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ClareR (6256 KP) rated The French Girl in Books

Jul 11, 2018

The French Girl

Lexie Elliott | 2018 | Thriller

6.8

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Another unreliable narrator?

Six Oxford University friends go on holiday to France and stay in the holiday home of one of their parents. Everything seems fine, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, until the neighbour, Severine, turns up. And then she disappears. They’re all questioned at the time, they go home and get on with their lives.
Ten years later, the case reopens when Severine’s body is found down the Farmhouse’s well which had been filled in. Everyone is under suspicion. And it feels that way as you read it. Even the the character that we see the story through, Kate, seems likely to have murdered her.
This isn’t one of your pacy thrillers, there’s lots of description and back story concerning Kate’s new business, but it’s actually quite interesting. The relationships between the five surviving ‘friends’ shows an interesting dynamic.
Not a neat little ending either - which I really like. I enjoyed this.
Thanks to the Pigeonhole and Lexie Elliott for reading along!

Kudos

Aasiyah Sidat (34 KP) rated Lady Chatterley's Lover in Books

Jul 5, 2018

Lady Chatterley's Lover

D.H. Lawrence | 1983 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance

6.3

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

So I chose Lady Chatterley's Lover by Mr D.H Lawrence. Lady Chatterley's lover was a book created by Lawrence created in 1928. He had the book published privately in Italy and France but boy did he kick up a fuss. The book was subsequently banned in the UK, Australia, Canada, the US and India. There were outcries of the lewd nature of the book, the frank talk about sex and intimacy and extra-marital affairs. In 1960, a trial was held in the UK and the book was released from its ban.

While reading this, I tried to understand why this book was considered so obscene. I mean we have 50 shades of grey which didn't have any fingers pointed at it and that book discusses more unique sex forms. This book discussed pure 'vanilla' sex between a man and a woman. So what was the issue?

Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2017/04/read-harder-banned-book.html

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Transit (2018) in Movies

Aug 16, 2019 (Updated Aug 16, 2019)

Transit (2018)

2018 | Drama

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Anna Seghers' novel of life in France following the German invasion of 1940 updates to the present day with disturbing ease. There is much talk of 'occupation' and 'cleansing' but the director wisely keeps things unspecified as Franz Robowski's character steals a dead man's identity in an attempt to escape Europe, only to find emotional entanglements pose almost as great a problem as international borders.

Understated, with various echoes of other films - you can see why it's being compared to Casablanca, but this is a much heavier and more intense movie. Still quite engrossing to watch, mainly because of the performances. There are also shades of Kafka - you are only allowed to stay in one hotel if you can prove you don't want to stay there - and also Antonioni's The Passenger, although the existentialism of the film's theme is kept muted. Concentrates on telling a story rather than putting over a message, and as a result is effective and sometimes moving.

Kudos

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated A Prophet (Un prophete) (2010) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)

A Prophet (Un prophete) (2010)

2010 | International, Drama

7.0

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Last, but not least, we travel to France and journey into a seedy and disturbingly real world of crime and society in modern Europe. We follow the life of Malik, a confused young Arab man forced into a life of crime by circumstance, as he grows from petty criminal to a man of real power and influence. The whole thing feels dirty, deprived and cold; there isn’t a lot of glamour here. The pinstripe is a leather jacket and a tracksuit; the weapon is as likely to be bare hands or a rusty knife as a gun. The power of this film is in wondering how this young man can ever attain peace and redemption, as he descends deeper into the mire; how he becomes both truly lost and at the same time somehow enlightened. A grim tale, told with a European eye that shuns fancy camera work in favour of forcing you to watch, and think. Not a pleasant film, but an important one.