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LucyB (47 KP) rated Nights at the Circus in Books
Jul 23, 2017
So creative - a totally unique writer
Fabulous!
I'd been expecting good things from this book, as everyone always tells me how wonderful Angela Carter is, and it certainly delivered!
It's a surreal, earthy kind of book, divided into three distinct parts, which largely focus on the introduction of Fevvers (the fabulous cockney winged woman), the days at the circus, and the wilds of Siberia. Hey, I did warn you it was surreal!
In this book, the reader encounters intelligent pigs (I LOVED Sybil!), brothel madams who like dressing up as Nelson, depressed clowns and more. It's a weird, wonderful world that Carter conjures up, but a joy to immerse yourself in!
It's also great to read an author who is simultaneously so elegant with her language, and so brutally down-to-earth. This echoes the main character in a way, who has the potential to soar to the sea or crash to the ground.
Definitely a must-read...I've no doubt I'll be revisiting this book in the future!
I'd been expecting good things from this book, as everyone always tells me how wonderful Angela Carter is, and it certainly delivered!
It's a surreal, earthy kind of book, divided into three distinct parts, which largely focus on the introduction of Fevvers (the fabulous cockney winged woman), the days at the circus, and the wilds of Siberia. Hey, I did warn you it was surreal!
In this book, the reader encounters intelligent pigs (I LOVED Sybil!), brothel madams who like dressing up as Nelson, depressed clowns and more. It's a weird, wonderful world that Carter conjures up, but a joy to immerse yourself in!
It's also great to read an author who is simultaneously so elegant with her language, and so brutally down-to-earth. This echoes the main character in a way, who has the potential to soar to the sea or crash to the ground.
Definitely a must-read...I've no doubt I'll be revisiting this book in the future!
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows in Books
Sep 13, 2017
Interesting, a little repetitive
I wasn't sure what to expect with this bizarrely named novel, and I was slightly worried it would be some Karma Sutra style book but it was nothing of the kind.
A group of old Punjabi women attend an English language class run by a British Asian young woman who mistakenly brings in an erotic book one day. It opens up a world of sensuous pleasure for the women, who are normally quite conservative about such topics.
While it's quite a novelty and funny at the beginning, the stories become repetitive and it becomes a little boring. The honour crime story was far more interesting and I wish there was more focus on that side instead of turning it in to a Gurinder Chadha type of novel. The stories are meant to open up other aspects of the community such as arranged marriages and the impact of honour - but it just doesn't seem to connect that well.
The protagonist Nicky is great though who reflects many British Asians growing up with dual cultures. Good but not great.
A group of old Punjabi women attend an English language class run by a British Asian young woman who mistakenly brings in an erotic book one day. It opens up a world of sensuous pleasure for the women, who are normally quite conservative about such topics.
While it's quite a novelty and funny at the beginning, the stories become repetitive and it becomes a little boring. The honour crime story was far more interesting and I wish there was more focus on that side instead of turning it in to a Gurinder Chadha type of novel. The stories are meant to open up other aspects of the community such as arranged marriages and the impact of honour - but it just doesn't seem to connect that well.
The protagonist Nicky is great though who reflects many British Asians growing up with dual cultures. Good but not great.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Touch in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Touch was crazy. It threw you in at the first sentence. It hung on tight the whole story through. I was amazed at the beauty and ugliness of the thing that was the main character—whatever her…his…it’s name was. I was amazed at all of it. Up until the end when I thought I would cry.
I didn’t want it to end, and when I finally figured out how it would, end I was furious. But I also knew there was literally no other way it could work; and yet it was still so hard to accept.
The mystery, the suspense, the back-story that fed into the current events, it was all enchanting and amazing and well written, and I will 100% read it again, and 100% recommend it to anybody. Claire North, you’re on my Author Watch.
As well as being well written, it was also well performed. I loved the voice chosen for the reader, it was read at a good speed, and it was read well.
Content/Recommendation: Some language. ages 15+
I didn’t want it to end, and when I finally figured out how it would, end I was furious. But I also knew there was literally no other way it could work; and yet it was still so hard to accept.
The mystery, the suspense, the back-story that fed into the current events, it was all enchanting and amazing and well written, and I will 100% read it again, and 100% recommend it to anybody. Claire North, you’re on my Author Watch.
As well as being well written, it was also well performed. I loved the voice chosen for the reader, it was read at a good speed, and it was read well.
Content/Recommendation: Some language. ages 15+
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Forgotten Girls in Books
Apr 27, 2018
The Forgotten Girls was a pretty good book. I can’t say it was amazing, but it definitely wasn’t bad. It is a book in a series. It’s designed so you don't have to read the others to enjoy this one and even though I didn’t need the other books in the series to know what was going on, I did feel a little lost at times, and I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a movie (like I skipped the first scene) and it was disconcerting.
That being said, the story itself was okay. It was a good execution of a concept that just wasn't that high. The climax didn’t feel that phenomenal and I felt like it ended just as it got going.
All in all, it was a fine read, I wasn’t annoyed by it, I certainly enjoyed the process, but it didn’t force me to keep reading like some books, and I wasn’t that impressed with the overall experience.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, violence, rape scene (not overly-grotesque). Ages 18+
That being said, the story itself was okay. It was a good execution of a concept that just wasn't that high. The climax didn’t feel that phenomenal and I felt like it ended just as it got going.
All in all, it was a fine read, I wasn’t annoyed by it, I certainly enjoyed the process, but it didn’t force me to keep reading like some books, and I wasn’t that impressed with the overall experience.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, violence, rape scene (not overly-grotesque). Ages 18+
Saffy Alexandra (89 KP) rated The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2) in Books
May 31, 2019
The Characters (1 more)
The Plot
Ssssomething Ssspecial
Now, this is probably my favourite book out of all the series, one because of my love of reptiles and two it just has that sort of charm that steals you in and doesn’t let you leave!
