Search
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Awkward Guests in Tabletop Games
Aug 6, 2020
One of my favorite classic mass-market games is definitely Clue. Murder, mystery, and a bit of deduction make for an engaging and entertaining game! That being said, even classic games can use a little updating from time to time. Allow me to introduce to you a Clue-on-steroids kind of game named Awkward Guests. How does it hold up to the OG staple? Keep reading to find out!
Mr. Walton has been murdered! You have been called in to investigate and get to the bottom of this gruesome mystery. By interrogating the suspects and the household staff, searching for clues, and examining the crime scene, you must decide WHO the killer is, WHY did they commit the murder, and HOW it was done. There may or may not even be an accomplice that needs to be caught too. Put your deduction skills to the test as you work to be the first investigator to solve the case!
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather give a general overview of the rules and gameplay. To read the entire rulebook, check out the game at your FLGS or directly from the publisher! -L
Awkward Guests is a card game of hand management, trading, and deduction in which the players are trying to be the first player to solve the murder of Mr. Walton. The game is actually pretty simple to play. To start, each player receives a hand of 6 cards and a case tracking sheet. The cards will have one or more references (case information) on them, as well as a value of 1-3 points, depending on the reliability of the information presented on the card. On your turn, you will ask for information about two different references in which you are interested. The other players will then look through their cards, and offer some or all that pertain to the chosen references in trade to the active player. The active player may then choose a player with whom to trade, giving that player any number of cards, as long as their value equals or exceeds the value of the cards received in trade. Look at your new cards, make notes on your case tracking sheet, and play continues to the next player. After all players have inquired and traded cards, players have the opportunity to solve the mystery. You must know WHO, HOW, and WHY, and possibly the identity of the ACCOMPLICE depending on case difficulty, in order to solve the mystery. If nobody is ready to solve, everyone discards their hand down to 3, and draws new cards to a hand size of 6. A new round then begins, and play continues until one player successfully solves the mystery.
When you get down to it, Awkward Guests is easy to learn and play. It mostly consists of trading cards to learn information. That’s it. And that’s what makes it a great game, in my opinion. Although it feels more involved than regular Clue, the gameplay itself is very similar and that familiarity is reassuring. One thing that elevates Awkward Guests above Clue is the fact that it requires so much more strategy than original Clue. In Clue, when asking for information, you are asking 1 specific opponent for information, and they have to provide it if they have it. In Awkward Guests, you are able to ask all opponents for information, and they can offer as much or as little information as they want. It increases the amount of strategy required to play, and takes it from a simple grid movement memory game, to one that encourages deduction and compromise. Since players are trading cards, you never know who is holding what cards at any given time, and that makes it harder to pinpoint the information you may need. You can’t just memorize another player’s hand of cards, because on any given turn that hand has completely changed. Along those lines as well, you have to decide what information you are willing to trade, in hopes of receiving useful information in return. You don’t want to just trade back the same cards to the same players in an effort to stunt their investigation, because that could deter them from trading with you in the future. You have to decide when is the right time to trade, and what information you are willing to hand to your opponents, because you need to be receiving new information as well.
Another brilliant thing about Awkward Guests is the amount of replayability. Each case uses a different combination of cards, and with so many cards, that means that thousands of different game decks could be generated and played as individual cases. The game design and card system boasts a possible total of 3,600 case solutions, each reached through these different card deck combinations. No matter how many times you play, it is almost guaranteed that you will never play the same case twice. That being said, the biggest downside of Awkward Guests for me is the actual game setup and teardown. Each case deck requires certain cards, so that means to set up, you have to search through all 243 cards and pull out only those required for the selected case. And then after the game, you must sort them all back into their correct order. That just takes a bit of time, and makes it a game that can’t just be played on the fly.
One other downside for me when playing Awkward Guests are the player screens. Each player receives a screen to block their case tracking sheet from opponents. As you learn information, you write it on your sheet to help keep track of your notes and accusations throughout the game. The player screens are also reference sheets, providing much gameplay information to alleviate the need to reference the rulebook at every turn. The downside is that there is just SO MUCH information in the player screens. It is quite overwhelming, and honestly, makes the game seem more complicated and confusing than it really is. I appreciate the effort to provide that cheat-sheet, but it needs to be majorly edited and redacted to be truly useful.
Let’s talk components. The game comes with some high quality double-sided case tracking sheets, and nice sturdy cards and cardboard components. It’s pretty simple, but really gets the job done effectively. The artwork is pretty basic and the color scheme is mostly monochromatic. It may not be the most exciting game to look at, but the lack of colors makes it feel appropriately thematic.
Overall, Awkward Guests is a good step-up game from Clue. It requires strategy, deduction, and even though the game is ultimately competitive, selective cooperation is a key to success. As a huge fan of Clue as a child, I can definitely say that I am a fan of Awkward Guests as an adult. Originally printed in a different language, this game was brought to Kickstarter with an English version in 2018, and I am certainly thankful that the decision was made to reprint it in English! If you like deduction games with a twist, I would absolutely recommend giving this one a shot. Purple Phoenix Games gives Awkward Guests a mysterious 17 / 24.
Mr. Walton has been murdered! You have been called in to investigate and get to the bottom of this gruesome mystery. By interrogating the suspects and the household staff, searching for clues, and examining the crime scene, you must decide WHO the killer is, WHY did they commit the murder, and HOW it was done. There may or may not even be an accomplice that needs to be caught too. Put your deduction skills to the test as you work to be the first investigator to solve the case!
