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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Spilt Milk in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
<i>Spilt Milk</i> is the second historical novel by Amanda Hodgkinson, award-winning British author of <i>22 Britannia Road</i>. Split into two parts it follows the lives of two sisters over several decades during the first half of the twentieth century. Set in Britain, this is a novel about relationships, family, secrets… and illegitimate pregnancies. Lots of illegitimate pregnancies.
The first part spans from 1913 until 1917 thus covering the First World War period. The second part picks up the storyline in 1939 and continues until the novel’s final pages set in 1965. So yet another world war is included, although it has little impact on the plot. The first chapter is almost like the calm before the storm. Everything appears peaceful and happy until everything spirals out of control. Vivian and Nellie Marsh (aged twenty three and twenty two) have been raised by their older sister Rose in a small farmhouse since the death of their parents when Nellie was a baby. We first meet Nellie rinsing chamber pots outside where she has a feeling that something is going to happen; something good, she hopes. Alas, it turns out it was a bad feeling after all as floodwaters rise and Rose dies. The only apparent good thing is the arrival of a hired farm hand, Joe Ferier. But no, that is also a bad occurrence that leaves one sister pregnant and the other temporarily homeless.
Over the years we see how the sisters deal with the way in which their lives have drastically changed up until Nellie has a child with her husbands brother. Luckily her husband is willing to pass the child off as his own, and so Nellie, unlike the other secret pregnancies in this story, actually gets to keep her love child.
At the start of part two, Nellie’s daughter Bertha (commonly known as Birdie) is eighteen years old and finds herself – can you guess? – pregnant after a one night stand. So that it can remain secret she goes to live with her Aunt Vivian until the baby is born and adopted. Vivian ends up housing many girls including a couple of minor characters who have got themselves in a similar way. I did say there were a lot of illegitimate pregnancies! It also comes to light that supposedly innocent, spinster Rose had not one but two babies during her teenage years.
The remainder of the novel shows us how the girls: Nellie, Vivian and Birdie; get on with their lives under the burden of their personal secrets and emotions. It is Birdie who struggles the most with the knowledge that her daughter is growing up without her but to talk to anyone about it would have deep consequences.
The size of the time period means that the reader can become attached to certain key characters and feel their pain as they struggle with their emotional afflictions, however each scene passes quickly as time goes on which means we do not really get to appreciate the minor characters.
Overall it is a good, reasonably quick read which many women would enjoy, particularly those who appreciate historical fiction and may have sisters of their own and therefore understand what the power of keeping secrets can result in.
<i>Spilt Milk</i> is the second historical novel by Amanda Hodgkinson, award-winning British author of <i>22 Britannia Road</i>. Split into two parts it follows the lives of two sisters over several decades during the first half of the twentieth century. Set in Britain, this is a novel about relationships, family, secrets… and illegitimate pregnancies. Lots of illegitimate pregnancies.
The first part spans from 1913 until 1917 thus covering the First World War period. The second part picks up the storyline in 1939 and continues until the novel’s final pages set in 1965. So yet another world war is included, although it has little impact on the plot. The first chapter is almost like the calm before the storm. Everything appears peaceful and happy until everything spirals out of control. Vivian and Nellie Marsh (aged twenty three and twenty two) have been raised by their older sister Rose in a small farmhouse since the death of their parents when Nellie was a baby. We first meet Nellie rinsing chamber pots outside where she has a feeling that something is going to happen; something good, she hopes. Alas, it turns out it was a bad feeling after all as floodwaters rise and Rose dies. The only apparent good thing is the arrival of a hired farm hand, Joe Ferier. But no, that is also a bad occurrence that leaves one sister pregnant and the other temporarily homeless.
Over the years we see how the sisters deal with the way in which their lives have drastically changed up until Nellie has a child with her husbands brother. Luckily her husband is willing to pass the child off as his own, and so Nellie, unlike the other secret pregnancies in this story, actually gets to keep her love child.
