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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Spinning Silver in Books

Aug 13, 2018  
Spinning Silver
Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Take my money now!!!
Advertised as a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, this takes quite some imagination to get the reader to that particular fairy tale. I’m assuming that the Staryk King is along the lines of the Rumpelstiltskin character, except he isn’t some wizened dwarf. In fact, more than one of the characters carries some of Rumpelstiltskin’s traits.
Miryem, the Jewish Moneylenders daughter (who is actually far better at it than her father), has a reputation for turning silver in to gold, and this reaches the ears of the Staryk King, who demands that she change his silver in to gold. Which she does three times; the consequences of which aren’t quite what she expects.
Novik writes good female characters, without any doubt. Miryem, whotakes over her father’s moneylending business and saves her family; Irena, the daughter of a Duke, who marries the demon possessed Tsar; and Wanda, the daughter of a destitute, drunk farmer, who by luck comes to pay off her father’s debts by working for Miryem.
These women’s lives converge to create a bewitching story of real human concerns: poverty, helplessness, strength found when needed, and how important it is to pay your debts!
I do hope Novik writes more books like this. I’ll buy them!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this wonderful book.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated American Pastoral (2016) in Movies

Aug 24, 2017  
American Pastoral (2016)
American Pastoral (2016)
2016 | Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Ewan McGregor is brilliant (2 more)
Incredibly sad
Not bad adaptation of Philip Roth's book
There was something missing (0 more)
Harrowing, tragic and moving
Philip Roth's tragic drama about the perfect high school couple and the disintegration of a family has finally made it on to the big screen. Set in the 1960's during massive political upheaval in America, it follows the story of a daughter who disappears after allegedly bombing a store, killing a clerk as part of a 'revolutionary' movement. Her father, played by Ewan McGregor, believes that she has been manipulated and that she is truly innocent throughout, even in the face of all opposing evidence. It's horrific seeing the mother and father's complete breakdown and it seems apparent the daughter Merry is suffering from a mental illness. There's hints of sexual abuse thought to have triggered her stutter, but it is extremely subtle.

It's really quite a sombre watch, especially given that the film begins with the father's funeral. Beautiful acting, but the daughter's character was extremely irritating.
  
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Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Daddy's Home 2 (2017) in Movies

Feb 9, 2018  
Daddy's Home 2 (2017)
Daddy's Home 2 (2017)
2017 | Comedy
7
7.1 (39 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Next set of dad come for a visit
Brad (ferrell) and Dusty (Whalberg) have learned to co exist as dad and step dad. Christmas has come and both of their fathers are coming for a visit. One planned Don (lithgow) who is Brad's dad and Kurt (Gibson) as Dusty's who decides to call the night before to say he is coming for a visit. They all end up spending the most joyful time of year together as a family but Dusty's setp daughter who is a trouble maker father Roger (Cena) is called in to try and make it right for his daughter. Can all of them exist in the same house hold.

I really liked the first one. This one with the addition of Lithgow and Gibson who are perfectly cast to play their fathers and with Cena coming in on it made it fun to watch but, there is a ton of the same type gags from the first one and you begin to expect what they hope you would find as the unexpected.
  
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Kathy Bates recommended 'night, Mother in Books (curated)

 
'night, Mother
'night, Mother
Marsha Norman | 1983
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"When read aloud, this play—which takes place during the course of one night in the life of a mother whose daughter wants to commit suicide—is like a poem. Although technically not a book, the journey I made with this Pulitzer Prize-winning play affected my life in a deeply personal level. When my 83-year-old father was facing a leg amputation due to diabetes, he attempted suicide. Naively, I tried to encourage him to hang on to life. He replied, “You know how I feel. You’re doing that play.” The role of the daughter, Jessie, was originally written for a dear friend, Susan Kingsley, but she never wanted to be a “Broadway star.” She wanted to stay home with her babies and her husband on their pig and tobacco farm in Kentucky. In 1984 she was killed in an automobile wreck. Marsha’s play was a major turning point in my career, but I would have given it all up, if Susan had been in the play instead of an icy road in Georgia."

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