, blame and always wondering or taking the chance that someone you love might never forgive you. Keep in mind that times are different and us women don't always have to make the choice that Erika had to, and now there are laws for women's rights so the ability to fight would feel as futile as it did then. Regardless of all the characters choices I liked them, they were very human.

This is the author's first book and I think its a really good first book. Lush, detailed, and a great sense of the author. It was well researched in all aspects of opera, fertility treatments (some that are still used today) and the all the countries that the characters take us to. It was a very emotional book, but I don't see how it couldn't be when you dealing with the subject of infertility and constant disappointment. I wouldn't classify this as chick lit but I wouldn't say that guys would enjoy it. I also don't think you have to love historical fiction to enjoy this book either, but if you do its a plus. All in all it was about the struggle with choices we have to make as humans and if we are willing to live with the sacrifices.

My brother promised to break me out of jail

2011-03-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

Conviction
Starring Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo, Peter Gallager, and Juliette Lewis

The movie is based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters and her brother Kenny Waters who was charged and convicted of the murder. Betty Anne promises Kenny that she will find a way to get him out, but no one wants to take on the case so Betty Anne gets her GED, then a BA, and then applys to Law School so that she one day can be the one to free Kenny. I read that some thought the movie was maniuplative and had some legal inaccuracies, but I think the main focus of the movie was meant to be on the extraordinary relationship between a brother and sister who was prepared to sacrifce two decades of her life. How many of us would do the same for someone we loved? I don't claim to have a great legal brain but I don't know how many legal inaccuracies could be in the film if the result of what actually happened and what happens in the movie is true. Its impossible to fit sixteen years in a two hour movie but like I said before the movie is about fighting for the one you love. The performances were great, Juliette Lewis rocked it as a hick even though she was only in the movie for about ten minutes tops. Even if you think this sounds to hallmark its not, its got a dirty cop, questionable witnesses and even Kenny himself isn't the nicest man except when it comes to his sister.

Love, Music, Terrorists

2011-03-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

Bel Canto By Ann Patchett
The story is set somewhere in South America, seriously that is what is said on the inside cover and it starts off with the birthday party of special guest Mr. Hosokawa a Japanese millionaire. Every one who is anyone has been invited to this party, including the famous opera singer Roxanne Coss. The night of the party a group of terrorists break into the party and take everyone hostage and remain so for the next for months.

First off I have to say that I have a great deal of respect for this book. It is not only well written but full of detailed, human and likeable characters. This being said I do also have to mention that I felt like it took forever to finish this book. The chapters felt really long and slow and a few times I had to take a break from it twice because it was getting tedious. You would think that with a setting such as being taken hostage would be a little more fast paced and on the edge of your seat but its not. I do think that the pacing was done on purpose, over the four months relationships begin to build between hostages and the terrorists, and a somewhat peaceful normality comes into existence. The point I think the author is trying to make is that people from all walks of life, and despite a language barrier can form some of the strongest bonds. The only other example of this type of story with these relationships that I can think of is the television series LOST. No there isn't some random polar bear and a guy named Jacob, but a bond between characters that will never break.
I have a sort of love/dislike feeling for this book. I thought the epilogue was weird and it almost felt like an epilogue to a sequel, and again the pacing was deliberate but slow. I don't think I would read this book again, but I would look at other books by this author.

Whats an Aeneid?

2011-02-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

Lavinia
By Ursula K. Le Guin

This book is inspired by Vergil's Poem The Aeneid. I had never heard of Vergil or the poem so starting this book I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. Especially because the poet makes an appearance in the book and I had no idea what he was talking about when he is going on about "I thought your hair was blonde".
So my understanding of what happened in the poem was that it took place after the fall of Troy but before the Roman Empire, and they wished to rebuild their kingdom which would one day become Rome.
There is a war over the hand of Lavinia, in the poem she doesn't speak, when Lavinia is visited by an Oracle that she will marry a man from a distant land she refuses all other hands. Thus causing the war. By refusing these men she introduces tragedy and war into her country, and is even caught between her mother and father. Her mother by the way is crazy!

Even though I had never heard of the poem or Vergil, I did enjoy the book. I was confused at times about characters because they had very similar names and the all started with the letter A, but aside from confusion it was an interesting story. The story is told from Lavinia's point of few, which I normally don't like, but Le Guin is a good enough writer that she knows how to pull this off. I thought the writing was wonderful, it had a nice poetical flow, it made the book go by quickly but not rushed. If you enjoy history especially stories like Troy, or the Odyssey you will like this. There are great battles, that sense of danger, love, and death.
If you want something different try this, I don't know if I will ever read this again but I think I would like to read more of this author's work.

Two Trailers

2011-02-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

I found these the other night, and since I love almost all British actors and films I felt the need to post about these two upcoming movies.

Oranges and Sunshine
The story is about a social worker in Nottingham who discovers the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom. Children that were in homes and without their parents consent were sent to Australia, these children believed that there families were dead. The social worker, played by Emily Watson, works to bring these families back together.

Cracks
This movie takes place in pre WWII Britain at an all girls school. Its focus' on the relationship between a clique of girls and their teacher as well as a new Spanish girl. It looks like it could be kinda flaky but the trailer caught my interest enough to want to know what happens.

Pasta Botticelli

2011-02-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Botticelli Secret
By Marina Fiorato

I had certain expectations for this book, not necessarily high but expectations.

1. That it would be filled with beautiful Italian Imagery
2. The corruption of a handsome and virtuous monk
3. Not great writing but okay maybe cheesy
4. That I may just throw it across the room if it was bad.

I'm happy to say that no.4 failed to happen, it wasn't as cheesy as I anticipated, there was beautiful Italian Imagery, BUT there was no corruption of the handsome virtuous monk. BOO!
When I say corruption I mean sex.

Primavera

The story is about Luciana Vetra, a prostitute in 15th century Florence. A client asks her to pose for the famous artist Botticelli. The painting is the famous Primavera
(Not just a kind of pasta). Like the Da Vinci code there is a message in the painting that not only involves Luciana but threatens her life. After everyone she turns to winds up dead Luciana turns to Brother Guido, a monk she meets early on in the story who wants her to end her whoring ways. Unfortunately for Brother Guido, Luciana has no intention of doing so, she likes to have a good time and enjoys a good romp.
Anyways after she enlists the help of Brother Guido they must run for their lives and they begin to figure out the secret message of the painting and discover that it involves all the nobility of Italy and even the Vatican.

It was pretty entertaining, I finished it in only a couple days skipping over the other books that I am currently reading. I liked the heroine Luciana, she was never ashamed of what she was, and took pleasure in life in all its forms. The story is told through her perspective, normally I don't like when books are written that way cause it only really gives you the chance to know one character and never discover the depth of the other. It works for this book and it also show you Luciana's sense of humor and you still get to know Brother Guido who is the other main character.
I did find myself getting confused with the secret message and who was involved and who wasn't, and wasn't quite sure what it could possibly be. There were moments of it being predictable, it didn't help when Luciana mid story tells you how it ends for her. The only other is complaint was the corruption of Brother Guido. I really wanted Luciana to jump his bones because there is some definite chemistry between the two, which is intended, but they never get to sizzle.

This book was a lot of fun, I particularly enjoyed it because of its Italian setting and I really liked the characters as well as the story. There was adventure, a little romance, and an intriguing historical plot.
It not only met my expectations but exceeded. I look to forward to reading more from the author.

Yummy Honey!

2011-02-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

The Secret life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

First off do not watch the movie until after you read the book. I am not usually not so picky about that sort of thing but with this book I am. I read this book when it first came out and was absolutely absorbed in it and loved the characters. Reading it again I couldn't get Dakota Fanning's voice out of my head and it was really annoying, I actually put the book down for a couple of weeks and started something else. It was only after I got into this other that I could enjoy this book once again.
But anyways the story takes place in South Carolina in 1964 during the time civil rights act was passed. Lily Owens is a fourteen year old girl living with her abusive father, the only memory she has of her mother is of the day she was shot and killed. Lily has been raised by Rosaleen, a black worker of her father's. On Lily's birthday Rosaleen takes her into town with her to register to vote, now being in a racist small town the white men of the town are not accepting of this and beat the crap out of Rosaleen and she gets arrested. Lily has had enough of her father and breaks Rosaleen out of jail and the two head to Tiburn after finding a picture of her mothers of a black Madonna with the words Tiburn written on the back.

I do really like this book, I like the characters and the writing is very poetic at times. This book is like a safe haven especially when the Boatwright sisters come into the story, and makes you wish for an eternal summer. You also should give your mum a hug once you finish.

The MOVIE
Starring
Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson
Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okondedo

As you might have guessed from what I wrote earlier I'm not a fan of Dakota Fanning being cast in this role of Lily. She was lacking something and I think it would have been better to have chosen someone more unknown. She lacked the spitfire that the Lily in the book has, and her eyes seemed kinda vacant unless she was crying. Other then DF I thought the casting was pretty good especially Sophie Okonedo who stole the show. She brought the character of May Boatwright to life in a way that was not only true to the book but even more love able.
The movie is way cheesy but a cute cheesy. There was an element of the book to it but overall it failed to capture the poetry of the book. As I was watching the movie I couldn't help thinking that I would have liked this to have been made into a musical instead of a movie, but does anyone listen to me?

So good book, okay movie.

WARNING only watch trailer if you have read the book!

Tess-1998

2011-02-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Starring Justine Widdel, Jason Fleyming, Oliver Milburn

I was disappointed in this version, and maybe its because I love the 2008 version so much but I don't think so. Prior to watching this I had read many reviews from viewers saying how much they loved this version and thought it was the best one out there. Why they thought this I don't know, I thought it was kinda boring.
First off there is the most annoying narrator who pops in and out and sounds like Father Christmas. Any minute I was expecting him to say "And all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse!", or "something something bowl full of jelly" you get the idea. Then out of nowhere we find out the narrator is just some random guy on the street who isn't even in the book.
I wasn't to pleased with the casting of Alec, he was just one thing and that was sleaze. There were no layers to his character and nothing that really made you believe he was in love with her until he said "I love you Tess".

However there were some things I did like, I thought Justine Widdell as Tess was good. She fit the role and stood out from the rest. There was some great chemistry between herself and Angel (Oliver Milburn).

All in all the production was lacking something and most of the characters, aside from Tess and Angel, were to caricature and lacked depth. I didn't even finish watching it, but like I said there are lots of people out there that loved this version so it might just be me.

Tess-2008

2011-01-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

As I said in my last post I would be looking at three adaptations of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, this version is the latest that was made for TV in 2008. Before I start I have to say there isn't going to be a lot of bad criticism, mainly because I LOVE this version. I first saw it on PBS Masterpiece theatre and thought it was beautiful, it actually made me want to read the book which is a sign of a great adaptation.
Visually it is beautiful it shows England's landscape to full advantage, lush and glorious green landscapes. Kinda makes you want you to live in the country.
The chemistry between all of the actors is electric. You believe that Derbyfields are a family, the sisterhood there is between the Tess and the milkmaids, that Angel is the love of her life, and even the relationship between Alec and Tess is so layered that its hard to determine who has treated Tess the worse, Alec or Angel?

The role of Tess would be a tricky part to cast, because you need a young, beautiful and talented actress that can take on this emotionally draining role. Gemma Arterton did an amazing job, she gave us a Tess that was tough, naive, sweet, intelligent as well as someone who is like able and you just want to help.
Hans Matheson plays Alec and he is so seductive that part of you doesn't really want to hate him, and you know that despite everything he truly does love her to a point that you almost feel sorry for him. Angel is played by Eddie Redmayne and despite his character being a morally good person you kinda hate him for the way he treats her the love of his life.

I don't really know what else there is to say about this version. It was well written, well acted, haunting, and beautiful I think Thomas Hardy would be speechless. The other two have a lot to live up to.

All in all no bad criticism.
Watch Movie

Tess

2011-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

This is one of my all time favourite books and strangely it is a tragedy. There are movies out there I refuse to watch even if they are critically acclaimed with actors I admire, but if it is too sad I stay away. With Tess of the D'Urbervilles I can't resist her. I love this character, she is one of the few characters in literature that is innately good and every wrong that has been done to her has never been her fault even though she is always punished for it.

The story begins with Tess's father John Derbyfield, a poor labourer, discovering that he is descended from the ancient line of the D'Urbervilles. Upon discovering this John and his wife Joan start to have a sense of entitlement. These two parents are more childish then their own children and have never truly grown up or taken responsibility for themselves, after hearing this news they plan to take advantage of it.
We first meet Tess at a dance on May day in the village, at this dance she meets Angel Clare, the son of a Parson in another village. Tess instantly falls in love with him even though they never speak and come face to face for a very brief time. It is this moment that the fates play a cruel trick on these characters, they were given a chance here and if they had taken it their lives would have been very different.
Tess's parents soon after send her away to seek a family of the same name and claim kin. Her parents are hoping that something may come of it and that Tess, with her beautiful face, will end up marrying a wealthy gentleman. So Tess, for the sake of her family, is sent out into the world naive and unprepared.
She meets Alec D'Urberville a wealthy son of a widow, who claims to be her cousin. Alec is a libertine but falls for Tess, he teases, and flirts with Tess constantly, and eventually sees that her one weakness is the well being of her family especially her little brothers and sisters. Its this part of the book that Hardy lets you have your own interpretation of what happens between Tess and Alec, is it rape or seduction?

Years later Tess goes to work on a dairy farm where once again she meets Angel Clare. Angel has his own philosophies and refused to go into the church like his brothers and soon discovers that Tess is not only a beauty but intelligent (he stills considers himself her superior) and a child of nature. It is not long that he falls in love with her and Tess with him, but Tess is haunted by her past and believes that she is undeserving of Angel's love.