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather give a general overview of the rules and gameplay. To read the entire rulebook, check out the game at your FLGS or directly from the publisher! -L
Awkward Guests is a card game of hand management, trading, and deduction in which the players are trying to be the first player to solve the murder of Mr. Walton. The game is actually pretty simple to play. To start, each player receives a hand of 6 cards and a case tracking sheet. The cards will have one or more references (case information) on them, as well as a value of 1-3 points, depending on the reliability of the information presented on the card. On your turn, you will ask for information about two different references in which you are interested. The other players will then look through their cards, and offer some or all that pertain to the chosen references in trade to the active player. The active player may then choose a player with whom to trade, giving that player any number of cards, as long as their value equals or exceeds the value of the cards received in trade. Look at your new cards, make notes on your case tracking sheet, and play continues to the next player. After all players have inquired and traded cards, players have the opportunity to solve the mystery. You must know WHO, HOW, and WHY, and possibly the identity of the ACCOMPLICE depending on case difficulty, in order to solve the mystery. If nobody is ready to solve, everyone discards their hand down to 3, and draws new cards to a hand size of 6. A new round then begins, and play continues until one player successfully solves the mystery.
When you get down to it, Awkward Guests is easy to learn and play. It mostly consists of trading cards to learn information. That’s it. And that’s what makes it a great game, in my opinion. Although it feels more involved than regular Clue, the gameplay itself is very similar and that familiarity is reassuring. One thing that elevates Awkward Guests above Clue is the fact that it requires so much more strategy than original Clue. In Clue, when asking for information, you are asking 1 specific opponent for information, and they have to provide it if they have it. In Awkward Guests, you are able to ask all opponents for information, and they can offer as much or as little information as they want. It increases the amount of strategy required to play, and takes it from a simple grid movement memory game, to one that encourages deduction and compromise. Since players are trading cards, you never know who is holding what cards at any given time, and that makes it harder to pinpoint the information you may need. You can’t just memorize another player’s hand of cards, because on any given turn that hand has completely changed. Along those lines as well, you have to decide what information you are willing to trade, in hopes of receiving useful information in return. You don’t want to just trade back the same cards to the same players in an effort to stunt their investigation, because that could deter them from trading with you in the future. You have to decide when is the right time to trade, and what information you are willing to hand to your opponents, because you need to be receiving new information as well.
Another brilliant thing about Awkward Guests is the amount of replayability. Each case uses a different combination of cards, and with so many cards, that means that thousands of different game decks could be generated and played as individual cases. The game design and card system boasts a possible total of 3,600 case solutions, each reached through these different card deck combinations. No matter how many times you play, it is almost guaranteed that you will never play the same case twice. That being said, the biggest downside of Awkward Guests for me is the actual game setup and teardown. Each case deck requires certain cards, so that means to set up, you have to search through all 243 cards and pull out only those required for the selected case. And then after the game, you must sort them all back into their correct order. That just takes a bit of time, and makes it a game that can’t just be played on the fly.
One other downside for me when playing Awkward Guests are the player screens. Each player receives a screen to block their case tracking sheet from opponents. As you learn information, you write it on your sheet to help keep track of your notes and accusations throughout the game. The player screens are also reference sheets, providing much gameplay information to alleviate the need to reference the rulebook at every turn. The downside is that there is just SO MUCH information in the player screens. It is quite overwhelming, and honestly, makes the game seem more complicated and confusing than it really is. I appreciate the effort to provide that cheat-sheet, but it needs to be majorly edited and redacted to be truly useful.
Let’s talk components. The game comes with some high quality double-sided case tracking sheets, and nice sturdy cards and cardboard components. It’s pretty simple, but really gets the job done effectively. The artwork is pretty basic and the color scheme is mostly monochromatic. It may not be the most exciting game to look at, but the lack of colors makes it feel appropriately thematic.
Overall, Awkward Guests is a good step-up game from Clue. It requires strategy, deduction, and even though the game is ultimately competitive, selective cooperation is a key to success. As a huge fan of Clue as a child, I can definitely say that I am a fan of Awkward Guests as an adult. Originally printed in a different language, this game was brought to Kickstarter with an English version in 2018, and I am certainly thankful that the decision was made to reprint it in English! If you like deduction games with a twist, I would absolutely recommend giving this one a shot. Purple Phoenix Games gives Awkward Guests a mysterious 17 / 24.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Nanny and the Beast: A Billionaire Mafia Romance in Books
Feb 3, 2020
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
<img src="https://i2.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/New-blog-banner-17.png?ssl=1"/>;
Let me explain, before you all judge me. I don’t usually read these types of books. Nanny and the Beast was just a book that was recommended to me. By my mum. And I loved it!
The book features April, who is a nanny by profession. She goes for an interview in a Russian billionaire’s house for the nanny position.
Yuri is a Russian billionaire who has a niece, Yulia, that hasn’t been speaking for a few months. When he sees April, he can’t resist her – which is why he doesn’t give her the job – it is too dangerous for her to stick around.
But when destiny takes matters in her own hands, and April end up being Yulia’s nanny, they have to find a way to leave their fierce erotic needs aside and focus on the little girl’s happiness.
<b>With lust and danger coming from all sides, they are not prepared to settle for little.</b>
I loved April. She is a kind girl and cared deeply about Yulia. She fears Yuri, but also can’t help but feel the attraction between them. She kept having second thoughts and getting ready to leave, and still stayed. She kept feeling humiliated, but remained to see if this love might work. April was also a very bad friend. I feel the need of mentioning this. While it was okay for her to call her friend any time, she always talked and never listened, even when her friend clearly wanted to talk. That is a no-no for me.
As for Yuri, I don’t think I liked him that much. Yes, I admired his possessiveness around April and how he cared about both April and Yulia. Everything about Yuri is so mysterious, so secret, and he is always on the edge. Which makes him wanted, I would assume. However, some of his actions and beliefs made me so angry I wanted to throw this book!
<b><i>The emotional scene that intrigued me.</i></b>
She was left by her mother as a child, because her mother didn’t have the money. While April grows up, her mother becomes very rich and famous. A secret part of Rachel hopes that her mother will come back for her. At one scene in the book, April and Yuri attend a dinner and April’s mother is there. When she sees her with Yuri, she whispers to April she is not good enough and tells her to stay off him, so her other daughter can be with him. And while the mother didn’t know April is her daughter, April did, and it hurt her badly.
