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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Siren in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Read my review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/review-siren-by-annemarie-neary/
<b><i>Dont play the hero, Roisin. Make sure you have your back covered. But when the moments right, make your move.</i></b>
This is a bit different to the sorts of thrillers Im used to reading. With a lean towards politics, this feels a little more highbrow than the normal the-boyfriend-did-it kind of books Im used to. I dont know anything about about the Northern Ireland Troubles, so it was interesting to get a glimpse into the history of it in this novel.
I liked our characters in this novel. It was nice to have someone like Boyle in this. Homeless, stinky and a bit of a pervert, yet still kind of likable. Though I felt like his story wasnt told all that well. Roisin was a well built out character and Neary was really good at making us empathise with her the whole way through.
The plot, overall, was good. As some other reviewers have stated, the thrill subsides a little bit towards the middle and end, but I was still interested in knowing what was going to happen to really take much notice at the slowing pace. When were flashbacked to Roisins past, I was initially interested, but then things got a little drawn out. I felt like that section of the novel could have easily been shortened so we could have gotten back to the current day situation and learnt a bit more about Boyle and the Dutchman, but, hey.
One of my issues with this novel was the situation between Roisin and The Dutchman. Considering she was so wary of everything and kept completely to herself, it didnt make much sense to me, that she let herself get so close to The Dutchman and so quickly. That part of the story felt very inaccurate to how it would have really played out, had this been a true story.
The writing in this novel is well done, with good descriptive imagery, believable dialogue and well developed characters. There are quite a number of Irish terms used that Im not used to, but theyre easy to get. A thing not so well done in this novel was the layout. Within each chapter, we are presented with several POVs that arent very well separated. The only suggestion that our character perspective has changed is a paragraph break, but then sometimes there are paragraph breaks that will carry on with the same character as before. Im hoping its only this confusing as Ive received an ARC copy from Netgalley, because if not, its a major flaw in the editing.
Im a bit miffed at the ending, to be honest. It seemed abrupt and it was unsatisfying after all we went through with Roisin and her story.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
<b><i>Dont play the hero, Roisin. Make sure you have your back covered. But when the moments right, make your move.</i></b>
This is a bit different to the sorts of thrillers Im used to reading. With a lean towards politics, this feels a little more highbrow than the normal the-boyfriend-did-it kind of books Im used to. I dont know anything about about the Northern Ireland Troubles, so it was interesting to get a glimpse into the history of it in this novel.
I liked our characters in this novel. It was nice to have someone like Boyle in this. Homeless, stinky and a bit of a pervert, yet still kind of likable. Though I felt like his story wasnt told all that well. Roisin was a well built out character and Neary was really good at making us empathise with her the whole way through.
The plot, overall, was good. As some other reviewers have stated, the thrill subsides a little bit towards the middle and end, but I was still interested in knowing what was going to happen to really take much notice at the slowing pace. When were flashbacked to Roisins past, I was initially interested, but then things got a little drawn out. I felt like that section of the novel could have easily been shortened so we could have gotten back to the current day situation and learnt a bit more about Boyle and the Dutchman, but, hey.
One of my issues with this novel was the situation between Roisin and The Dutchman. Considering she was so wary of everything and kept completely to herself, it didnt make much sense to me, that she let herself get so close to The Dutchman and so quickly. That part of the story felt very inaccurate to how it would have really played out, had this been a true story.
The writing in this novel is well done, with good descriptive imagery, believable dialogue and well developed characters. There are quite a number of Irish terms used that Im not used to, but theyre easy to get. A thing not so well done in this novel was the layout. Within each chapter, we are presented with several POVs that arent very well separated. The only suggestion that our character perspective has changed is a paragraph break, but then sometimes there are paragraph breaks that will carry on with the same character as before. Im hoping its only this confusing as Ive received an ARC copy from Netgalley, because if not, its a major flaw in the editing.
Im a bit miffed at the ending, to be honest. It seemed abrupt and it was unsatisfying after all we went through with Roisin and her story.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Joyce Girl in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
Winner of the Impress Prize for New Writers 2015, Annabel Abbs creates a fantastic work of historical fiction based upon the life of Lucia Joyce. Although the titular character may be unheard of within the general public, her father will be known amongst the majority of readers. James Joyce, the eccentric author of<i> Ulysses</i> and <i>Finnegan’s Wake</i>, travelled around Europe with his family until settling in Avant-garde Paris, 1928. His daughter, Lucia, an ambitious, talented dancer describes the unconventional life as a child of Mr. Joyce, its ups and downs, and inevitable ruinous breakdown.
