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Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Little Joe (2019) in Movies
Jun 15, 2020
Everyone knows a working Joe
Little Joe is a look into happiness and the lengths we will go to to achieve it while also delving deeply into the manipulation, the deprivation of freedom, greed and selfishness that can surround and alter that path too. After having a very limited cinema release in th Uk i decided to pre-order this on itunes. Today sees its release and after giving it a watch I can say I really did enjoy this movie despite a lot of other reviews saying its unwatchable due to its high pitched soundtrack. Little Joe most of the time is a very cold and clinically sterile looking film thats contrasted subtlety with bold pastle shades of colour in sets that almost have an art deco feel to them. This helps the film look constantly striking/beautiful but also adds a sense of unnatural uneasiness too it too. Combine this with a soundtrack made up of scratches, plucks, plinks and plonks woven together into a score that has an almost oriental sound to it which gives the film a constant chilling vibe and an unnerving/erie atmosphere. Its invokes intense stress on the senses thats for sure and it kept me feeling uncomfortable/stressed the entire movie and also leaving me ears ringing long after the film had had ended too. I wouldnt say its unbearable however and it definitely fits the film/adds to the atmosphere. Performances are great too feeling again very cold and focused with Ben Whishaw being the standout here as always playing a charcter so professional and confident when it comes to work yet so socially awkward when it comes to his relationships with other people. Theres running theme of happiness here thats for sure and the heights/lengths we as people will go to to just to achieve it. Primarily as a film it seems focused on questioning if drugs for conditions such as depression or dementia that are taken to make people feel happier/more 'normal' are worth the cost of losing personalities, emotions and in a sense freedom because like they say in the film "who cares if people are zombies as long as they are happy". Theres also a look at parents subduing childs behaviours for a quieter life which in a sence takes away all the traits youth and the joys of being a child bring, or partners that cant deal with thier other half being sad or having arguments all the time so they presure them onto drugs in a selfish/controlling way because to then its far easier and less time consuming than actually learning/undertsanding and putting in the effort in to helping them. Then theres how society mocks, neglects and fails to understand certain illnesses and also how companies profit from them making drugs with increasingly worse side effects but it doesnt phase them as long as they are meeting targets/company goals. Little Joe definitely contains a lot of very thought provoking stuff its just sadly all a bit messy when mixed in with all the films dark comedy and scifi horror elements and it does quite often lose its way or fall short on conclusions. That being said i found this film to be well worth the watch just be sure you know before you go in that its very slow, stressful and depressing with an intense score and a conclusion thats ultimately unrewarding but overall its great little look into the effects of drugs that are meant to help with making us all feel 'normal' and 'happy' in life.
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Jamie (131 KP) rated The Shining Girls in Books
Jun 4, 2017
Ambitious & unique story line (1 more)
Handles the web of time paradoxes well
Mash-up of genres is disjointing (2 more)
Romance is distracting at best
Repeated murder scenes gets wearisome
A cool time travel thriller
The Shining Girls follows Harper, a crude serial killer from the 1930’s that can hop through time; and Kirby, the spunky young woman that got away. This book was incredibly ambitious in its premise and I spent a great deal of my time reading the book wondering if it could deliver and I can happily say that I wasn’t disappointed.
The story is a heavily character driven dive through recent American history, from the Great Depression in the 1930’s all the way up to the early 1990’s. I was impressed by the amount of research that was put into this book, each decade having enough detail to get a good feel for the era. Many of the characters were pretty well fleshed out for such short chapters, and I found myself liking many of them.
My favorite part of the story, though, was the tragedy that was Harper because of how very flawed and human he is. He views himself as commanding, charming, persuasive, but to many of his victims he’s just downright creepy. He thinks himself calculating yet he makes mistakes left and right. He has a drive to rise up from the trenches of poverty and starvation from his own era, to be powerful. His choice of victims are all women in a great act of femicide, because he has this dire need to feel masculine. He chooses women that he views as invincible, that shine with ambition in order to assert his dominance by snuffing them out. He thinks he has this divine purpose, a destiny to fulfill because he wants it so desperately, even though the reality is that it’s simply senseless violence with no real meaning. He obsesses over the murders, returning to the scene of the crimes over and over to get off. Harper is pathetic. It was a refreshing change from the stereotypical smooth, genius archetype that glorifies killers. I didn’t know right away that this book was meant to be a feminist novel, but that’s what I took away from not only Harper’s struggle with masculinity, but with the strong and fiercely independent female characters all throughout the book.
