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ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Glassmaker in Books
Sep 2, 2025
This imaginative story begins in Murano, 1486 at the height of the Italian Renaissance, and ends in the modern day - and all with the same characters. And the thing is, never at any point did I feel that it was far fetched.
Murano comes across as a magical place, both in its ability to make beautiful pieces of art from glass, and also its ability to keep those who live there in a kind of time warp or stasis. If you live on Murano, you don’t age.
Such is the case with the main character, Orsola Rosso.
We join her family when she is 9 years old and her father dies suddenly. Her brother struggles with the responsibility and skills needed to run the business - that is until a rival matriarch teaches the Rosso women (via Orsola) how to make glass beads.
I loved how real people from history were brought into the story (Casanova and Josephine Bonaparte, amongst others), and how when time jumped hundreds of years, Orsola only aged a few in that time. We see how Italy changes over time, how it modernises and how climate change endangers both lives and livelihoods.
The story and characters felt as vibrant as the glass beads. This was such a refreshing, different read. Just outstanding 🤷🏼‍♀️
Murano comes across as a magical place, both in its ability to make beautiful pieces of art from glass, and also its ability to keep those who live there in a kind of time warp or stasis. If you live on Murano, you don’t age.
Such is the case with the main character, Orsola Rosso.
We join her family when she is 9 years old and her father dies suddenly. Her brother struggles with the responsibility and skills needed to run the business - that is until a rival matriarch teaches the Rosso women (via Orsola) how to make glass beads.
I loved how real people from history were brought into the story (Casanova and Josephine Bonaparte, amongst others), and how when time jumped hundreds of years, Orsola only aged a few in that time. We see how Italy changes over time, how it modernises and how climate change endangers both lives and livelihoods.
The story and characters felt as vibrant as the glass beads. This was such a refreshing, different read. Just outstanding 🤷🏼‍♀️
The Better Angels of Our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity
Book
-Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2012 This acclaimed book by Steven Pinker, author of The...
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Wojtek: War Hero Bear in Books
Sep 24, 2020
More reviews at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
Well, I think this book is classified as a children’s read, but I noticed, that you should have pretty good knowledge in history, in order to understand what is going on in here. I picked up this book after reading a Holocaust memoir, so it was a very nice continuation to my reading theme. 😀
When Piotr, a polish soldier, discovers an abandoned bear cub, he decides to take him along on his journey to Palestine. But he discovers, that after losing his family to the Soviet regimen, Piotr feels very lonely, and Wojtek’s presence comforts not only him but other soldiers as well. I really liked the characters in this book, I found them charming, warm and pleasant personalities. I really enjoyed that author used multiple perspectives in this novel, I really loved reading Wojtek’s parts, I found them cute and funny. I loved the parts, were author shared Piotr’s story with the readers. It is a very sad story involving concentration camps and betrayal, but these parts made the whole book more complex and more interesting for me. (as an adult with some knowledge of history…)
The narrative follows the army squad accompanied by Wojtek, through their journeys in the middle east, and is very fun to read. I have to agree, Wojtek is a very funny and smart bear, and I loved all his mishaps. The author has done a great research for this novel, however, sometimes it felt like reading a history book, filled with war terminology and facts. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the pictures, Tim Archbold did a great job on them. I am glad that every chapter had a picture, and I was curious to find out, which scene from that chapter he decided to illustrate. 🙂
The writing style of this book was pretty straightforward, and it was quite easy and enjoyable for me. The chapters were a decent length and the pictures helped to make it more entertaining and playful. I did enjoy the setting of this book, it changes continuously, bringing in different scenery and atmosphere. I think that the ending was very realistic and believable for this novel, but some aspects left me a little bit upset with Piotr. So, to conclude, It is a great read for children as well as adults, especially if your child is learning about WWII, I think it would widen up their knowledge and you would have great fun reading it as well. Win-win situation. 😀 This novel has amusing characters as well as lots of serious and fun moments, and I do recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy 🙂
Well, I think this book is classified as a children’s read, but I noticed, that you should have pretty good knowledge in history, in order to understand what is going on in here. I picked up this book after reading a Holocaust memoir, so it was a very nice continuation to my reading theme. 😀