At the start of part two, Nellie’s daughter Bertha (commonly known as Birdie) is eighteen years old and finds herself – can you guess? – pregnant after a one night stand. So that it can remain secret she goes to live with her Aunt Vivian until the baby is born and adopted. Vivian ends up housing many girls including a couple of minor characters who have got themselves in a similar way. I did say there were a lot of illegitimate pregnancies! It also comes to light that supposedly innocent, spinster Rose had not one but two babies during her teenage years.
The remainder of the novel shows us how the girls: Nellie, Vivian and Birdie; get on with their lives under the burden of their personal secrets and emotions. It is Birdie who struggles the most with the knowledge that her daughter is growing up without her but to talk to anyone about it would have deep consequences.
The size of the time period means that the reader can become attached to certain key characters and feel their pain as they struggle with their emotional afflictions, however each scene passes quickly as time goes on which means we do not really get to appreciate the minor characters.
Overall it is a good, reasonably quick read which many women would enjoy, particularly those who appreciate historical fiction and may have sisters of their own and therefore understand what the power of keeping secrets can result in.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Brightburn (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Superheroes and villains are a subject close to my heart, I enjoy speculating on the good and bad potential of superpowers, so to have the bad Superman story laid out like this is very interesting to experience.
Having a bad Superman would have been good, but switching it to a child automatically knocks the "scary" up a notch, something we saw earlier in the year in The Prodigy.
Tori and Kyle Breyer are desperately trying to have a baby, their lives start to revolve around the idea when one night the Earth literally moves for them and a meteor hits their farm. Ten years later and Tori and Kyle have their adopted son, Brandon, but growing up comes with some unexpected twists.
Brightburn's trailer makes it very clear that what we're going to see is a Superman-style childhood but the film is actually not so blatant. In fact, everything about the pre-release information tells you exactly what you're going to get while the film alone actually leaves it to your imagination. You have to make assumptions and educated guesses about what's going to happen. It's a bit of a shame that there's really no successful way to advertise this film without pointing out the obvious.
Elizabeth Banks (eternally young and possibly getting younger) plays Tori, Brandon's mum. The terror she gets across while still retaining a mother's love is spot on and great to watch on screen. In particular there's a scene where she discovers Brandon's notebook and the way she reacts made me react, and twisting that scene with the side story of Brandon and his dad was so effective.
I have one fault when it comes to horror, and that's that I can't take it seriously, luckily lots of people in my screening felt the same way too. While there were a couple of moments that went for actual humour I found myself laughing at some of the gore too. It was the same reaction as I get from extreme action scenes, an extended "oooooooh!" with a slight wince and then laughing. I can't help it, it's just funny.
Brightburn is probably an easier horror to see as the scary moments are mostly predictable so you could close your eyes in time for the bad bits if you wanted too, a lot are prefixed with something ominous in the background to prepare you.
One moment that made me jump was actually not a scary piece, it was the moment Brandon realises he's different. You already know part of his discovery if you've seen the trailer and yet again this film then tweaks that moment to give you something a little different.
The way they use light and dark is great because it allows things to creep up on you, quite literally, and highlights the evil that is starting to permeate the town.
It surprises me that I enjoyed this one as much as I did. I think the action moments probably holds up a lot of it. I like the idea, but I'm not convinced that it was created as well as it could have been. I was impressed that they didn't step back from the violent moments though, Brightburn is ballsy, and I like it for that.
[Note: Stay to see some clips into the credits.]
What you should do
If you like horror then I think it's a fairly good offering to see, it's probably also a good crossover if you're more into superheroes.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd love the aunt's house but without the creepy added extras.
Having a bad Superman would have been good, but switching it to a child automatically knocks the "scary" up a notch, something we saw earlier in the year in The Prodigy.
Tori and Kyle Breyer are desperately trying to have a baby, their lives start to revolve around the idea when one night the Earth literally moves for them and a meteor hits their farm. Ten years later and Tori and Kyle have their adopted son, Brandon, but growing up comes with some unexpected twists.