As I was reading this I couldn't help but wonder if we has a society have really evolved past all this. Tess is considered a fallen woman, and becomes an outcast for actions that aren't her own fault (at least that is how I interpret it). Are we still has hard and punishing on young women? Do we always see the action and never the person? There is still a double standard between men and women that I think everyone can agree on to some degree. Just something to ponder.

Like I said before this is one of my favorite books. I love the character, the language, and the use of nature. Its as if Tess has no control over what happens to her, as if everything that is meant to happen does, but there is still that moment in very beginning that makes you wonder how it all could have been. There is a magic and beauty to this story that make it a classic. This is must for everyone! At some point in your life read this book.

There have been at least three adapations of this book that I know of and will be posting more on them in the upcoming weeks.

The 1998 Version starring
Justine Waddel, Oliver Milburn and Jason Flemmyng

The 2008 Version
starring
Gemma Arterton, Hans Matheson, and Eddie Redmayne

The 1979 version
starring
Nastassja Kinski, Leigh Lawson and Peter Firth

The Pillars of the Earth-THE SERIES!

2011-01-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Pillars of the Earth
based on the novel by Ken Follet
This has been a long awaited series for me. I loved the book, and knew at some point there was going to be an adaption I just thought it would be feature length movie I am so glad that it wasn't.
The plot is about the building of a cathedral at the Kingsbridge Priory in the 12th century, during this time their is a matter of succession to the throne as the currant king's only son and heir is killed in a shipwreck leaving the king with only a daughter to take his place. The impact of this affects everyone including the building of the cathedral. Earl of Shiring is exposed for helping Princess Maud and his title and lands is passed to Percy Hamleigh. The Hamleigh's support King Stephen and this results in the Lady Aliena and her brother Richard being homeless and penniless. A monk, Prior Philip is the connection for most these characters, his cathedral has burnt down and has hired on Tom builder along with his son Alfred and stepson Jack to rebuild it. There is also the power hungry Priest Waleron who has his own ambitions and allies himself with whomever he can to get what he wants.
The book is pretty epic and packed with detail on character relationships, and history that a feature film would not be able to capture in such a short amount of time. Through out the eight episodes all of the main plot points and characters are captured, it feels as if you are watching the book, it looks just as I imagined it which never happens for me. For the most part I have only good things to say, I thought it was well cast for each role, it has a good combination of romance, drama, action, adventure, and history but at the same time its not too melodramatic or soap operaish. I have a new fave actress and that is Sarah Parish who plays the evil Lady Regan Hamleigh. I thought this portrayal of the character was even better than in the book, the series expanded on the character and added some sick and twisted layers with this character and her son William ( So gross). Its been awhile since I read the book but there was a lot more to some of the relationships and characters. For instance the members of the Royal Family, King Stephen, Duke of Glouster, and Princess Maud. As I recall most of time they are only mentioned and given little dialogue but in the series we are given a better understanding of their motives and what is at stake. The entire series has a Shakespearean feel to it that I never picked up on in the book, the curses and the ghosts of the past haunting the characters. I actually want to read the book again.

Of course though with every adaptation there are cuts and changes and this is no exception. Even with the eight episodes not everything could be included and there were some changes to the ending, not so much the final conclusion but the way it comes about. My biggest pet peeve though was the lack of ageing the characters go through. The series is supposed to take place over sixteen years and the character of Martha who starts off at about eleven seems to stay the same age till the very last episode when all of a sudden everyone is going gray. That alone though is my only real complaint.

My thoughts on the book

Shakespeare retold: Much ado about Nothing

2011-01-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

Much ado about Nothing
starring Damian Lewis as Benedict and
Sarah Parish as Beatrix

The original plot goes something like this, Claudio and Benedict have just returned from a successful battle and arrive at Leonato's home and will stay the month in beautiful Messina. Leonato has a beautiful daughter called Hero as well as a feisty niece Beatrix. Claudio instantly falls in love with Hero and and wants to marry her but suffers from big bouts of insane jealousy (must be a self esteem issue) which comes in play later . Benedict and Beatrix love to talk shit about each other, they have a new level of disgust for each other. So just to mess about with them all the other house guests make it so that the other believes that they are in love with and that they are too ashamed to admit their love. There is always a thin line between love and hate.

In this modern adaptation we are set in Bournemouth England and three years ago Benedict stood up Beatrix thus we have their mutual disgust for each other. The two reunite and work as news anchors and have to put with each other. Meanwhile Claudio (the sports caster) has finally asked out weather girl Hero (also daughter of station manager Leo) and she has said yes. Like most modern ladies and unlike the virgins of Shakespeare's play Hero has had a romantic past, unfortunately out of pity she slept with the creepy visual effects guy Don who has fallen in love with her.
This modern retelling actually follows the original plot of the play almost perfectly with a few modern changes. I do know this play after falling in love with the 1993 film version, and have seen it performed live, with that being said I was curious how they were going to pull off some of the weird twists in plot; a faked death, sabotage on Hero, as well as the ending. It was pulled off, even the ending which was altered for our modern and feminist minded ladies. While the script was good at following the original I don't think this production would have worked if it didn't have its two leads Damian Lewis and Sarah Parish. Every one else kinda just fades into the background and were good in their parts but not extraordinary. It stills is really funny, they aren't the most flattering of characters and they use that to their advantage. Another one to find!

Watch Online

Shakespeare retold:The Taming of the Shrew

2011-01-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

The Taming of the Shrew
starring Shirley Henderson(aka Moaning Myrtle) as Kate
and Rufus Sewell as Petruchio

The plot of Shakespeare's comedy Taming of the shrew is about the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina aka the shrew. Threw Petruchio's courtship Katherina simmers down and becomes an obedient wife.
Now I don't know this play, I've never read it or seen a live production, which shames me a little because I do love Shakespeare but have always had a vague idea of what the story is about.
My cousin over the holidays (who has the exact same taste in movies as me) introduced me to this movie and it is hilarious.
The bbc made four retelling's of Shakespeare's plays in contemporary times and without the weird iambic pentameter, which just goes to show you Shakespeare's stories are still relateable no matter what setting or time and that human desires are still the same.
In this version Kate is a high strung politician with a quick temper. She is told that if she has any ambitions to become party leader it would be best for her to marry.
Then there is Kate's supermodel sister Bianca who has twenty marriage proposals a week, her manager Harry is also in love with her, but Bianca wants nothing to do with him. After Harry's rejection, his old friend Petruchio shows up at his door broke after being thrown out of Australia and broke. Harry gets the idea to introduce Petruchio to Kate in order so that he can get closer to Bianca, but quickly realises that even he couldn't inflict that on his friend. Petruchio falls in love with Kate and chaos quickly ensues.
I don't know how hard these are to find but its worth the look. This movie was so funny and the chemistry between Kate and Petruchio is spot on. I have always loved Shirly Henderson and I have always had a huge crush on Rufus Sewell and this show just strengths my love for the both of them. SIGH!
There are some great twists in the plot that I think Shakespeare himself would find quite amusing. These retelling are especially great if your someone who
has never understood Shakespeare and needs to see it in a different light, but like I said earlier it won't help you understand iambic pentameter.

The other three retelling's are A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and Much ado about Nothing.

Here is clip to give you taste

Watch online

The Linnet Bird

2011-01-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman

"For you, I will write it all-part truth, part memory, part nightmare-my life, the one that started so long ago, in a place so far from here..."

This is a rags to riches story for a young woman named Linnet Gow. We open with Linny a refined young English woman as she begins to write a memoir of her life story under the influence of opium in colonial India.
Linny's starts her story when she is eleven years old in Liverpool in 1823, a year after the death of her mother. This first chapter is particularly disgusting and hard to read. I had nightmare's that night. There are four men who play an important role in Linny's life, the first is her step-father Ram Munt who after the death of Linny's mother decides the best way for Linny to bring in some extra cash is to pimp Linny.
Two years Linny is almost near death after a brutal incident but it is this near death experience that allows Linny to finally run away from Ram. Years later she is taken in by a young man, called Shaker, who also finds himself in a desperate situation and finds his salvation in Linny. The two share a brother and sister like relationship( at least through Linny's eyes) and she moves up in world. Through this association Linny becomes part of the Fishing Fleet, a group of young women seeking husbands, and travels to India as a companion to an upper class young woman. Here she meets the third man, Somers Ingram, who also has a connection to her past that is unforeseeable but gives the story a twist and delves back into Linny's past. The fourth I won't say anything about because I feel as if I've already given too much away and this because this man is the most important.
You can't help but admire Linny, she sees the world for what it is but despite everything that has happened to her she is neither unfeeling or without hope. The scenery is vividly described, from the dirty streets of Liverpool to the lush and beautiful landscape of India, however Linda Holeman always reminds us of the poverty and cruelty of the world in both England and India. As much as this is a bit of a Cinderella story, it is not a romance Linny is a survival strategist who hates the rules that life has put before her but knows she must follow them. Linny's journey is about finding herself and finally freedom.
This book is a reread for me. I read it years ago and fell in love with it, I found it quite easy to get caught up in it all over again and I love the heroine. For some reason I remembered it as longer read, but I managed to finish it in a few days, and that is partly cause I have read it before and the pacing of the book. Everything is described beautifully but it felt like it went by so quickly, and this time around I felt like it was lacking something that I just can't put my finger on. Despite that I still enjoyed it, but I would recommend it for those who have a great love of historical fiction, adventure, and magical descriptive detail.

The Black Swan

2011-01-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

The Black Swan
Directed by Darron Aronofsky
starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis
Who knew that ballet could be so creepy. Yes the dance world has its dark side, but this is just a whole other level of dark.
I saw this last night on a whim cause I was bored and sitting at home and because I didn't have to be up early I thought I would go. As a former dancer and lover of ballet I knew that I would have to see this and after seeing it I have to say that it isn't really a dance movie. Yes there is dancing in it, but I thought there would be more dance sequances but its more of a character driven story. Natalie Portman plays Nina a young sexually repressed ballerina with an over proctective ex ballerina mom. The two are obviously close but as soon as you see Nina's pink little girl bedroom you know there is something kinda weird about these two. A new production of Swan Lake is coming up and Nina is chosen over the star Beth Macanytre (played by Winona Ryder) to play the swan queen but she has also has to dance the role of the black swan the swan queen's evil twin. Afterwards we get a sort of Jekyll and Hyde thing going on with Nina, she starts losing control the more she immerses herself into the role and becomes increasingly obsessed and paranoid when new dancer Lily, the wild child of ballet, (played by Mila Kunis) befriends her and only furthers Nina's loss of control.
This movie is worth seeing in theatre, I actually want to see it again. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, the movie certainly kept me guessing till the very end and wondering whats real and what isn't. It is freaky and addicting. The acting is excellent by all involved especially Natalie Portman who goes from timid frigid child to scary insane woman. I also loved the subtley of the Barbra Hershey's performance who plays Nina's sweet but crazy mother who has her issues that aren't ever brought up but you can tell they exist (what mother needs to cut her adult daughters fingernails?). Visually its cool, there are lots of great special effects but not so much that it overpowers the movie it adds to the story. This movie is original, dark, twisted and entertaining to say the very least..

Desperate Romantics

2010-12-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is one of the shows that I wanted for Christmas and I got it! I knew very little about it except that it was about painters, the Pre-Raphaelites to be precise, but it was described as "Entourage with Easels". As soon as I heard that I knew it had to be mine, and it did not disappoint (thank you mummy).
The story is about the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood in 1851 and is based on actual people and events and is told over six one hour episodes. The brother hood consists of four handsome and talented young men

The brother hood From the left to right
Rafe Spall, Aiden Turner, Samuel Barnett, and Sam Crane

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt AKA Maniac, John Millais and the fictional Fred Walters the only one who is not a painter but a journalist who has taken it upon himself to document the brotherhood. These four set out to change the art world but to start they must find the right muse and a patron. In comes Lizzie Siddal the girl with the hair of molten lava who becomes their model and Rossetti's muse. The brotherhood is also seeking the patronage of the famous art critic John Ruskin, whose favour could change their lives. John Ruskin also plays a huge part in the entire story, not only in the lives of these painters but his own personal life, particularly his unhappy and bizarre marriage to Effie Gray, a beautiful young woman who also captures the attention of the young John Millais. Meanwhile Rossetti and Maniac are fighting over who gets to use Lizzie for their model, while Maniac does at first but is unhappy with the result so he finds and takes under his wing the vivacious young prostitute Annie Miller and later on becomes obsessed with her that leaves Lizzie free for Rossetti. Lizzie also discovers that she has a passion for art and wants to paint, so Rossetti finds a new muse in Fanny Cornforth, but still maintains that Lizzie is the one. Later on the brother hood has two additional members William Morris (whose own sweetheart Jane Burden ends up modeling for Rossetti) and Edward Burne-Jones. While the paintings are beautiful, and yes the brotherhood did change the art world, its the relationships between all of the characters that keep you riveted. While the men are the main focus, because its their friendship that is the center of the plot, you can't help but admire the women that were in their lives. All strong and not afraid to tell them when they are being absolute dicks, but what is also fascinating is what they had to endure in those times and how little these men seemed to understand that because they are too caught up in themselves. Everyone holds their own in this series, I don't think there is one that stands out among the rest but at the same time there isn't one that brings the entire piece down. Not that the characters don't have their annoying traits, I personally didn't like Lizzie for the most part but that was the character not the actress I liked the actress. I think I have made the story sound very melodramatic and while it is it is also racy and fun, there is alot of comedy in it as well as having its moments of seriousness and reality. I was expecting something much darker but was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was and fun. The show is based on the book Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives Of The Pre-Raphaelites by Franny Moyle and as far as I can tell the show follows what actually happened pretty well, except maybe making it saucier for us modern audiences. If you like history and art find this, it is worth the time. I feel like there is so much I'm leaving out but I think you get the gist of it and hopefully it has whetted your appetite.