Quite an emotional scene for April, realizing that her mother moved on, and has changed, and the reason she probably left her at the very beginning never had anything to do with her money.
I read this book in a day, so if you want a short hot steamy romance with a sexy Russian Alpha-male, you will definitely enjoy this. There are a few emotional roller coasters throughout the book. However, if you are looking for a deep book that will help you discover the meaning of life, I am sorry to disappoint you.
<b>Secret note: If you have in mind books similar to this, I am open to recommendations.</b>
<b><i>Trigger warnings: Explicit sexual scenes, violence, murder and psychological trauma.</i></b>
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
<img src="https://i2.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/New-blog-banner-17.png?ssl=1"/>;
Let me explain, before you all judge me. I don’t usually read these types of books. Nanny and the Beast was just a book that was recommended to me. By my mum. And I loved it!
The book features April, who is a nanny by profession. She goes for an interview in a Russian billionaire’s house for the nanny position.
Yuri is a Russian billionaire who has a niece, Yulia, that hasn’t been speaking for a few months. When he sees April, he can’t resist her – which is why he doesn’t give her the job – it is too dangerous for her to stick around.
But when destiny takes matters in her own hands, and April end up being Yulia’s nanny, they have to find a way to leave their fierce erotic needs aside and focus on the little girl’s happiness.
<b>With lust and danger coming from all sides, they are not prepared to settle for little.</b>
I loved April. She is a kind girl and cared deeply about Yulia. She fears Yuri, but also can’t help but feel the attraction between them. She kept having second thoughts and getting ready to leave, and still stayed. She kept feeling humiliated, but remained to see if this love might work. April was also a very bad friend. I feel the need of mentioning this. While it was okay for her to call her friend any time, she always talked and never listened, even when her friend clearly wanted to talk. That is a no-no for me.
As for Yuri, I don’t think I liked him that much. Yes, I admired his possessiveness around April and how he cared about both April and Yulia. Everything about Yuri is so mysterious, so secret, and he is always on the edge. Which makes him wanted, I would assume. However, some of his actions and beliefs made me so angry I wanted to throw this book!
<b><i>The emotional scene that intrigued me.</i></b>
She was left by her mother as a child, because her mother didn’t have the money. While April grows up, her mother becomes very rich and famous. A secret part of Rachel hopes that her mother will come back for her. At one scene in the book, April and Yuri attend a dinner and April’s mother is there. When she sees her with Yuri, she whispers to April she is not good enough and tells her to stay off him, so her other daughter can be with him. And while the mother didn’t know April is her daughter, April did, and it hurt her badly.
Quite an emotional scene for April, realizing that her mother moved on, and has changed, and the reason she probably left her at the very beginning never had anything to do with her money.
I read this book in a day, so if you want a short hot steamy romance with a sexy Russian Alpha-male, you will definitely enjoy this. There are a few emotional roller coasters throughout the book. However, if you are looking for a deep book that will help you discover the meaning of life, I am sorry to disappoint you.
<b>Secret note: If you have in mind books similar to this, I am open to recommendations.</b>
<b><i>Trigger warnings: Explicit sexual scenes, violence, murder and psychological trauma.</i></b>
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Ten Minutes On Mars in Books
Jan 10, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Ten Minutes on Mars by Jonathan Fisher is a small collection of eighteen short stories. Some, or rather, most of these stories are a bit on the twisted side so reader be warned. On a deeper level this book appears to explore the darker side of humanity and how we are monsters to each other and to animals.
Keeping with more of a horror theme this book starts off with a ghost in a graveyard although the ghost doesn't make another appearance until the end of the book. Readers are then taken on a hunting trip through the eyes of the prey. A truly scary experience. During the course of this book, the people who live in the cracks in the pavement or as it seemed to be the down and out or homeless are brought to light as well. Basically these are the people that the majority of society pretends don’t exist.
This journey takes readers to the far reaches of space abroad The Ascension. It is on The Ascension where tattoos can be used to control people and others are able to shapeshift. In our technologically advanced society, many wonder about what will happen when AI becomes so advanced that it sees itself as human or tries to take over. That is what happens in another one of the stories to a worker on another planet. Finally, readers see the lengths that a mother will go to in order to avenge a close friend and protect her own child. So sit back and relax as you are taken on a creepy trip deep into the monstrous world that we call humanity, in a town where monsters are normal.
What I liked best was that many of the stories overlapped with one another in some way. While they all take place in the same town the connections go deeper than just that. This book could almost read as each story being just a chapter instead of a stand-alone story. What I did not like was how often this book was confusing to me. I had to reread areas to clear up and be sure what I just read was correct. Some of the confusing points were just because of me misunderstanding the wording. On the other hand, some areas such as when it talks about a decapitated dolphin head being sentient and a vampire still confuse me.
The target readers for this book are adults and young adults. Specifically, those who like fantasy and horror should enjoy this book the most. There is cussing, murder, and the overall tone was not for children to read, even if it wasn’t that long. A high school student should be able to handle this book if they wanted to read it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. After reading this book a second time I might increase my score but for now, this is the best I can offer it. I found this book to be enjoyable yet at the same time, I did not really like it. On the surface I found some of the stories to be confusing or even pointless. When I looked deeper I found it had more depth about the nature of humans than I previously thought, although I do not know if this was the author’s intention.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Keeping with more of a horror theme this book starts off with a ghost in a graveyard although the ghost doesn't make another appearance until the end of the book. Readers are then taken on a hunting trip through the eyes of the prey. A truly scary experience. During the course of this book, the people who live in the cracks in the pavement or as it seemed to be the down and out or homeless are brought to light as well. Basically these are the people that the majority of society pretends don’t exist.
This journey takes readers to the far reaches of space abroad The Ascension. It is on The Ascension where tattoos can be used to control people and others are able to shapeshift. In our technologically advanced society, many wonder about what will happen when AI becomes so advanced that it sees itself as human or tries to take over. That is what happens in another one of the stories to a worker on another planet. Finally, readers see the lengths that a mother will go to in order to avenge a close friend and protect her own child. So sit back and relax as you are taken on a creepy trip deep into the monstrous world that we call humanity, in a town where monsters are normal.
