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You Were There Too
You Were There Too
Colleen Oakley | 2020 | Contemporary, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mia and Harrison move to tiny Hope Springs from Philadelphia, each hoping to escape their own problems. Here they have a picture-perfect house and a supposedly matching perfect life. But Mia is struggling with infertility and her husband has his own hidden demons. Plus Mia has a secret: at night, she has recurring dreams about another man. So imagine her surprise when she runs into him--in the flesh--in Hope Springs. Even more surprising? He tells her he dreams of her, too.

This was an odd and intense read--nothing like what I expected, though I'm not sure what I was expecting, really. In fact, it was so serious at times, I had to read it in chunks. It was too much to take in, Mia's miscarriages and her emotions, the dreams and what they could mean. I don't really mean this in a bad way, either. The feelings in this book are just strong and extremely well-done.

I really liked the idea of dreams in the novel and how they are presented. I mean, what would you do if you were suddenly face to face with your fantasy, with someone who had been in your dreams for over a decade? What a particular situation.


"It's only that--at times--he feels so real. And has for the ten or more years that he's been starring in my nighttime reveries."


For me, where this book went off the rails, is when it started to meander. Oliver--Mia's dream guy in real life--and Mia join forces to try to figure out what their dreams mean. Mia laments about the men in her life. And then the book takes a turn and is just so damn sad. I felt betrayed, honestly, by its outcome. While I feel that it was very well-written--the way infertility is portrayed is well-done in a lot of ways--I felt as if I read an entire book for nothing. Why, I wondered, did we go through all that?

So, while I found the book to be quite captivating and emotional, what was going to be a 4-star read fell down to 3. Alas.
  
The Brood (1979)
The Brood (1979)
1979 | Horror, Sci-Fi
An R rated version of Inside Out?
Frank Carveth is just a father with some problems. His wife is currently enrolled in an intense, secluded, mysterious form of psychotherapy being conducted by an unusual doctor. His eccentric mother-in-law, has just been murdered through unusual circumstances and his young daughter is showing signs of physical abuse at the hands of his institutionalized wife that he must now investigate.

After the murder, his father-in-law also arrives, the situation worsens as he attempts to visit his daughter while in therapy without success. Still grief stricken, he wants to confront the doctor or at least understand what is happening.

Here is where the story becomes very unusual. The brutality being dispatched to various individuals is being administered by disfigured "dwarves" or misshapen children which makes no sense to Frank or the police which asks more questions.

After learning additional details, Frank returns to his wife's benefactor for a final confrontation with her and the doctor to ensure the release of his kidnapped daughter.

Cronenberg's early body horror films still stand as some of the most provocative of the gene and this film is certainly no exception. The deformed assailants provide immediate unique intrigue in the film representing something you have never seen previously and it only gets worse.

The total brutality they complete upon their victims is worsened by the fact some of it is even performed in front of children who would obviously be scarred for years to come.

The final reveal of "The Brood" is so intense, bizarre and graphic it will still turn off, repulse or offend almost anyone who watches it. Only true fans of the macabre, strange and totally extreme will find this palpable.

The great Oliver Reed is especially intense in his performance as the unconventional doctor performing his ritualistic treatments which include offbeat role plays where he has conversations with his patents pretending to be other people.

I can only imagine the reaction this film had upon its release in 1979.

  
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