Brightburn's trailer makes it very clear that what we're going to see is a Superman-style childhood but the film is actually not so blatant. In fact, everything about the pre-release information tells you exactly what you're going to get while the film alone actually leaves it to your imagination. You have to make assumptions and educated guesses about what's going to happen. It's a bit of a shame that there's really no successful way to advertise this film without pointing out the obvious.
Elizabeth Banks (eternally young and possibly getting younger) plays Tori, Brandon's mum. The terror she gets across while still retaining a mother's love is spot on and great to watch on screen. In particular there's a scene where she discovers Brandon's notebook and the way she reacts made me react, and twisting that scene with the side story of Brandon and his dad was so effective.
I have one fault when it comes to horror, and that's that I can't take it seriously, luckily lots of people in my screening felt the same way too. While there were a couple of moments that went for actual humour I found myself laughing at some of the gore too. It was the same reaction as I get from extreme action scenes, an extended "oooooooh!" with a slight wince and then laughing. I can't help it, it's just funny.
Brightburn is probably an easier horror to see as the scary moments are mostly predictable so you could close your eyes in time for the bad bits if you wanted too, a lot are prefixed with something ominous in the background to prepare you.
One moment that made me jump was actually not a scary piece, it was the moment Brandon realises he's different. You already know part of his discovery if you've seen the trailer and yet again this film then tweaks that moment to give you something a little different.
The way they use light and dark is great because it allows things to creep up on you, quite literally, and highlights the evil that is starting to permeate the town.
It surprises me that I enjoyed this one as much as I did. I think the action moments probably holds up a lot of it. I like the idea, but I'm not convinced that it was created as well as it could have been. I was impressed that they didn't step back from the violent moments though, Brightburn is ballsy, and I like it for that.
[Note: Stay to see some clips into the credits.]
What you should do
If you like horror then I think it's a fairly good offering to see, it's probably also a good crossover if you're more into superheroes.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd love the aunt's house but without the creepy added extras.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated I Will Find You in Books
Jan 9, 2020
I Will Find You by John M. Taylor is a painfully beautiful story of one boys love for his mother and his journey to be reunited with her. He travels from England to Australia and spends some time in the outback as well as aboard ships before returning home.
Nick Thorne, once Robbie Spalding lived in England where his father was part of the Airforce during the war. When his fathers plane is shot down his mother joins the Land Army but she falls and suffers a major injurer. Nick is taken to an orphanage temporarily and only learns of his mothers death when he is told he is being sent to a family in Australia. When he gets to Australia he finds no family is waiting, instead, he is taken to Clontarf where the Brothers beat, neglect, and abuse the boys. When Nick turned thirteen he was sent to a Church Farm to work but it was just like Clontarf, it was here that he managed to escape.
With the help of an Aboriginal boy, Gidga, Nick survives the Australian outback and makes his way to the Aboriginals village. Even though Nick likes the Aboriginal people he still believes his mother is alive and leaves to go find her. His journey is not an easy one as he signs on with fishing ships, understanding that he wont be able to do anything without money. Most of the time it appears that he will never find anything out about his parents or his past because it seems that none of the departments he is directed to can help him. To make matters worse no one wants to take responsibility for his old records. In a final attempt to find anything out Nick goes back to his old hometown in England.
I enjoyed all the twists and surprises in Nicks life. I wanted to keep reading to find out where Nick would find himself and who he would meet there. Nick is also the type of character where the reader is emotionally connected to his story right away. What I did not care for was the fact that there was a joke on page two hundred and eighty that I did not understand at all. While that does not affect my overall opinion of the book I feel I am not the only one confused. Also when Nick starts trying to track down his records things get very repetitive. I can only imagine the frustration he felt as I was frustrated by just reading it over again multiple times.
