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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Spilt Milk in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
<i>Spilt Milk</i> is the second historical novel by Amanda Hodgkinson, award-winning British author of <i>22 Britannia Road</i>. Split into two parts it follows the lives of two sisters over several decades during the first half of the twentieth century. Set in Britain, this is a novel about relationships, family, secrets… and illegitimate pregnancies. Lots of illegitimate pregnancies.
The first part spans from 1913 until 1917 thus covering the First World War period. The second part picks up the storyline in 1939 and continues until the novel’s final pages set in 1965. So yet another world war is included, although it has little impact on the plot. The first chapter is almost like the calm before the storm. Everything appears peaceful and happy until everything spirals out of control. Vivian and Nellie Marsh (aged twenty three and twenty two) have been raised by their older sister Rose in a small farmhouse since the death of their parents when Nellie was a baby. We first meet Nellie rinsing chamber pots outside where she has a feeling that something is going to happen; something good, she hopes. Alas, it turns out it was a bad feeling after all as floodwaters rise and Rose dies. The only apparent good thing is the arrival of a hired farm hand, Joe Ferier. But no, that is also a bad occurrence that leaves one sister pregnant and the other temporarily homeless.
Over the years we see how the sisters deal with the way in which their lives have drastically changed up until Nellie has a child with her husbands brother. Luckily her husband is willing to pass the child off as his own, and so Nellie, unlike the other secret pregnancies in this story, actually gets to keep her love child.
At the start of part two, Nellie’s daughter Bertha (commonly known as Birdie) is eighteen years old and finds herself – can you guess? – pregnant after a one night stand. So that it can remain secret she goes to live with her Aunt Vivian until the baby is born and adopted. Vivian ends up housing many girls including a couple of minor characters who have got themselves in a similar way. I did say there were a lot of illegitimate pregnancies! It also comes to light that supposedly innocent, spinster Rose had not one but two babies during her teenage years.
The remainder of the novel shows us how the girls: Nellie, Vivian and Birdie; get on with their lives under the burden of their personal secrets and emotions. It is Birdie who struggles the most with the knowledge that her daughter is growing up without her but to talk to anyone about it would have deep consequences.
The size of the time period means that the reader can become attached to certain key characters and feel their pain as they struggle with their emotional afflictions, however each scene passes quickly as time goes on which means we do not really get to appreciate the minor characters.
Overall it is a good, reasonably quick read which many women would enjoy, particularly those who appreciate historical fiction and may have sisters of their own and therefore understand what the power of keeping secrets can result in.
<i>Spilt Milk</i> is the second historical novel by Amanda Hodgkinson, award-winning British author of <i>22 Britannia Road</i>. Split into two parts it follows the lives of two sisters over several decades during the first half of the twentieth century. Set in Britain, this is a novel about relationships, family, secrets… and illegitimate pregnancies. Lots of illegitimate pregnancies.
The first part spans from 1913 until 1917 thus covering the First World War period. The second part picks up the storyline in 1939 and continues until the novel’s final pages set in 1965. So yet another world war is included, although it has little impact on the plot. The first chapter is almost like the calm before the storm. Everything appears peaceful and happy until everything spirals out of control. Vivian and Nellie Marsh (aged twenty three and twenty two) have been raised by their older sister Rose in a small farmhouse since the death of their parents when Nellie was a baby. We first meet Nellie rinsing chamber pots outside where she has a feeling that something is going to happen; something good, she hopes. Alas, it turns out it was a bad feeling after all as floodwaters rise and Rose dies. The only apparent good thing is the arrival of a hired farm hand, Joe Ferier. But no, that is also a bad occurrence that leaves one sister pregnant and the other temporarily homeless.
Over the years we see how the sisters deal with the way in which their lives have drastically changed up until Nellie has a child with her husbands brother. Luckily her husband is willing to pass the child off as his own, and so Nellie, unlike the other secret pregnancies in this story, actually gets to keep her love child.