The Help

2010-12-22T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The catalyst for this story is a toilet, yes that's right a toilet. Now the story doesn't start with a toilet but its what gets our three main characters together.

Viola Davis as Aibleen and
Ocatvia Spencer as Minny

The setting is 1962 Jackson Mississippi. First there is Aibleen a African American maid/nanny who works for Miss Leefolt. Aibleen has helped to raise seventeen white children from different families, but Miss Leefolt's daughter Mae Mobley holds a special place in her heart, due to the mother's lack of love and kindness for her daughter she constantly reminds Mae Mobley that she is important and loved.

Emma Stone
as Skeeter

Then there is Minny also African American, she is a loudmouthed maid who has been fired from her latest position after being accused of stealing. Unable to find work anywhere else Aibleen helps her to get a job with the mysterious Celia Foote who is considered to be white trash and has married up in the world much to everyone's dislike.

Finally there is Miss Skeeter. A twenty four year old college graduate who doesn't want to get married, but wants to become a writer. Skeeter was raised by her maid Constantine and has always looked to her for advice, but before Skeeter's arrival from college she is gone and no one tells her where.

Bryce Dallas Howard
as Miss Hilly Holbroke

The novel is told through these three characters but there is one more character who plays a very important role throughout the entire book that is Miss Hilly Holbroke. Hilly is Skeeter's and Miss Leefolt's best friend. The three of them went all through school and college together. Hilly is the exact opposite of Skeeter. She is racist, overbearing, manipulative and cunning. When you read this you will love to hate Hilly Holbroke. When our three main characters come together for a secret project the one person they fear the most is Hilly. I don't want to give too much away but Hilly is a BITCH!
That being said the main three characters are amazing and remarkable. All different, unique, and admirable in there own ways but somehow develop an unlikely bond with each other. You will love this characters even Hilly, the characters make this book; there is a lot of the author in this book and you can tell by how much she puts into her characters. There is some heartbreak, and humor (something about sexual correcting tea) its worth buying and reading over and over.

As I was reading I was wondering it this was going to be made into a movie a movie and sure enough it has been. The release date in Aug 2011 and the movie stars Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, and Allison Janney. With such a strong cast I have feeling the film will capture the book completely. So go read The Help

Just a little excited.

2010-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

After viewing some of the other blogs I follow I found that the trailer for the film Water For Elephants has been released.
For those of you that read this blog, so A thats you, I have read and blogged about this book. I had mixed feelings about the book, but I always thought visually it would make a good movie mainly because of the circus setting in the glamours looking 1930's.
After watching the trailer I am quite excited but the ending of the book was so stupid that it might ruin the movie for me, but regardless it is a beautiful looking trailer. Think Moulin Rouge meets the Notebook.
So enjoy.

My thoughts on the Book

Memoirs of a woman of pleasure! A bawdy romp indeed

2010-12-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged as much lately mainly because I haven't finished any new books and this is the busiest year in Retail so I've been busy and then drop dead tired. I haven't watched anything lately that I feel like blogging about until last night. I almost didn't cause I wasn't sure how I felt about; the film is Fanny Hill.

Now I'm not a prude but this movie made me blush. I kept turning down the volume cause I didn't want anyone in the next room thinking I was watching porn. There is a great deal of nudity in this, orgy scenes, and some other interesting fetishs'. The plot is about a young woman named Fanny Hill who at 16 has lost both her parents to small pox. Tricked by an old 'friend' she goes to London to make her fortune under the impression that she will be a ladies maid. Unbeknown to her the 'friend' takes her to a brothel where the Madam, Mrs. Brown, intends to sell her virginity. Despite everything Fanny has no shame, never apologizes for who she is and still considers herself an equal to everyone else; and lets face it back then if you were poor with no one you didn't have a lot of options. Could we all truly pick the dirty streets over lying on our backs in the lap of luxury? Anyway that's a different conversation. The movie is based on the book John Cleland and was written in 1768. The book over the centuries has been sold underground and pirated for is obscenities and is considered prose pornagraphy ( there's one I've never heard before). For more info click on the title link.

Rebecca Night plays Fanny and after watching the making of in the special features found out this was her first professional job as an actress. Not only is she talented but gutsy, to take on a lead role and be naked for a good 80% of the movie is a challenge and she proves herself to be a talented and upcoming actress.
While I was watching this I considered buying it then reconsidered. While the movie is funny in places and Fanny is a goodhearted girl I don't know when I would watch this and not feel like a big perv. There is a lot of orgasmic moaning and screaming, and numerous sex scenes that its almost too much and I would be worried about others reactions to my viewing material. There I said it I would be ashamed and would feel dirty!
So if your in the mood for something semi naughty check it out.

Fanny Hill promo
Uploaded by hamster1992. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

A scene from the film

Watch online

The Distant Hours

2010-12-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

I was super excited for this book, this is Kate Morton's third novel and I absolutely adored her second novel The Forgotten Garden. When I found out about the Distant Hours I had to have it. As soon as I bought it I immediately had this feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as her previous book, fortunately that didn't happen.
Our main character is Edith Burchill and when Edith's mother Merdith receives a letter that is over twenty years late and breaks down into tears in front of Edith. Edith has never seen her mother react this way to anything so she sets out to discover what happened to her mother in the past. By accident Edith finds out that her mother's past is connected the ageing Milderhurst Castle where three spinster sisters live Percy, Saffy, and Juniper. The sisters are the daughters of the famous author Raymond Blythe who wrote The Mud Man, a story that Edith was introduced to by her mother as a child and is now considered a classic. Edith's story line is set in 1992 and the book jumps back to WWII we see it through the sisters and Meridith and a mix of the other characters.
Now that I have read three of Kate Morton's books I have discovered there is a certain style with her books; dark, old English houses, secrets, Gothic, families and a really good twist in the end. That being said there I did find the story a little predictable. When Edith discovers the castle she just happens to have a copy of Jane Eyre in her bag which made me giggle cause it seems that every character in fiction carries around that the book. Towards the end I figured out the twist but didn't figure out the specifics, so I guess I have just know what to expect from Kate Morton, but not so much that it takes out the fun. I still enjoyed the book and she is a talented enough writer to make it interesting and something else I noticed is everything she writes about there is a purpose. Even if its the most trivial thing thats mentioned its there for a reason, and will wrap up the story so simply that we surprise ourselves for not seeing it earlier.
I would read this again, at times I found it a little slow, I liked Edith alot and her mum, the sisters though are much darker because of their own secrets and the secrets of their ancestors that have forced them to live for duty, family and nothing else. There is a fantastic atmosphere created inside the castle; a place that feels like home but at the same time terrifying. The castle is a character itself, holding the voices of the Blythe sisters ancestors forcing them to submit to duty and honor.
To wrap it up, it was a good read and worth reading again in my opinion. A great christmas present.

The author's website

Amazon

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Moron

Eat Pray Love THE MOVIE

2010-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

After reading the book a few months back now, and then waiting for the movie to be released and then not going to see it in theatres I watched it a few days ago, and I enjoyed it.
If you haven't read the book its an autobiography on the travels of writer Elizabeth Gilbert. After realizing that marriage is not for her anymore and suffering from depression Liz decides to travel for a year in Italy, India and Indonesia. Throughout Italy she eats, she prays in India and falls in love in Bali.
As far as adaptations of books go I thought it was pretty good, and it captured the essence of the book. Yes it is a chick flick and has some of the cliches that we have come to recognize in chick flicks but is that bad thing?
I've been reading some reviews, most were written by men, saying how selfish, narcissistic, and whiny she is, but if this was a story of a man would we be saying the same thing. I believe there was movie that came out not too long ago (Into the Wild) about a a young man who does something similar but doesn't even tell anyone what he's doing which was generally well recieved by critics. Now I haven't seen that movie, so I'm not making a critique on it, my point is that women still seem to have the harsher and more unforgiving rules. We are constantly defined by others (slut, virgin, mother, wife, whore, spinster,etc) but it doesn't really matter what others say about you if you know who you are and what you want. Liz Gilbert didn't know what she wanted anymore and in the process was annoying not only the people around her but herself so she took action. What good are you to anyone if you can't take care of yourself? Is that selfish? Are we through with the guilt?
ANYWAYS, I'm rambling and not talking about the movie.

I honestly didn't expect to like this movie but I did, I'm not saying its the greatest film ever made or even one of my own favourites but it was fun. Julia Roberts was her charming self, and showing a range from depression to romantic bliss, for me the depth of the character was there as much as it could in a two hour movie. The guys were great in their roles Billy Crudup, James Franco, Javier Bardem and my favorite was Richard Jenkins. Jenkins character is pretty awesome and not only does he care about Liz but doesn't let her get away with her self loathing.The scenery was to die for it only made me want to go Italy more, eat lots of carbs, then go to yoga, and chill on the beach.

My thoughts on the book

The Birth House

2010-12-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

The Birth House by Ami Mckay

This is my second time reading this book and I enjoyed it as much as the first. The setting is rural Nova Scotia Canada in the early 1900's, our heroine is Dora Rare. Dora is the only daughter to be born in the Rare family in generations, any man bearing the name Rare has only ever had male children.
The villain in this book, or as close we ever come to a villain, is Dr. Thomas. Dr. Thomas is a man who truly believes he knows everything there is to know about birthing babies and women's health.

As a teenager Dora's father begins to fear she is under the wrong influences (Jane Austen) and that she spends too much time with her brothers. Dora's mother arranges for her to live with Miss Babineau the local midwife/healer and learn the many traditions that have been passed on for generations so that Dora can have something of a life for her self. Down in the closest town a maternity home opens up and with it brings fear that midwives aren't safe. When Dora and Miss Babineau refuse to stop if a woman asks for their help Dr. Thomas decides to make war on these women.
Dr. Thomas promises sterile, pain free births and claims that midwives are a danger to families since they don't really know what they are doing and he has "science" to back up his work not old wives tales. I won't get into what sort of things he says or does so as not to spoil the story but he takes every opportunity to disparage Dora's name and sanity.

The character of Dora is wonderful. I really liked her, she has strength, intelligence, loving and a feminist in her own right. The whole book as a magical feel to it even though this book is not a fantasy or a fairy tale but it has that feeling. It was interesting to learn about midwives and what Doctors believed to work best and which was safest it will also have you cringing when you learn what was the normal way for women to deliver their babies. Some of what Dr. Thomas talks about is actually quite funny and so ridiculous that its hard to believe that this was the mind set of a lot of people. As you can probably guess the Doctor in this book is a well informed idiot, kinda sexist and Dora Rare stands up to him in a way that is impressive and feisty.

The Birth House is a lovely book full of history, soap opera, nature, and a little magic. I love this book.

Lead, Follow or Get out the Way

2010-11-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

I seem to be hooked on HBO movies these days, this is my second post about a HBO movie. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one but I really enjoyed it.
The movie is set during the 1910's in Washington and is about suffragists fighting for the right to vote and what they had to do endure in the process.
The movie stars Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Julia Ormond, and Angelica Huston. There are however a lot more familiar faces in the movie such as Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Laura Fraser (A Knights Tale), Brooke Smith (Silence of the Lambs, and Grey's Anatomy), Canadian Molly Parker (Deadwood), and Patrick Dempsy (Grey's Anatomy).
The main character if there is any is Hilary Swank's Alice Paul, but I felt this movie was more a ensemble piece because it needed all of its characters to work. The movie shows women from all walks of life including a senator's wife, a factory worker, and a Harvard Graduate. We also see the horrors of what they had to put up with such as force feeding, being attacked, spit at, mother's having their childern taken away and other such terrible things. If you haven't voted in your last election this film will make you feel ashamed that you didn't.
There were some interesting music choices for this movie which didn't fit the period at all such as Lauren Hill and Sarah McLachlan and some upbeat kinda techno sounding stuff but somehow it works. It gives the movie an energy and sense of action . I was also surprised at the humor, there is one story about pissing into an old lords boot when there is no where to pee, you know girl humor. That being said its a girls movie, not a girly movie but a movie to watch with your girlfriends.

Watch the Film Here

True Glamour Never Fades

2010-11-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

I watched this movie last night and it was fantastic! Its about two eccentric relatives of Jackie O's who live in house called Grey Gardens. The two women little Edie Beale and Big Edie Beale are a mother and daughter who have both had a privileged upbringing and then years later are living on practically nothing and in their dilapidated house in the East Hampton's. The movie is based on a documentary called Grey Garden which has of course the real Edie's and only deals with the time in the 1970's. This film however goes back forty years and shows us how things came to be as they were.
The performances are incredible. Jessica Lange plays Big Edie Beale and Drew Barrymore plays little Edi Beale. You forget who it is that is acting and that they even are acting. We see the heartbreak these two women go through and how close they are, it is a remarkable love story. The women go through all sorts of up and downs throughout out a day, resenting each other, blaming each other, singing and performing but at the same time they are utterly charming. This is a must see!

The original Grey Garden's Trailer

Really really good, but not great

2010-11-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Juliet by Anne Fortier
I am very excited to be writing this post mainly because it is the first post about a book in a very long time, and it is also a really good book.