<i>The Joyce Girl</i> begins in Küsnacht, Zurich where Lucia is receiving treatment from Dr. Carl Jung – another well-known name; this novel is full of them. Struggling to come to terms with her current mental ill health and supposed repressed memories, Jung encourages Lucia to write her memoirs in order to learn of the events that led to this current predicament. Starting from 1928, aged 21, Lucia describes her life to Jung and the reader in brutally honest detail.
The unusual Irish family went through various successes and traumas in the intervening years, creating a humorous and emotional story. Lucia’s brother, Giorgio, caused the family enough problems without adding in the devastating heartache Lucia suffers from men who do not reciprocate her love. One of these lovers is the famous Samuel Beckett (<i>Waiting for Godot</i>, 1952), the first man Lucia falls for. It is fascinating to learn of the multiple connections these notable names had with each other. Although in retrospect it makes sense that the literary and artistic crowds would stick together.
From Lucia’s memoirs Jung formulates that the Joyce parents were extremely controlling, not giving Lucia the opportunity to live her own life – particularly within her dancing career. However, Jung still maintains that Lucia experienced emotional trauma and is insistent on retrieving those memories. What he eventually discovers will shock and possibly sicken the reader.
Through enormous amount of research, Annabel Abbs has put together a likely account of the Joyce family, particularly Lucia’s life. Using existing biographies, original letters and professional opinion, Abbs devises a logical narrative for the unfortunate dancer. Drawing upon knowledge of other literary greats and artists of the era, <i>The Joyce Girl</i> can be easily believed to be a true account, although doubtlessly some scenes must be based upon imagination.
<i>The Joyce Girl</i> will attract historical and romantic novel enthusiasts, providing an enjoyable, thought capturing story, as well as an opportunity to learn. Whether you are aware of James Joyce’s works, or even Lucia herself, <i>The Joyce Girl</i> is bound to capture your attention and draw your mind into the European life during the early 1930s. Although only her debut novel, Annabel Abbs comes highly recommended and it will be interesting to see what direction she has decided to take in her shortly expected second novel.
Winner of the Impress Prize for New Writers 2015, Annabel Abbs creates a fantastic work of historical fiction based upon the life of Lucia Joyce. Although the titular character may be unheard of within the general public, her father will be known amongst the majority of readers. James Joyce, the eccentric author of<i> Ulysses</i> and <i>Finnegan’s Wake</i>, travelled around Europe with his family until settling in Avant-garde Paris, 1928. His daughter, Lucia, an ambitious, talented dancer describes the unconventional life as a child of Mr. Joyce, its ups and downs, and inevitable ruinous breakdown.
<i>The Joyce Girl</i> begins in Küsnacht, Zurich where Lucia is receiving treatment from Dr. Carl Jung – another well-known name; this novel is full of them. Struggling to come to terms with her current mental ill health and supposed repressed memories, Jung encourages Lucia to write her memoirs in order to learn of the events that led to this current predicament. Starting from 1928, aged 21, Lucia describes her life to Jung and the reader in brutally honest detail.
The unusual Irish family went through various successes and traumas in the intervening years, creating a humorous and emotional story. Lucia’s brother, Giorgio, caused the family enough problems without adding in the devastating heartache Lucia suffers from men who do not reciprocate her love. One of these lovers is the famous Samuel Beckett (<i>Waiting for Godot</i>, 1952), the first man Lucia falls for. It is fascinating to learn of the multiple connections these notable names had with each other. Although in retrospect it makes sense that the literary and artistic crowds would stick together.
From Lucia’s memoirs Jung formulates that the Joyce parents were extremely controlling, not giving Lucia the opportunity to live her own life – particularly within her dancing career. However, Jung still maintains that Lucia experienced emotional trauma and is insistent on retrieving those memories. What he eventually discovers will shock and possibly sicken the reader.
Through enormous amount of research, Annabel Abbs has put together a likely account of the Joyce family, particularly Lucia’s life. Using existing biographies, original letters and professional opinion, Abbs devises a logical narrative for the unfortunate dancer. Drawing upon knowledge of other literary greats and artists of the era, <i>The Joyce Girl</i> can be easily believed to be a true account, although doubtlessly some scenes must be based upon imagination.
<i>The Joyce Girl</i> will attract historical and romantic novel enthusiasts, providing an enjoyable, thought capturing story, as well as an opportunity to learn. Whether you are aware of James Joyce’s works, or even Lucia herself, <i>The Joyce Girl</i> is bound to capture your attention and draw your mind into the European life during the early 1930s. Although only her debut novel, Annabel Abbs comes highly recommended and it will be interesting to see what direction she has decided to take in her shortly expected second novel.