What I liked best was that many of the stories overlapped with one another in some way. While they all take place in the same town the connections go deeper than just that. This book could almost read as each story being just a chapter instead of a stand-alone story. What I did not like was how often this book was confusing to me. I had to reread areas to clear up and be sure what I just read was correct. Some of the confusing points were just because of me misunderstanding the wording. On the other hand, some areas such as when it talks about a decapitated dolphin head being sentient and a vampire still confuse me.
The target readers for this book are adults and young adults. Specifically, those who like fantasy and horror should enjoy this book the most. There is cussing, murder, and the overall tone was not for children to read, even if it wasn’t that long. A high school student should be able to handle this book if they wanted to read it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. After reading this book a second time I might increase my score but for now, this is the best I can offer it. I found this book to be enjoyable yet at the same time, I did not really like it. On the surface I found some of the stories to be confusing or even pointless. When I looked deeper I found it had more depth about the nature of humans than I previously thought, although I do not know if this was the author’s intention.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Triple 9 (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
A crew of bank robbers is strong-armed by the Russian mob to pull off a near impossible heist due the response time of the police. In order to create a larger window, the dirty cops of this crew suggest creating a 999 (police code for “officer down.”) on the other side of town. That is the basic plot of Triple 9. Yet, the tagline for this film is, “The Code on the street is never black and white.” Seems like a different movie which is part of the letdown of Triple 9. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a heist movie like Heat or The Town? Or is it trying to be a movie about the cops and the rules of the streets like Training Day?
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
Infected by Scott Sigler
Podcast
Across America a mysterious disease is turning ordinary people into raving, paranoid murderers who...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) in Movies
May 19, 2021
Disappointing
And…we have the “leader in the clubhouse” for the WORST FILM OF 2021.
As faithful readers of my reviews know, I’m all for a “turn you mind off” action flick, not really caring about plot/characters, but let some competent storytelling and decent action scenes transport me away from the real world for a few hours (or in this case, for 100 minutes) and THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD started off promisingly enough and so I settled into my chair looking to be entertained.
I’m still waiting
THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD stars Angelina Jolie as a “Fire Jumper” who is suffering from a traumatic experience and is shying away from human connection and interaction, looking for cheap, death-defying thrills to feel some sort of emotion. Into her world comes a young boy who has witnessed a murder and the murderers are chasing him, so she must save him.
And…of course…there’s a fire.
I can roll with that flimsy plot (certainly other action flicks have been entertaining with much less plot) but TWWMD (as I will call this from now on) fails to capitalize at all on any of the aspects of the plot and fails to garner much in the way of interest throughout the film.
Director/Writer Taylor Sheridan (the writer on the terrific HELL OR HIGH WATER) was brought on board this film early on as a “script doctor” and then stepped into the Director’s role when the original director (smartly) dropped out and he promised the producer’s that he could get Angelina Jolie to star in it.
To be fair, Jolie brings the necessary star quality to the role of emotionally crippled “Fire Jumper” Hannah, and she looks like she was “game” for whatever Sheridan asked her to do - there just isn’t much for her to do.
And this is unfortunate, for Sheridan starts the movie with an interesting scene where our two hitmen (Aiden Gillen - “Littlefinger” from GAME OF THRONES and Nicholas Hoult - Beast in the X-MEN FIRST CLASS films) take out their first target. This is actually a pretty good scene and one that starts the film out with promise. Little did I know that it was the best scene in the film.
After that, nothing interesting really happens and the other characters (with an exception that I will speak about in a moment) are not interesting at all (I’m looking at you, Tyler Perry, who was clearly doing a favor for Sheridan). As a matter of fact, some of the other characters were just plain annyoing (I’m looking at you, “Fire Jumper” Friends of Hannah).
The exception to this is the work of Jon Bernthal (Shane in the first 2 season of THE WALKING DEAD) and Medina Senghore (an actress I had not seen before) as a local cop and his “survivalist” wife. These two bring some intensity and spark to pretty dull proceedings - I think I would have rather have seen a film that focused on these 2 characters, rather than Jolie’s.
Most of the blame for this must fall to Writer/Director Sheridan. I don’t think he ever figured out what type of film he was making. Is it an action flick? Sort of (and the action scenes are not all that good/interesting). Is it a redemption story? Sure. (But I didn’t buy how Jolie’s character needed redemption). Is it a story of survival? Kind of (but I didn’t really care for the child actor that was being saved).
There was a good idea in here, but this movie wasn’t even close to a good movie on this idea. Skip this one.
Letter Grade: C
4 stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)
As faithful readers of my reviews know, I’m all for a “turn you mind off” action flick, not really caring about plot/characters, but let some competent storytelling and decent action scenes transport me away from the real world for a few hours (or in this case, for 100 minutes) and THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD started off promisingly enough and so I settled into my chair looking to be entertained.
I’m still waiting
THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD stars Angelina Jolie as a “Fire Jumper” who is suffering from a traumatic experience and is shying away from human connection and interaction, looking for cheap, death-defying thrills to feel some sort of emotion. Into her world comes a young boy who has witnessed a murder and the murderers are chasing him, so she must save him.
And…of course…there’s a fire.
I can roll with that flimsy plot (certainly other action flicks have been entertaining with much less plot) but TWWMD (as I will call this from now on) fails to capitalize at all on any of the aspects of the plot and fails to garner much in the way of interest throughout the film.
Director/Writer Taylor Sheridan (the writer on the terrific HELL OR HIGH WATER) was brought on board this film early on as a “script doctor” and then stepped into the Director’s role when the original director (smartly) dropped out and he promised the producer’s that he could get Angelina Jolie to star in it.
To be fair, Jolie brings the necessary star quality to the role of emotionally crippled “Fire Jumper” Hannah, and she looks like she was “game” for whatever Sheridan asked her to do - there just isn’t much for her to do.
