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Afterlife (Afterlife Saga, #1)
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Afterlife… just some gothic nightclub where gossip is fuelled by the presence of a rich and...
Latent Variable Modeling with R
W. Holmes Finch and Brian F. French
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This book demonstrates how to conduct latent variable modeling (LVM) in R by highlighting the...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Targets (1968) in Movies
Jun 18, 2020
Targeting Frankenstein: A Horror Icon
Targets- is a very suspenseful film that stars a old boris Karloff. His performance in this film is different. Usually he is type-cast in a horror movie. Targets is not the cast, its a more serious role for Karloff and I liked it alot. He is dramatic in Targets. It was Karloff's last appearance in a marjor american film, before he passed away in 1968.
The plot: After unhinged Vietnam vet Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) kills his wife and mother, he goes on a brutal shooting spree. Starting at an oil refinery, he evades the police and continues his murderous outing at a drive-in movie theater, where Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), a retiring horror film icon, is making a promotional appearance. Before long, Orlock, a symbol of fantastical old-fashioned scares, faces off against Thompson, a remorseless psychopath rooted in a harsh modern reality.
Even Karloff's charcter is a retired horror film actor, so he can never get away from the horror genre/type-casting.
In the film's finale at a drive-in theater, Orlok – the old-fashioned, traditional screen monster who always obeyed the rules – confronts the new, realistic, nihilistic late-1960s "monster" in the shape of a clean-cut, unassuming multiple murderer.
Bogdanovich got the chance to make Targets because Boris Karloff owed studio head Roger Corman two days' work. Corman told Bogdanovich he could make any film he liked provided he used Karloff and stayed under budget. In addition, Bogdanovich had to use clips from Corman's Napoleonic-era thriller The Terror in the movie. The clips from The Terror feature Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. A brief clip of Howard Hawks' 1931 film The Criminal Code featuring Karloff was also used.
American International Pictures offered to release, but Bogdanovich wanted to try to see if the film could get a deal with a major studio. It was seen by Robert Evans of Paramount who bought it for $150,000, giving Corman an instant profit on the movie before it was even released.
Although the film was written and production photography completed in late 1967, it was released after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy in early 1968 and thus had some topical relevance to then-current events. Nevertheless, it was not very successful at the box office.
Quentin Tarantino later called it "the most political movie Corman ever made since The Intruder. And forty years later it’s still one of the strongest cries for gun control in American cinema. The film isn’t a thriller with a social commentary buried inside of it (the normal Corman model), it’s a social commentary with a thriller buried inside of it... It was one of the most powerful films of 1968 and one of the greatest directorial debuts of all time. And I believe the best film ever produced by Roger Corman.
Its a excellent mystery suspenseful thrilling starring Boris Karloff, last appearance in a marjor american film, before he passed away in 1968. A great film to end your career on.
The plot: After unhinged Vietnam vet Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) kills his wife and mother, he goes on a brutal shooting spree. Starting at an oil refinery, he evades the police and continues his murderous outing at a drive-in movie theater, where Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), a retiring horror film icon, is making a promotional appearance. Before long, Orlock, a symbol of fantastical old-fashioned scares, faces off against Thompson, a remorseless psychopath rooted in a harsh modern reality.
Even Karloff's charcter is a retired horror film actor, so he can never get away from the horror genre/type-casting.
In the film's finale at a drive-in theater, Orlok – the old-fashioned, traditional screen monster who always obeyed the rules – confronts the new, realistic, nihilistic late-1960s "monster" in the shape of a clean-cut, unassuming multiple murderer.
Bogdanovich got the chance to make Targets because Boris Karloff owed studio head Roger Corman two days' work. Corman told Bogdanovich he could make any film he liked provided he used Karloff and stayed under budget. In addition, Bogdanovich had to use clips from Corman's Napoleonic-era thriller The Terror in the movie. The clips from The Terror feature Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. A brief clip of Howard Hawks' 1931 film The Criminal Code featuring Karloff was also used.
American International Pictures offered to release, but Bogdanovich wanted to try to see if the film could get a deal with a major studio. It was seen by Robert Evans of Paramount who bought it for $150,000, giving Corman an instant profit on the movie before it was even released.
Although the film was written and production photography completed in late 1967, it was released after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy in early 1968 and thus had some topical relevance to then-current events. Nevertheless, it was not very successful at the box office.
Quentin Tarantino later called it "the most political movie Corman ever made since The Intruder. And forty years later it’s still one of the strongest cries for gun control in American cinema. The film isn’t a thriller with a social commentary buried inside of it (the normal Corman model), it’s a social commentary with a thriller buried inside of it... It was one of the most powerful films of 1968 and one of the greatest directorial debuts of all time. And I believe the best film ever produced by Roger Corman.