There were a couple of problems with the book, however, that I feel need to be addressed. The mash up of genres is both a good and bad aspect of the story. The middle chapters where romance comes into play to me was really distracting and feels out of place. The tagline describing the novel also states that “the girl who wouldn’t die hunts the killer who shouldn’t exist” but honestly, it didn’t feel much like Kirby was really hunting the killer. Looking for connections with other murder cases and investigating some wild hunches, yes, but really she spends most of the book developing her bond with Dan. I would have really liked for this to be more of a cat and mouse type of hunt between Kirby and Harper.
The chapters with Harper were much more interesting, but even those became a little repetitive. We as the reader follow Harper as he stalks his victims in childhood, waiting for the right time to strike when they reach adulthood. While it was necessary for the plot to detail the characters to both connect them to the greater chain of paradoxes and to show Harper’s descent, the violence is excessive and extremely detailed, and after a while it started to feel more like torture porn. It just got tiring after a while.
Despite its flaws, I thought this book was good, and I mean really good. I loved the way that the time paradoxes were handled, time travel stories tend to be tricky and usually end up with a couple of glaring loop holes. The loops are handled in a way that I found satisfying and this book is easily my favorite time travel novel I’ve ever read. It is truly unique and a story I won’t soon forget.
The story is a heavily character driven dive through recent American history, from the Great Depression in the 1930’s all the way up to the early 1990’s. I was impressed by the amount of research that was put into this book, each decade having enough detail to get a good feel for the era. Many of the characters were pretty well fleshed out for such short chapters, and I found myself liking many of them.
My favorite part of the story, though, was the tragedy that was Harper because of how very flawed and human he is. He views himself as commanding, charming, persuasive, but to many of his victims he’s just downright creepy. He thinks himself calculating yet he makes mistakes left and right. He has a drive to rise up from the trenches of poverty and starvation from his own era, to be powerful. His choice of victims are all women in a great act of femicide, because he has this dire need to feel masculine. He chooses women that he views as invincible, that shine with ambition in order to assert his dominance by snuffing them out. He thinks he has this divine purpose, a destiny to fulfill because he wants it so desperately, even though the reality is that it’s simply senseless violence with no real meaning. He obsesses over the murders, returning to the scene of the crimes over and over to get off. Harper is pathetic. It was a refreshing change from the stereotypical smooth, genius archetype that glorifies killers. I didn’t know right away that this book was meant to be a feminist novel, but that’s what I took away from not only Harper’s struggle with masculinity, but with the strong and fiercely independent female characters all throughout the book.
There were a couple of problems with the book, however, that I feel need to be addressed. The mash up of genres is both a good and bad aspect of the story. The middle chapters where romance comes into play to me was really distracting and feels out of place. The tagline describing the novel also states that “the girl who wouldn’t die hunts the killer who shouldn’t exist” but honestly, it didn’t feel much like Kirby was really hunting the killer. Looking for connections with other murder cases and investigating some wild hunches, yes, but really she spends most of the book developing her bond with Dan. I would have really liked for this to be more of a cat and mouse type of hunt between Kirby and Harper.
The chapters with Harper were much more interesting, but even those became a little repetitive. We as the reader follow Harper as he stalks his victims in childhood, waiting for the right time to strike when they reach adulthood. While it was necessary for the plot to detail the characters to both connect them to the greater chain of paradoxes and to show Harper’s descent, the violence is excessive and extremely detailed, and after a while it started to feel more like torture porn. It just got tiring after a while.
