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Alice (117 KP) rated The Enchanted in Books

Mar 3, 2021  
The Enchanted
The Enchanted
Rene Denfeld | 2014 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b>4.5 stars</b> (I may change this in the future but for now let's leave it at this)

My rating for this book is slightly confused because I went through a vast majority of the book feeling. "hey this book is really good I'm so glad it was recommended to me" but <i>only</i> feeling that. It didn't get me excited but it was still very, very good. However, the last couple of pages had such a huge impact and it really made the whole story come alive which meant I gave it the extra 0.5 for the pure sense of awe I felt after finishing.

When you read the title "The Enchanted" you expect it to be about fairies or some other sort of magical creature, the last thing that you expect is a book about a prisoner on death row but let me just say that this book is a gem. The language (especially as a debut novel) is exquisite. The use of metaphors and flowery almost pretty language juxtaposed perfectly to describe the scenes which should be gruesome and dark emphasising with the magic-realism style of the novel. Having the entire story told from the inmate's point of view made for an interesting read too because he was narrating the others' thoughts, so the only parts we know to be true are the things that he himself thought. As I mentioned above, the whole story is development, even as I was nearing the end no part truly felt like the climax.

All in all, I highly recommend this book even if you only read it for how beautiful the language is ( that's pretty much what inspired me to read it), it deals with harsh subject matters in a really raw way and makes you think and you will likely leave with more questions than with which you entered.
  
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Terry Gilliam recommended Pinocchio (1940) in Movies (curated)

 
Pinocchio (1940)
Pinocchio (1940)
1940 | Animation, Classics, Family

"""Let’s go to Pinocchio, Disney’s Pinocchio. That was a truly, utterly magical movie. The world was so beautifully detailed and so fantastical, and yet believable at every point. I love that movie. It’s really stuck with me, because it was at a level of craftsmanship that was so unbelievably high, and it’s maintained that position in my head for all the years. Great songs, great everything. Great characters. I don’t know what else one can say about it. It’s just a great story. I think the first film I saw was probably Snow White. That’s the advantage of being old. You get these films when you’re at the right age. But those two in particular really, really stuck with me because I just hadn’t seen anything so beautifully crafted. The great thing, it made me a big fan. It took me years to discover that Cliff Edwards was the voice of Jiminy Cricket. I always loved “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and he was singing that. Now I’m a great fan of Cliff Edwards. His music is brilliant, but most people have forgotten him. I just think he was known as a singer, and he played the ukulele. He just ended up with a wonderful voice. I think his voice was also used in one of the other Disney films, which I can’t remember. But it was his singing that is just right. I think that’s Pinocchio. I saw Pinocchio maybe 20 years ago again, and what amazed me about it is how, as a child, I remembered this vast universe, huge world. In fact, it’s tiny. You go from Geppetto’s workshop and the little village to the bad boys’ island just like that. Bing. It’s so tight the way that they do it. The next thing, you’re in Monstro’s belly. It’s a great one to watch just to see how succinct you can be and still create a universe. It’s a lesson I’ve never learned, the succinct part."""

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