Its a excellent mystery suspenseful thrilling starring Boris Karloff, last appearance in a marjor american film, before he passed away in 1968. A great film to end your career on.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated In the Role of Brie Hutchens... in Books
Jul 2, 2020
Brie Hutchens is an eighth-grader at a Catholic school. She loves soap operas and dreams of being the star of the school play. She wants to go to drama school next year. Brie also has feelings that she's pretty sure are different than the other kids at her school. For instance, she gets a fluttery feeling looking at photos online of her favorite soap opera actress. But when Brie's (very religious) mom walks in on her doing so, Brie freaks out and tells her Mom she's been chosen to crown the Mary statue at her school's ceremony. She hasn't of course, and even worse, she probably stands no chance at earning the gig, since it usually goes to a top student. One like Kennedy, whom Brie usually avoids. But as Brie starts to spend a little more time with Kennedy, she realizes Kennedy gives her the same feeling as that soap actress. And that none of this is going to make her mother happy (or help her crown Mary).
This is a very sweet, heartwarming, and touching story about a young girl finding her way and finding herself. I'm a sucker for coming of age stories, but when they are lesbian coming of age stories? I'm sold. Brie is an interesting character, who even comes across a little ungrateful at times--though perhaps she's just a typical teenager. She's embarrassed her dad works at her school and often seems a bit self-centered and in her own world. Okay, yeah, she's a teenager. But her battle with her sexual identity is certainly one I could identify with and it's presented in a lovely and truthful way. It's exactly the kind of book kids this age need, especially teens being raised in a religious environment.
The book is more religious than I expected, but it's not off-putting. As someone whose first love love came from a religious Catholic family, I saw so much of my past life in this book. I loved the fact that Brie is a soap fan--as kid who grew up loving Dallas, Days of Our Lives, Passions, and Sunset Beach, this part of the book was totally fun. Yet, Melleby worked in the angle in a serious way, too, as Brie uses soaps as a way to realize that maybe she isn't so different after all (thank you, soaps, for having some progressive characters ahead of your time).
"But when Brie and her mom sat in the living room, watching their soaps, Brie forgot they had so little in common."
Brie is fun and sweet and she's decidedly her own person, yet scared of how her religious mom and her Catholic school friends might see her if she reveals she likes girls. Her agonizing over this, her fear of coming out, is raw and realistic. The difficultly of coming out really resonates here, and Melleby does a wonderful job capturing how hard it is, even now.
Overall, this is a lovely and tender book--funny and sweet--and a great children's/YA read. If you love coming of age stories, YA novels, or any LQBTIA youth fiction, I think this novel will tug at your heartstrings.
This is a very sweet, heartwarming, and touching story about a young girl finding her way and finding herself. I'm a sucker for coming of age stories, but when they are lesbian coming of age stories? I'm sold. Brie is an interesting character, who even comes across a little ungrateful at times--though perhaps she's just a typical teenager. She's embarrassed her dad works at her school and often seems a bit self-centered and in her own world. Okay, yeah, she's a teenager. But her battle with her sexual identity is certainly one I could identify with and it's presented in a lovely and truthful way. It's exactly the kind of book kids this age need, especially teens being raised in a religious environment.
The book is more religious than I expected, but it's not off-putting. As someone whose first love love came from a religious Catholic family, I saw so much of my past life in this book. I loved the fact that Brie is a soap fan--as kid who grew up loving Dallas, Days of Our Lives, Passions, and Sunset Beach, this part of the book was totally fun. Yet, Melleby worked in the angle in a serious way, too, as Brie uses soaps as a way to realize that maybe she isn't so different after all (thank you, soaps, for having some progressive characters ahead of your time).
"But when Brie and her mom sat in the living room, watching their soaps, Brie forgot they had so little in common."
Brie is fun and sweet and she's decidedly her own person, yet scared of how her religious mom and her Catholic school friends might see her if she reveals she likes girls. Her agonizing over this, her fear of coming out, is raw and realistic. The difficultly of coming out really resonates here, and Melleby does a wonderful job capturing how hard it is, even now.
Overall, this is a lovely and tender book--funny and sweet--and a great children's/YA read. If you love coming of age stories, YA novels, or any LQBTIA youth fiction, I think this novel will tug at your heartstrings.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Witches (2020) in Movies
Mar 14, 2021
Well, here we are... I'm not really sure I remember the original, but I suspect that's a bit of a blessing.