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Host (2020) in Movies
Sep 2, 2020
The concept of an entire movie playing out on a computer screen isn’t exactly a new one. A great example of this style of filmmaking was 2018 movie Searching, which I am a huge fan of. Back in 2014, Unfriended took the online chat room and managed to turn it into a horror movie, proving what could be achieved within such basic confines. And now, new Shudder horror Host continues in that theme, presenting us with a Zoom chat that goes horribly wrong.
Where Host differs from Unfriended is in its timely release. Filmed over a 12 week period during lockdown, and taking place entirely within the timeframe of a 60 minute Zoom call, Host portrays what we’ve all experienced in recent months – the socially distanced meetup with friends or colleagues online. And then it throws in some supernatural jump scares to terrify us into never wanting to participate in one ever again!
Host follows six friends, as they logon for their weekly Zoom catch-up. Only this time, Haley has suggested that they also hold an online séance, and has invited Irish spiritualist Seylan to join in and guide them through the experience. Before Seylan joins the chat though, we get to spend some time with the friends and you can’t help but feel at ease with the familiarity of seeing a group of people chatting together on screen, each in a different location. Even more so if you’re watching all of this play out on a small screen, as I was.
It’s clear from the start though that some of the group aren’t looking to take the séance too seriously, with one of them suggesting that they also play a drinking game. Whenever Seylan says the phrase “astral plane”, they decide they will try and down a drink without her realising what they’re up to. Consequently, it’s not long before one of the group has managed to ‘disrespect the spirits’, and when Seylan gets cut off the chat following connection issues, all manner of strange things begin happening to each of the group.
A number of them are in darkened rooms, so obviously you find yourself straining your eyes, searching for something out of the ordinary in every corner of the screen. There are the usual strange noises, lights flashing, with the occasional rational explanation behind it. And then there are plenty of big scares too – practical, effective effects that really pack a punch and are truly terrifying.
Important to all of this is the believability of our cast. Thankfully, their performances all feel believable, their friendship and conversation natural. I did find Teddy, the only male of the group, to be pretty annoying, but luckily he only appears briefly at the beginning and at the end of the movie.
Host came about after director and co-writer, Rob Savage, made a Zoom prank, which went viral after sharing on Twitter back in April. It’s a fortunate side effect of the pandemic that filmmakers have been forced to explore new and creative ways of making movies. And Host is an excellent, shining example of just how well that can pay off.
Where Host differs from Unfriended is in its timely release. Filmed over a 12 week period during lockdown, and taking place entirely within the timeframe of a 60 minute Zoom call, Host portrays what we’ve all experienced in recent months – the socially distanced meetup with friends or colleagues online. And then it throws in some supernatural jump scares to terrify us into never wanting to participate in one ever again!
Host follows six friends, as they logon for their weekly Zoom catch-up. Only this time, Haley has suggested that they also hold an online séance, and has invited Irish spiritualist Seylan to join in and guide them through the experience. Before Seylan joins the chat though, we get to spend some time with the friends and you can’t help but feel at ease with the familiarity of seeing a group of people chatting together on screen, each in a different location. Even more so if you’re watching all of this play out on a small screen, as I was.
It’s clear from the start though that some of the group aren’t looking to take the séance too seriously, with one of them suggesting that they also play a drinking game. Whenever Seylan says the phrase “astral plane”, they decide they will try and down a drink without her realising what they’re up to. Consequently, it’s not long before one of the group has managed to ‘disrespect the spirits’, and when Seylan gets cut off the chat following connection issues, all manner of strange things begin happening to each of the group.
A number of them are in darkened rooms, so obviously you find yourself straining your eyes, searching for something out of the ordinary in every corner of the screen. There are the usual strange noises, lights flashing, with the occasional rational explanation behind it. And then there are plenty of big scares too – practical, effective effects that really pack a punch and are truly terrifying.
Important to all of this is the believability of our cast. Thankfully, their performances all feel believable, their friendship and conversation natural. I did find Teddy, the only male of the group, to be pretty annoying, but luckily he only appears briefly at the beginning and at the end of the movie.
Host came about after director and co-writer, Rob Savage, made a Zoom prank, which went viral after sharing on Twitter back in April. It’s a fortunate side effect of the pandemic that filmmakers have been forced to explore new and creative ways of making movies. And Host is an excellent, shining example of just how well that can pay off.
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