Despite its flaws, I thought this book was good, and I mean really good. I loved the way that the time paradoxes were handled, time travel stories tend to be tricky and usually end up with a couple of glaring loop holes. The loops are handled in a way that I found satisfying and this book is easily my favorite time travel novel I’ve ever read. It is truly unique and a story I won’t soon forget.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Water for Elephants in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This is one of those books that I read because I loved the movie first. So, I was quite surprised when I read how the book begins - with the murder of one of the main characters. When I further realized that August does not own the Benzini Brothers, I began to see the movie as its own story separate from the book.
Jacob is by far the most interesting character of the book, especially since he tells the story as an old man in a nursing home - and has the wisdom and experience to go with his age. His emotions are infectious and I longed to sit down with him and listen to all of his stories in person way before I finished the book.
August is the kind of villain that is confusing in his evil deeds - he has schizophrenia - which makes it somewhat unfair to dislike him so much. His irrational behavior has been exploited for the almighty dollar by Uncle Al - but the real villain tends to fade into the background.
Marlena is beautiful to the point of angelic, very little of what she does can be considered wrong in any way, as she is a victim struggling for freedom for most of the book. She approaches August's mood swings with the same caution due a wild animal, and remains faithful to him despite her personal feelings, and does not leave until he first betrays her. Considering how women today will leave their husbands for any reason, I admire her strong morals.
The background is set during the Great Depression, which made for many intense situations as the circus struggled to profit, as well as the survival of the cast of characters. Though I studied this period in American history, the direct experience gave me a clearer idea of the desperation of people alive during this time - how easily morals could be put on hold for the sake of another mouthful of food or another coin in the pocket. So many men of the circus would work without pay for the promise of another meal and unending hope that life could still improve.
Rosie, the elephant, is also one of the most fascinating characters in the book. She proved to be only one example of how animals were exploited to the point of cruelty for profit. I could not help wondering where the animal activists were.
Needless to say, this book sparked many conversations and inspired many moments of personal contemplation for me. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it.
Jacob is by far the most interesting character of the book, especially since he tells the story as an old man in a nursing home - and has the wisdom and experience to go with his age. His emotions are infectious and I longed to sit down with him and listen to all of his stories in person way before I finished the book.
August is the kind of villain that is confusing in his evil deeds - he has schizophrenia - which makes it somewhat unfair to dislike him so much. His irrational behavior has been exploited for the almighty dollar by Uncle Al - but the real villain tends to fade into the background.
Marlena is beautiful to the point of angelic, very little of what she does can be considered wrong in any way, as she is a victim struggling for freedom for most of the book. She approaches August's mood swings with the same caution due a wild animal, and remains faithful to him despite her personal feelings, and does not leave until he first betrays her. Considering how women today will leave their husbands for any reason, I admire her strong morals.
The background is set during the Great Depression, which made for many intense situations as the circus struggled to profit, as well as the survival of the cast of characters. Though I studied this period in American history, the direct experience gave me a clearer idea of the desperation of people alive during this time - how easily morals could be put on hold for the sake of another mouthful of food or another coin in the pocket. So many men of the circus would work without pay for the promise of another meal and unending hope that life could still improve.
Rosie, the elephant, is also one of the most fascinating characters in the book. She proved to be only one example of how animals were exploited to the point of cruelty for profit. I could not help wondering where the animal activists were.
Needless to say, this book sparked many conversations and inspired many moments of personal contemplation for me. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Toy Story 4 (2019) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019 (Updated Jun 21, 2019)
Beyond
Toy Story 4 takes the series to the deepest places of the human psyche yet & as a result makes this instalment the darkest & hardest of them all to stomach as its themes are so relatable & current. There were moments in this film where i found myself looking down from the screen deep in thought about my own life, thinking back to mistakes I'd made & friends I've lost along the way. Toy Story 4 had successfully hit me hard in my heart & mind using ways & on levels no animated film has managed before & although this made me extremely sad I left the cinema fulfilled, happy & with a new outlook on life. Themes of finding a purpouse, not knowing who you are, suicided, relationships, letting go, moving on, finding happiness, feeling lost, cofidence, depression, self worth are all brought up here & gone into with such depth I was wondering if this film was actually intended more for adults than kids. What got to me the most is the stuff on relationships which is portrayed with Woody's hanging on to Andy & still not being able to let him go & move on, its extremely tuff to watch & although animated every inch of his pain is felt. Theres such a lot here about feeling lost in life & wanting a purpose which does get extremely heavy but the film also teaches & up lifts showing that as long as you keep your friends around you the world is a big exciting place with so much to do & see that wasting time being hung up on the past is silly. Also the stress of being a parent & how toys are also a crucial part of a childs up bringing, seriously its ridiculous how much theyve crammed in here. Amination is staggering from the insane dust particles, lighting & water effects to the textures of the plastic pixar out does every animated film that came before it. Sound design is also top tear with a moment of silence at one stage so on point it literally took my breath away. Comedy is also perfect with jokes hitting constantly & theres actually quite a bit of horror this time around which is done better than most horror films of today. I also loved seeing how Woody has progressed as a character too he has a deep sadness about him but also takes way more risks with being seen which also adds great tension. I simply can not recomend you see this film enough.