And this is unfortunate, for Sheridan starts the movie with an interesting scene where our two hitmen (Aiden Gillen - “Littlefinger” from GAME OF THRONES and Nicholas Hoult - Beast in the X-MEN FIRST CLASS films) take out their first target. This is actually a pretty good scene and one that starts the film out with promise. Little did I know that it was the best scene in the film.
After that, nothing interesting really happens and the other characters (with an exception that I will speak about in a moment) are not interesting at all (I’m looking at you, Tyler Perry, who was clearly doing a favor for Sheridan). As a matter of fact, some of the other characters were just plain annyoing (I’m looking at you, “Fire Jumper” Friends of Hannah).
The exception to this is the work of Jon Bernthal (Shane in the first 2 season of THE WALKING DEAD) and Medina Senghore (an actress I had not seen before) as a local cop and his “survivalist” wife. These two bring some intensity and spark to pretty dull proceedings - I think I would have rather have seen a film that focused on these 2 characters, rather than Jolie’s.
Most of the blame for this must fall to Writer/Director Sheridan. I don’t think he ever figured out what type of film he was making. Is it an action flick? Sort of (and the action scenes are not all that good/interesting). Is it a redemption story? Sure. (But I didn’t buy how Jolie’s character needed redemption). Is it a story of survival? Kind of (but I didn’t really care for the child actor that was being saved).
There was a good idea in here, but this movie wasn’t even close to a good movie on this idea. Skip this one.
Letter Grade: C
4 stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Captain Clive's Dreamworld in Books
Dec 12, 2020
I love books that deal with a mysterious town that seems to be perfect yet strange things happen, so when I heard about Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff, I knew this would be my kind of book. I can not tell you enough about how great of a book this was!
Deputy Sam Hardy is fed up with his life. Everything looks bleak for Hardy. When a prostitute is found dead in a seedy motel room and Hardy looks like he may be the culprit, he is banished to take over the role of deputy in the seemingly perfect town of Angels and Hope. Everyone seems to love this town, and everything is so cookie cutter, but the people never seem to sleep. Young girls are going missing yet the town says the girls never existed. When Hardy begins to pry into this town's history, he puts his own wellbeing in jeopardy.
I will say the plot of Captain Clive's Dreamworld drew me in right away. The pacing is done perfectly, and I kept on finding myself reading as fast as possible so I could learn what would happen next. I was instantly transported to the town of Angels and Hope with Deputy Sam Hardy. I never lost interest at all. In my head, I was trying to work out what was wrong with the town. Everything seemed to be perfect there, but we all know that nothing is ever perfect. While Angels and Hope was created to be a utopia, it was much more dystopian. There were many sinister goings on happening. While I was able to predict some of the plot, it was still interesting to read on to see if I was correct. There are a few plot twists too. Jon Bassoff did a fantastic job making this story come together brilliantly enough to keep it interesting. While the book didn't end the way I wanted, it was definitely an interesting ending for sure. All loose ends were tied up and the story came together very well.
I enjoyed each and every character in Captain Clive's Dreamworld. Each character felt realistic and fleshed out. Sam Hardy was quite the interesting character. I liked reading about his thought process. I felt like I was going through everything he was. Although I thought he would be uncaring, he was quite the opposite. His plight to get answers was quite the journey to read about. The three witches were fabulous antagonists. I could picture each of the three women easily in my mind. They were easy to hate. I loved trying to figure out Mayor Sampson's character. I kept on trying to guess how much he knew and what he'd be willing to do to keep secrets hidden. I enjoyed reading about all the townspeople of Angels and Hope and trying to guess what their guilty secrets were and what their end game was.
Trigger warnings for Captain Clive's Dreamworld include death, murder, suicide, violence, prostitution, sex, child rape, incest, blackmail, gaslighting, threats, drugs, alcohol, and swearing. This is not a book for the faint of heart as it deals with some very dark subjects.
All in all, Captain Clive's Dreamworld is a highly entertaining read with a great cast of characters as well as a great plot. It is definitely not for the faint of heart though as it is quite dark but enjoyable nonetheless. I would definitely recommend Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff to those aged 18+ who love a dark horror novel with great depth.
-
(A special thank you to Pump Up Your Book for providing me with a paperback of Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Deputy Sam Hardy is fed up with his life. Everything looks bleak for Hardy. When a prostitute is found dead in a seedy motel room and Hardy looks like he may be the culprit, he is banished to take over the role of deputy in the seemingly perfect town of Angels and Hope. Everyone seems to love this town, and everything is so cookie cutter, but the people never seem to sleep. Young girls are going missing yet the town says the girls never existed. When Hardy begins to pry into this town's history, he puts his own wellbeing in jeopardy.
I will say the plot of Captain Clive's Dreamworld drew me in right away. The pacing is done perfectly, and I kept on finding myself reading as fast as possible so I could learn what would happen next. I was instantly transported to the town of Angels and Hope with Deputy Sam Hardy. I never lost interest at all. In my head, I was trying to work out what was wrong with the town. Everything seemed to be perfect there, but we all know that nothing is ever perfect. While Angels and Hope was created to be a utopia, it was much more dystopian. There were many sinister goings on happening. While I was able to predict some of the plot, it was still interesting to read on to see if I was correct. There are a few plot twists too. Jon Bassoff did a fantastic job making this story come together brilliantly enough to keep it interesting. While the book didn't end the way I wanted, it was definitely an interesting ending for sure. All loose ends were tied up and the story came together very well.
I enjoyed each and every character in Captain Clive's Dreamworld. Each character felt realistic and fleshed out. Sam Hardy was quite the interesting character. I liked reading about his thought process. I felt like I was going through everything he was. Although I thought he would be uncaring, he was quite the opposite. His plight to get answers was quite the journey to read about. The three witches were fabulous antagonists. I could picture each of the three women easily in my mind. They were easy to hate. I loved trying to figure out Mayor Sampson's character. I kept on trying to guess how much he knew and what he'd be willing to do to keep secrets hidden. I enjoyed reading about all the townspeople of Angels and Hope and trying to guess what their guilty secrets were and what their end game was.