As you can see by the cover of the book it looks very romantic, I don't know how it couldn't while it has this huge red rose on it. I enjoy a good romance novel now and then but they are obvious in what they are, in general fiction I don't like dressing things up dramatically and then it is no better than a romance novel. My point is I wasn't crazy about the cover, and when I read the plot on the inside flap I thought it made it sound really cheesy plus the rosy cover didn't help. Yet somehow I was still attracted to this book so I figured I might as well buy it if I keep picking it up. I am happy to say I was quite surprised and it wasn't as predictable as I originally thought. Normally I am quite good at figuring out things before hand but I found myself wrong more than once.
The story is about Julie Jacobs who was raised by her aunt Rose and a servant called Umberto. After Aunt Rose's death Julie and her sister Janice were always told they would be splitting everything but after the funeral it turns out Janice has inherited everything. Umberto then gives Julie a letter telling her that her mother left her something in a bank box in Siena Italy. So Julie travels to Siena Italy where she discovers that before her parents death they were tracing their ancestors and believed they were descended from Shakespeare's Juliet. The book also gives a new version of Romeo and Juliet in the 1300's before Shakespeare and a very plausible version it is and much darker. There is also a bit of a treasure hunt in this book which was very cheesy but fun.

I enjoyed the book when I didn't think I would, but there were some things that bothered me. Julie at times could be kinda whiny and juvenile. The dialogue felt a bit all over the place and didn't always feel that it moved the story along, but the plot line in the 1300's made up for a lot of what I didn't like. The imagery of Italy made me want to go there even more and added to the romance of it. There was a bit of everything in this book romance, adventure, comedy, history, and some art. I'm glad I read it, it didn't feel like I was wasting my time and I would probably read it again but then again I had no expectations of it being something I liked.

http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/anne_fortier/

I'm so excited!

2010-11-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

So after watching this I am now officially excited for this movie. When I heard there was a new one being made I was sceptical but I think it may work. Take a peek and let me know.

Another Jane

2010-11-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Jane Eyre a film by Franco Zefferelli
starring William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin and Joan Plowright

This is the 1996 version of Charlotte Bronte's novel and was the first version of Jane Eyre I ever saw. At the time I was 11 and I found it very mysterious and a bit scary. Now years later after reading the book and watching this version I have to say its still good. It doesn't have the sensuality that the BBC's 2006 version has but it does have its moments of passion. There are some changes in the story but the structure and characters are still there so I didn't mind the changes, however it did feel a bit rushed at the end. The essence of the novel was captured as well as the characters.
The 2006 version did lack the cruelty that was inflicted on Jane at Lowood School which this version captures perfectly. At 11 I thought it was a scary place and I still do today. It is also important to show how cruel this school was because not only is it in the book but it is based on Charlotte Bronte's experience, and it shows the audience what a strong individual Jane was to have survived and retained her sense of self.

The movie itself is beautiful to look at, it was like looking at moving paintings. There were times when I questioned the chemistry between this Jane and Rochester but when it finally came to the really romantic moments it was there. I guess I just wanted a bit more of that. Now this may mean nothing to most of you but it really bothered me, just a matter of casting. Pilot. Yes, Pilot, the dog. He did not look like an Englishman's dog.

So to wrap it up, this version is not completely faithful to the storyline, there is some juggling around of things and some new things were added but it works. The spirit is there and you can tell that it was made by someone with a deep love and respect for the book.

Come on baby light my fire

2010-10-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

Firelight starring Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane

"Its a kind of magic. Firelight makes time stand still. When you

put out the lamps and sit in the firelights glow there aren't any

rules anymore. You can do what you want, say what you want, be

what you want, and when the lamps are lit again, time starts again,

and everything you said or did is forgotten. More than forgotten

its like it never happened."

I came across this last night while looking over one of the other blogs I follow and I was so excited cause it is almost impossible to find on DVD and I haven't seen it anywhere online to watch. I watched it years ago and I am a big Sophie Marceau fan, so I have to write about; plus I noticed as I watched it again last night there are certain similarities to Jane Eyre.

The story is about a Swiss governess named Elisabeth Laurie in England who secretly meets with an English Gentleman for three days and to never meet again. The plan is the Gentleman will pay her father's debt and she will give him a child. Years later Elisabeth is hired as a governess for the child and as you can probably guess old passions are rekindled.

I know this sounds like some heaving chest kind of romance and it is but the acting is fantastic and it does have a Bronte feel to it. I can't help but think that Charlotte Bronte would have felt scandalized but secretly love this. I don't know if this was based on a book but it has that feeling to it, it is well written , well acted, romantic and packed with sexual tension. The ending I felt lacked something and was a bit rushed but I never get tired of the movie so I think that speaks for itself. Unfortunately I was unable to find a trailer that wasn't a fan made one, and the fan made ones I feel give away too much so here are some clips.

Watch me!

No plain Jane Here

2010-10-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is the 2006 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. I loved this adaptation before rereading the book and now after reading the book once again it is in my opinion the best one there is. Granted I haven't seen all the adaptations that are out there, but not only do they follow the story almost perfectly to the book the chemistry and passion between Jane and Rochester is there. I realized that Rochester is a good deal older than Jane, but in other versions he looks almost ancient next to her and it just looses some of the romance and gains a creep factor. In this one, they picked someone who is older but not old man old. Someone still young enough to be share his life. Jane on the other hand can often be portrayed as quiet, docile, and lets face it a little boring. Ruth Wilson is a wonderful Jane, she shows us a Jane that is passionate, strong willed, mature and someone the audience falls in love with yet still quiet and unsuspecting. There is one tiny thing that other versions spent more time on and that is the conditions of Lowood School. There is a glimmer of how the students were treated but it does not delve any deeper, but I'm okay with that. I would prefer more with Jane as an adult than as a child. There is a great deal of color in this version and I can't help but feel that Charlotte Bronte would love this version as much as I do. So to break it down, its true to the story and characters, captures the essence of the book and has a perfect amount of sensuality.

It is going to take me a while to get to the other versions and there are at least two to get others I would like to watch. So keep checking up.

Jane Eyre

2010-10-23T13:37:00.002-07:00

Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

A few weeks ago I found this great illustrated copy of Jane Eyre. It was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up and thus I started to read Jane Eyre once more. I'm not going to go too much into the plot except to say that the story is about a young woman who after being orphaned and abandoned as a child becomes a governess and ends up at Thornfield Hall teaching a young french girl, the ward of Mr. Rochester. This story is pretty famous and there have been many adaptations that if you don't know it go open a book.

I have only read this book once before to the dismay of my friends, I once played Jane Eyre in a musical, and that was now a long time ago and I never read it for the show. I've always felt I knew the story pretty well regardless of how many times I had read the book.

I remember seeing the 1996 movie directed by Franco Zeffirelli and though I enjoyed it from then on I always thought Jane was a push over. I now know that to not be true. But come one. How many of us ladies would take back a man who asked you to marry me, then discover he was already married and kept her locked up in the attic on your wedding day!? If this was your friend would you want to her to take him back?

After playing the role of Jane I realized she wasn't a push over, because if she really was she would have let Mr. Rochester get his way and he would never have loved her as deeply as he did if she was someone who didn't know her own mind. She is one of those human beings who is capable of that great gift forgiveness, she is also passionate, kind, understanding, intelligent, and loving. I think it is safe to say that if the character of Jane hadn't been written this way the book might not have stood the test of time. I cringe writting that but if it weren't for the strength of Jane's character the book might have just been another gothic romance. Not to say that Charlotte Bronte's is a bad writer, I think she was an amazing writer who used her own life for the book and after reading it this time I saw more of Charlotte Bronte than I ever did. She gave us a woman and showed the world that we are capable of being kind and complex creatures. I loved the illustrations in this book they just added something more to it, so if you can find one with illustrations go for it. I won't be reading this again soon but I do love it. This time I understood more of what I was reading and loved it even more. If your not into classics at least go find a movie version cause then you will want to read the book.

As far as adaptations go I have only seen two Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 version and the BBC's 2006 version. Both, in my opinion, capture the essence of the book but the 2006 is longer and goes into more detail. I'm going to watch both again and compare in another post.

1996 Version

2006 Version

2011 Version

The 19th Wife

2010-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

There are two story lines to this book, one is set in 19century America and is about the origins of polygamy and the 19th wife of Brigham Young the leader and prophet Ann Eliza Young. The second storyline is set in the present and is about a young man named Jordon Scott who has been excommunicated from the church and the community of Mesadale.

Ann Eliza story's is based on a real person who came from a polygamous family and was forced into a polygamous marriage. Her husband Brigham Young is said to have had as many as 56 wives, but the exact number is still not known. I found this storyline very interesting especially how it never started how saying plural marriage was the way to god, that came later. Ann Eliza herself was a fascinating person in the fact that she fought her way out of it when her husband abandons her and she wrote a book about called the 19th Wife. I should point out that although the characters in this storyline are based on real people it is still an interpretation. This part of the book is historical fiction it isn't a biography, but there are truth and facts. There were times towards the ending of the book that I felt this storyline dragged on a bit and I just wanted to know what happened to her even though it is mentioned early on that no one knows. Ann Eliza is not the only voice in this storyline, you also here from her father who had at least six that are mentioned in the book four in one month, and how it wears him down. That isn't meant to sound sexual or funny but I know it does, what I mean is spiritually and that it took his love and severed it down. But now I feel I'm giving too much away so I'll move on.

Jordan Scott is a young man who was excommunicated at 14 and was forced to leave with nothing. He returns as an adult when his mother has been charged with the murder of his father. Reluctantly he goes to see his mother who convinces him that she is innocent. Jordan stays knowing he has to find out what happened even though his own mother was the one who abandoned him.

This is the murder mystery part of the book which I enjoyed more than the historical part surprisingly. I suppose because there are parts in Ann Eliza's that are given away before you even reach it so you know what is coming. The historical part while interesting takes up too much, I wanted to know what happened with Jordon, his mom, and the other characters from that storyline.

All in all it was a good book that was well researched and was not only interesting but entertaining. I also learned something I didn't know before and have decided that polygamy is fucking creepy. I don't care how normal you make it look for me its weird. Something else that I found interesting about this book was the men's perspective especially Jordon's. More and more boys are excommunicated so that there is less competition for the men, all I've ever heard about was the treatment of the girls so I was surprised to learn that it effects all the the children.

This is defiantly a book to read, it has a bit of everything and it is a subject that we have all seen in the news at one time but still know nothing about.

Video of the author David Ebershoff

Colorful and Entertaining

2010-10-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the movie Amelia starring Hilary Swank,Richard Gere and directed by Mira Nair and I was surprised. I won't say it was great because there were things I wish had been expanded on but it was much better than I thought.

I didn't know much about Amelia Earhart except that she was a female pilot and is the most famous missing person ever; however I didn't know how poetic she was. There are letters in the movie, which I'm assuming are based on real ones, that were so lovely. She was also incredibly humble but determined and of course a feminist. She was also an international celebrity and the whole world fell in love with her. Her husband handled the finances and by doing so he made her a star. Her relationship with her husband was very loving but she also had conditions when she married him which when you discover what they are quite surprising.

The movie is beautifully filmed, Mira Nair films are always rich with colors and warmth, the landscapes are amazing to look at, and the chemistry between the actors is always hot. The movie was earthy yet shiny! I do wish they expanded her affair with Gene Vidal, played by Ewan McGregor, just to show us the differences between him and George Putnam (Richard Gere's character). Some of the best scenes were between Gere and Swank, like I said before the chemistry is there. At times Hilary Swank's performance felt too much like a caricature but for the most part it was good. I suppose my main complaint was there was too much flying. I know that sounds funny because Amelia Earhart was a pilot, but I would have liked to have known more about her childhood and her relationships.

I'm glad I didn't see it in theatres because I would have felt cheated, this way I could enjoy it without being too critical.

A fascinating woman but the movie does come short.

Pretty Awesome

2010-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post. I found these videos on youtube when I was looking for some information on the bronte sisters and I
thought they were so funny that I just had to share. Enjoy

Mail order brides are never what they seem

2010-10-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

A small description on the inside flap
"Filled with remarkable characters and drenched with color and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is a story of love and madness, longing and murder, played out in a world that seems to gone temporarily off its axis."

After finishing Island Beneath the Sea and the Thirteenth Tale I really had no idea what I wanted to read but I wanted something lighter. So I went through the numerous books in my room and started reading the first few pages to see what I was in the mood for hoping for something light, in the end that isn't what I found. I picked up this book and instead of reading just the first few pages I ended up reading the first three chapters. This books is anything but light.
The story is about Raplh Truitt a middle aged man who places an add for a reliable wife, Catherine Land responds to this ad and the two correspond to one another. The setting is a spooky Wisconsin in 1907. Now I don't want that to sound like I am making a joke about Wisconsin cause I'm not. Most of the book is set in winter and what is described is a place where winter never ends and can cause a madness in people that makes them do horrible things to each other. Ralph is man plagued with guilt over his previous life and has lived the past twenty years alone unable to forgive himself for his actions towards his now deceased wife and illegitimate son. Catherine is not who she says she is. In her letters she says she is the daughter of a missionary but in reality she is a beautiful courtesan with devious intentions, except Ralph Truitt is not who she expects. Both are haunted by their pasts and the two end up with a passionate relationship that neither expected or felt they deserved. Strangely enough I liked these characters, they had horrible childhoods, and did terrible things, but I felt they weren't terrible people at heart. In fact I was rooting for them to have a happy ending.
I finished this book in two days, it was fast paced but it never felt rushed. It was sexy, gothic, and the characters were well thought out. In the first few pages you know almost everything about them and eventually there is a twist but I found it predictable but never the less it creates tension for the characters. At first I thought the perfect word to describe this book was sex, but its not, its redemption. It is what all these characters our longing for, new beginnings and letting the past be in the past.
It wasn't what I was expecting, much better than I thought in fact. It felt like I was reading a film so I'm not surprised to find it on IMDB, nothing is cast but I'm iffy about it being done well. It could come out really well with all its dark atmosphere and the cold Wisconsin landscape something like Legends of the fall, or it could come out cheezy, oversexed and flat. It was a great escape novel but I'm not sure if I will hang onto it. Part of me wants to hang onto it and another part of me says its something I wouldn't read again.
So if your looking for something to delve into quickly this is perfect for that.