Leigh J (71 KP) rated Lords of Chaos (2018) in Movies
Nov 19, 2019
Let the Churches Burn
I feel I need to mention that I was into the Black Metal scene when all this was going down.
Oysten "Euroymous" Aarseth is a young Metalhead who thinks Metal isn't extreme enough, so he starts an extreme "Black" Metal band called Mayhem. Mayhem are heavy, screechy, blasphemous and absolutely shocking, resulting in them being an instant hit with the other Metal fans of Norway. Black Metal is born! Unfortunately, their lead vocalist, aptly named Dead suffers from severe bouts of suicidal depression and it leads to his self inflicted demise. Upon discovering Dead's corpse, Euronymous does the very Black Metal thing of taking pictures of his dead body (which appeared then on Mayhem's "Dawn of the Black Hearts" album), and also taking parts of his bone and brain to put on a Necklace.
Euronymous shortly after opens Helvete Records, which attracts a newcomer to the scene called Kristian "Varg" Vikernes. At first, Euronymous scoffs at Varg and thinks he's just a poser... but he soon starts paying attention when Varg's one man band Burzum starts getting more notoriety than Mayhem. Also, Varg is admitting responsibility for a series of Church Burnings in the area, and Euronymous starts to also get involved. Will Euronymous and Vargs constant need to one-up each other go too far? Who in the Black Metal scene will also be dragged in to their crimes? And will their volatile relationship reach a breaking point?
As mentioned, I was (and still am) into the Black Metal scene when this was all happening and I have also read "Lords of Chaos" by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind a few times. Don't get me wrong, there are a few... embellishments in the Movie, but there is also a large portion that is true. I really enjoyed Lords of Chaos because I'm glad they've done a Movie about this Scene... even if some of it is fictional. I think the people who are really trashing this are taking it more seriously than they should, honestly. It's well acted, great cinematography and is an interesting story! I feel like this appeals to a wide audience, not just those of us who are partial to a bit of the ol' True Norwegian Black Metal. My only hang-up is that I think there are a few unnecessary scenes in the Movie that serve no purpose and just make the Movie feel long. But for me, it's a nice piece of fucked up nostalgia from my own Black Metal loving days!
Oysten "Euroymous" Aarseth is a young Metalhead who thinks Metal isn't extreme enough, so he starts an extreme "Black" Metal band called Mayhem. Mayhem are heavy, screechy, blasphemous and absolutely shocking, resulting in them being an instant hit with the other Metal fans of Norway. Black Metal is born! Unfortunately, their lead vocalist, aptly named Dead suffers from severe bouts of suicidal depression and it leads to his self inflicted demise. Upon discovering Dead's corpse, Euronymous does the very Black Metal thing of taking pictures of his dead body (which appeared then on Mayhem's "Dawn of the Black Hearts" album), and also taking parts of his bone and brain to put on a Necklace.
Euronymous shortly after opens Helvete Records, which attracts a newcomer to the scene called Kristian "Varg" Vikernes. At first, Euronymous scoffs at Varg and thinks he's just a poser... but he soon starts paying attention when Varg's one man band Burzum starts getting more notoriety than Mayhem. Also, Varg is admitting responsibility for a series of Church Burnings in the area, and Euronymous starts to also get involved. Will Euronymous and Vargs constant need to one-up each other go too far? Who in the Black Metal scene will also be dragged in to their crimes? And will their volatile relationship reach a breaking point?
