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Marrying Mr Valentine

Laura Barnard

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Nadine Roberts smiles for everyone, but beneath it she hides a heartbreaking past that only a few...

Daughters of War

Dinah Jefferies

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

France, 1944. Deep in the river valley of the Dordogne, in an old stone cottage on the edge of...

Historical fiction World War 2 France The Resistance

Grand Tour of Italy

Lonely Planet, Cristian Bonetto, Duncan Garwood and Paula Hardy

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Discover the freedom of open roads with Lonely Planet Grand Tour of Italy Road Trips, your passport...

Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) in Movies

Aug 15, 2017

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

2016 | Comedy, Drama, Musical

6.9

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Meryl Streep as usual is superb (0 more)

Always Hugh Grant (0 more)

Lighthearted at times, quite sad actually, but all a ball of fluff in the end

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins is ambivalent. On the one hand, it shows how money can buy anything, and the upper class privileges that allow anyone to get away with anything. At the same time, you feel sorry for FFJ because she's extremely ill, alone, and she sings terribly, because why the hell not? From being a piano prodigy to contracting syphilis on her wedding night by her ex-husband that destroyed her ability to play let alone hear the pitch of her own voice - so in the end you feel sympathy for her. After that, you witness the brilliant performance of Meryl Streep, who is actually a good singer in reality, having to sing in the most terrible tones possible. Hugh Grant, as per usual, is a sap because that's the only role he knows how to play. Overall, a bit of lighthearted fluff.

Kudos

Kaz4ray (17 KP) rated The Wonder in Books

Feb 5, 2018 (Updated Feb 5, 2018)

The Wonder

Emma Donoghue | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

8.3

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

This book tells the story of a young girl who declares she no longer needs to be nourished by food. It is said that she hasn’t eaten for 4 months. The town committee employs two nurses, one a nun and the other a ‘professional’ trained by Florence Nightingale herself to mount a round the clock vigil for 14 days to ensure that no food is consumed by the girl and that she is telling the truth. This is set in a highly religious Ireland just after the potato famine. The towns people are very superstitious and are guided and influenced by the parish priest. No spoilers, but I didn’t expect the ending which for me is the sign of a good book. I empathised with the main characters and throughout the book changed my mind several times as to whether or not she was telling the truth. The book flowed really well and I enjoyed Emma Donaghue’s style of writing very much. I read it in one sitting.

Kudos

Deborah (162 KP) rated Florence Grace in Books

Dec 21, 2018

I hadn't read Tracy Rees' previous novel, but thought that this sounded interesting and worth giving a go - so I did!

It's well written, but without being too highbrow or difficult to read - in fact I got through it in just a couple of days!

Plot wise it did remind me a little of Mansfield Park to start with - with the poor cousin being taken into the richer household which if alien in its ways and she is expected to be grateful - there's even an unpleasant aunt, two female cousins who think rather too well of themselves and a crush on a cousin! The book is set in the Victorian period, goes down other paths and Florence/Florrie is rather more forthright than Fanny Price!

There are some twists and turns in the plot, but nothing melodramatic and the book keeps it's air of realism.

The ending I felt was perhaps a little too neatly tied up and a touch anti-climactic, but overall it was an easy read and a book that I definitely enjoyed.

Kudos

Sarah (7798 KP) rated Little Women (2019) in Movies

Feb 5, 2020

Great performances let down by the pace

I read Little Women quite a few years ago, and other than remembering the basic plot details, I went into this film with barely any preconceptions. And for the most part, it does quite well.

This film is all about the performances. I've always liked Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, I think they're both charismatic and fantastic actors and any time these two are on screen in this film (either together or separately), it really is marvellous to watch. Throwing in a great turn from Florence Pugh and some wonderful support from Laura Dern, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep and (a sadly forgettable) Emma Watson, the acting in this is pretty stellar

The major problem however is the pacing. The plot is interesting, but it's let down by the plodding dreadfully slow pace and a just over 2 hour film feels like a lifetime. It's such a shame, as had this been sped up a little or had a little of the runtime shaved off, it'd be a truly fantastic period drama.