At the start of part two, Nellie’s daughter Bertha (commonly known as Birdie) is eighteen years old and finds herself – can you guess? – pregnant after a one night stand. So that it can remain secret she goes to live with her Aunt Vivian until the baby is born and adopted. Vivian ends up housing many girls including a couple of minor characters who have got themselves in a similar way. I did say there were a lot of illegitimate pregnancies! It also comes to light that supposedly innocent, spinster Rose had not one but two babies during her teenage years.
The remainder of the novel shows us how the girls: Nellie, Vivian and Birdie; get on with their lives under the burden of their personal secrets and emotions. It is Birdie who struggles the most with the knowledge that her daughter is growing up without her but to talk to anyone about it would have deep consequences.
The size of the time period means that the reader can become attached to certain key characters and feel their pain as they struggle with their emotional afflictions, however each scene passes quickly as time goes on which means we do not really get to appreciate the minor characters.
Overall it is a good, reasonably quick read which many women would enjoy, particularly those who appreciate historical fiction and may have sisters of their own and therefore understand what the power of keeping secrets can result in.
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Suffragette (2015) in Movies
Jun 25, 2019
Story: Suffragette starts in 1912, woman still don’t have the right to vote, but the battle for equality continues to wage on with Emmeline Pankhurst (Streep) pushes the campaign through. We follow Maud Watts (Mulligan) who finds herself witnessing one of the campaigns with Violet Miller (Duff) bringing her into their movement.
When the latest campaign gets rejected scenes get violent and Maud finds herself in the middle of the fight, facing time in jail, forced to give up campaigning for equal rights. Now the movement is stronger than ever will look to get the equality for women through.
Thoughts on Suffragette
Characters – Maud Watts is a quiet laundry employee, married with a child, she gets caught in the middle of one of the campaigns for equal rights, she ends up joining the movement as a foot soldier knowing what is right for women everywhere. Violet Miller is one of the foot soldiers that recruits Maud, she has been fight for a while now and knows that she wants the best for her daughter. Edith Ellyn offers a cover for the meetings to make things right for women, she has been campaigning for years next to the leader, Emmeline Pankhurst has been in hiding for years as she keeps the movement going strong to make sure women can get the right to vote. Inspector Arthur Steed is trying to stop the movement from taking over, he puts the women to the test to see who the strong ones are.
Performances – Carey Mulligan is great in the leading role, we see her confliction with Maud’s decisions being made. Helena Bonham Carter is great too which puts her in a supportive role. Anne-Marie Duff is the actress I hadn’t heard of before and she goes toe to toe with the bigger names. Meryl Streep does have a small role in this film, but that doesn’t hide her importance to the story. Brendan Gleeson makes for a good law man in any movie, this is no different.
Story – The story shows the struggles British women had to get the chance to vote, just vote something men had been doing for years. It leaves you to wonder just how this took such a long time to change in a world where we are all meant to be equal. The bravery these women showed shines through because they faced being shamed by their families, the main story follows how Maud Watts went into the world and how it affected her life. While I do understand this is looking at the women’s battle, you do feel like there would have been male supporters in this fight too and them speaking up would have been just as taboo to the ones who wouldn’t look down on them.
Biopic/History – This is a moment, a movement in history that should never have had to happen, but the importance to what it achieved is remarkable.
Settings – The settings show how the everyday location were important to make this movement happen, we feel like we are in 1912 London.
Scene of the Movie – The speech.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – You would think men would have supported this too.
Final Thoughts – This is a look at an important moment in time, it shows how women worked, fought and battled to get equality in Britain.
Overall: Important look at history.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/22/meryl-streep-weekend-suffragette-2015/
When the latest campaign gets rejected scenes get violent and Maud finds herself in the middle of the fight, facing time in jail, forced to give up campaigning for equal rights. Now the movement is stronger than ever will look to get the equality for women through.
