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ClareR (5674 KP) rated 99 Nights in Logar in Books

Jan 5, 2019

99 Nights in Logar

Jamil Jan Kochai | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry

3.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Just not for me...

I don't like giving low marks, but I really struggled with this book. The synopsis of the book was very interesting: 12 year old Marwand and his young cousins set off on a journey to find the family dog after it bites off Marwand's finger and escapes. They travel through a remote area of Afghanistan without any adults knowledge. So far so good. I liked the premise of the story.
Where I struggled was the style of writing. Pakhto and Farsi were used in the story, and I found it impossible to understand. Perhaps the end published book will have a glossary to refer to? Even the context where the language was used didn't help me. The family relationships and forms of address were complicates and I really couldn't keep track of who was who (could this be added into a glossary?). Finally, for me, the animal cruelty was pretty difficult to stomach.
Other readers may be able to see past this last point, and a glossary may well be added in the finished, published book, but I'm afraid this is just not for me personally.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies

Dec 24, 2019

Cats (2019)

2019 | Musical

3.8

(16 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Here's where I wrinkle my nose up at the Smashbomb scoring system - Cats isn't so much 'shoddy' as - well, it's such a particularly strange film that it's actually quite hard to tell whether it's any good or not. My instinct is to say not: a selection of character actors, comedians and musical theatre stars are CGI'd into human-animal hybrids like something out of The Island of Dr Moreau and hoof and yowl their way through a selection of TS Eliot's comic poems set to music. The plot does a good impression of being absolute gibberish, as the singing cat-people compete to get sent off to the bit of the sky that radio waves bounce off where they will receive a new life, while Idris Elba schemes to rig the contest. It's just weird.

Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated The Pawful Truth in Books

Jul 21, 2019

As the Campus Turns

Charlie Harris has decided to indulge his love of history by auditing a class at Athena College. On his first day, he is impressed with his professor, Dr. Carey Warriner, who is obviously popular not only because of his good looks but also because of his abilities as a lecturer. However, part of an exchange between Dr. Warriner and a fellow student as Charlie is leaving concerns Charlie. When that student dies under mysterious circumstances, the campus rumor mill heats up, and Charlie is left to wonder if he is taking a class from a murderer.

Before you ask, yes, Diesel (the “Cat” of Cat in the Stacks) is a very active part of this mystery, and is as charming as ever, although the new kitten in Charlie’s life does his best to steal the show. Honestly, the entire cast of regulars, human and animal, are at their best, and it is always a delight to spend time around these characters. The plot is a little weak, however, feeling more like a soap opera at times and filled with speculation at others. However, it does reach a logical conclusion. Honestly, time with these characters is never really wasted, and I enjoyed my time with them again here.