The book at Amazon

Another Keeper

2010-09-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Its official I'm a fan of Isabel Allende. This is her latest work and I loved it, heat radiates out of these pages. She writes these fantastic women, that you can't help admire and cheer for. Allende latest heroine, Zarite, is no different even though the book isn't always told with her voice she is the heart of it. On the island of Saint Domenique (now Haiti) Zarite's story begins among the blood soaked history of the island. She is sold as a slave at the age of nine to Toulouse Valmorian to be used as a ladies maid for his new wife Eugenia. Toulouse is a walking contradiction, he arrives on the island from the court of Versailles believing himself to be a humanist but once he sees the wealth there is to be made by using slaves those humanist morals slowly dissolve but not completely. In a few years time Zarite becomes Toulous' concubine or sex slave, and their lives become more and more intertwined as they escape from the revolution of Saint Domenique and head to New Orleans to start over. Through out it all Zarite has to calculate her every move to protect herself and her children from Toulouse but we are always reminded that he is also their master and she must ensure that their freedom is part of their future no matter what.

Like the House of Spirits there are many other characters that add to the novel making it an epic saga, whose own lives have become intertwined with Zarite and Toulouse. Each of these characters are rich with layers, and are either admirable or the scum of humanity. It is almost soap opera like but better partly because of the characters but also because of the history of these settings and what the real people of those times had to fight and die for or fight and live with.

http://www.amazon.ca/Island-Beneath-Sea-Isabel-Allende/dp/1554688094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286069320&sr=1-1

Read me and never put me down!

2010-09-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

"There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic."

This a quote from the book, I liked it so much that I had to copy it down cause this describes what happens to you when you read this book. It is enthralling, the first time I read it I couldn't put it down and when I finally did I was exhausted. I didn't realize how into the story I was and after the second time I still feel its effects.

This story is a modern Gothic mystery. An ageing famous author, Vida Winter, writes to amateur biographer and book lover Margret Lea to come and stay with her and write her story. For as long as she has been famous many have interviewed Miss Winter about her origins but have only been told her brilliant and fantastic lies. Once Margret accepts the job she discovers her own similarities to Winter and an eerily disturbing story of a brother and sister, baby girls, governess's and a ghost. The twisted ending is so wonderful that I feel I'm already saying too much. We go from the streets of London, to the wild Yorkshire moors, and then there is the ghostly manor Angelfield. Throughout the book Diane Setterfield mentions the books Jane Eyre and the Woman in White and if you know these stories that might be giving away as well.

This book is well written and even after a second time it was hard to put down, I know I will hang onto this one forever. I don't think I will ever tire of discovering the story along with Margret. On the inside jacket it says "The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading", and its mentioned so many times the magic of books, that this time I noticed there is very little mention of technology. Communication is through letters and telephones that it made me question when the story was supposed to be set, but if Margret sent an email instead of a letter or just looked Miss Winter on ancestry.com it would have taken away some of the magic of the book and the characters love of the written word.

I'm looking foreword to Diane Setterfield's next book that I went looking on the Internet to see if there was a release date but I found nothing except that she is working on one. So I must patiently wait. I think at one time there were plans to adapt the book into a movie but this is one of those cases that I think the movie or a mini series couldn't do it justice. There are so many details and the characters are so complex especially Vida Winter that to capture its essence would be a difficult and careful task that there are few who could do it well.

If you love Jane Eyre, and the Woman in the White you will fall in love with the Thirteenth tale, and if haven't read the previous two it doesn't matter the story will draw you in and hook you until the end.

http://www.amazon.ca/Thirteenth-Tale-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0385662858/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286069507&sr=8-1

A modern fairy tale

2010-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ondine starring Colin Farrel, Alicja Bachleda

The story is about a down on his luck fisherman named Syracuse that one day catches a beautiful young woman in his net he at first believes to be dead but she then comes miraculously to life. Once rescued the young woman claims to not remember anything and doesn't wish to be seen by anyone. Syracuse takes her in and his luck begins to change. Respecting her wishes he doesn't say anything to anyone but tells a story to his daughter Annie , who suffers from kidney failure, about a fisherman catching a woman in his net. Annie tells him that the story must be about selkie, a seal woman, and begins to research selkie folklore. When she meets the young woman she believes that story was true and the Ondine, the young woman, is a real selkie.

For a while now I have wanted to see this and actually buy it cause it sounded like it was right up my alley of movies I like to watch, but I hesitated cause all I had ever seen was the trailer. After watching it I love it. It is beautifully filmed and the acting is great. I really cared about the characters and cared about what happened to them. Colin Farrell shows us that he isn't only an action star but an actor. Alicja is beautiful and talented and it will be interesting to see where her career will go. The whole movie has feeling of magic to it even though you don't know what is real and what isn't. Its part mystery, part love story, and part fairy tale. I'm already excited to go out and buy this one.

The Duchess. To love it or hate it? The Costume Drama Dilemma

2010-09-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

The Duchess starring Keira Knightly, Ralph Fiennes, and Hayley Atwell.
This movie has left me feeling puzzled every time I see it. It is something I have seen many times now but every time I watch it I constantly criticize it for not being like the actual Duchess of Devonshire. When it was released it didn't recieve rave reviews, but if you look at what movie goers have said most seem to enjoy it or even love it. The movie is based on the biography The Duchess by Amanda Foreman. I have read about three quarters of the book but couldn't pass the part about Georgiana's involvement in politics I just got a little bored, however I felt that I knew enough when the movie came out. I was quite upset at what was cut out and how the storyline was arranged.
For instance
the Georgiana's relationship with her sister Harriet who married the Duke's younger brother, who was in fact violent and nearly killed her at one time. That was cut out, but then our sympathy with Georgiana would dwindle cause she married the good brother.
Her Gambling addiction.
The Duke was only nine years older than her not twenty years as how it looks in the film.
Charles Grey was actually seven years younger than Georgiana.
She had relationship's with royalty such as the Prince of Wales and new about his secret marriage Mrs. Fitzherbert, and she did have a friendship with Marie Antoinette whose own life mirrored the Duchess.
A mini series would have been better so you could expand on her life and character.

But....if I watch without thinking about the biography I enjoy it. It shows us what a marriage in the 1700's was really like, what a wife was forced to put up with eg. having his mistress and illegitimate children live with you. The acting is good, they are all good actors, I would have liked to see more of Hayley Atwell. The costumes are beautiful and I especially LOVE the wigs. I don't know I guess I just like volume. The movie is heartbreaking and bittersweet, in history it always seemed to have been us women who had the hardest choices and very few alternatives. Keira Knightly's portrayal showed us a woman who was more of a fighter then one who was insecure, a modern woman trapped in the 17Th century someone we the audience could relate to.
I would have to say this movie was inspired by a true a story more then based on one. As far as costume drama goes I can appreciate it I would watch it again, the movie is enjoyable and realistic, but for me not the true Georgiana.

This one's for you A!

2010-09-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned it but I love period dramas! While my mother was visiting I mentioned that I had bought a few and one of them was the latest version of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey staring JJ Field, Felicity Jones, Carey Mulligan and Liam Cunningham.
I had watched it once before and since I have almost every Jane Austen I thought why not get it. It is charming! The actors look the ages they are supposed to be and Catherine Morland I think is the forgotten heroine. But lets get to the plot first.
I have never read the book so I don't really know how closely the film follows but this is one of those versions of Jane Austen that makes you want to read it.
Catherine Morland is invited to Bath with her friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen. While in Bath Catherine meets the Thorpe's and the Tilney's. Catherine is very naive and always sees the good in people which as we all know can lead us to trusting the wrong people. Catherine is a great reader and especially loves gothic romance; through out the movie we get to see her overactive imagination take a wild turn with the people she meets. Her love interest Mr. Tilney is adorable. He isn't a Mr. Darcy but he's a really good guy and likes to tease the gullible Catherine.
All in all it was cute and charming. We have a silly but like able heroine and an unsuspecting gallant hero.
Good work JA!

So A, this is the version I was talking about.

The Other Boleyn Girl and The Other Boleyn Girl

2010-09-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Other Boleyn Girl By Philippa Gregory

I'm very excited to be writing about this book, I've been planning it in my head for some time now. This is a reread for me and the first time I read it was because I had become hooked on the TV series the Tudors and when it ended for the season I needed something the keep me going. I have somewhat become obsessed with this time in history and particularly what happened between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
At first I was disappointed with the book because the Tudors portrayal of Anne Boleyn is quite different than that of the book. I should say the Tudors is not based on this book and so different interpretations of what happened and how the characters are would naturally happen. The first time I finished it I did end up enjoying it and the second even more so probably because I knew going into it knew how Anne would be. The Tudor era has become very popular, all you have to do is walk in a book store and see the number of books revolving around the court of Henry VIII. So much so that I think it is overdone and not very original. The Other Boleyn Girl isn't like that; while still using an accurate timeline of Anne and Henry the author has given us Mary Boleyn as our narrator and heroine. A woman who actually existed and was quite forgotten in the history books.

The story is told through the eyes of Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister and also the mistress of Henry VIII. The two sisters are very close but exact opposites; Mary is fair, sweet and does what she is told, Anne is dark, mysterious and headstrong. We see their relationship fall apart and their lives head in opposite directions thanks to the wills of their family as well as a sick sibling rivalry.
Many historian's argue about what Anne was really like and I suppose no one will ever know she is often portrayed as cunning, manipulative and well a bitch. That is the way this Anne is written, I personally don't feel that is how she really was but for the sake of an entertaining story I enjoyed it. The book is good its dark, educational in some ways, it will certainly make you feel grateful that we women aren't bartered like cattle today. I don't like reading fiction where the characters were real people but for this one works because we discover it with Mary someone who I had never heard of until this book.

There are also adaptions for film and television. In 2003 one came out for TV, until today I had never seen it and after I never will again. It was like watching Big Brother Tudor style. The actors constantly talk into the camera having these little one on ones and then I found out that alot of the film was improvised. I only watched about thirty minutes of it. It was ambitious but it looked poorly done. The actors were much too old especially the Boleyn Girls in the book they are teenagers, these women though talented did not look under 25.

Then there is the 2008 film starring Natalie Portman, Scarlet Johannson and Eric Bana. As far as adaptations go it isn't a good one. After looking some information up on wikipedia the screen writer said he used the book as a guideline more. However I felt it captured the spirit of the book and the way Mary and Anne are written. Eric Bana, as much as I hate to say, was miscast. He wasn't spoiled or enough of a tyrant for me. The film focus's more on the sister's relationship even though there is quite a lot that happens to Mary without Anne that is cut out. I enjoyed it, it was entertaining and the performances, aside from Eric Bana, were good. Natalie Portman is a great Anne Boleyn and since Mary has rarely been in films Scarlett was good too. They had a good chemistry. There are those lovers of the book that I'm sure hate this adaptation because it strayed far from the book however Phillipa Gregory felt this version did capture the essence of her book. If you are going to watch one watch this one and it is easier to get a hold of, but to reiterate it is not faithful the the novel.

http://www.amazon.ca/Other-Boleyn-Girl-Philippa-Gregory/dp/0743227441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286069556&sr=1-1

Costumes from the film on display at Hampton Court when I went to the UK in 2008

My first Favourite

2010-09-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Lily Josephine by Kate Saunders
I know I said that my next posting was going to be The Other Boleyn Girl but I managed to finish this one faster so too bad.
This book for me is a reread and it is one of my all time favourites, I've had it since I was about thirteen and at the time I thought it was the most amazing book there ever was. The book is so worn now and the pages are yellow but it is one I just can't part with, I even started a screenplay for it when I was eighteen hoping that I could one day be Lily Josephine. This is how much I loved and love this book.
There are so many characters in this book I don't even know where to start. In the book we don't start off with the character Lily Josephine but her nemesis and stepmother Sidonia.
Sidonia is a striking woman who must have beauty in her life and at first glance is fascinating and many are in awe of her. Without giving too much away she has many affairs and marriages that she ends up with three daughters all with different fathers. They are Primrose, Juana, and Isobel.
We are later introduced to Helena; a skinny, plain girl with beautiful dark eyes who has been isolated from the world but is an heiress. Helena ends up marrying the handsome playboy Captain Ralph Gallant who despite appearances does love her. Their marriage results in Lily Josephine.
Years later during the first few years of WWII Ralph falls in love with Sidonia but she is in love with a man she calls the eagle. Sidonia eventually submits to Ralph, in Sidonia fashion of course, and the battle begins when she sees Ralph's beautiful daughter Lily Josephine.
Lily eventually winds up with the Randall's, a family of seven extremely handsome men (so jealous). Not only are all these man some of the best looking men in fiction but they are also good men which makes them even more lovable.
The Randall's
Gerard Randall or Pa
Christopher(Kit) Randall
Bruno Randall
Oscar Randall
Jack Randall
Quinn Randall
Patrick Randall

Throughout the book we also have two other important characters that are set in 1980 Sophie Gently and Octavius Randall. All of the past seems to bring these two together and unite them.