Usually reptiles (snakes, etc) are the bad guys and are always portrayed in not the best light. Snicket has a fantastic way of turning this on its head (no spoilers, get reading the books). His wit, charm and eclectic use of the English language is fantastical, managing to just keep you turning those pages over and over again until you realise you’ve finished the book … then you just want to carry on reading the next book in the series.
The poor Orphans do suffer a lot at Snickets hand, and we are so intrigued as to how these three will cope and handle that rogue Count Olaf that you can’t help but follow their misadventures and misfortunes.
If you are a fan of misery, mystery and a lot of humour and wit these books are for you!
Usually reptiles (snakes, etc) are the bad guys and are always portrayed in not the best light. Snicket has a fantastic way of turning this on its head (no spoilers, get reading the books). His wit, charm and eclectic use of the English language is fantastical, managing to just keep you turning those pages over and over again until you realise you’ve finished the book … then you just want to carry on reading the next book in the series.
The poor Orphans do suffer a lot at Snickets hand, and we are so intrigued as to how these three will cope and handle that rogue Count Olaf that you can’t help but follow their misadventures and misfortunes.
If you are a fan of misery, mystery and a lot of humour and wit these books are for you!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Raw (2017) in Movies
Feb 10, 2018 (Updated Feb 10, 2018)
A Rare Treat
French language horror-drama with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me premise that turned out to be one of the smartest and subtlest films of the year. It's the same old story we've seen a thousand times before - lifelong vegetarian goes off to vet school, is force-fed rabbit kidney, discovers an insatiable hunger for human flesh.
Ah yes, but as well as a degree of gore (weirdly, the most disturbing part of the film for me was watching someone receive a rather inept bikini wax), the film also has interesting and thoughtful things to say about peer pressure and the social demands placed on young women by the modern world - whether they don't even try to fit in or just try too hard, the results are often harsh.
The ending almost seems to be trying to reposition the film as a black comedy, but most of the way through this is ferociously intelligent and self-assured film helped a lot by Garance Marillier's remarkable performance. If you only watch one feminist cannibal allegory this year...
Ah yes, but as well as a degree of gore (weirdly, the most disturbing part of the film for me was watching someone receive a rather inept bikini wax), the film also has interesting and thoughtful things to say about peer pressure and the social demands placed on young women by the modern world - whether they don't even try to fit in or just try too hard, the results are often harsh.
The ending almost seems to be trying to reposition the film as a black comedy, but most of the way through this is ferociously intelligent and self-assured film helped a lot by Garance Marillier's remarkable performance. If you only watch one feminist cannibal allegory this year...
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Shakespeare Stories: Henry V, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet by Andrew Matthews presents four of William Shakespeare’s famous plays in an easy-to-digest format for kids. Accompanied by Tony Ross’ illustrations, Matthews re-imagines these Shakespearean plays as short stories more akin to classic fairy tales.
Matthews manages to take some of the most plot-heavy and confusing Shakespeare plays and break them down to their most basic elements. The language is easy to follow without lacking intellect or wit, and he stays true to Shakespeare’s concepts and characters. Illustrated short stories for kids are a no-brainer for getting children interested in William Shakespeare, and Matthews was smart to dive into the genre. He isn’t reinventing the wheel, but he is making the wheel accessible to a wide range of audiences.
I like how it has pictures, gives the cast and a quote from the original play. Then it tells the story and finishes up with an explanation of what just happened and some history of Shakespeare and the play.
Matthews manages to take some of the most plot-heavy and confusing Shakespeare plays and break them down to their most basic elements. The language is easy to follow without lacking intellect or wit, and he stays true to Shakespeare’s concepts and characters. Illustrated short stories for kids are a no-brainer for getting children interested in William Shakespeare, and Matthews was smart to dive into the genre. He isn’t reinventing the wheel, but he is making the wheel accessible to a wide range of audiences.
I like how it has pictures, gives the cast and a quote from the original play. Then it tells the story and finishes up with an explanation of what just happened and some history of Shakespeare and the play.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Virgil Wander in Books
Nov 21, 2018
Like a warm quilt on a cold day, in "Virgil Wander," Leif Enger wraps up his reader in evocative language that makes them want to pull the book closer and hold tight for this imaginative tale.
Narrated by the well-liked eponymous film projectionist who finds himself still getting his bearings and memory back after his car soars into Lake Superior during a snowfall, as Virgil navigates his small town with new perspective, we get acquainted with the equally affable, unique characters who inhabit the “cursed” town of Greenstone, Minnesota.
A seemingly straightforward journey made all the more enchanting by the author's magnetic prose, “Virgil Wander” is stunning not only in its simplicity but by how masterfully Enger builds a strong foundation of characters you can relate to before seasoning his story with elements of Norwegian myth and fisherman's tall tales, which in his hands become Minnesota magic.
A highly recommended chronicle of small town life with much more on its mind, this gorgeously penned sleeper is one of my favorite novels of 2018.
Narrated by the well-liked eponymous film projectionist who finds himself still getting his bearings and memory back after his car soars into Lake Superior during a snowfall, as Virgil navigates his small town with new perspective, we get acquainted with the equally affable, unique characters who inhabit the “cursed” town of Greenstone, Minnesota.
A seemingly straightforward journey made all the more enchanting by the author's magnetic prose, “Virgil Wander” is stunning not only in its simplicity but by how masterfully Enger builds a strong foundation of characters you can relate to before seasoning his story with elements of Norwegian myth and fisherman's tall tales, which in his hands become Minnesota magic.
A highly recommended chronicle of small town life with much more on its mind, this gorgeously penned sleeper is one of my favorite novels of 2018.