As mentioned, I was (and still am) into the Black Metal scene when this was all happening and I have also read "Lords of Chaos" by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind a few times. Don't get me wrong, there are a few... embellishments in the Movie, but there is also a large portion that is true. I really enjoyed Lords of Chaos because I'm glad they've done a Movie about this Scene... even if some of it is fictional. I think the people who are really trashing this are taking it more seriously than they should, honestly. It's well acted, great cinematography and is an interesting story! I feel like this appeals to a wide audience, not just those of us who are partial to a bit of the ol' True Norwegian Black Metal. My only hang-up is that I think there are a few unnecessary scenes in the Movie that serve no purpose and just make the Movie feel long. But for me, it's a nice piece of fucked up nostalgia from my own Black Metal loving days!
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Water for Elephants (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
The future is bright with promise for Jacob, a Cornell veterinary sciences student, ready to graduate and follow in his father’s footsteps. But after a series of unfortunate events, Jacob finds himself a college dropout, homeless and penniless. He sets out to find work and stows away on a passing train which turns out to be the Benzini Brothers Circus train.
Jacob appeals to the vanity of the heartless circus owner and ringmaster, August, convincing him to keep him on as the circus veterinary doctor. One of his first patients is the horse of the circus’ star attraction, Marlena, who also happens to be August’s wife. When Marlena’s horse is replaced by an elephant, Jacob is made responsible for the elephant’s care and training. This gives Marlena and Jacob a common ally in Rosie, the elephant, and a common enemy in an increasingly violent August. Cue the furtive glances, the stilted conversations and awkward moments that signal the start of the mutual attraction between Marlena and Jacob.
While Jacob, Marlena and August form the romantic triangle that drives the story, it’s Rosie and the circus backdrop that provide the more entertaining aspects of the movie. Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine and I Am Legend) pays decent attention to period detail, highlighting the desperation and brutality of The Great Depression while romanticizing the ephemeral circus life and the subversive lifestyles enjoyed in defiance of The Prohibition. Sadly they were just quick peeks into a curious world.
Based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a sweet tale told in retrospect by a 90-something-year old Jacob, played by a wistful Hal Holbrook. Robert Pattinson plays young Jacob capably, and I have no doubt his fans will swoon at the many close ups of his brooding stare, pained grimaces and the occasional delighted smile. While this character gives him a few more lines than his more well-known role as Edward, the tortured vampire of the Twilight saga, it was difficult to watch him and not see the similarities in how he portrays Jacob and Edward. Reese Witherspoon’s Marlena was in turns adequately fragile and sufficiently steely. With negligible chemistry, Pattinson and Witherspoon’s performances paled in comparison to that of Christoph Waltz whose sadistic August was played with cunning zeal.
A carefully told story, Water for Elephants is however too carefully told, in a predictable, pedantic pace. However, fans of Pattinson will not be disappointed.
Jacob appeals to the vanity of the heartless circus owner and ringmaster, August, convincing him to keep him on as the circus veterinary doctor. One of his first patients is the horse of the circus’ star attraction, Marlena, who also happens to be August’s wife. When Marlena’s horse is replaced by an elephant, Jacob is made responsible for the elephant’s care and training. This gives Marlena and Jacob a common ally in Rosie, the elephant, and a common enemy in an increasingly violent August. Cue the furtive glances, the stilted conversations and awkward moments that signal the start of the mutual attraction between Marlena and Jacob.
While Jacob, Marlena and August form the romantic triangle that drives the story, it’s Rosie and the circus backdrop that provide the more entertaining aspects of the movie. Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine and I Am Legend) pays decent attention to period detail, highlighting the desperation and brutality of The Great Depression while romanticizing the ephemeral circus life and the subversive lifestyles enjoyed in defiance of The Prohibition. Sadly they were just quick peeks into a curious world.