When a young boy encounters a strange and frightening woman his grandmother tells him about the existence of witches. In an attempt to hide from the woman, they take a trip that accidentally drops them in the middle of a witch convention led by the Grand High Witch.
At 1 hour 46 the witches feels like a short film to watch, but on reflection that runtime seems incredibly long for what was actually presented. The opening feels long, while somehow empty. There's obviously a need to get the backstory out, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the Chris Rock voiceover combined with the condensed story from Grandma.
I don't think there's a whole lot to grumble about with the storyline, witches exist, they hate children, plan to obliterate them all... blah blah blah. While I'm not entirely convinced there's a place for some of Roald Dahl's stories these days, but this sort of kids in peril and magic plots are fairly easy ones to get along with.
I love seeing Octavia Spencer in things, though I refuse to accept her as a grandmother. There were some moments with her that I really enjoyed, but there were quite a few scenes where the reactions didn't feel right for the situation. This wasn't something isolated to Spencer's performance, a combination of odd script and strangely edited transitions and effects left me with a lot of moments to pause.
Jahzir Bruno as Hero Boy was very good once the setting moved to the hotel, and I loved his reactions to hearing his gran explaining how to identify a witch.
Let's talk about the Grand High Witch shall we? Anne Hathaway definitely felt like the only one who was all in on their performance... and that's maybe the only positive thing I have to say about it. It was so incredibly difficult to understand what was being said half of the time, you can take an educated guess, but that doesn't really help when you're watching a film.
While all the witches have effects on them it's mainly Hathaway that had the screen time with it. As a scary creation it's pretty good, the mouth and teeth give a very sinister vibe... but at times I felt like it was overused. There were times when the effects really shone. The Grand High Witch's features looked spookily realistic, and here movements flowed seamlessly. But then you got the throwing of objects, and the animals, and it falls apart. The cat in particular reminded me of early, dubious, Harry Potter effects. (And that's not the only Harry Potter element I felt, there are strong Dudley vibes too.)
This reimagining of The Witches may have enough rodent action and face-pulling for the kids to get some enjoyment out of it, but this empty feeling film left me with little to remember apart from the negatives.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-witches-movie-review.html
When a young boy encounters a strange and frightening woman his grandmother tells him about the existence of witches. In an attempt to hide from the woman, they take a trip that accidentally drops them in the middle of a witch convention led by the Grand High Witch.
At 1 hour 46 the witches feels like a short film to watch, but on reflection that runtime seems incredibly long for what was actually presented. The opening feels long, while somehow empty. There's obviously a need to get the backstory out, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the Chris Rock voiceover combined with the condensed story from Grandma.
I don't think there's a whole lot to grumble about with the storyline, witches exist, they hate children, plan to obliterate them all... blah blah blah. While I'm not entirely convinced there's a place for some of Roald Dahl's stories these days, but this sort of kids in peril and magic plots are fairly easy ones to get along with.
I love seeing Octavia Spencer in things, though I refuse to accept her as a grandmother. There were some moments with her that I really enjoyed, but there were quite a few scenes where the reactions didn't feel right for the situation. This wasn't something isolated to Spencer's performance, a combination of odd script and strangely edited transitions and effects left me with a lot of moments to pause.
Jahzir Bruno as Hero Boy was very good once the setting moved to the hotel, and I loved his reactions to hearing his gran explaining how to identify a witch.
Let's talk about the Grand High Witch shall we? Anne Hathaway definitely felt like the only one who was all in on their performance... and that's maybe the only positive thing I have to say about it. It was so incredibly difficult to understand what was being said half of the time, you can take an educated guess, but that doesn't really help when you're watching a film.
While all the witches have effects on them it's mainly Hathaway that had the screen time with it. As a scary creation it's pretty good, the mouth and teeth give a very sinister vibe... but at times I felt like it was overused. There were times when the effects really shone. The Grand High Witch's features looked spookily realistic, and here movements flowed seamlessly. But then you got the throwing of objects, and the animals, and it falls apart. The cat in particular reminded me of early, dubious, Harry Potter effects. (And that's not the only Harry Potter element I felt, there are strong Dudley vibes too.)
This reimagining of The Witches may have enough rodent action and face-pulling for the kids to get some enjoyment out of it, but this empty feeling film left me with little to remember apart from the negatives.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-witches-movie-review.html
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Feel Me Fall in Books
Sep 24, 2020
More reviews at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
Sometimes I wonder, why great books like this one don’t get published, and you hardly will find it in the book stores, and other, average books, get published and sold everywhere… It is my little mystery, to which I do not have an answer
Three boys and three girls, magically survive a plane crash. Their main goal is to survive, to survive in Amazon, where danger is behind every tree. They need to work as a team to get back to civilisation, find food, shelter and overcome the past which follows them even in a middle of a jungle. Eventually, only Emily Duran is saved, so what happened to the rest of her friends? That was the question, which kept me glued to this book.