When Piotr, a polish soldier, discovers an abandoned bear cub, he decides to take him along on his journey to Palestine. But he discovers, that after losing his family to the Soviet regimen, Piotr feels very lonely, and Wojtek’s presence comforts not only him but other soldiers as well. I really liked the characters in this book, I found them charming, warm and pleasant personalities. I really enjoyed that author used multiple perspectives in this novel, I really loved reading Wojtek’s parts, I found them cute and funny. I loved the parts, were author shared Piotr’s story with the readers. It is a very sad story involving concentration camps and betrayal, but these parts made the whole book more complex and more interesting for me. (as an adult with some knowledge of history…)
The narrative follows the army squad accompanied by Wojtek, through their journeys in the middle east, and is very fun to read. I have to agree, Wojtek is a very funny and smart bear, and I loved all his mishaps. The author has done a great research for this novel, however, sometimes it felt like reading a history book, filled with war terminology and facts. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the pictures, Tim Archbold did a great job on them. I am glad that every chapter had a picture, and I was curious to find out, which scene from that chapter he decided to illustrate. 🙂
The writing style of this book was pretty straightforward, and it was quite easy and enjoyable for me. The chapters were a decent length and the pictures helped to make it more entertaining and playful. I did enjoy the setting of this book, it changes continuously, bringing in different scenery and atmosphere. I think that the ending was very realistic and believable for this novel, but some aspects left me a little bit upset with Piotr. So, to conclude, It is a great read for children as well as adults, especially if your child is learning about WWII, I think it would widen up their knowledge and you would have great fun reading it as well. Win-win situation. 😀 This novel has amusing characters as well as lots of serious and fun moments, and I do recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy 🙂
Darren (1599 KP) rated Robert The Bruce (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Story: Robert the Bruce starts after William Wallace is defeated, Robert the Bruce (Macfadyen) and John Comyn (Harris) are fighting for control of Scotland, with John coming up the winner, Robert isn’t willing to take this defeat laying down, with his loyal soldiers James Douglas (Murtagh) planning to take Scotland back.
With Robert injured, Morag (Hutchison) and her family discover him, nursing him back to health despite being in a heavily Comyn control area, with Brandubh (McGowan) hunting down anyone who supporting Robert the Bruce, he must regain his strength to take his rightful place on the throne of Scotland.
Thoughts on Robert the Bruce
Characters – Robert the Bruce is the man that was crowned king of Scotland after the English were defeated, he wasn’t everybody’s first choice, which sees him needing to fight for his place on the throne, which sees him being left for dead, while his opposition takes control of the land, eliminating anybody who supports him. John Comyn is the other man that believes he could be king of Scotland, he has taken control in the battle against Robert, which sees him continuing to use the connections with English, much to anger of the Scots. Morag is the single mother that saw her husband killed fighting for Robert, she must raise her children believing John is the rightful ruler, either if her stories tell of Robert’s bravery. Brandubh is related to Morag, he is willing to kill anybody that doesn’t fight for his own country, which sees him trying to hunt down Robert the Bruce.
Performances – Angus Macfadyen reprises his former role of Robert the Bruce, one he played in Braveheart, he brings us a wise leader performance through the film. Jared Harris might have a supporting role, but after this year, you want to pause and watch any scene this man is in. Anna Hutchison does bring us a stronger performance than you would expect from her, with her getting to show that she can handle a serious role. Zach McGowan does a lot of the heavy lifting in this film, he is the one that gets to handle the most action through the film, with him being the villain for large parts of the film which otherwise would involve less action.
Story – The story here follows Robert the Bruce who became of the King of Scotland in the aftermath of the William Wallace battles against the English. Now this is set up to be some what of a sequel to Braveheart, which it is only in continuing a story, not in film story. we do play into the idea of how Scotland was left in the unknown after the battle, with two people fighting for the leadership, with the people left divided and calm required to make the land complete once again. The pacing of the story does come off slow in places which doesn’t help because, it is mostly a mother trying to prove to her children who should be king, and who they should tell people they respect more to remain safe. If you know your history the end of the film isn’t going to be a mystery to you and it does feel like there could have been a bigger impact with certain things that happen in this story.
History – This is a history lesson to the people that wanted to know more historic accuracy behind Scotland’s independence from England, unlike what Braveheart did.