This sounds like a soap opera and it kinda is but the book is part fairytale that you don't see the soap opera. It is very romantic and at times saucy and what I have always found when I read it is that you can't help who you fall in love with. The wonderful thing about Lily Josephine is she knows that. She loves completely and is understanding when some of the other characters relationships become taboo. In the beginning you can't help but fall under Sidonia's spell but once we meet Lily you meet someone authentic and love her despite the naivete that not only makes her too trusting but charming.

I no longer think this is best book ever written but it was certainly under praised and unnoticed at the time of its release. I would love to see this re released so that more people could discover it but I don't think that will happen. I have found other books of Kate Saunders but this one is my favourite. If you like romance and feuding families then you will fall in love with Lily Josephine. The wonderful characters move the story and you can't help but follow.

Lily at Amazon

A visit to my Childhood

2010-09-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to write about this but I have changed my mind because it is stuck in my head and doesn't seem to want to go away.
The other day at the gym I was flicking through channels and came across a movie that is hard for me to turn away from. So well plugging away on the elliptical I watched it and again I was sucked into it.

The movie was Immortal Beloved from 1994 and is about the composer Beethoven and the mystery of his Immortal Beloved.
I can't remember how old I was but I first saw this movie when I was kid, I don't know how I got to watch it but I did and I won't say I fell in love with the movie but the story intrigued me. I used to listen to classical music as a kid and still do but at the time I knew nothing about him. I thought he was terrifying after I watched the movie and yet all these women were in love with him and ripping their clothes off for him (Yes I watched this movie as a kid).
The film starts off with the death of Beethoven, played by Gary Oldman, and upon his death there are numerous letters addressed to my Immortal Beloved. Beethoven's secretary, played by Jerone Krabbe, will not let the will be settled until he finds out who this woman was. Then we meet the many loves of Beethoven's life some of whom inspired some of the most beautiful music ever.
The movie jumps from different periods of time and not really giving the audience a proper timeline of when things happened but in all that is my only complaint. It is beautifully filmed, the costumes and locations are fabulous and the acting is excellent. This movie is romantic and a bodice ripper but it is also very sad to see a hint of what this man went through. Having an amazing talent and passion for music and to be deaf.
This movie is old I am sad to say cause that means I am getting old with it and not a famous film so it is hard to find but if you can find it just take a peek and just in case I haven't intrigued you take a gander at this.

Good morning, on July 7

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine
ever mine
ever ours

The Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2e5Siu8E1k&feature=related

The Swan Thieves Part 2

2010-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

I finished this book last night and my final thoughts on it are that its okay. The story was interesting enough that it made me want to know more but it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. The painter Robert Oliver doesn't have much to do he is just the catlyst for our main character Dr. Robertt Marlow whose own life begins to mirror that of the french love letters. The only way we learn anything about Robert Oliver is through the women in his life and we never hear anything from his own account. Before I said I wished there was more with the story involving the two people in letters and there is but in my opinion still not enough. The ending wrapped up very conviently and the twist in story was predictable.
It was entertaing but I certainly don't love it and I don't think it will be something I will read again.
I look foreward to reading "The Historian" and seeing if it is all they say it is cracked up to be.

The Swan Thieves at Amazon

Coming soon
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Swan Thieves Part 1

2010-09-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

The book
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

I'm going to start this post a little differently, I actually haven't finished the book yet. I am more than half way through it but there are some things that just keep bugging me so I thought I would just jump into it.

The story is about a painter named Robert Oliver who for no known reason attacks a painting a the National Gallery of Art, after this attack he is admitted into a hospital where we meet a our main narrator psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Marlow who also happens to be a art lover and painter. Robert barely speaks throughout the book and when asked why he attacked the painting he says "I did it for her."
There are some things about this book that I have found very misleading. On the inside panel where a synopsis is it says that the another story through century old love letters brings "France of the late 1800's blazingly alive." So far no blaze. The letters are intriguing and why this painter has them is still unknown but it certainly has not brought France alive for me. In fact most of the letters aren't even a page long. My interpretation of the synopsis was that the story would go back and forth between France in the 1800's during the impressionist era of art and the present. There has been little of that aside from the letters and little tidbits here and there but the farthest back we've really gone in Robert's life seems to be the 1980's. The inside panel also talks about how this is a novel about art. The cover makes you believe that, it is a painting of a swan and the legs of a woman but I haven't learned anything about Impressionist art. So far the only thing that connects the stories of the letters and Robert Oliver is that most of his paintings are of a unknown dark haired woman dressed in old fashioned clothing.
So far I feel this story could have been wrapped up faster, I want to know what happens but this is not the book I thought that I bought. I will let you know how the next half goes.

Swan Thieves Part 2

Indulge yourself, I did.

2010-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

My main follower and best friend informed the other day she really wants me to write about something and I've been wanting to its just I haven't known what to write about. I haven't finished a book since Water for Elephants. Not because I've been lazy, but actually socializing with people. My mom mostly but we don't get to visit often and we've been spending our time walking dogs and watching episodes of the Big Bang Theory because it is the one show my grandmother seems to be able to follow (plus she loves Sheldon).
Today though I made some great headway with one of three books I'm currently reading and I have two days off work so I plan to make the most of them.
So for future refrence friend I am reading
The Swan thieves By Elizabeth Kostova
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
Lily Josephine by Kate Saunders

The day before my mom left we went to HMV downtown to find a birthday present for a friend (Yes you). Before finding the present I found a few dvds that I wanted really badly! So indulged myself and then the next day there was one I left behind and so indulged myself again. It was called " The Wings of the Dove" staring Helena Bonheim Carter, Linus Roache and Alison Elliot.
It was beautiful. It was another period drama, acutally everything I bought was, but this one I think could even appeal to those of you who aren't period drama fans. It is a great cinematic work.

The movie is based on a Henry James novel and set in Edwardian England and then later on Venice Italy. The story is a love trianlge involving Kate, Merton, and Millie. Kate after growing up in poverty and watching her mother suffer and after from marrying for love is taken under the wing of her rich aunt and shown the world of riches and society. Merton is her poor journalist lover who wants to marry her. Millie is a rich American heiress that befirends Kate but who also falls in love with Merton. Kate discovers a secret of Millie's that could enable her to marry Merton but at what cost? That is all I'm going to say about the plot because the ending is conflicting and bittersweet.

The characters are great especially Kate you can't help but like her even if you don't agree with what she does. In fact all the main characters are likeable. Millie is someone you can't help but fall in love with; she is one of those warm hearted people who see the truth and still love and forgive. Millie is played by Alison Eliot who I wish was in more films because she is such a talented actress. And then there is Merton. Despite the nerdy name and not so studly but attractive apperance you can understand why these two women fall in love with him. He is the type of guy who you can fall madly in love with and be your best friend. Helena Bonham carter was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayl of Kate and I thought it was well deserved. The costumes are beautiful and the sets were beautific. In the opening scene there is an old fashioned subway train or tube if you will and its just so pretty to look at. I just kept thinking where did they get that and how did they manage to film this and the same with the old fashioned elavator where did they find a building with an oldfashioned gate elevator.
Find this movie and watch it. There are great performances, beautiful scenery and fantastic plot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyymh5Wil7o&feature=related

The Circus, depression and eventually Robert Pattinson.

2010-08-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
I had very high expectations for this book and I was a little disappointed. For a while now I have heard how good this book was and figured it must be so since so many thought so and plus its being made into a movie starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. The book was good, I guess my high expectations made it so it was hard to live up to.
The story takes place during the depression and is about a young man named Jacob Jankowski studying to become a veterinarian.
Jacob is the narrator of the book as an elderly man living in a an old folks home. Tragedy strikes the young Jacob leaving him unsure of what to do with his life so what does he do? He runs away to the circus, it is all completely by accident and turns out to be his life raft. During the depression a circus, as it turns out, was a great way of survival, there is always food, a place to sleep, work and travel. Jacob is quickly offered a place as the circus vet and while here he meets dark characters such as Uncle Al the owner and Augustus the head animal trainer. Augustus is a fantastic villain; he abuses the animals and has a charming manner that initially misleads Jacob but soon discovers is very deceptive. You love to hate him. Jacob develops feelings for one of the main performers Marlena who also happens to be Augustus' wife. Another important character is Rosie an elephant that Uncle Al purchases to make his circus complete but Rosie won't perform.

The book captures the dark glamour of the circus, of how everything is an illusion and the reality is ugly and disturbing. The conditions that the crew and animals lived in and how no person or animal was safe from being disposed showed the cruel reality of the circus and at the center of the story is Jacob; a human being fighting for what is right but also fighting for his own survival and those of the people and animals around him. The relationship between Jacob and Augustus is intense. Jacob despises Augustus but Augustus has the power to get rid of Jacob's position as the vet and to hurt the people around him including Marlena. I would have liked the relationship between Jacob and Marlena to be more central, Jacob's relationship with Augustus felt like it took precedence. I aslo felt the ending for the elderly Jacob was completely unrealistc, it was nice but after living with an elderly person of the same age I found it really unbelievable.
I really like the book but I don't love it. It wasn't long enough for me I would have liked more. I have a feeling though that movie will enhance the book for me.
Time will tell I guess.

Water For Elephants at Amazon

My thoughts on the Movie

Tolstoy on a Tuesday

2010-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

At the moment I'm visiting my mother and she recommended I watch the movie The Last Station. All I know about the movie The Last Station is that it has Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, and James Macavoy and the movie is about the last few weeks of Leo Tolstoy's. All I know about Leo Tolstoy is he was Russian and wrote Anna Karenina. After watching the movie I had no idea that Tolstoy was such a celebrity in his time he was actually considered saint like.
The movie is a conflict of the heart that is the best way I can think to put it. Tolstoy and his wife love each other very deeply but are at odds with each other. Sofia his wife doesn't like the people that Tolstoy is surrounding himself with. These people wish to change the world with Tolstoyan beliefs but like most strict followers of anything they twist it so they completely miss the point and become walking contradictions. Tolstoy wishes to do something for the people but struggles with his wife's wishes. I thought she had every right to be so upset as usual behind every great man was a great woman and this woman poured her life into him. I found the movie very interesting and the characters fascinating and what makes them even more so is that they were all real. The movie isn't as dark as I thought it would be. When I think of settings in Russia I automatically think tragedy, and if you look at the country's history and the literature that comes out of it why would you not think so. The movie though is quite comedic, yes it is sad because it is dealing with a great man's last weeks of life but it was also really funny. While looking through the special features of the dvd there was something called The missed Station which turned out to be bloopers from the movie, I love bloopers and they certainly in this case don't ruin the movie. The performances are amazing Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer are amazing but so is the whole cast; it is certainly an ensemble piece. I thought the movie was romantic, comedic and sad but sad in a way that it was meant to be that way.
I know I've said this before but if you don't like period drama then you probably won't like this and if you don't know anything about Tolstoy then you probably won't have any understanding of what you are watching. If you love film and great acting then it is certainly something you should watch. For me I think it is something I will watch again because of the complexities of the characters. I like a good character study and now I want to know more about Tolstoy and his writings.

2010-08-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

This is one of the books I picked up at a flea market and decided to read it because I love the movie so much. It was the first movie I went to see on a school night while still in school so I can always remember it. I loved it then and I love it now. I think the cast is great I'm a huge Toni Collete Fan and of Hugh Grant, in fact my grandmother, mother and I are all big fans of his.
I decided this would be my book that I would take to work because it would be easy to pick up again on short breaks and I was lucky cause the movie follows the book almost to the tea. (I think I used that expression properly)
No joke almost the entire book is in the movie, except for some slight changes that I personally think were for the better.
Now before anyone starts criticizing me for liking the movie more than the book, some changes needed to take place because in the book it is set in 1993 and certain events that happened in 1993 wouldn't make any sense 2003 when the movie takes place. There are more characters in book, for instance Marcus' father is in the book more, so is Ellie, and Rachel. Fiona doesn't seem as hippy bohemian as she does in the movie but I like the movie version. The ending of the book isn't as meaningful as the movie ending is, at least that's what I thought. Both the book and the movie though do deal with what I guess you would call the modern family. More and more people are choosing who they want in their life, who really is family and who they lean on for support when things begin to fall apart, which I suppose is the theme of the book and the movie carried it through.
I just realized after nattering away that I haven't actually said what the book is about. The story is narrated through the voices of two characters: Will a single thirty something guy who lives off his father's royalties from a hit song, and Marcus a geeky odd ball twelve year old. The two of them strike up an unlikely friendship that affects both their lives in more ways than one, I won't get into details because I don't like giving anything away but the relationship between them is humorous and enlightening for both. As I was saying earlier I do like the movie better than the book, maybe it is because I saw it before reading the book but I don't think so. The movie is a condensed version but still captures the flavour of the book and perhaps express it better. I think I said that already. There were many times when I was reading the book that it made me want to watch the movie mainly because the movie is faster. Not that it is slow in pace it just would have saved me a week. This is one book I don't think I will hang onto, it is officially going onto the donate pile. I say pile but there isn't really one yet this will be the first, I also need to find some place to put the pile. I do want to read more of Nick Hornby's books, they are witty, clever, and the characters are fun.
So read the book then watch the movie.