Trigger warnings for Captain Clive's Dreamworld include death, murder, suicide, violence, prostitution, sex, child rape, incest, blackmail, gaslighting, threats, drugs, alcohol, and swearing. This is not a book for the faint of heart as it deals with some very dark subjects.
All in all, Captain Clive's Dreamworld is a highly entertaining read with a great cast of characters as well as a great plot. It is definitely not for the faint of heart though as it is quite dark but enjoyable nonetheless. I would definitely recommend Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff to those aged 18+ who love a dark horror novel with great depth.
-
(A special thank you to Pump Up Your Book for providing me with a paperback of Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Never Look Back in Books
Sep 2, 2019
For Quentin Garrison, his podcast, entitled Closure, is truly about just that--closure. It centers on a series of murders in the 1970s committed by teens Gabriel LeRoy and April Cooper. The victims included Quentin's mother's little sister and his grandmother. As a result, Quentin has spent most of his life raised by a neglectful, drug addict mom. For Robin Diamond, a columnist, the podcast causes only confusion. When Quentin contacts her about it, asking specifically about April Cooper and tying her to Robin's own mother, Robin is bewildered. But the more she delves into the murders, the more she starts to wonder. Then there's a terrible home invasion at her parent's house, killing her father and leaving her mom unconscious. What exactly happened back in the '70s--and, now, in the home invasion?
This was an excellent thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's dark, gritty, and utterly mesmerizing. When I started it, I was thinking to myself, not another podcast mystery, but little did I know... this book is totally addictive and brings in the podcast element in a seamless, fresh way.
It's told from the perspective of several of our main characters--particularly Robin and Quentin. We also get excerpts from a school assignment of April's when she was fifteen: letters to her future child. These slowly reveal what happened during the killings, and they are told in a spot-on voice of a fifteen-year-old girl. The way everything is woven together is perfect: I found myself completely captivated and read basically the last half of the book in one breathless setting, staying up past my bedtime to finish it.
We learn that both Gabriel and April died in a fire at the site of their last attempted murder. So when Quentin receives a tip claiming that April Cooper is still alive, it changes everything, including the focus of his podcast. When he starts to believe that Robin's mother is April, things get even more interesting. I loved the suspense--constantly wondering if April was alive and if she was, who she could be. And then, there's the aspect of was April "good" or "bad" during the killings. So many people blamed her for the deaths of their loved ones, and nothing is black or white in this book.
Even Quentin. Since his past is strongly affected by the murders, we find ourselves wondering if we can trust him, too. Quentin's grandfather basically gave up raising his daughter, Kate--Quentin's mother--after the death of his wife and young daughter. As such, Quentin's own mother wasn't much of a parent to him. Quentin's own bitterness and anger shines through--a strong theme in the book. Can we rely on someone so angry, we wonder? I felt for him, and his devoted husband and loving best friend and podcast partner. So many of the characters are intense, and each is so well-crafted and unique. Each flew off the page.
This is often a dark book, and there are many scenes of violence. But, for me, it was the emotional scenes that were the toughest to read. There are many touching moments, too, and I found myself attached to several of the characters. Reading young April's letters was quite a feat. Gaylin is such an excellent writer, and she just pulls you into the story so effortlessly--you feel as if you are there with her characters. Throw in some great twists and turns and this is an excellent and suspenseful novel.
The ending was a tough one, but I get it. Overall, I really enjoyed this dark psychological thriller. I am just loving Gaylin's recent books and need to go back and read some of her previous works (there's a little Brenna Spector shoutout in this one for those of you who are fans). Definitely recommend! 4.5 stars.
This was an excellent thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's dark, gritty, and utterly mesmerizing. When I started it, I was thinking to myself, not another podcast mystery, but little did I know... this book is totally addictive and brings in the podcast element in a seamless, fresh way.
It's told from the perspective of several of our main characters--particularly Robin and Quentin. We also get excerpts from a school assignment of April's when she was fifteen: letters to her future child. These slowly reveal what happened during the killings, and they are told in a spot-on voice of a fifteen-year-old girl. The way everything is woven together is perfect: I found myself completely captivated and read basically the last half of the book in one breathless setting, staying up past my bedtime to finish it.
We learn that both Gabriel and April died in a fire at the site of their last attempted murder. So when Quentin receives a tip claiming that April Cooper is still alive, it changes everything, including the focus of his podcast. When he starts to believe that Robin's mother is April, things get even more interesting. I loved the suspense--constantly wondering if April was alive and if she was, who she could be. And then, there's the aspect of was April "good" or "bad" during the killings. So many people blamed her for the deaths of their loved ones, and nothing is black or white in this book.
Even Quentin. Since his past is strongly affected by the murders, we find ourselves wondering if we can trust him, too. Quentin's grandfather basically gave up raising his daughter, Kate--Quentin's mother--after the death of his wife and young daughter. As such, Quentin's own mother wasn't much of a parent to him. Quentin's own bitterness and anger shines through--a strong theme in the book. Can we rely on someone so angry, we wonder? I felt for him, and his devoted husband and loving best friend and podcast partner. So many of the characters are intense, and each is so well-crafted and unique. Each flew off the page.
This is often a dark book, and there are many scenes of violence. But, for me, it was the emotional scenes that were the toughest to read. There are many touching moments, too, and I found myself attached to several of the characters. Reading young April's letters was quite a feat. Gaylin is such an excellent writer, and she just pulls you into the story so effortlessly--you feel as if you are there with her characters. Throw in some great twists and turns and this is an excellent and suspenseful novel.
The ending was a tough one, but I get it. Overall, I really enjoyed this dark psychological thriller. I am just loving Gaylin's recent books and need to go back and read some of her previous works (there's a little Brenna Spector shoutout in this one for those of you who are fans). Definitely recommend! 4.5 stars.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Girl on the Train (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
You won’t uncork a bottle of Malbec again without thinking of this film…
“The Girl on a Train” is the film adaptation of the best-seller by Paula Hawkins, transported from the London suburbs to New York’s Hastings-on-Hudson.