I absolutely loved the characters of this book, they all are teenagers who went to same school and are sharing some difficult relationships. I really enjoyed the different personalities of each and every character. All characters are incredibly complex, charismatic, realistic and very interesting personas. Everyone will have a great variety to choose from as their favourite. I really couldn’t pick one as my favourite, because they all had some great qualities, which left me baffled.
The narrative of this novel is told by moving between past and present. Emily is telling the story of what happened in Amazon, and she comes back to the present, to share how all this influenced her present life and relationships. I really enjoyed how Morris manipulated readers mind in this novel. When I started believing in some course of action, author threw in a turn or twist which changed everything, and left me guessing again. This book is not long, that’s why the action and pace had to keep happening in every chapter, and I am thankful that there was no unnecessary writing.
The writing style of this book is very pleasant, it is easy to read this novel, and it is very skillfully written. It is a survival novel, and people died in this book, and to be honest, it is quite graphic, so if you are sensitive and don’t like graphic death scenes, you might want to avoid this book. The chapters of this book were pleasantly designed, dividing the chapters into smaller sub-chapters, which didn’t leave me uninterested, and kept the suspense going. I was absolutely amused and shocked by the ending of this novel and I give nothing but applause to the author for it. I think that ending was absolutely fantastic!
I could carry on praising this book, but the only thing anyone could do, is read it. It is not a typical survival novel, it has fresh approach to it, it is very nicely written, gripping, twisty and very enjoyable to read. Not to forget, it discusses some very important issues, which teenagers are facing, and how it can change in a matter of minutes. So, yes, I do strongly recommend this book and I really hope that publishers will notice this great work, and one day people will be able to buy it everywhere.
Was given this book by author for honest review.
Sometimes I wonder, why great books like this one don’t get published, and you hardly will find it in the book stores, and other, average books, get published and sold everywhere… It is my little mystery, to which I do not have an answer
Three boys and three girls, magically survive a plane crash. Their main goal is to survive, to survive in Amazon, where danger is behind every tree. They need to work as a team to get back to civilisation, find food, shelter and overcome the past which follows them even in a middle of a jungle. Eventually, only Emily Duran is saved, so what happened to the rest of her friends? That was the question, which kept me glued to this book.
I absolutely loved the characters of this book, they all are teenagers who went to same school and are sharing some difficult relationships. I really enjoyed the different personalities of each and every character. All characters are incredibly complex, charismatic, realistic and very interesting personas. Everyone will have a great variety to choose from as their favourite. I really couldn’t pick one as my favourite, because they all had some great qualities, which left me baffled.
The narrative of this novel is told by moving between past and present. Emily is telling the story of what happened in Amazon, and she comes back to the present, to share how all this influenced her present life and relationships. I really enjoyed how Morris manipulated readers mind in this novel. When I started believing in some course of action, author threw in a turn or twist which changed everything, and left me guessing again. This book is not long, that’s why the action and pace had to keep happening in every chapter, and I am thankful that there was no unnecessary writing.
The writing style of this book is very pleasant, it is easy to read this novel, and it is very skillfully written. It is a survival novel, and people died in this book, and to be honest, it is quite graphic, so if you are sensitive and don’t like graphic death scenes, you might want to avoid this book. The chapters of this book were pleasantly designed, dividing the chapters into smaller sub-chapters, which didn’t leave me uninterested, and kept the suspense going. I was absolutely amused and shocked by the ending of this novel and I give nothing but applause to the author for it. I think that ending was absolutely fantastic!
I could carry on praising this book, but the only thing anyone could do, is read it. It is not a typical survival novel, it has fresh approach to it, it is very nicely written, gripping, twisty and very enjoyable to read. Not to forget, it discusses some very important issues, which teenagers are facing, and how it can change in a matter of minutes. So, yes, I do strongly recommend this book and I really hope that publishers will notice this great work, and one day people will be able to buy it everywhere.
Was given this book by author for honest review.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Year of No Rules in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The blurb of this book, describes it quite accurately, however, there is way more to this book. It goes through all the parts of the relationship: love, separation, depression, acceptance and moving on.
