Search
Search results
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated The History of Jane Doe in Books
May 29, 2018
I was really intrigued by the description of this book and happy when I won the chance to read and review it. The History of Jane Doe is an ode to first loves, and a journey through mental illness. It's fun, it's sad, it's heartbreaking while also being heartwarming.
Ray is a high-schooler history-buff in love with Jane. She enters his life and him and his best friend Simon are forever changed. But she hides some deep dark secrets that torment her and Ray has a hard time seeing into her head, as is usually the case when loving someone who is depressed, and he struggles to find his way through her dark past so that they can have a future. This is a history of her life, written by Ray, flipping between the past and present of one devastating day when everything changes.
Michael Belanger writes that he's experienced some painful episodes in his life, and it's evident in how eloquently he decribes feelings of sadness and darkness. I can imagine this book will make quite a few people very sad, as most everyone knows someone who suffers from depression, or anxiety, or other forms of mental illness. But I also think it will probably help just as many. I applaud him for his candor and insights into a rarely talked-about issue.
If you love 13 Reasons Why, or anything by John Green, you will love this story. The witty banter between Ray and Jane, Simon and Mary is refreshing and fun, and it's an interesting look into mental illness, how things in life can trigger it, and change a person, and and exploration of how it affects all those around you, and how even though you may think you are ending your suffering, you are ultimately just passing it on to those who loved you.
What I took away most from this is that even if you feel like you are drowning in darkness and can't see past the shadows, you never know what a light you'll be to someone else.
Ray is a high-schooler history-buff in love with Jane. She enters his life and him and his best friend Simon are forever changed. But she hides some deep dark secrets that torment her and Ray has a hard time seeing into her head, as is usually the case when loving someone who is depressed, and he struggles to find his way through her dark past so that they can have a future. This is a history of her life, written by Ray, flipping between the past and present of one devastating day when everything changes.
Michael Belanger writes that he's experienced some painful episodes in his life, and it's evident in how eloquently he decribes feelings of sadness and darkness. I can imagine this book will make quite a few people very sad, as most everyone knows someone who suffers from depression, or anxiety, or other forms of mental illness. But I also think it will probably help just as many. I applaud him for his candor and insights into a rarely talked-about issue.
If you love 13 Reasons Why, or anything by John Green, you will love this story. The witty banter between Ray and Jane, Simon and Mary is refreshing and fun, and it's an interesting look into mental illness, how things in life can trigger it, and change a person, and and exploration of how it affects all those around you, and how even though you may think you are ending your suffering, you are ultimately just passing it on to those who loved you.
What I took away most from this is that even if you feel like you are drowning in darkness and can't see past the shadows, you never know what a light you'll be to someone else.
Kelly (279 KP) rated The Magicians: Book 1 in Books
Nov 22, 2018
Harry Potter for grown ups
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was a fan of this book long before the TV series of the same name, and a firm believer that the book in this case is better than the screen. Unlike the TV series, the book comes across more intelligently and the characters are a lot more relatable. Lev Grossman uses popular fantasy books such as The Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series for ideas for this novel, but adapts these childhood fantasies to an adult level.
Quentin, the main character within the novel is not your usual hero, being the high achieving teenager who could never quite best his peers, is fixated by a Narnia style story from his child hood (Fillory), which he could never quite overcome. The narrative shares Quentins journey from joining a magical college, making friends to early adulthood and finding that Fillory is real.
Despite the obvious links to other stories, Lev Grossman intelligently uses his story to explore a range of issues such as sexuality and depression, making his characters more relatable to the reader. The villains and events in the story are a lot more sinister than you might expect from a tale that combines so many of our childhood favourites, demonstrating Grossmans clever use in adult emotions. All of this succeeds in engaging the reader even further.
Although this was a book I enjoyed reading from start to finish, I did find the pace was a little fast at times, speeding from one time period in Quentins life to another. I realise that this is because Lev Grossman is portraying the events happening over the course of Quentins late teens and early twenties, but It did become a little frustrating as a reader.
The end of the plot was bitter sweet and did not follow the typical ‘all live happily ever after’ ending that you would expect from this type of tale. Ultimately the book ends on a cliff hanger and left me wanting to know more about what happened next. To me this makes the book a success.
Quentin, the main character within the novel is not your usual hero, being the high achieving teenager who could never quite best his peers, is fixated by a Narnia style story from his child hood (Fillory), which he could never quite overcome. The narrative shares Quentins journey from joining a magical college, making friends to early adulthood and finding that Fillory is real.
Despite the obvious links to other stories, Lev Grossman intelligently uses his story to explore a range of issues such as sexuality and depression, making his characters more relatable to the reader. The villains and events in the story are a lot more sinister than you might expect from a tale that combines so many of our childhood favourites, demonstrating Grossmans clever use in adult emotions. All of this succeeds in engaging the reader even further.