Thoughts on Suffragette
Characters – Maud Watts is a quiet laundry employee, married with a child, she gets caught in the middle of one of the campaigns for equal rights, she ends up joining the movement as a foot soldier knowing what is right for women everywhere. Violet Miller is one of the foot soldiers that recruits Maud, she has been fight for a while now and knows that she wants the best for her daughter. Edith Ellyn offers a cover for the meetings to make things right for women, she has been campaigning for years next to the leader, Emmeline Pankhurst has been in hiding for years as she keeps the movement going strong to make sure women can get the right to vote. Inspector Arthur Steed is trying to stop the movement from taking over, he puts the women to the test to see who the strong ones are.
Performances – Carey Mulligan is great in the leading role, we see her confliction with Maud’s decisions being made. Helena Bonham Carter is great too which puts her in a supportive role. Anne-Marie Duff is the actress I hadn’t heard of before and she goes toe to toe with the bigger names. Meryl Streep does have a small role in this film, but that doesn’t hide her importance to the story. Brendan Gleeson makes for a good law man in any movie, this is no different.
Story – The story shows the struggles British women had to get the chance to vote, just vote something men had been doing for years. It leaves you to wonder just how this took such a long time to change in a world where we are all meant to be equal. The bravery these women showed shines through because they faced being shamed by their families, the main story follows how Maud Watts went into the world and how it affected her life. While I do understand this is looking at the women’s battle, you do feel like there would have been male supporters in this fight too and them speaking up would have been just as taboo to the ones who wouldn’t look down on them.
Biopic/History – This is a moment, a movement in history that should never have had to happen, but the importance to what it achieved is remarkable.
Settings – The settings show how the everyday location were important to make this movement happen, we feel like we are in 1912 London.
Scene of the Movie – The speech.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – You would think men would have supported this too.
Final Thoughts – This is a look at an important moment in time, it shows how women worked, fought and battled to get equality in Britain.
Overall: Important look at history.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/22/meryl-streep-weekend-suffragette-2015/
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Wolf (2019) in Movies
Sep 19, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
A group of Roman legionnaires in Britain are sent on a mission to find a group of missing messengers only to find themselves attacked by something that comes out with the full moon.
So basically it's Roman’s vs werewolves in the woods, a premise with so much potential. However it fails in oh so many ways. I feel a bit bad for this review because I did enjoy the film, admittedly I seemed to be the only one as everyone else left about half way through (ok there were only two other people there but they did leave) but as a film it was quite terrible. First off we have the legionnaires, the group have only been together for a few weeks and don't trust each other, and they consist of:
Shouting guy who has just been sent from Rome who can't seem to decide if he's channelling Nick Frost or Brian Blessed.
Not so shouting guy who is friends with shouting guy and likes to drink
Captain who doesn't seem very effective
Old guy who shouldn't be there, doesn’t get on with the captain
Tall blonde guy who is always on about his wife who about to have a baby
Germanic female scout that no one trusts
Ex slave woman who looks like she should be a witch (she’s not) who is friends with the captain
Black woman who has a brother
And two other guys I can't really remember
So, the film gets points for having a culturally mixed squad which is historically correct but they don’t act as a unit. They are always talking, even when hunting the creatures they never shut up. One of them say “We are Roman we do the hunting.” But they don't seem to know to be quite.
It does strike me that the film is trying to be (Or seem) historically accurate, there are mentions of tactical formations that can be used, everyone uses the names of an appropriate god and there is mention of what certain weapons are made of but all of this just adds to the feeling that the film has been made by a group of Roman reenactor enthusiasts.
I had a friend who said that ‘Cloverfield’ was one of the worst films ever because you never see the monster, we pointed out that you do but acknowledge that 'Cloverfield’ keeps the monster hidden to make it more mysterious and scary. Wolf does this as well, for most of the film all you see of the monsters are pink streaks that seem quite reminiscent of naked people and when you finally see the creatures they look like they could be extras in classic doctor who. The effects in general are a bit rubbish to the point of one the cast walking around with what looks like rice pudding or custard in his beard for ten minutes.
The camera work is sometimes shaky, shots of the sky blind you and there are times when it looks like the actors don't know how to hold a sword.