Based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a sweet tale told in retrospect by a 90-something-year old Jacob, played by a wistful Hal Holbrook. Robert Pattinson plays young Jacob capably, and I have no doubt his fans will swoon at the many close ups of his brooding stare, pained grimaces and the occasional delighted smile. While this character gives him a few more lines than his more well-known role as Edward, the tortured vampire of the Twilight saga, it was difficult to watch him and not see the similarities in how he portrays Jacob and Edward. Reese Witherspoon’s Marlena was in turns adequately fragile and sufficiently steely. With negligible chemistry, Pattinson and Witherspoon’s performances paled in comparison to that of Christoph Waltz whose sadistic August was played with cunning zeal.
A carefully told story, Water for Elephants is however too carefully told, in a predictable, pedantic pace. However, fans of Pattinson will not be disappointed.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Another Round (2020) in Movies
Apr 21, 2021
Interesting...but the ending did not resonate
Films have a tendency to fall on one of 2 sides when their subject matter is drinking, partying and alchoholism - (1) “They’re just a bunch of partying fun people” or (2) “They’re drinking to cover up emotions they don’t want to deal with and, eventually, it will lead to their ruin”.
Danish Director Thomas Vinterberg was the surprise Oscar nominee for his direction in the film ANOTHER ROUND (a film he also co-wrote) as he attempted the noble feat of straddling these two sides.
And…the result is an admirable attempt that falls just shy of being good.
Starring the great Mads Mikkelsen (the villain in the first DR. STRANGE film), ANOTHER ROUND tells the tale of 4 Danish High School teachers who are stuck in a rut (call it a mid-life crisis) and come up with the idea of being slightly drunk all of the time to elevate their lives.
The first half of the film flirts with “Frat Boy Party” territory as the 4 friends embark on the quest to see if staying slightly drunk elevates them. The results are quite mixed with moments of joy and triumph mixed in with some cringe-inducing moments. But then Vinterberg mines the “dark side” of alcoholism and the film takes a dark - and more interesting turn - only to have another turn at the end that just didn’t work for me.
Mikkelsen, of course, is quite good in the central role of Martin - the family man in mid-life depression crisis that kicks into “Frat Boy” mode when drinking “just enough”. His character switches back and forth between these 2 modes and Mikkelsen handles these changes like the terrific actor that he is.
His 3 friends played by Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe and Thomas Bo Larson are all equally depressed and switch back and forth right along with Martin. Unfortunately, none of these 3 have the “it” factor of Mikkelsen, so are really kept in his shadow - with the possible exception of a few moments by Larson.
This is the first film I have seen from Vinterberg, but what I have read about him is that this film pretty much sums up his career. An interesting idea, told fairly well with an ending that doesn’t really land. And that’s what I thought of this film. I’m glad I saw it, but it will fade after a time, as the ending just didn’t provide enough depth to keep ANOTHER ROUND with me for long.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Danish Director Thomas Vinterberg was the surprise Oscar nominee for his direction in the film ANOTHER ROUND (a film he also co-wrote) as he attempted the noble feat of straddling these two sides.
And…the result is an admirable attempt that falls just shy of being good.
Starring the great Mads Mikkelsen (the villain in the first DR. STRANGE film), ANOTHER ROUND tells the tale of 4 Danish High School teachers who are stuck in a rut (call it a mid-life crisis) and come up with the idea of being slightly drunk all of the time to elevate their lives.
The first half of the film flirts with “Frat Boy Party” territory as the 4 friends embark on the quest to see if staying slightly drunk elevates them. The results are quite mixed with moments of joy and triumph mixed in with some cringe-inducing moments. But then Vinterberg mines the “dark side” of alcoholism and the film takes a dark - and more interesting turn - only to have another turn at the end that just didn’t work for me.
Mikkelsen, of course, is quite good in the central role of Martin - the family man in mid-life depression crisis that kicks into “Frat Boy” mode when drinking “just enough”. His character switches back and forth between these 2 modes and Mikkelsen handles these changes like the terrific actor that he is.
His 3 friends played by Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe and Thomas Bo Larson are all equally depressed and switch back and forth right along with Martin. Unfortunately, none of these 3 have the “it” factor of Mikkelsen, so are really kept in his shadow - with the possible exception of a few moments by Larson.