Although this was a book I enjoyed reading from start to finish, I did find the pace was a little fast at times, speeding from one time period in Quentins life to another. I realise that this is because Lev Grossman is portraying the events happening over the course of Quentins late teens and early twenties, but It did become a little frustrating as a reader.
The end of the plot was bitter sweet and did not follow the typical ‘all live happily ever after’ ending that you would expect from this type of tale. Ultimately the book ends on a cliff hanger and left me wanting to know more about what happened next. To me this makes the book a success.
Leigh J (71 KP) rated Death Becomes Her (1992) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
An ageless Black Comedy
Helen is a struggling Writer who has gone with her Fiance, successful Plastic Surgeon Ernest Menville, to see an old friend/enemies Theatrical Show. The friend in question is an aging starlet by the name of Madeleine. Backstage, Madeleine and Ernest have an instant chemistry and despite reassuring Helen otherwise, Ernest and Madeleine eventually get Married; which sents Helen into a spiral of severe depression and overeating.
7 years later... Madeleine is middle aged and in an unhappy Marriage with the now Undertaker Ernest. Things are at an all time low when they recieve an Invitation to Helen's Book Party... the title of her book being "Forever Young". Desperate and in need of some rejuvenation, Madeleine goes to her usual clinic for some anti-aging therapy, and explodes in anger when they have no further options for her. This is when the Boss of the Spa approaches Madeleine and gives her the business card of Lisle Von Rhuman and explains that only a select group of people can consult with this woman. Madeleine brushes the whole incident off... until she sees Helen at the party. Helen is vibrant, more skinny and more beautiful and, shockingly, looks much younger than Madeleine. Madeleine is furious and, upon discovering her young bit on the side is sleeping with a younger woman, pays Lisle Von Rhuman a visit. Who is this mysterious woman and what exactly can she offer to Madeleine as a miracle cure to aging? And could this also be Helen's secret to her youth? Also, what are Helen and Ernest plotting behind Madeleine's back? And what will the disasterous condequences be when they finally confront each other?
I saw Death Becomes Her as a kid and was really taken with it; I loved the mysterious, '40s Starlet ways of Lisle Von Rhuman, I loved how elegant the Movie looks whilst also delivering on the Horror and the (very Black, very tongue in cheek) Comedy. It's so stand apart, I've never ever seen another like Death Becomes Her and it's a Movie I hope is enjoyed for generations to come. It's wonderful.
7 years later... Madeleine is middle aged and in an unhappy Marriage with the now Undertaker Ernest. Things are at an all time low when they recieve an Invitation to Helen's Book Party... the title of her book being "Forever Young". Desperate and in need of some rejuvenation, Madeleine goes to her usual clinic for some anti-aging therapy, and explodes in anger when they have no further options for her. This is when the Boss of the Spa approaches Madeleine and gives her the business card of Lisle Von Rhuman and explains that only a select group of people can consult with this woman. Madeleine brushes the whole incident off... until she sees Helen at the party. Helen is vibrant, more skinny and more beautiful and, shockingly, looks much younger than Madeleine. Madeleine is furious and, upon discovering her young bit on the side is sleeping with a younger woman, pays Lisle Von Rhuman a visit. Who is this mysterious woman and what exactly can she offer to Madeleine as a miracle cure to aging? And could this also be Helen's secret to her youth? Also, what are Helen and Ernest plotting behind Madeleine's back? And what will the disasterous condequences be when they finally confront each other?
I saw Death Becomes Her as a kid and was really taken with it; I loved the mysterious, '40s Starlet ways of Lisle Von Rhuman, I loved how elegant the Movie looks whilst also delivering on the Horror and the (very Black, very tongue in cheek) Comedy. It's so stand apart, I've never ever seen another like Death Becomes Her and it's a Movie I hope is enjoyed for generations to come. It's wonderful.
Breaking the Silence: My Journey of Discovery as Transformative Surgery Allowed Me to Hear for the First Time
Book
Imagine for a moment that you have never heard the voices of those you love, the music on the radio,...
City of Gangs: Glasgow and the Rise of the British Gangster
Book
'A new type of criminal is in our midst - a dangerous, ruthless, well-armed man, who will stick at...
Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness
Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out...
Luck or Something Like it: A Memoir
Book
For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved...
No Ordinary Woman: The Life of Edith Penrose
Book
Edith Penrose was a remarkable woman and distinguished scholar who lived through, and witnessed at...
PT
Piercing the Horizon: The Making of a Twentieth-Century American Space Luminary
Book
We all know the names: Grissom, Armstrong, Cernan-legends of the space age whose names resonate with...
A Better Me: The Official Autobiography
Book
'This is the book I wished I'd had to turn to.' Gary BarlowGary Barlow is one of the most successful...