And the film doesn't end, there's a revelation, the survivors say they will continue the mission then the credits roll. There could be a sequel but if there is it will be because the cast want it and not on reviews (although I think I did enjoy it a bit).
So basically it's Roman’s vs werewolves in the woods, a premise with so much potential. However it fails in oh so many ways. I feel a bit bad for this review because I did enjoy the film, admittedly I seemed to be the only one as everyone else left about half way through (ok there were only two other people there but they did leave) but as a film it was quite terrible. First off we have the legionnaires, the group have only been together for a few weeks and don't trust each other, and they consist of:
Shouting guy who has just been sent from Rome who can't seem to decide if he's channelling Nick Frost or Brian Blessed.
Not so shouting guy who is friends with shouting guy and likes to drink
Captain who doesn't seem very effective
Old guy who shouldn't be there, doesn’t get on with the captain
Tall blonde guy who is always on about his wife who about to have a baby
Germanic female scout that no one trusts
Ex slave woman who looks like she should be a witch (she’s not) who is friends with the captain
Black woman who has a brother
And two other guys I can't really remember
So, the film gets points for having a culturally mixed squad which is historically correct but they don’t act as a unit. They are always talking, even when hunting the creatures they never shut up. One of them say “We are Roman we do the hunting.” But they don't seem to know to be quite.
It does strike me that the film is trying to be (Or seem) historically accurate, there are mentions of tactical formations that can be used, everyone uses the names of an appropriate god and there is mention of what certain weapons are made of but all of this just adds to the feeling that the film has been made by a group of Roman reenactor enthusiasts.
I had a friend who said that ‘Cloverfield’ was one of the worst films ever because you never see the monster, we pointed out that you do but acknowledge that 'Cloverfield’ keeps the monster hidden to make it more mysterious and scary. Wolf does this as well, for most of the film all you see of the monsters are pink streaks that seem quite reminiscent of naked people and when you finally see the creatures they look like they could be extras in classic doctor who. The effects in general are a bit rubbish to the point of one the cast walking around with what looks like rice pudding or custard in his beard for ten minutes.
The camera work is sometimes shaky, shots of the sky blind you and there are times when it looks like the actors don't know how to hold a sword.
And the film doesn't end, there's a revelation, the survivors say they will continue the mission then the credits roll. There could be a sequel but if there is it will be because the cast want it and not on reviews (although I think I did enjoy it a bit).
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Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated Love, Secrets and Absolution in Books
Jun 6, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
I’m reviewing Love, Secrets and Absolution, by K.L. Lovely. Here are my thoughts:
^^ Told from alternative viewpoints, Love, Secrets and Absolution is an emotional story revolving around the lives of a couple, Grace and Paul, who are trying to come to terms with the stresses and strains of bringing up an autistic child. But what makes this story different is how it’s set at a time which coincides with the Nottingham miners strikes of the 80s, where pit closures and pay restraints led to unofficial strikes, job losses and violence. Harsh times to say the least. This added a new dimension to the story, and of course, more pressure for Paul, and ultimately the whole family. They were terrible times in Britain, a lot of families suffered because of it.
^^ Right from the beginning we see young Alfie is different to other children. The author, K. L.oveley, helps show us this, by what I thought was a highly unusual technique- giving baby and toddler versions of Alfie his own voice.
^^ I must admit at first I was thinking, this doesn’t sound like a baby. After all, very young babies are not able to communicate in such a coherent manner. However, as I read further, I saw how Alfie’s voice as a child — seeing things differently from his POV — really helped to provide a deeper look into his inner thoughts and feelings. A fresh and unique approach, which revealed his own perspective of how he didn’t fit in with other kids, even if he was unable to understand the “why” himself. Very clever. It certainly made things clearer for me and highlighted aspects of autism I may have missed otherwise.