Settings – The film does make us feel like we are in part of Scotland, we get to see how the condition made the events of the film difficult for the men fighting for the rightful cause.
Scene of the Movie – The crown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is about 30 minutes too long for everything that is told in this story.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at the history of Robert the Bruce and his rise to become king of Scotland, seeing how he overcame odds to take his place on the throne. Everything is acted well, never looking out of place.
Overall: History lesson.
With Robert injured, Morag (Hutchison) and her family discover him, nursing him back to health despite being in a heavily Comyn control area, with Brandubh (McGowan) hunting down anyone who supporting Robert the Bruce, he must regain his strength to take his rightful place on the throne of Scotland.
Thoughts on Robert the Bruce
Characters – Robert the Bruce is the man that was crowned king of Scotland after the English were defeated, he wasn’t everybody’s first choice, which sees him needing to fight for his place on the throne, which sees him being left for dead, while his opposition takes control of the land, eliminating anybody who supports him. John Comyn is the other man that believes he could be king of Scotland, he has taken control in the battle against Robert, which sees him continuing to use the connections with English, much to anger of the Scots. Morag is the single mother that saw her husband killed fighting for Robert, she must raise her children believing John is the rightful ruler, either if her stories tell of Robert’s bravery. Brandubh is related to Morag, he is willing to kill anybody that doesn’t fight for his own country, which sees him trying to hunt down Robert the Bruce.
Performances – Angus Macfadyen reprises his former role of Robert the Bruce, one he played in Braveheart, he brings us a wise leader performance through the film. Jared Harris might have a supporting role, but after this year, you want to pause and watch any scene this man is in. Anna Hutchison does bring us a stronger performance than you would expect from her, with her getting to show that she can handle a serious role. Zach McGowan does a lot of the heavy lifting in this film, he is the one that gets to handle the most action through the film, with him being the villain for large parts of the film which otherwise would involve less action.
Story – The story here follows Robert the Bruce who became of the King of Scotland in the aftermath of the William Wallace battles against the English. Now this is set up to be some what of a sequel to Braveheart, which it is only in continuing a story, not in film story. we do play into the idea of how Scotland was left in the unknown after the battle, with two people fighting for the leadership, with the people left divided and calm required to make the land complete once again. The pacing of the story does come off slow in places which doesn’t help because, it is mostly a mother trying to prove to her children who should be king, and who they should tell people they respect more to remain safe. If you know your history the end of the film isn’t going to be a mystery to you and it does feel like there could have been a bigger impact with certain things that happen in this story.
History – This is a history lesson to the people that wanted to know more historic accuracy behind Scotland’s independence from England, unlike what Braveheart did.
Settings – The film does make us feel like we are in part of Scotland, we get to see how the condition made the events of the film difficult for the men fighting for the rightful cause.
Scene of the Movie – The crown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is about 30 minutes too long for everything that is told in this story.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting look at the history of Robert the Bruce and his rise to become king of Scotland, seeing how he overcame odds to take his place on the throne. Everything is acted well, never looking out of place.
Overall: History lesson.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Vacation (2015) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Family holidays will never be the same
It was 1983 when Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo made the infamous decision to take their family across the US to “America’s Favourite Family Fun Park” in National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Being the best in the long-running series, it seemed natural for it to receive a fully-fledged sequel of some kind, but it has taken up until now to get the balance right, but does Vacation evoke memories of that brilliant road-trip comedy?
Ed Helms takes on the role of an adult Rusty Griswold as he, like his father makes the epic trip to Walley World theme park alongside his long-suffering wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and his two sons James and Kevin, played by Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins respectively.
Everybody’s favourite thunder-god, Chris Hemsworth makes a rather revealing cameo as Rusty’s brother-in-law and ladies’ man, Stone Crandall, and helps lift Vacation out of what could have been a half-way lull.
Naturally, there are many tasteful references to its predecessor but this isn’t just a lesson in comedy history. Writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley inject some much-needed modern humour into the film – this is most definitely a movie from the 21st Century.
Ed Helms and Christina Applegate have real chemistry as the married couple but it is in their children that most of the laughs are. James and Kevin are the stereotypical, bickering siblings but like everything in Vacation they are turned up to eleven.
