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Amanda (96 KP) rated Girl in Pieces in Books

May 29, 2019  
Girl in Pieces
Girl in Pieces
Kathleen Glasgow | 2017 | Children
9
9.0 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
ach aberration of my skin is a song. Press your mouth against me. You will hear so much singing.
“Each aberration of my skin is a song. Press your mouth against me. You will hear so much singing.”

That book that I had to step away from so often because it nearly had me tangled up in it, that would be this book. It’s rare for me to be so wrapped up in this book that it feels like I’m tight in its grasp. I want to go on this journey with the character and feel I owe it to them to see it through with them, but I mentally can’t. So, I have to step aside for a moment, but know that I’m going to come back.

Charlotte ‘Charlie’ has gone through SO MUCH before she even gets to the age of eighteen. The title says it straight forward; she is in pieces. So much of her has shattered that it feels like once she’s found a piece or two of herself, it’s almost instantly gone. Whether it be because of a blast from the past, or an uncertain future.

She copes, or tries to, by cutting herself. I just can’t imagine anybody feeling that way about themselves. I just wanted to hug her.

“Cutting is a fence you build upon your own body to keep people out, but then you cry to be touched. But the fence is barged. What then?”

For a time, Charlie stays at a mental health facility, but when insurance runs out, she is forced to relocate with her mother until an opening at a halfway house is available. Her and her mother do not get along at all. When a guy friend (her crush) offers to move her closer to him to help her, expectations are made and hopes are set kind of high. This guy isn’t interested in her romantically and he used to date her best friend (whom has passed away).

What kind of hit me for a bit, while not at the extent or context as with Charlie, she meets this guy named Riley and he’s all wrong for her, but seems right for her at a certain time. She sort of becomes enthralled with him, even though he’s mostly high or drunk, but she can’t help herself. The need for closeness is sometimes just too great. I wanted to yell at Charlie for always going to him, but I can’t because I did the same thing. How can I yell at somebody for doing the same thing I have done?

My dear Charlie…

“I think you are having a different sort of heartbreak. Maybe a kind of heartbreak of being in the world when you don’t know how to be.”

This is the second novel I’ve read from Kathleen Glasgow. This one certainly had me really mentally involved. It didn’t finish it as quickly as I did her recent novel, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good story. I can’t stress enough. THERE ARE NUMEROUS TRIGGER WARNINGS! Self-harm, mentions of sexual assault, etc. It was difficult for me to finish, so I stress that if these do not bother you, then this is a story worth reading. It’s all told in Charlie’s voice and the pieces she loses and somehow gets them back…one at a time.

“People should know about us. Girls who write their pain on their bodies.”
  
Girl in Pieces
Girl in Pieces
Kathleen Glasgow | 2017 | Children
9
9.0 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very Raw (2 more)
Great cast of characters
Beautifully written
Pacing slow in some places (0 more)
A Dark Gritty Read
When I read the synopsis of Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, I knew it was a book I had to read. I'm a big fan of books that deal with mental illness. I just love how raw they can be. Luckily, Girl in Pieces did not disappoint.

The plot for Girl in Pieces is so raw yet it is beautifully written. The story starts out with Charlie at Creeley, a mental hospital because she's a cutter, and the last time she cut, she cut pretty bad. At first, she is a selective mute, but eventually, she starts talking again. We learn that Charlie's had a pretty bad life. She's been homeless, assaulted, pretty much lost her best friend, had a horrible home life and other things. When the money for her stay at Creeley runs out, Charlie is thrust back into the real world much earlier than expected. She's left to fend for herself. She moves out to Arizona to be with her friend and crush, but things don't turn out as planned. Charlie must learn to survive and heal on her own or risk losing herself once again. Girl in Pieces felt so relatable and so true to life, like it could happen to anyone at any time.

The characters in Girl in Pieces all felt very real and exposed. They were written perfectly and felt like people I know and have known. It was interesting and eye opening to experience Charlie's journey every step of the way from the highs and the lows. There were so many times I wanted to be Charlie's friend so I could support her and let her know when she was making a mistake. I wanted to be there for her after the mistakes had been made and let her know that every day is a new chance to start over. I loved Blue and her joking attitude. Riley was an interesting character. I wanted him to turn out good. I wanted him to get better for Charlie and for himself. Linus was also a very amazing character. I also loved how real Julie was. Every single character in this book played a great part in Charlie's life, and I loved how well written each and every one of them was.

The pacing for Girl in Pieces starts out really strong which I enjoyed. It does slow down a bit after Charlie gets out of the hospital, but it's still flows along at a good pace. There are a few places where the book does get a bit too slow, but it quickly picks up not too much later.

Girl in Pieces is a very raw, gritty, and dark book, so there are a lot of triggers. The whole book could be a possible trigger. Triggers include self harm, self mutilation, cutting, drug use, underage drinking, drinking, death, suicide, violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental illness, dark thoughts, profanity, and sexual acts and references.

Overall, Girl in Pieces is a great read. It's very dark, but it is real and written so well with fantastic characters. I would definitely recommend Girl in Pieces to those aged 16+ who love a dark gritty read.
  
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Tenet (2020)
Tenet (2020)
2020 | Action
Due to circumstances we have all lived with now for about 8 months, that scarce need a word more said about them, this has remained only the second film I have seen at a cinema in 2020, following an early January viewing of The Rise of Skywalker. And it will probably be the last film I head out to see on the big screen for a while. This, naturally, breaks my heart. It does, however, place Christopher Nolan’s complex thriller into a very peculiar and memorable place in the collective psyche of film lovers.

