The Oxford Guide to Plays
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Anyone with an academic, professional, amateur, or recreational interest in the theatre is likely to...
Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy: Theory, Issues, and Practice
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The integration of animals into the therapy setting by psychotherapists has been a growing trend....
Systems Design and Engineering: Facilitating Multidisciplinary Development Projects
G. Maarten Bonnema, Karel T. Veenvliet and Jan F. Broenink
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As its name implies, the aim of Systems Design and Engineering: Facilitating Multidisciplinary...
Tools for Project Management, Workshops and Consulting
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"This book is of the kind you always wanted but didn't think would or could ever exist: the...
The Cybernetics Moment: Or Why We Call Our Age the Information Age
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Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Cybernetics-the science of communication and control as it...
Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man
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By developing the scale that bears his name, Charles Richter not only invented the concept of...
Take off into English Teaching!: How to Prepare for Your Secondary Teacher Training Programme
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Planning to become a secondary English teacher? This must-have guide contains everything you need to...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Maidens in Books
Jun 24, 2021
"Death was no stranger to Mariana; it had been her traveling companion since she was a child--keeping close behind her, hovering just over her shoulder. She sometimes felt she had been cursed, as if by some malevolent goddess in a Greek myth, to lose everyone she ever loved."
Unpopular opinion time... this book did not work for me. I did not find it engaging nor interesting. I had to force myself to keep reading, as I did not care for any of the characters, including Mariana and Zoe. Mariana is fixated on Edward Fosca from the beginning and seems convinced she should insert herself in a rather serious murder investigation despite not seeming one bit qualified. I'm not sure how her group therapist qualifications lend her any credentials and she lies constantly, much to the annoyance (justified) and detriment of the police. There are basically no sympathetic characters, and there seems to be no reason to care about the murdered women, as we're given no background on them. Some characters (e.g., Julian) seem inserted for no reason whatsoever.
There is a lot of Greek mythology tucked into the story and perhaps I was just over it, as I've read several books revolving around Greek myths lately. It was a lot, though, and sometimes did not seem relevant to our story.
This thriller is certainly atmospheric, with Cambridge playing a strong role in the setting. You definitely feel a part of the academic setting, and I learned a lot about the university while reading. It's dark and somewhat foreboding, but since I was not fully invested in the story, I could only feel so tense. There are some twists, but the big twist came too late and seemed too preposterous to be truly exciting. The author throws in so many red herrings that you find yourself almost rolling your eyes.
Still, this is a very popular thriller for many readers, so chances are it may work for you. For me, it just didn't hold my interest or seem all that, well, thrilling. 2 stars.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities
Book
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities is unique in that it is the most current,...
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Straw Dogs (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
A remake of the 1971 thriller classic of the same name, “Straw Dogs” has lost a lot of its appeal and logic with time. It still has gory moments and the plot is very similar to the original but many of the base thrills have been lost in the move to a present day setting.
This film asks the viewers to suspend disbelief, ignore a number of unfinished back-stories, and stand behind characters who are not engaging or believable. Details, both big and small miss the mark. James Marsdon is incorrectly suited as the shy bumbling academic. The house is a seeming fortress for no apparent reason. The side stories, interesting detractions from the overly built tension between the two leading males, are left unresolved.
Additionally, the themes are awkward and incomplete. There are literary throwbacks and some blatant social commentary but all of the film’s depth is lost on an audience who has no reason to care. Viewers will be preoccupied wondering what the point of the film is.
Sure, the story is engrossing and it does force self-analysis, but the modern adaptation would have benefitted from serious editorial cuts. Had the film been completed in a quarter of the time it might have actually managed to be thrilling!
Unbalanced, vapid, and pointless as a thriller “Straw Dogs” falls prey to the unnecessary remake trap. For a real psychological thrill it would be better to opt for the original.