The book is designed with adult readers in mind. There were numerous events in the book such as boys having to share a bed with one of their caretakers or being beaten to the point of passing out that was hard to read. With that in mind, this book is more suited for mature readers. Overall I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4. This book offers tragedy and hope at the same time. The back of the book even offers some factual information about what happened to other children like Nick who were sent to Australia.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
Nick Thorne, once Robbie Spalding lived in England where his father was part of the Airforce during the war. When his fathers plane is shot down his mother joins the Land Army but she falls and suffers a major injurer. Nick is taken to an orphanage temporarily and only learns of his mothers death when he is told he is being sent to a family in Australia. When he gets to Australia he finds no family is waiting, instead, he is taken to Clontarf where the Brothers beat, neglect, and abuse the boys. When Nick turned thirteen he was sent to a Church Farm to work but it was just like Clontarf, it was here that he managed to escape.
With the help of an Aboriginal boy, Gidga, Nick survives the Australian outback and makes his way to the Aboriginals village. Even though Nick likes the Aboriginal people he still believes his mother is alive and leaves to go find her. His journey is not an easy one as he signs on with fishing ships, understanding that he wont be able to do anything without money. Most of the time it appears that he will never find anything out about his parents or his past because it seems that none of the departments he is directed to can help him. To make matters worse no one wants to take responsibility for his old records. In a final attempt to find anything out Nick goes back to his old hometown in England.
I enjoyed all the twists and surprises in Nicks life. I wanted to keep reading to find out where Nick would find himself and who he would meet there. Nick is also the type of character where the reader is emotionally connected to his story right away. What I did not care for was the fact that there was a joke on page two hundred and eighty that I did not understand at all. While that does not affect my overall opinion of the book I feel I am not the only one confused. Also when Nick starts trying to track down his records things get very repetitive. I can only imagine the frustration he felt as I was frustrated by just reading it over again multiple times.
The book is designed with adult readers in mind. There were numerous events in the book such as boys having to share a bed with one of their caretakers or being beaten to the point of passing out that was hard to read. With that in mind, this book is more suited for mature readers. Overall I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4. This book offers tragedy and hope at the same time. The back of the book even offers some factual information about what happened to other children like Nick who were sent to Australia.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Irresistible (2020) in Movies
Jun 23, 2020
Jon Stewart has been fairly quiet since his retirement from The Daily Show. In a recent interview with Howard Stern he talked about being content on a farm for rescued animals and enjoying more time with his family. He also sent to that he would be doing projects that interested him. In “Irresistible” Stewart working as both Writer and Director has crafted a funny, informative, and expansive look at the political process.
Steve Carell stars as Gary Zimmer; a senior advisor to the Clinton’s who is still smarting over the recent election particularly his insistence that the “Rust Belt” was firmly in their hands and therefore opted not to devote a significant amount of time campaigning there which in turn was a key reason for their defeat.
An online video from a small farming community in Wisconsin catches Gary’s eye as it shows a former Marine farmer named Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) challenging the local mayor at a town hall over immigration related issues and other hot topics.
Convinced that he can bring Jack over to the Democratic Party and use him as a starting point to restore the party in Wisconsin; Gary heads to the small town to make his pitch.
He quickly finds himself out of his element as the small-town community with friendly townsfolk to watch out for one another is very different than what he is used to. Gary eventually convinces Jack to run for Mayor and his involvement soon attracts the big money from the opposing side that seem to be rattled by what appears to be an insignificant small-town campaign.
Gary soon realizes that his nemesis Faith (Rose Byrne) who is his opposite for the Republican Party.
Gary and Faith have a clear history with one another and there is clearly plenty of animosity between them as each one is determined to succeed and broke their success in the face of the other.
As the campaign unfolds viewers are given a very direct look at how the political machine works from polling, demographics, special interests, fund raising, campaigning, muckraking, and using the media.
While this is often presented in a humorous way; Stewart uses a lot of simple but direct approaches to the various topics as he did on The Daily Show as a basis for further discussion.