For many it will have been the film that brought them out of lockdown number one into a world of slight hope that normality was returning. As it co-incided with my daughter’s birthday it became part of a treat day out that although socially distanced was my first attempt to do all the things I hadn’t done for a while; eat out in a restaurant, have a pint in a bar, and then see a movie. The experience, whilst still enjoyable and memorable, was tainted by how surreal and empty the world felt – the meal was in an half empty and cold Hard Rock Cafe, with no music and a smell of disinfectant; the pint was in a pop up outside bar that only took orders via a phone app in advance; and the movie was attended by six people, of which we were two, separated by not two metres but at least ten!

I have been in some screenings that were dead quiet before, but not for a film so anticipated and more or less mainstream. It was odd. Hats off to the staff of Everyman, Glasgow, however, who were exemplary in their courtesy, welcoming and safety precautions. It wasn’t their fault it was empty, and I applaud them for keeping the ball rolling at that time around the start of September. At least the sofas were comfy, the place was warm and the smell was still of popcorn and not domestos.

I had been looking forward to the film immensely. The hype and build-up to it had come with a lot of baggage, with rumours of production delays and script issues going back a few years. It was shrouded in mystery, with even the trailer being delayed until the very last moment and critics not getting to see it until a day before release, such was the fear of spoilers leaking out. My first concern, being so excited by the prospect of another time bending classic to join Memento, Interstellar and Inception in the ranks of “OK, what just happened” masterpieces, was that the sound during the trailers was very very low – if they kept it that low during the actual film I would demand my money back… I needn’t have worried…

Never in my life have I felt as if my eardrums were about to burst whilst watching a film! Literally, at times, Hans Zimmer’s powerful and emotive score was vibrating my testicles! Add to that the fact that a lot of the dialogue seemed mumbled and drowned out by it, and it made the first 45 minutes very difficult to enjoy. Was this horrendous sound mix a mistake? Or very much part of the plan to overwhelm the senses and confuse the brain? Was it part of the puzzle or a massive technical oversight? As almost everyone seems to have the same complaint about it, the jury is still out on that one…

And so, it took a little while for me to atune to the tone, regardless of how hard you had to focus to take in anything of what was going on. There was a point where I became certain I wasn’t going to like it – I braced myself for disappointment. And then… at a certain moment in a certain scene the penny dropped and so did my jaw, as the full realisation of where this was going, and how unique and mind blowing that concept was, finally kicked in. From that moment on it just got better and better, as the technical achievement required, let alone intelligence, to pull this off surpassed all previous levels of anything I can ever remember.

The “Wow” moments just kept on coming as the action, tension and intrigue kept rising to fever pitch. In the end, so profoundly bewildering were the potential possibilities of the plot and premise that I gave up trying to meet it intellectually and just allowed it to wash over me emotionally, knowing that repeat viewings would allow me to engage with it in that way later.

John David Washington as “the protagonist” is suitably neutral and unshowy in the role; threatening to be compared to Bond or Bourne, but never quite being either, as this world, despite it’s surface glamour and underground seediness feels much closer to DiCaprio’s suit wearing mind spy in Inception than either of those. For anyone who didn’t yet catch his terrific turn in BlacKkKlansman this may be their first encounter with him, and you’d have to say he has a very solid, dependable quality, without ever being starry or attention seeking. Watchable, for sure, but never chewing the scenery at the cost of the story – and surely that is why Nolan chose him.

Beside Washington is another excellent performance by the increasingly impressive Robert Pattinson. His role as the enigmatic Neil here grows on you minute to minute during the film, and afterwards you wonder if he wasn’t the best thing about the entire production… there is a subtlety of meaning in all his scenes that is only revealed late on, and demands a further watch or two to get every nuance from. He gives the impression he is entirely in control of the full meaning of the film and his own performance, so much so he strikes me as the pivot that would tip you either way on whether you liked the film or not.

And I have to admit not liking it is a valid option. You couldn’t possibly watch it whilst tired or in a bad mood, it is just too full on, bordering on oppressive at times. There are also a few supporting roles that I’m not 100% certain of, most notably Kenneth Brannagh as the seeming villain of the piece, Sator. His accent is a distraction, and it feels like a character you’ve seen him play before – fine in most ways, but nothing special – and I found myself wishing they had cast someone else in that role. Likewise with the less exposed Elizabeth Debicki – adequate, but not transcendent, as her character might have been with a more charismatic actress.

My overall impression was definitely affected by how much my daughter enjoyed it – she loves having a mystery to solve, especially if it involves time or some other sci-fi concept. The pleasure of it was chatting it over excitedly afterwards, to see if either of us had truly understood the full story, in the same way I remember doing with others about all Nolan’s concept pieces over the years. If you come to it being less than bothered about having to unlock a puzzle box then it may very well piss you off, to the extent you either just give up or sit back and enjoy the ride. However, I would assert confidently that it is worth the effort and will reward multiple viewings over time. Especially as more clues to its meaning are discussed and revealed.

One thing that can be said with certainty is that there is no other film like this that has ever been made. It feels different and beyond comparison in many crucial ways. The ambition of Nolan has to be applauded. I only wish he would go back and sort out that sound design before I get around to seeing it again.