^^ Taking the time-period into consideration, I found the portrayal of the teachers and the way they behaved cruelly and professionally towards Alfie and Grace shocking, yet realistic. Back in those days many professionals were not trained to spot differences and learning difficulties in the way they are today. To outsiders who didn’t understand what Alfie was going though and thinking, he did just look like a trouble maker. Nowadays we know better and there is an ever-growing awareness and understanding of the many different spectrums of autism.
^^ Alfie’s father, Paul, may not have won the best dad of the year award, but I felt he was a realistic representation of a man living and working in a very masculine environment, where men were largely regarded as the breadwinners of the household and job scarcity was a huge issue. He didn’t know how to handle Alfie, and in a way you can’t blame him for that. Not everyone is capable of being a really good parent, especially when their own life has turned upside down in a blink of an eye.
^^ There’s also a really good story line around a girl called Magenta, which I felt helped strengthen both Alfie and Grace’s bond. A lovely touch. As was Grace’s newfound strength and courage, which really made this story become more than just gloom and doom. Her steadfast devotion to her son is both amazing and commendable, and I enjoyed seeing how she turned her life around.
Overall: This thought-provoking book is as much about relationships, as it is autism. We see the hopes and dreams of a young family shattered by a lack of communication, misunderstandings and even betrayal. Yet, despite all the struggles and heartache this family go through, we discover the true power of love; how it can heal, comfort and carry us forward through the toughest of times. A heart-warming, memorable and most satisfying read.
^^ Told from alternative viewpoints, Love, Secrets and Absolution is an emotional story revolving around the lives of a couple, Grace and Paul, who are trying to come to terms with the stresses and strains of bringing up an autistic child. But what makes this story different is how it’s set at a time which coincides with the Nottingham miners strikes of the 80s, where pit closures and pay restraints led to unofficial strikes, job losses and violence. Harsh times to say the least. This added a new dimension to the story, and of course, more pressure for Paul, and ultimately the whole family. They were terrible times in Britain, a lot of families suffered because of it.
^^ Right from the beginning we see young Alfie is different to other children. The author, K. L.oveley, helps show us this, by what I thought was a highly unusual technique- giving baby and toddler versions of Alfie his own voice.
^^ I must admit at first I was thinking, this doesn’t sound like a baby. After all, very young babies are not able to communicate in such a coherent manner. However, as I read further, I saw how Alfie’s voice as a child — seeing things differently from his POV — really helped to provide a deeper look into his inner thoughts and feelings. A fresh and unique approach, which revealed his own perspective of how he didn’t fit in with other kids, even if he was unable to understand the “why” himself. Very clever. It certainly made things clearer for me and highlighted aspects of autism I may have missed otherwise.
^^ Taking the time-period into consideration, I found the portrayal of the teachers and the way they behaved cruelly and professionally towards Alfie and Grace shocking, yet realistic. Back in those days many professionals were not trained to spot differences and learning difficulties in the way they are today. To outsiders who didn’t understand what Alfie was going though and thinking, he did just look like a trouble maker. Nowadays we know better and there is an ever-growing awareness and understanding of the many different spectrums of autism.
^^ Alfie’s father, Paul, may not have won the best dad of the year award, but I felt he was a realistic representation of a man living and working in a very masculine environment, where men were largely regarded as the breadwinners of the household and job scarcity was a huge issue. He didn’t know how to handle Alfie, and in a way you can’t blame him for that. Not everyone is capable of being a really good parent, especially when their own life has turned upside down in a blink of an eye.
^^ There’s also a really good story line around a girl called Magenta, which I felt helped strengthen both Alfie and Grace’s bond. A lovely touch. As was Grace’s newfound strength and courage, which really made this story become more than just gloom and doom. Her steadfast devotion to her son is both amazing and commendable, and I enjoyed seeing how she turned her life around.
Overall: This thought-provoking book is as much about relationships, as it is autism. We see the hopes and dreams of a young family shattered by a lack of communication, misunderstandings and even betrayal. Yet, despite all the struggles and heartache this family go through, we discover the true power of love; how it can heal, comfort and carry us forward through the toughest of times. A heart-warming, memorable and most satisfying read.