The film takes some unexpected twists as it unfolds and the conclusion helps underscore that all parties involved often have an angle that they’re trying to work. One of the biggest messages that I took from the film was that the amount of money poured into campaigns has become more about one side beating the other rather than addressing the issues and putting the best possible people forward to represent the population.
Stewart handles the very complicated topics of the film through humor but above all used generally likable characters on all sides. Nobody was truly evil and you could clearly see much of their motivations.
The closing credits contains an interview with a political expert who discusses Superpacs and their lack of oversight and how people with ulterior motives can generate large amounts of money by manipulating the system completely within the law.
From a strong cast and entertaining story. Stewart has crafted a very solid and enjoyable film that will make you think.
Steve Carell stars as Gary Zimmer; a senior advisor to the Clinton’s who is still smarting over the recent election particularly his insistence that the “Rust Belt” was firmly in their hands and therefore opted not to devote a significant amount of time campaigning there which in turn was a key reason for their defeat.
An online video from a small farming community in Wisconsin catches Gary’s eye as it shows a former Marine farmer named Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) challenging the local mayor at a town hall over immigration related issues and other hot topics.
Convinced that he can bring Jack over to the Democratic Party and use him as a starting point to restore the party in Wisconsin; Gary heads to the small town to make his pitch.
He quickly finds himself out of his element as the small-town community with friendly townsfolk to watch out for one another is very different than what he is used to. Gary eventually convinces Jack to run for Mayor and his involvement soon attracts the big money from the opposing side that seem to be rattled by what appears to be an insignificant small-town campaign.
Gary soon realizes that his nemesis Faith (Rose Byrne) who is his opposite for the Republican Party.
Gary and Faith have a clear history with one another and there is clearly plenty of animosity between them as each one is determined to succeed and broke their success in the face of the other.
As the campaign unfolds viewers are given a very direct look at how the political machine works from polling, demographics, special interests, fund raising, campaigning, muckraking, and using the media.
While this is often presented in a humorous way; Stewart uses a lot of simple but direct approaches to the various topics as he did on The Daily Show as a basis for further discussion.
The film takes some unexpected twists as it unfolds and the conclusion helps underscore that all parties involved often have an angle that they’re trying to work. One of the biggest messages that I took from the film was that the amount of money poured into campaigns has become more about one side beating the other rather than addressing the issues and putting the best possible people forward to represent the population.
Stewart handles the very complicated topics of the film through humor but above all used generally likable characters on all sides. Nobody was truly evil and you could clearly see much of their motivations.
The closing credits contains an interview with a political expert who discusses Superpacs and their lack of oversight and how people with ulterior motives can generate large amounts of money by manipulating the system completely within the law.
From a strong cast and entertaining story. Stewart has crafted a very solid and enjoyable film that will make you think.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Minari (2020) in Movies
Apr 23, 2021
Ensemble cast acting (2 more)
Music and Cinematography
Engrossing story
A Korean Hillbilly Elegy, done right
In "Minari", a struggling Korean immigrant family - the Yi's led by Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri Han) - leave California for Arkansas farmland to seek a better life. While employed sexing chicks at a factory, Jacob dreams of farming the land on which they live to improve their lives. But will his obsession for this dream stand between him and his family?
The tale is told through the eyes of young David (Alan S. Kim), who is struggling with a hole in the heart and doubts about his mortality. The arrival of Monica's mother (Yuh-Jung Youn) is resented by David, but the woman is wise (as well as foul mouthed) and perhaps the pair will eventually learn to respect one another?
Positives:
- Gloriously bucolic cinematography (by Lachlan Milne) frames an engrossing story of an immigrant family striving for the American dream. The fact that it is semi-biographical for the writer/director Lee Isaac Chung (also Oscar nominated for both) makes it all the more fascinating.
- All of the leading cast work fabulously as an ensemble. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn have all the Oscar nomination glory (with Youn as the Grandmother odds-on to win the Supporting Actress award on Sunday). But Yeri Han is also great and the film wouldn't work unless the two child actors (Alan Kim and Noel Cho) delivered, which they do in spades.