It’s actually rather a sordid story encompassing as it does alcoholism, murder, marital strife, deceit, sexual frustration, an historical tragedy and lashings and lashings of violence. Emily Blunt (“Sicario”, “Edge of Tomorrow”) plays Rachel, a divorcee with an alcohol problem who escapes into an obsessive fantasy each day as she passes her former neighbourhood on her commute into the city. Ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux, “Zoolander 2”) lives in her old house with his second wife Anna (Rebecca “MI:5” Ferguson) and new baby Evie. But her real fantasy rests with cheerleader-style young neighbour Megan (Haley Bennett) who is actually locked in a frustratingly child-free marriage (frustrating for him at least) with the controlling and unpredictable Scott (Luke Evans, “The Hobbit”). A sixth party in this complex network is Megan’s psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Édgar Ramírez, “Joy”).
In pure Hitchcockian style Megan witnesses mere glimpses of events from her twice-daily train and from these pieces together stories that suitably feed her psychosis. When ‘shit gets real’ and a key character goes missing, Megan surfaces her suspicions and obsessions to the police investigation (led by Detective Riley, the ever-excellent Allison Janney from “The West Wing”) and promptly makes herself suspect number one.
Readers of the book will already be aware of the twists and turns of the story, so will watch the film from a different perspective than I did. (Despite my best intentions I never managed to read the book first).
First up, you would have to say that Emily Blunt’s performance is outstanding in an extremely challenging acting role. Every nuance of shame, confusion, grief, fear, doubt and anger is beautifully enacted: it would not be a surprise to see her gain her first Oscar nomination for this. All the other lead roles are also delivered with great professionalism, with Haley Bennett (a busy month for her, with “The Magnificent Seven” also out) being impressive and Rebecca Ferguson, one of my favourite current actresses, delivering another measured and delicate performance.
Girl on a Train, The
Rebecca Ferguson as Anna – “there were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded”
The supporting roles are also effective, with Darren Goldstein as the somewhat creepy “man in the suit” and “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow popping up in an effective and pivotal role. The Screen Guild Awards have an excellent category for an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, and it feels appropriate to nominate this cast for that award.
So it’s a blockbuster book with a rollercoaster story and a stellar cast, so what could go wrong? Well, something for sure. This is a case in point where I suspect it is easier to slowly peel back Rachel’s lost memory with pages and imagination than it is with dodgy fuzzy images on a big screen. Although the film comes in at only 112 minutes, the pacing in places is too slow (the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson takes its time) and director Tate Taylor (“The Help”) is no Hitchcock, or indeed a David Fincher (since the film has strong similarities to last year’s “Gone Girl”: when the action does happen it lacks style, with the violence being on the brutal side and leaving little to the imagination.
It’s by no means a bad film, and worth seeing for the acting performances alone. But it’s not a film I think that will trouble my top 10 for the year.
It’s actually rather a sordid story encompassing as it does alcoholism, murder, marital strife, deceit, sexual frustration, an historical tragedy and lashings and lashings of violence. Emily Blunt (“Sicario”, “Edge of Tomorrow”) plays Rachel, a divorcee with an alcohol problem who escapes into an obsessive fantasy each day as she passes her former neighbourhood on her commute into the city. Ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux, “Zoolander 2”) lives in her old house with his second wife Anna (Rebecca “MI:5” Ferguson) and new baby Evie. But her real fantasy rests with cheerleader-style young neighbour Megan (Haley Bennett) who is actually locked in a frustratingly child-free marriage (frustrating for him at least) with the controlling and unpredictable Scott (Luke Evans, “The Hobbit”). A sixth party in this complex network is Megan’s psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Édgar Ramírez, “Joy”).
In pure Hitchcockian style Megan witnesses mere glimpses of events from her twice-daily train and from these pieces together stories that suitably feed her psychosis. When ‘shit gets real’ and a key character goes missing, Megan surfaces her suspicions and obsessions to the police investigation (led by Detective Riley, the ever-excellent Allison Janney from “The West Wing”) and promptly makes herself suspect number one.
Readers of the book will already be aware of the twists and turns of the story, so will watch the film from a different perspective than I did. (Despite my best intentions I never managed to read the book first).
First up, you would have to say that Emily Blunt’s performance is outstanding in an extremely challenging acting role. Every nuance of shame, confusion, grief, fear, doubt and anger is beautifully enacted: it would not be a surprise to see her gain her first Oscar nomination for this. All the other lead roles are also delivered with great professionalism, with Haley Bennett (a busy month for her, with “The Magnificent Seven” also out) being impressive and Rebecca Ferguson, one of my favourite current actresses, delivering another measured and delicate performance.
Girl on a Train, The
Rebecca Ferguson as Anna – “there were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded”
The supporting roles are also effective, with Darren Goldstein as the somewhat creepy “man in the suit” and “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow popping up in an effective and pivotal role. The Screen Guild Awards have an excellent category for an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, and it feels appropriate to nominate this cast for that award.
So it’s a blockbuster book with a rollercoaster story and a stellar cast, so what could go wrong? Well, something for sure. This is a case in point where I suspect it is easier to slowly peel back Rachel’s lost memory with pages and imagination than it is with dodgy fuzzy images on a big screen. Although the film comes in at only 112 minutes, the pacing in places is too slow (the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson takes its time) and director Tate Taylor (“The Help”) is no Hitchcock, or indeed a David Fincher (since the film has strong similarities to last year’s “Gone Girl”: when the action does happen it lacks style, with the violence being on the brutal side and leaving little to the imagination.
It’s by no means a bad film, and worth seeing for the acting performances alone. But it’s not a film I think that will trouble my top 10 for the year.