From raw sewage infested hot springs to a would-be maniac truck driver, the gags on the whole hit the spot every single time – by no means an easy feat when writing a comedy over 90 minutes in length. There are a couple of ill-placed laughs like a Four Corners police brawl that threaten to stop the film in its tracks, but thankfully these are few and far between.
Short but sweet cameos for Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo towards the climax anchor Vacation to what came before it and it’s nice that the writers didn’t forget to honour those roots in more ways than sickly nostalgia.
The direction is also positively inspired. Acting like a tourist brochure for the USA, Vacation makes you feel like you’re part of the vast locations. From desolate highways to bustling cities, it’s all here and beautifully shot.
Unfortunately the plot seems to run a little out of steam towards the end. After all, there’s only so much déjà vu a story can take and it seems that the writers put all their best work in the first two thirds of the movie, as is the case with many films in the genre.
Nevertheless, Vacation is a confident film that knows exactly what it’s trying to be. Acting as a standalone comedy for newcomers and a decent sequel for fans of the original, it has something for everyone.
The acting is sublime and the casting choices are spot on, only a lacklustre final third pull it back from the edge of glory.
I probably won’t be planning that road trip any time soon.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/23/family-holidays-will-never-be-the-same-vacation-review/
Being the best in the long-running series, it seemed natural for it to receive a fully-fledged sequel of some kind, but it has taken up until now to get the balance right, but does Vacation evoke memories of that brilliant road-trip comedy?
Ed Helms takes on the role of an adult Rusty Griswold as he, like his father makes the epic trip to Walley World theme park alongside his long-suffering wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and his two sons James and Kevin, played by Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins respectively.
Everybody’s favourite thunder-god, Chris Hemsworth makes a rather revealing cameo as Rusty’s brother-in-law and ladies’ man, Stone Crandall, and helps lift Vacation out of what could have been a half-way lull.
Naturally, there are many tasteful references to its predecessor but this isn’t just a lesson in comedy history. Writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley inject some much-needed modern humour into the film – this is most definitely a movie from the 21st Century.
Ed Helms and Christina Applegate have real chemistry as the married couple but it is in their children that most of the laughs are. James and Kevin are the stereotypical, bickering siblings but like everything in Vacation they are turned up to eleven.
From raw sewage infested hot springs to a would-be maniac truck driver, the gags on the whole hit the spot every single time – by no means an easy feat when writing a comedy over 90 minutes in length. There are a couple of ill-placed laughs like a Four Corners police brawl that threaten to stop the film in its tracks, but thankfully these are few and far between.
Short but sweet cameos for Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo towards the climax anchor Vacation to what came before it and it’s nice that the writers didn’t forget to honour those roots in more ways than sickly nostalgia.
The direction is also positively inspired. Acting like a tourist brochure for the USA, Vacation makes you feel like you’re part of the vast locations. From desolate highways to bustling cities, it’s all here and beautifully shot.
Unfortunately the plot seems to run a little out of steam towards the end. After all, there’s only so much déjà vu a story can take and it seems that the writers put all their best work in the first two thirds of the movie, as is the case with many films in the genre.
Nevertheless, Vacation is a confident film that knows exactly what it’s trying to be. Acting as a standalone comedy for newcomers and a decent sequel for fans of the original, it has something for everyone.
The acting is sublime and the casting choices are spot on, only a lacklustre final third pull it back from the edge of glory.
I probably won’t be planning that road trip any time soon.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/23/family-holidays-will-never-be-the-same-vacation-review/
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times
8.0
Rate It
Book
From Sarah Bradford, the best-selling author of George VI, Elizabeth and Diana, the definitive...
Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz, a European: A Biography
T.H. Meyer and Terry M. Boardman
Book
Finally available in English, Thomas Meyer's major biography of Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz (1869-1945)...
What is Feminism? Why Do We Need it? and Other Big Questions
Louise Spilsbury and Bea Appleby
Book
What is feminism? Why do we need it? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? The word 'feminism'...
The Naked Guide to Cider: Not All Guide Books are the Same
James Russell, Jones Richard and Joe Burt
Book
Now, fully revised and updated, the third edition of The Naked Guide to Cider includes more than 200...
HI
How it Feels to be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement
Book
Winner of the Benjamin L. Hooks National Book Award Winnter of the Michael Nelson Prize of the...