The movie trailer

sorry for the poor sound quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyGtvlR9o8s

About a Boy at Amazon

PS
Look what the boy turned into

and just to reiterate

The day after the Great Read

2010-08-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I could not stop thinking about Still Missing. It has stayed with me, actually it has made me a little paranoid.
I had trouble falling asleep last night cause I kept thinking about 'the freak'. I tried I really did I even played an album on ipod called 'meditation' and it didn't help. Eventually I did fall asleep but since it took me so long and I had to be up early I was kinda tired. Then I kept thinking about how the freak at first impressions was just this nice looking guy but was really a freak, so I kept thinking about that every time a male customer came in. It also didn't help when one guy came and asked to use the phone, I told him we don't have a public phone but he could use my cell phone. Smart right? Then it was really great when he left the store with it, then he realized what he had done and came back and apologized. None of this is helping me feel better especially after reading Still Missing. I kept imagining really crazy scenarios like he stealing all the numbers from my phone and was going to start stalking people.
I get like this after watching things like Law and Order or any kind of crime show and it's worse if I'm home alone. I guess this is just a side effect from my great read yesterday plus an overactive imagination.
I think if read anymore books like this I will need to pace myself so I don't get too worked up.

A day well spent

2010-08-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

So today I had a not so great morning and I needed to get out of the house for a little bit so I ended up in Indigo books. I knew before hand that this was a risky venture but it was early and I didn't feel like wandering around a mall or driving aimlessly. By the end of my wandering around looking at books and a short jaunt to the Starbucks inside I ended up with four books in my arms. I guess buying books is my retail therapy. Some women buy shoes I buy books and personally I think learn more from purchases.
The fourth book I picked up I almost didn't buy not because it didn't sound good but I thought I could wait for another time it turns out I couldn't. So after some lunch I drove to the beach to start this one, which I think already says something about the book cause after I buy I usually wait and read something else this one was different.
The book
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
The story is about a young woman, Annie O'Sullivan, who after showing an open house is abducted and held against her will for a year with a man she calls The Freak. The story is told from Annie's point of view during sessions with her therapist. The book jumps right into it; the abduction, what happens when she is held captive, her life afterwards and yet there is still a mystery to be solved. I really liked Annie. I know I have often said that its important to me but what I am about to say will make it sound like I don't; so here it is. Annie is sarcastic, bitchy, brutally honest to the point that you might cry but she is completely justified; after reading it you feel as if you are right in her shoes. The mixed emotions she goes through with her abductor, her family and friends it so completely human it had me wondering if I would have done the same if I was in her shoes and I often found the answer to be a yes I would have. You know the type of thoughts where you are absolutly disgusted with thinking them and feel ashamed of yourself this is what Annie goes through, emotions all over the map. The book is fast paced so fast paced that I finished it the day I started and I can't remember the last time I read a book like that. It is an intense terrifying read, I'm really glad that I didn't decide to start it tonight before I went to bed. This is the author's first book and I really believe she is going to make a splash in the book world and what makes me really excited is that she is a Canadian and from BC! This is for me is a recommended must read!

Still Missing at Amazon

And some video's

On the Fence

2010-08-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve

For years I have wanted to read this book, but never picked it up because I thought it sounded predictable. A few months ago I came across it at a flea market book sale and immediately grabbed it. Then a week ago I started it and this afternoon I finished it. To be perfectly honest I don't know how I feel about it. After I finished it I started to make a few notes and ask myself a few questions; but first I will tell you a little bit about the book.
The novel revolves around a young woman named Olypmia Biddeford who is an only child and comes from a very wealthy upper class family. Olympia for most of her life has been sheltered from the world, as most young women of the time were, but is very well educated because of her father who pulled her out of a school because he felt her education wasn't being fulfilled. The setting is in a place called Fortune's Rocks in Maine and it starts in 1899. Olympia is a fifteen year old girl who falls in love with a married man who is three times her age Dr. John Haskell; the two have an affair over the summer knowing perfectly well that it well end in heartache which it does. After the summer Olympia discovers she is in fact pregnant. Are you beginning to understand why I thought it was predictable?
Of course society of that time cuts her out and even her own family continually punish her years later. Then one day Olympia decides she will no longer punish her self for having fallen in love and starts to fight for herself and allows herself to try and find happiness.
One of the questions I asked my self were "Do I like Olympia?" The answer is yes I do. She was a fighter and a survivor. She stood up for herself and was not ashamed or regretted her actions because they were out of love and never intended to hurt anyone. Yes she made some choices that most of us at 15 probably don't think about but at the same time she learned about the world and allowed her self to be apart of it. I was reading some other reviews on amazon to see other peoples reactions to the book and some were really great and others criticized the character of Olympia which I didn't really like but that's their opinion. Romances and romance novels are often criticized for having heroines in Victorian or regency settings that are very modern minded and that they don't really fit with the times. I think we sometimes forget that humans wants and needs haven't changed all that much and are we really that much different then those who have walked before us. I've often thought that if Jane Austen or any of the Bronte's wrote in our times they would be placed in the romance novel sections of libraries and book stores. If Anita Shreve wrote back in the day it would have been labeled under classics. So those of you pessimists go easy on Olympia and Shreve. It is a well written book.
There were some things about the book that I felt would have been better developed such as some of the secondary characters and even John Haskell. I loved the setting, and I could picture it all very clearly in my mind. One of my notes says 'it recreated a time and place for me' which for me is important. I like to feel like I'm in the book. All in all I thought it was well written but would I read it again? I don't know. That to me is the sign of a book that I truly love, I would want to keep it and read it again at some point. I needed to know what happened and was on edge I even found the ending satisfying but I still don't know. I don't think I'm in love with this but deep in like. For those of you love historical romance read it. It is still miles better than any vampire werewolf crap. :)

Fortunes Rocks at amazon

BLECH!

2010-08-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

Don't watch the movie evern if you don't want to read the book. It was really bad. I'm actually thinking of taking the trailer off.
The story was cut to bits and certain events that happen to one character were happening to a different one. I never thought I would say this but Meryl wasn't that good, nor was Jeremy Irons. The whole movie was too americanized you couldn't even tell that it was set in Latin America.
That is all I can say about it. It was waste of time.

But if you really must

The House of the Spirits

2010-08-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

I have a confession to make. I really not proud of this but there are worse things. This is my first time reading a book by Isabel Allende. You're probably thinking "okay, not really a big deal," but I have in my possession at least six of her books. This is the first one I have read and have owned some of them for years. As far as my library goes; one Allende down five to go.

The story follows the Trueba family, an upper class Chilean family. First we start with De Valle Family with their two favourite daughters Rosa the oldest and Clara the youngest. Rosa is engaged to Esteban Trueba though she has not seen him for two year. Esteban is trying to make his fortune in gold mine so that he will one day be able to marry Rosa. Clara the youngest of the De Valles is also clairvoyant and has the ability to move things with her mind. Clara predicts a death a death in her family but says that will be a mistake, to the families loss it is Rosa. Clara from this point on until she decides to marry does not speak, I'm sure you can guess who it is she marries.
We also have Esteban who starts off romantic and idealistic but the death of his Rosa turns him into a angry and power driven man. There is his family estate Tres Marias where after the death of Rosa he pours himself into to make his fortune; but where he also takes advantage of tenants daughters which will one day have its repercussions. When Estaban and Clara marry they are in love but their love is not the great love story of the book.
The great love story belongs to Blanca and Pedro Tercero Garcia who reminded me a bit of Cathy and Heathcliff except without the hate and wanting to hurt each other. The reason they remind me is cause for both couples there is only ever going to be one person for them. I won't reveal any more about that.

Then there is Alba the central narrator who grows up in a time when Chile is facing great political upheaval and must in the end face up to the repercussions that I was talking about earlier.

I loved this book. There were times when I would put it down for days and then start again but whenever I picked it up it again it always captivated my interest. For such a thin looking books there is alot of story and characters which makes it epic in a way ( It does after all span four generations of the Trueba's). My one really big complaing about it is the chapters are way too long. It would sometimes feel like I was halfway through the book before a chapter ended.
What I also thought when reading it was this should be a mini series like the Forsyte Saga or Captins and Kings except in Chile.
There is alot of great material here for mini series, then to my surprise I found out it was made into a movie. At first I was excited because I had never heard of this movie and at the time I was reading the book but after looking at the cast list I can already tell it won't live up to the book. Now generally I like movie adaptations of books and I don't mind things being cut out as long as the essence of the book is still there. The House of the Spirits movie does have some great actors in it including Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons, what makes me think it won't be good are the characters they have cut out.
Such as Uncle Marcos, the twins Jaime and Nicholas, and there are others. I plan on watching the movie tonight and will post on what I find.

The book does have a magical feel but it also has a haunting feel, its not dark but haunted. Which I suppose makes sense because it is called The House of the Spirits. I also don't want to leave the impression that its a soap opera, its better than that.
It is a great read that will leave you wanting more Allende I will even leave a quote from the book.
"We cannot gauge the consquences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously."

The house of spirits at amazon

First love caught on film

2010-07-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today I feel like writing about something and since I haven't yet finished the House of Spirits I've decided I will write about a film.

The Film is Bright Star.

This is film is written and directed by Jane Campion and stars Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw.
The movie is a love story about John Keats and his fiance Fanny Brawne. For those of you who do not know who John Keats is he was a poet in the early 1800's and is today considered one of the greatest poets of the Romantics.
I bought this movie without seeing it in theatre because I fell in love with the trailer. It has become a habit of mine to buy DVDs without actually having seen the movie which I am trying to remedy because I could end up with a lot of DVDs. The first time I watched the movie I didn't find what I expected and that is probably because I was unaware of Jane Campion's style. I have only ever seen two of her other movies The Piano and Holy Smoke. I remember thinking that The Piano was such a strange period piece but kinda sexy, and Holy Smoke I never watched the whole thing but I do remember a scene with Kate Winslet peeing on her self. Now I'm making Jane Campion sound like some weirdo film maker and that you shouldn't watch her movies that is not my intention. To be honest I don't really remember the other movies all that well but after watching Bright Star she does leave her mark on her films.
The movie is a very quiet, and unlike other period drama's there is very little background music in the whole movie, there is some music and it is so subtly beautiful it adds to the feeling not creating one for you. Now I love movie scores but this one doesn't need a huge swelling of music to make you feel the humanity of the film. The way it is filmed with the costumes, settings and lack of music makes you feel as if you are really there. The love scenes have a way of making the audience relate and I think that is partly due to the lack of music. (I mean how often do you have a full orchestral score playing when you are living your life?) . The chemistry between the two leads is incredible. I love it when I forget that I am watching actors. Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw play their parts beautifully. The love story between Fanny and Keats is heartbreaking and what makes it more so is the fact they these were real people. Who needs Vampire's and Werewolves when there is a love story like this.
Now I don't think this movie is for everyone, it does at times feel a bit slow and if you don't like period drama then I can't imagine you liking this movie. Still give it a chance, it is a beautifully filmed movie and does have a slightly contemporary feel to it.
For those of you who are period drama fanatics like myself; WATCH IT! However don't make the mistake I did before watching it. It is not Jane Austen, or Bronte or some other Bodice Ripper and it isn't really a biography about Keats. It is a true story of first love and how passitionaly felt it can be that happens to involve one of England's greatest poets and his bright star.

A new source

2010-07-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

A few blocks down from where I live there is a used book store. When I first moved here, which is almost six years ago now, I went in to look around. It was one of those used book stores that had books piled high to the ceiling and almost so you could never walk around. A colleague of my mom's told her to tell me not to get a job there cause the man who owned it was kind of a creep; so not being that interested in going back there to begin with I now never he wanted to look at it plus it smelled like hot dogs.

A few months back I had some books that were pretty much in perfect condition that I knew I wasn't going to read again so I took them in there to see what I could get for them. The place was still the same, books stacked high and hard to walk around, but new owner. They didn't give me a real good deal on them but it enabled me to look around and buy a few. So I did. There were so many new titles in there. It was as if people bought them and then just sold them to the store it was fantastic!

Then I found out they were going to be having renovations and would be closed for a month so I didn't want to let that money just sit there because they had given me store credit so I picked a few and left.

My mother is visiting and she is also an avid book lover as well and I wanted to see what the renovations were like so I asked her to walk down with me. The place looked amazing! Beautiful shelves, no piles of paperbacks to be seen. There was a lot of country western decor but it did sort of fit the store for some reason.

I am saying all this because it is unfortunate that I have now found a new place to shop for books that is not only aesthetically pleasing but it also carries some newer titles and really good stuff. I walked out of there with four today, my mom five. So the list of 133 has now grown to to 137. So here are the new titles added

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Bondwoman's Narrative a novel by Henry Louis Gates Jr

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleswki

I have no idea when I will get to these but I will eventually. I'm trying to have two on the go so I can post much quicker but after finishing the Forgotten Garden I'm having troubles picking a second to read. The one I'm reading now and the Forgotten Garden at times can be dark in moments so I think I need something lighthearted.

Coming soon The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

Unforgettable.

2010-07-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

The Forgotten Garden
by Kate Morton.
I don't know how to start. This is my second time reading this book and it was just as good as the first time. It for sure has become one of my favorite books of all time. Its part historical fiction, part mystery and its also about family. To be honest I think this book is magic and Kate Morton is a witch. Kate Morton has weaved and spell over me and I can't get enough of her books. I can remember buying this book and having doubts with its shiny green title and fairy's dancing on the inside cover but it called out to me from the shelf of the bookstore and I just kept going back to it. I would look at the cover, read the synopsis and think this sounds so predictable; I was completely wrong. Even when I took it home I didn't start it right away because I had other things that I hadn't read and wanted to get to them first but it taunted me. Every time I walked by it it was like the only thing I could see, and I finally gave in and started reading; I devoured that book. I had a hard time tearing myself away from it and at the same time I didn't want to finish it too soon cause I didn't want it to end. Its as if the book knew that I would fall in love with it. But enough about me and my weirdness.
Now this is going to be difficult to write about without giving too much away. The story takes place from 1900-2005 in Australia and England with three major characters; Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra. Throughout the book we go from a dirty and grimey London, a mysterious and dark upperclass house called Blackhurst Manor, to an emerging Australia and then modern Australia and England. The character Nell as a young woman is told by her father that she is not his biological child and that she wasn't given up for adoption but she was found on the wharf in Australia and all that was in her possession was a child's white suitcase with a book of fairy tales written by Eliza Makepeace. Nell spends the rest of her life not knowing what her origins are and decides in middle age to retrace the steps of how she ended up in Australia all alone. Just when Nell begins to make some headway in discovering her origins circumstances in her family force her to post pone her search. Years later her grand-daughter Cassandra inherits a small cottage in England from Nell and discovers that it once belonged to Eliza. Cassandra still hurting from her own losses decides to pick up where Nell left off. Woven into the story we get tidbits of the fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace which I love when writers do; it gives the book an even more magical feel and at the same time moves the story along.
This is really all I can write about. If I write anymore it will give away too much and the discovery is too delicious.I hope you fall in love as I did.