- The music, by Emile Mosseri, is strikingly good and - deservedly - also Oscar nominated.
Negatives:
- The ending. Now, I'm all for leaving things in a thoughtful way, allowing the viewer to ponder on things. But this ending was a little too obscure for me. You need to understand (with thanks to this article) that the vegetable Minari purifies (water), grows in unfavourable soils and only really thrives in its second season. Now, forgive me for not being 'up' on my Korean plant botany, but this was too much of a leap for me. For the uninitiated (I assume 95% of the audience) the ending will feel abrupt and unsatisfying.
Summary Thoughts on "Minari":
Having watched "Hillbilly Elegy" and "Minari" on consecutive nights, I was struck by the unexpected parallels between the films (over and above the Yi's calling themselves "Hillbillies"). Both feature a dysfunctional family (though less so here). And both also feature a lead character, from an impoverished background, trying to better themselves and follow the 'American dream'. And front and centre is the growing relationship between a young boy and their grandmother.
But there the similarities end. For I just loved the simplicity of the story-telling in "Minari". No fancy flashbacks and disjointed timeline here. And a sense that you were really in on the journey of both Jacob and his farm and of the relationship between David and his Grandma.
This was heading at one point for a 10 star rating for me. But - for me anyway - the obscurity of the ending left me with a "WTF" feeling. So I've tempered my rating. Still a great film though, and recommended.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the post on One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).
The tale is told through the eyes of young David (Alan S. Kim), who is struggling with a hole in the heart and doubts about his mortality. The arrival of Monica's mother (Yuh-Jung Youn) is resented by David, but the woman is wise (as well as foul mouthed) and perhaps the pair will eventually learn to respect one another?
Positives:
- Gloriously bucolic cinematography (by Lachlan Milne) frames an engrossing story of an immigrant family striving for the American dream. The fact that it is semi-biographical for the writer/director Lee Isaac Chung (also Oscar nominated for both) makes it all the more fascinating.
- All of the leading cast work fabulously as an ensemble. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn have all the Oscar nomination glory (with Youn as the Grandmother odds-on to win the Supporting Actress award on Sunday). But Yeri Han is also great and the film wouldn't work unless the two child actors (Alan Kim and Noel Cho) delivered, which they do in spades.
- The music, by Emile Mosseri, is strikingly good and - deservedly - also Oscar nominated.
Negatives:
- The ending. Now, I'm all for leaving things in a thoughtful way, allowing the viewer to ponder on things. But this ending was a little too obscure for me. You need to understand (with thanks to this article) that the vegetable Minari purifies (water), grows in unfavourable soils and only really thrives in its second season. Now, forgive me for not being 'up' on my Korean plant botany, but this was too much of a leap for me. For the uninitiated (I assume 95% of the audience) the ending will feel abrupt and unsatisfying.
Summary Thoughts on "Minari":
Having watched "Hillbilly Elegy" and "Minari" on consecutive nights, I was struck by the unexpected parallels between the films (over and above the Yi's calling themselves "Hillbillies"). Both feature a dysfunctional family (though less so here). And both also feature a lead character, from an impoverished background, trying to better themselves and follow the 'American dream'. And front and centre is the growing relationship between a young boy and their grandmother.
But there the similarities end. For I just loved the simplicity of the story-telling in "Minari". No fancy flashbacks and disjointed timeline here. And a sense that you were really in on the journey of both Jacob and his farm and of the relationship between David and his Grandma.
This was heading at one point for a 10 star rating for me. But - for me anyway - the obscurity of the ending left me with a "WTF" feeling. So I've tempered my rating. Still a great film though, and recommended.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the post on One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).
200 Fairy Tales for Kids - The Most Beautiful Stories for Children
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Big play fun with Pettson and Findus! The old, inventive Pettson who lives with Findus - his...