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Kathy Najimy recommended Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family in Books (curated)
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David Byrne recommended Pangaea by Miles Davis in Music (curated)
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Ezra Koenig recommended Endtroducing... by DJ Shadow in Music (curated)
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Jake Lacy recommended Ghostbusters (2016) in Movies (curated)
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Kathryn Bigelow recommended Murder! (1930) in Movies (curated)
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Midge (525 KP) rated House of Beauty in Books
Feb 14, 2019
Very Original Crime Novel
I enjoyed reading HOUSE OF BEAUTY, although, I think it’s fair to say, not as much as I hoped to.
I was lured by the premise of a crime novel centring around a beauty salon, featuring the murder of a schoolgirl, concealed by corrupt officials involved in massive healthcare fraud, all happening in Bogota in Columbia. It sounded like a brilliant idea for a novel! I was also drawn by the notion of a beauty salon as a safe place to go, where women can discuss their innermost secrets with each other with no male intrusion.
HOUSE OF BEAUTY was an interesting read which brought a reality that touches on current and pertinent social aspects in Columbia.
I did not enjoy this novel as much as I might have, as some of my enjoyment was lost in the translation. Putting the issue of translation difficulties aside, I found there to be some confusing elements in this novel and not enough detail about the motive for the murder and the ensuing investigation. The detail of the murder itself is very specifically explained which I liked. The book is told from the perspective of two women, after the murder of Sabrina Guzman has already taken place. Claire, a customer at the salon and ghostwriter Lucia, are both middle-class Columbians. However, there’s nothing to make their respective points of view distinctive, so I was frequently puzzled as to which one of them was currently speaking. There are also third-person chapters from the perspective of Karen, a beautician at the salon; from Sabrina Guzman, the girl who dies; and from Sabrina’s mother, Consuelo.
I was fully involved in the story and was keen to know how Karen dealt with all of her difficulties she had with her life, however, I felt that I didn’t really understand the precise reason for the crime being committed. The conclusion, although it had some interesting twists, did not bring everything totally together for me, but maybe that was the author’s intention. It definitely left some room for further thought even after I had finished reading.
All in all, I would recommend Melba Escobar’s HOUSE OF BEAUTY for its originality.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was lured by the premise of a crime novel centring around a beauty salon, featuring the murder of a schoolgirl, concealed by corrupt officials involved in massive healthcare fraud, all happening in Bogota in Columbia. It sounded like a brilliant idea for a novel! I was also drawn by the notion of a beauty salon as a safe place to go, where women can discuss their innermost secrets with each other with no male intrusion.
HOUSE OF BEAUTY was an interesting read which brought a reality that touches on current and pertinent social aspects in Columbia.
I did not enjoy this novel as much as I might have, as some of my enjoyment was lost in the translation. Putting the issue of translation difficulties aside, I found there to be some confusing elements in this novel and not enough detail about the motive for the murder and the ensuing investigation. The detail of the murder itself is very specifically explained which I liked. The book is told from the perspective of two women, after the murder of Sabrina Guzman has already taken place. Claire, a customer at the salon and ghostwriter Lucia, are both middle-class Columbians. However, there’s nothing to make their respective points of view distinctive, so I was frequently puzzled as to which one of them was currently speaking. There are also third-person chapters from the perspective of Karen, a beautician at the salon; from Sabrina Guzman, the girl who dies; and from Sabrina’s mother, Consuelo.
I was fully involved in the story and was keen to know how Karen dealt with all of her difficulties she had with her life, however, I felt that I didn’t really understand the precise reason for the crime being committed. The conclusion, although it had some interesting twists, did not bring everything totally together for me, but maybe that was the author’s intention. It definitely left some room for further thought even after I had finished reading.
All in all, I would recommend Melba Escobar’s HOUSE OF BEAUTY for its originality.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Susie Bright recommended Mon oncle Antoine (1971) in Movies (curated)
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The Craggus (360 KP) rated The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) in Movies
Mar 19, 2019
There's no proxy for how much I love The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen (1989) 30th Anniversary Review
A notoriously chaotic and troubled production – not that that distinguishes it particularly in Gilliam’s oeuvre – “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” saw the idiosyncratic director coming off the back of a bitter but ultimately successful battle with Universal over the release and distribution of his previous film, “Brazil”. Once again, he found himself at the mercy of bureaucratic machinations that even he could not have dreamt up as the film – initially at 20th Century Fox then Columbia – became a casualty of the boardroom politics that saw a CEO fired and the new studio head refuse to sign off on the previously agreed budget. Thus, the film developed a reputation for being out of control and over budget although, in reality, the final cost was pretty much on the budget originally set at Fox. But reality has very little to do with the tales of Baron Munchausen and, in a way the eponymous hero would no doubt find extremely gratifying, the film’s reputation is decidedly wide of the mark in nearly every respect. Celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, it remains a bravura piece of satirical fantasy that deserves far more success than it received at the time of release....
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusMunchausen
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusMunchausen
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Paint Me a Crime in Books
Jul 24, 2023 (Updated Jul 24, 2023)
Grand Opening Murder
Jessamine Rhodes has worked hard to open a new community art center in Rose Shore, British Columbia, and is excited that opening day is here. She’s honored that artist Gabriella Everhart has agreed to show one of her paintings and teach a class on watercolors. But as the event is winding down, the lights go out briefly. When they come back on, someone has stolen the painting, and an art collector is dead. With her reputation and new business on the line, Jessamine tries to figure out what happened. Can she do it?
The book jumps right in with the opening, so it isn’t too long before the plot gets rolling. I was hooked the entire way through, thinking I had it figured out a couple of times only to be wrong when we reached the logical climax. The characters are also charming, and I loved spending time with them, although the suspects could have had a little more page time to be fully developed. The writing kept me a little outside the story at first until I adjusted, but it was a minor issue. One of Jessamine’s friends owns a tea shop, so there is lots of talk about food – enough to make me hungry while I read. This is a promising debut, and I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.
The book jumps right in with the opening, so it isn’t too long before the plot gets rolling. I was hooked the entire way through, thinking I had it figured out a couple of times only to be wrong when we reached the logical climax. The characters are also charming, and I loved spending time with them, although the suspects could have had a little more page time to be fully developed. The writing kept me a little outside the story at first until I adjusted, but it was a minor issue. One of Jessamine’s friends owns a tea shop, so there is lots of talk about food – enough to make me hungry while I read. This is a promising debut, and I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.