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated To Kill a Mockingbird in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Well, February is definitely the month for discovering classics I’ve missed! For some reason, I’d always classed To Kill a Mockingbird in amongst the Agatha Christie genre of murder mysteries – not that I’ve read those either – and didn’t know enough about it for it to have piqued my interest. Now I’ve read it though, I can see what all the fuss is about, and it’s not surprising that, despite being published in 1960, it was still the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/aug/09/best-selling-books-all-time-fifty-shades-grey-compare">65th best-selling book of all time</a> in 2012. Beware of spoilers!
The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, and is written from the perspective of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, who is between six and eight years old as the story progresses. The start of the book does an effective job of introducing us to all the characters. Scout lives with her widowed father, Atticus, a lawyer, her brother Jem (who is 4 years older than her) and Calpurnia, a black woman who acts as a type of mother figure. A friend, Dill, also joins them in the summer. The three children are intrigued by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, who lives in the house on the corner but is never seen outside. I really enjoyed this part of the story; it set the scene brilliantly, as well as helping me reminisce about my own childhood. Even if there is no ‘haunted’ house, children will always make one – at least, my brother and I did! With the limitless amounts of imagination children have, there will always be adventures to be had and ‘monsters’ to escape from. There was one particular house, when we were around the same age as Jem and Scout, where they had a doorbell you pulled, like a cord. My brother Josh said it was a doorbell that made you scream every time you pulled it, so we obviously had great fun in pulling it, screaming, and running away. If by some fluke the person living there is reading this, I’m really sorry, but it still makes me laugh! There was also every Christmas, when we went carol singing. We had decided that the houses beyond the wood were richer than the others, and every year would link arms, lighting matches to try and find our way in the dark and telling ghost stories the whole time.
Once everything has been established, the book moves on to a case Atticus is defending. A black man, Tom, has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, part of a trashy white family with very poor education and even less money. This is where the casual prejudice of the time is evident – Jem and Scout have to put up with people calling their family a “nigger-lover” (sorry if that language offends, it is a direct quote and I mean no harm); Atticus faces repercussions for his whole-hearted attempt to save Tom; and many of the Maycomb women look down on the black community. However, there’s still a touch of hope – the way Atticus defends Tom’s case makes everybody think, a great feat in the setting where black and white people are in completely different classes. In this part of the story, I really looked up to Atticus, in his seemingly-infinite wisdom.
In the final part of the story, Jem and Scout finally get to meet Boo Radley, and it is here that the title of the book becomes apparent. In the middle of the book, after Jem and Scout get air-rifles, it is said:
<blockquote>When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns. Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”</blockquote>
Obviously, not knowing what was coming, I thought the story must eventually be about the children shooting a mockingbird. The last page of the book, though, I realised that it was a lot more subtle and symbolic than that. The mockingjay is Boo Radley, the man who gives when he can and causes no harm.
I really wish I’d read this story as a child, to see what sort of perspective I’d have had back then. Reading as an adult means that, while Scout was a brilliant perspective, I was almost reading as an outsider. I could see her maturing, slowly fitting the pieces together to start acting like an adult, but at the same time it was an undeniably adult reading. I really really enjoyed the book, but I have a feeling it’s one of those multi-faceted ones where you read something different every time. I can’t help thinking that reading it as a child would have been a lot more powerful.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!
The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, and is written from the perspective of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, who is between six and eight years old as the story progresses. The start of the book does an effective job of introducing us to all the characters. Scout lives with her widowed father, Atticus, a lawyer, her brother Jem (who is 4 years older than her) and Calpurnia, a black woman who acts as a type of mother figure. A friend, Dill, also joins them in the summer. The three children are intrigued by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, who lives in the house on the corner but is never seen outside. I really enjoyed this part of the story; it set the scene brilliantly, as well as helping me reminisce about my own childhood. Even if there is no ‘haunted’ house, children will always make one – at least, my brother and I did! With the limitless amounts of imagination children have, there will always be adventures to be had and ‘monsters’ to escape from. There was one particular house, when we were around the same age as Jem and Scout, where they had a doorbell you pulled, like a cord. My brother Josh said it was a doorbell that made you scream every time you pulled it, so we obviously had great fun in pulling it, screaming, and running away. If by some fluke the person living there is reading this, I’m really sorry, but it still makes me laugh! There was also every Christmas, when we went carol singing. We had decided that the houses beyond the wood were richer than the others, and every year would link arms, lighting matches to try and find our way in the dark and telling ghost stories the whole time.
Once everything has been established, the book moves on to a case Atticus is defending. A black man, Tom, has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, part of a trashy white family with very poor education and even less money. This is where the casual prejudice of the time is evident – Jem and Scout have to put up with people calling their family a “nigger-lover” (sorry if that language offends, it is a direct quote and I mean no harm); Atticus faces repercussions for his whole-hearted attempt to save Tom; and many of the Maycomb women look down on the black community. However, there’s still a touch of hope – the way Atticus defends Tom’s case makes everybody think, a great feat in the setting where black and white people are in completely different classes. In this part of the story, I really looked up to Atticus, in his seemingly-infinite wisdom.
In the final part of the story, Jem and Scout finally get to meet Boo Radley, and it is here that the title of the book becomes apparent. In the middle of the book, after Jem and Scout get air-rifles, it is said:
<blockquote>When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns. Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”</blockquote>
Obviously, not knowing what was coming, I thought the story must eventually be about the children shooting a mockingbird. The last page of the book, though, I realised that it was a lot more subtle and symbolic than that. The mockingjay is Boo Radley, the man who gives when he can and causes no harm.
I really wish I’d read this story as a child, to see what sort of perspective I’d have had back then. Reading as an adult means that, while Scout was a brilliant perspective, I was almost reading as an outsider. I could see her maturing, slowly fitting the pieces together to start acting like an adult, but at the same time it was an undeniably adult reading. I really really enjoyed the book, but I have a feeling it’s one of those multi-faceted ones where you read something different every time. I can’t help thinking that reading it as a child would have been a lot more powerful.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!