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    Real Piano™

    Real Piano™

    Music and Lifestyle

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    Take your grand piano with you anywhere. Glide across all 88 keys. Customize your key labels. Tune...

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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Book Of Mirrors in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
The Book Of Mirrors
The Book Of Mirrors
E.O. Chirovici | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel may have been slow but I found its mystery so enticing that I loved moving and learning with each character. So many theories run through this novel that you’re never sure what to think, it’s a great classic murder mystery.

It’s only taken me almost a year to knock this book off my Netgalley shelf, but I finally got there! I’d seen lots of hype for this one at the beginning of 2017 but I still didn’t feel inclined to pick it up back then. Now I’ve read it, I’m glad that I waited. I think this one would have disappointed me if I had read it in its prime due to its slow nature, but I can appreciate slow books far more now than I could back then.

Like so many other reviewers, I did think this one was pretty slow paced, but I actually quite liked that about the plot. A cold case of over 20 years isn’t going to get solved overnight, so it was practical that it took a while to find out what really went on that night. I do think there were some sections of the book that were unnecessary and added to the slowness of the plot, for example when one narrator gets on a plane and there’s a whole segment about an irrelevant salesman talking to him and flirting with a girl. That bit wasn’t needed in any way for the plot to progress and did just feel like filler bumf, but I’ve read books with far worse filler scenes.

This story is told in a few different ways. It’s told in the perspective of 3 different people and then also as a book within a book. I really liked the way this was laid out and think having the 3 different tones of voice gave the story some character it could have missed out on had it just stayed with the one narrator.

Each character in this was interesting in their own way, and I liked that each person had their own story to tell while also moving the main mystery along.

In terms of plot, this one wasn’t the most innovative or astounding, but there was something enchanting about it. There were a few different theories as to Professor Weider’s demise and I liked that it kept you guessing all along. I was actually quite surprised and impressed by the end of the book, the conclusion to the mystery was cleverly thought out and well executed.

Looking at the reviews of this book I think people are being a little harsh. There are lots of books that are slow mysteries but this one seems to be pissing people off more than most. I know it’s down to everyone’s own opinion but I don’t see what the big issue with this one was. Personally, I enjoyed it.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Arrow for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
  
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated A Fish Called Wanda (1988) in Movies

Jul 2, 2020  
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
1988 | Comedy
8
8.1 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
A Jolly Good Time
A member of my family mentioned when discussing the 1988 John Cleese comedy A FISH CALLED WANDA that you can tell much about a person over what part of this film that you like the most. Do you like:

a). The John Cleese/Jamie Lee Curtis love story

b). The "caper"

c). The beleaguered, unsuccessful hit-man Ken

d). The old lady and her 3 dogs

e). Kevin Kline as Otto

For me, that's easy - ALL OF IT! I find that A FISH CALLED WANDA is a very funny, richly acted comedy/caper that brings forth 4 characters that are easy to spend 2 hours with. Starting with John Cleese as Barrister Archie Leach. Cleese conceived, wrote, starred-in and (at times) directed this film and his "British humor" (honed from years as a member of the MONTY PYTHON comedy troupe) is in full force here. He has a reserved appearance about him that covers a wild man underneath yearning to break free.

Jamie Lee Curtis is quite good as the center of the film, Wanda Gershwitz, a cunning conman who will stop at nothing - and step over everyone - to get what she wants. I find that Curtis is under-rated as an actress and a comedienne and this picture shows that she can hold her own against 3 comedy greats at the top of their game.

The 2nd member of the Monty Python troupe to appear in this film is the remarkable Michael Palin as hapless hit-man, Ken. He becomes increasingly frustrated and frantic -and increasingly funny - as he attempts to complete his assignment throughout the course of this film.

But...the real star of this film...and the actor/character that steals the film away from everyone else...is Kevin Kline's Oscar winning performance as Otto, Wanda's erstwhile love who has a very high opinion of himself. It is rare that a comedic performance wins an Oscar - Kline's win is the the last one to do so - but it is easy to see why the Academy decided to reward Kline for it is a committed performance that is wild, wacky and over-the-top, but not overtly so. Kline has been very good in many other pictures/performances before and after this film, but he never reached the height that he reached in this film.

The film has veteran director Charles Crichton listed as Director with Cleese listed as co-Director (though Cleese insisted that Crichton did all the work and he only put his name on it to assuage the fears of studio executives over Crichton's advanced age). Well...Crichton does a wonderful job of letting the lunacy explode on the scene while keeping a lid on it and moving the action along at a brisk pace.

Wanda is one of those films that people remember fondly, but do not revisit. I would highly recommend you do, it's a jolly good time.

Letter Grade A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)