This is the first film I have seen from Vinterberg, but what I have read about him is that this film pretty much sums up his career. An interesting idea, told fairly well with an ending that doesn’t really land. And that’s what I thought of this film. I’m glad I saw it, but it will fade after a time, as the ending just didn’t provide enough depth to keep ANOTHER ROUND with me for long.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Big Sister in Books
Sep 24, 2020
More book reviews at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
This book was my first encounter with this author’s writing, but from what I have seen so far, I will be definitely checking out more of Gunnar’s work.
In the beginning, I was a little bit confused, because for some reason I thought Varg was a woman. 😀 (Have no idea why…) So, yes, Varg is the protagonist in this story, and a very complex one, to be honest. He is over sixty and still risking his life for his cases, that is pretty amusing to me. 🙂 I really liked him as a personality, and I think he got away with his nosiness pretty well. I liked that Varg is very realistic, he is very clever, but at the same time, he doesn’t try to pose as some kind of super detective. I really liked all the characters which the author chose for this story, they made the story really interesting and rich.
The narrative was told from a single perspective, but for me, it was enough. The author had my curiosity growing with every chapter, as he cleverly delivered the clues and completely unexpected twists and turns throughout the pages. Staalesen has a great eye for a detail, and the descriptions of the settings were very visual and well delivered. I really enjoyed the topics which author addressed, such as family relationships; divorce and it’s consequences; rape and how it affects people; depression and what it can lead to; and many more. Even though this book is not very big, it touches and addresses a lot of important topics.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, Staalesen’s writing is very creative, detailed and compact. I admire, how he can put so much into his words. For me, this book was very pleasant to read, except for the names of characters and places. I had a bit of a difficulty sorting out the characters, because their names didn’t stay in my head, and I skipped most of the place’s names because it was difficult for me to pronounce them. I loved the short chapters, which this book had to offer, and the whole book was a pretty quick read. Even though the ending concluded the story very nicely and with another surprise, it still left some cliffhangers, which will be bothering me until the next book. 😀
So, to conclude, it is very fast paced and suspenseful novel, filled with very intriguing characters and very surprising twists and turns, and I do strongly recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy the sun and a good book! 😉
This book was my first encounter with this author’s writing, but from what I have seen so far, I will be definitely checking out more of Gunnar’s work.
In the beginning, I was a little bit confused, because for some reason I thought Varg was a woman. 😀 (Have no idea why…) So, yes, Varg is the protagonist in this story, and a very complex one, to be honest. He is over sixty and still risking his life for his cases, that is pretty amusing to me. 🙂 I really liked him as a personality, and I think he got away with his nosiness pretty well. I liked that Varg is very realistic, he is very clever, but at the same time, he doesn’t try to pose as some kind of super detective. I really liked all the characters which the author chose for this story, they made the story really interesting and rich.
The narrative was told from a single perspective, but for me, it was enough. The author had my curiosity growing with every chapter, as he cleverly delivered the clues and completely unexpected twists and turns throughout the pages. Staalesen has a great eye for a detail, and the descriptions of the settings were very visual and well delivered. I really enjoyed the topics which author addressed, such as family relationships; divorce and it’s consequences; rape and how it affects people; depression and what it can lead to; and many more. Even though this book is not very big, it touches and addresses a lot of important topics.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, Staalesen’s writing is very creative, detailed and compact. I admire, how he can put so much into his words. For me, this book was very pleasant to read, except for the names of characters and places. I had a bit of a difficulty sorting out the characters, because their names didn’t stay in my head, and I skipped most of the place’s names because it was difficult for me to pronounce them. I loved the short chapters, which this book had to offer, and the whole book was a pretty quick read. Even though the ending concluded the story very nicely and with another surprise, it still left some cliffhangers, which will be bothering me until the next book. 😀
So, to conclude, it is very fast paced and suspenseful novel, filled with very intriguing characters and very surprising twists and turns, and I do strongly recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy the sun and a good book! 😉
Studs Lonigan
Book
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