@Amazon

The House at Riverton By Kate Morton

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

A classic

2010-07-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Mary Barton

By Elizabeth Gaskell

I am quite proud of myself with this book. If I can recall correctly this is the first book that I have read that was written in the 1800's that there is no movie or mini series to speak of. So I have nothing to go on except the book itself to form my opinion. I have however been a fan of the other books by Elizabeth Gaskell that have been turned into mini series and now after reading one I like Liz's style.

The book takes place in Manchester during the 1830's and we are introduced to the main families. The Wilson's and the Barton's. They are both working class families who throughout the book see more than enough tragedy then they deserve. At a young age Mary loses her mother and prior to that her mother's only relative a sister runs off with a young man she thinks will take care of her with great riches. After the death of his wife John Barton becomes lost and as Mary gets older she has no one that really looks out for her. Puffed up with vanity Mary thinks she will be elevated in her station after a young man Harry Carson the son of the owner of a factory starts to secretly court her. Mary's childhood friend Jem Wilson has been in love with Mary all their lives and starts to believe that he is not good enough for her. Jem in the book isn't described as the most swoon worthy of men but his actions speak for themselves and you can't help but fall in love with him a little. Then after a series of events that I won't give away Jem ends up being accused of crime that you are sure he has not committed.

To start off with Mary is not easy to like. You do feel sorry for her she looses her mother tragically and at such a young age but its hard to like her. Her relationship with Harry Carson makes her forget who she really is. Not her station but who she is as a person and what she values. Don't worry though you end up with a great deal of respect for her by the end, even her best friend Margret has doubts about Mary and is pleasantly relieved. Another thing that I didn't really like is that you don't really know much about Harry Carson. The relationship between Mary and Harry is kept a secret, so even though you know something is going on you don't really know anything about Harry's character only that his family is very wealthy and Mary expects to marry him.

Aside from the love triangle you get an understanding of what life was like for the working class people of the time. There is one instance in the story where John Barton and George Wilson go to look in on a widow of a fellow factory worker. The conditions in which the poor woman and her family live are vividly described and no doubt accurate. Barton and Wilson both take pity on her and do whatever it is they can to help her. Gaskell description is fantastic! You can almost feel the smog and dirty conditions at your fingertips. There is no romanticizing of what life was like for the working class and the sort of conditions they lived in. She was true to life.

These characters are flawed but you also know that these are some of the strongest people you could ever meet and hope to back you up. The book is part love story, mystery and authentic to lives of the working class. There is also a great little side romance between Margret and Wil Wilson that is so adorable. I don't know if this will be my favorite Elizabeth Gaskell but I really enjoyed it and secretly hope it will be a mini series. Mark my words Jem will be a hottie!

Mary Barton at Amazon

Hungry for more

2010-07-09T18:30:00.001-07:00

The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry

I have to say I am very excited about this because it is the first book I have finished since I started this blog and it is also not being made into a movie or mini series at this time so it is completely new and fresh. 132 to go!

This book is one of my newer ones and normally when I buy a book I don't read it right away because I have some many others to get through. For some reason though I didn't want to wait with this one. Even when I was in the store I felt it calling to me. LOL! I know it sounds it stupid but its true. I like covers on books and this book had a cover that normally I wouldn't be attracted too. I thought it looked kinda cartoonish but when I opened it and read the first page I was hooked.

The title at first I didn't get but as I am thinking about and looking back at the novel its about filling the void. And it isn't just intended for the ghosts but those that are living. All the characters at some point in their lives or even their whole lives are trying to find that feeling of satisfaction. This feeling in turn makes some of the characters selfish, jealous, manipulative and incapable of seeing beyond themselves.

The story revolves around a British Family called the Saffords living in colonial Hong Kong. The main focus is of the family's youngest daughter Alice, who at the age of 11 becomes the host to a ghost of a young Chinese woman who was brutally murdered. Alice is the black sheep of the family but the apple of her father's eye much to the displeasure of the rest of her family. Lets put it this way. You know that kid from when you were in school who was odd, talked about weird things, a loner and someone who was easy to overlook? This is Alice. Alice is the underdog but she is no Cinderella. What makes her even odder and troubled is that she has a ghost who cares deeply for her but doesn't always have the best intentions for her. The ghost at times is very selfish and has no desire to share Alice, which really isn't a problem. Her mother loathes her from the second she discovers that she is not the son she wanted and as Alice grows older mother detests and blames Alice for everything. Her siblings are really no better, the eldest is jealous of her, the next is too caught up in her life, and the brother looks up to her but is also to caught up in his own selfishness. The father adores her but at times I found him cowardly.

As I was reading this book that had had me enthralled I realised I didn't really like any of the characters. Which is odd I thought because I had to know what happened with Alice. Funny enough the story is told through the eyes of the family, the ghost and others but never through Alice. The ghost is the closest thing to letting us know how Alice is feeling. Despite this I still did care about Alice. Out of all her family she has the purest heart and no ill will towards anyone not even the ghost who at times isn't the best influence and doesn't make her already dismal life any better.

This is a haunting tale, no pun intended but it is. I would say it has Gothic feel to it, very dark but intoxicating and at times poetic. I'm already looking forward to what else this author comes out with.

@Amazon

Here is a video with the author who I think can give you a better feel for the book than I can.

"The Pillars of the Earth" and defending all dads!

2010-07-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to talk about a book that I finished a month or two ago. The only reason I'm not talking about something I just finished is because a friend and my one follower of this blog laughed when I suggested it to her because her dad liked these books. The book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. First off its not a "dad" book. Yes dads and moms like it (yes it was an Oprah's book club book) but it is an epic book. It is about the building of a cathedral in 12th century England. According to the inside flap of the book the story follows the characters of Tom the builder, Lady Aliena and a monk. While this is true there are a myriad of other characters that contribute and make the story interesting. Tom Builder's family, the ex fiance of Lady Aliena William Hamleigh and his family, Jack Jackson and his mother Ellen, the various monks, priests, kings and queens. I should say though that there aren't so many characters that you can't keep track of them. There are more minor than major characters but each one is necessary.
I would say the the storyline that kept me entangled was the love story between Jack Jackson and Lady Aliena. They are one of those couples that kept you wanting more for them and only wish the best for them. Also the character of William Hamleigh is just one of those bad guys where you just want his balls ripped off. Another reason I'm writing about this is that the mini-series for this book is coming out soon! My friend I think you are going to want to borrow this book after you see the trailer and I might just make you borrow your dad's copy. I'm pretty excited about this mini series I only hope I get the station it airs on. As I was reading the book I kept thinking this would make a great movie so I was super excited when I was reading it that it was going to be a mini series. I love mini series they can carry more of the story and cut out less then if it were a movie. For a such a book that is a big book it doesn't deserve to be chopped up and diluted. But if you don't like TV or film adaptions than just read the book. The way it is written it does have a cinematic scope, and if you like history and fiction this is fantastic.

The series

The Sequel:World Without End

Eat, Pray, Love and OMG I want to go to Italy!

2010-07-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

I recently just read this book and really enjoyed it so I thought I would start with this.

"Eat, Pray, Love" written by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Okay so this is pretty popular right now and chances are you have heard of it, but I had a hard time putting this one down. I'm not really someone who gets caught up in nonfiction books. I find them really hard to get into and from what I have discovered the endings are never really tidied up and satisfying. I like stories.

My reasons for buying and reading this are that I really want to see the movie.

Now if you like travel, eating, praying, and loving you will like this but this book is more than that. Its about finding out what you want, who you are and discovering your self worth.

In the beginning she writes about her own depression and insecurities. I say kudos to her. Anytime I have wound up on my bathroom floor crying and asking for answers I don't really like to publish it or announce it. But hearing how she dealt with these feelings made her feel very relateable almost like she was your own friend speaking only to you.

Now I am not a thirty something woman who has everything. You know a career, house, and husband. Far from it. But I have had those feelings of wanting something more and something that you yourself have to do on your own.

Some of you may find Liz a little flaky, I certainly didn't but she herself even admits to some flakiness. You could possibly get sick of her. There was a point when she writes about having sex with her Brazilian lover that I really didn't want to finish the book if this was how it going to be. I'm not a prude but after her going on about being celibate for the entire trip and then meeting this wonderful man on her journey of self discovery and then having sex after this long period with out it, it just felt over described. I have in the past stopped reading something if I don't like it or it no longer holds my interest. I have no qualms about leaving a book unfinished if it isn't worth the time. Fortunately the latin lover is only a bonus and it didn't become the main focus of the rest book. This books is worth the time and it is something I would read again.

An interview with the author

My thoughts on the movie

The Introduction

2010-07-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hello

I'm not someone who likes to write, type, or talk about herself. I find it really uncomfortable especially to those who don't know me. So why am I doing this?

Well a little while back my best friend, who I usually lend books and movies to, suggested that I do so. She also suggested that I write about what I like to read and which movies I like because she almost always likes what I suggest which she then suggests to others.

My reaction was pretty lackluster. Who would want to read about what I read?

I was, I admit, flattered that she would think somewhere out there people would care but felt that anything I had to say would be really boring and embarrissing.

Then last week I went to the book store cause they were having a sale and wound up buying five books. When I got home and went up to my room to put my latested purchases away noticed there wasn't a lot of space left for them. Now my room is pretty tiny, it actually isn't really a room but it is cozy and its mine, so it doesn't take much to fill it up. That being said all thats really in it are my bed, a nightstand, bookshelf, an old trunk which I use for a bookshelf, and books. Oh and the cats bed. So I was sitting in my room trying to figure out where to put these when I decided I would do an inventory of all of them. I know wtf! You're probably thinking "Doesn't this loser have a life?"

The answer not really, but it is something I'm working on.

So I made a somewhat alphabetical list and then counted. I have 133 books. Most of which I have not read. This is not including the ones I have lent to my mother, the acting books, plays, monologue books and stacks of romance novels I have hidden under my bed.

In short I have an addiction.

So in these past few months I have been trying to figure out if I want to go back to school or work to save money to move to London. I have always been sort of leaning towards London, and when I discovered my number of books thought "If I move to another country there is no way I can take all these." Then an idea came to me, I have about a year to save the money or if it isn't enough I will go back to school. During this time I will try and read all 133 books.

Now some I have read but part of the reason I buy books and don't go to the library is that I like to take my time (obviously) and I also like to reread something if I fall in love with it. Therefore some of the books will be things I have read before. Now this blog isn't intended to be a critique. It is merely a suggestion for those who like historical fiction, chick lit, Austen, Bronte and pretty much anything that the bbc has made into a costume drama mini-series. Yes that is what I will be pretty much be talking about. However I may surprise you and myself.

A Novel Idea: Confessions of book buying addict

Borrowed and Blue

Something Borrowed

The Tea Rose

Two more trailers. Its like I've forgotten how to read

Robert Pattinson Sans Glitter

I remember and I love you

Because its Halloween

Hollywood history

Another Trailer

Sometimes we are still just kids at heart

A walk in someone else's shoes

An American Heiress

Burnt Shadows

New Trailer: Dirty Girl

SWOON! Its Sean Bean!

Faux or Fairy Tale

Elegance is an attitude

Meryl my hero! Iron Lady Trailer

Mixed Feelings

Disappointing

Lovely

A heartbreaking read

The Sequel

Almost Finished

A Dark Summer read

Jane Eyre 2011

A Legendary Love Story

Secret Daughter

Russian Winter

Seductive, Captivating but not for me

Tess-1979

Nastassja Kinski,Peter Firth,Leigh Lawson

Dark and disturbing

Very sad, but excellent

Title problems, but a good read

My brother promised to break me out of jail

Love, Music, Terrorists

Whats an Aeneid?

Two Trailers

Pasta Botticelli

Yummy Honey!

Tess-1998

Tess-2008

Tess

The Pillars of the Earth-THE SERIES!

Shakespeare retold: Much ado about Nothing

Shakespeare retold:The Taming of the Shrew

The Linnet Bird

The Black Swan

Desperate Romantics

The Help

Just a little excited.

Memoirs of a woman of pleasure! A bawdy romp indeed

The Distant Hours

Eat Pray Love THE MOVIE

The Birth House

Lead, Follow or Get out the Way

True Glamour Never Fades

Really really good, but not great

I'm so excited!

Another Jane

Come on baby light my fire

No plain Jane Here

Jane Eyre

The 19th Wife

Colorful and Entertaining

Pretty Awesome

Mail order brides are never what they seem

Another Keeper

Read me and never put me down!

A modern fairy tale

The Duchess. To love it or hate it? The Costume Drama Dilemma

This one's for you A!

The Other Boleyn Girl and The Other Boleyn Girl

My first Favourite

A visit to my Childhood

The Swan Thieves Part 2

The Swan Thieves Part 1

Indulge yourself, I did.