The main characters of this book were Sasha and Kirk, later joined by Sam. The whole narrative was told only from Sasha’s perspective, so we have to believe of how Sasha portrayed them and don’t really have an insight into their personalities to judge them ourselves. Even though Sasha was the lead in this story, my favorite character in this book was Sam. I honestly liked him for his charisma, understanding nature, and all women should have a partner like him. Some of Sasha’s actions really annoyed me, it’s like watching a horror movie, where the actress is going to a dark cellar willingly when we know she is going to die. In these cases, I really want to shout to her “danger, don’t go!”/ “don’t be stupid, you are going to die!”, but the actress still does it and gets hurt in the end… Why Sasha? Why?
The whole book was divided into three parts: “The year with rules”; “After Kirk”; “The year of no rules”. In the first part, Sasha was sharing her life with Kirk. How their dates used to go, what Kirk did in the past, and how she loved to spoil him. In the second part, Sasha was telling how she was dealing (or not) with her life after Kirk walked off. She shared he sorrows, memories, and how Kirk was psychologically tormenting her even many months after their break up. (Sasha why did you allow it? WHY?) In the third part, Sasha started to gather her life again, by setting little goals to fight her major depression and finding a fantastic man.
The plot of this novel often jumped between past and present through Sasha’s memories about Kirk and their relationship. What I loved the most about this book, was the topics which McClelland discussed in this book: the danger of controlling partners; forgiving person even after grand betrayal; major depression and how people can fight it; how to deal with broken trust. I think this book can really help women who were/are in Sasha’s situation and need help, I think it could be a guide to taking those first steps to help yourself.
The writing style of this book was pleasant and really easy to read, with short chapters, which made it a great weekend read. It has a nice ending to the book, I would say realistic ending, not “happily ever after” one, which you can read in most fiction books. So, to conclude, even though there are many, many Sasha’s actions which made me question “Woman, why would you do this?”, I loved this book because it is funny, carries a strong message, and how relate-able it can be to some people. I do recommend it to all chick lit fans, and to all who are going through a nasty break up. Enjoy! :)
Was given this book by the author for honest review.
The main characters of this book were Sasha and Kirk, later joined by Sam. The whole narrative was told only from Sasha’s perspective, so we have to believe of how Sasha portrayed them and don’t really have an insight into their personalities to judge them ourselves. Even though Sasha was the lead in this story, my favorite character in this book was Sam. I honestly liked him for his charisma, understanding nature, and all women should have a partner like him. Some of Sasha’s actions really annoyed me, it’s like watching a horror movie, where the actress is going to a dark cellar willingly when we know she is going to die. In these cases, I really want to shout to her “danger, don’t go!”/ “don’t be stupid, you are going to die!”, but the actress still does it and gets hurt in the end… Why Sasha? Why?
The whole book was divided into three parts: “The year with rules”; “After Kirk”; “The year of no rules”. In the first part, Sasha was sharing her life with Kirk. How their dates used to go, what Kirk did in the past, and how she loved to spoil him. In the second part, Sasha was telling how she was dealing (or not) with her life after Kirk walked off. She shared he sorrows, memories, and how Kirk was psychologically tormenting her even many months after their break up. (Sasha why did you allow it? WHY?) In the third part, Sasha started to gather her life again, by setting little goals to fight her major depression and finding a fantastic man.
The plot of this novel often jumped between past and present through Sasha’s memories about Kirk and their relationship. What I loved the most about this book, was the topics which McClelland discussed in this book: the danger of controlling partners; forgiving person even after grand betrayal; major depression and how people can fight it; how to deal with broken trust. I think this book can really help women who were/are in Sasha’s situation and need help, I think it could be a guide to taking those first steps to help yourself.
The writing style of this book was pleasant and really easy to read, with short chapters, which made it a great weekend read. It has a nice ending to the book, I would say realistic ending, not “happily ever after” one, which you can read in most fiction books. So, to conclude, even though there are many, many Sasha’s actions which made me question “Woman, why would you do this?”, I loved this book because it is funny, carries a strong message, and how relate-able it can be to some people. I do recommend it to all chick lit fans, and to all who are going through a nasty break up. Enjoy! :)
Was given this book by the author for honest review.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Lost Letters of William Woolf in Books
Sep 24, 2020
I would like to begin by saying, that this blurb sounds very very intriguing, and I got ready for a love story, but oh sugar, how deceiving it is. There is soooooo much more to this book, it is very complex, thought-provoking and deep.
William and Claire are married for a very long time, their relationship saw everything, from happy times to major disappointments, now they are kind of wondering whether to continue with it or to go separate ways. So while all this is happening, William experiences everything that is mentioned in the blurb as well. So yeah, this is a very complicated story…
This story is told from multiple perspectives, in this case, William’s and Claire’s, and I am very happy, that I got to know the characters better this way. The more I read, the more annoyed I got. Even though the characters are very realistic and believable, I really disliked Claire. I just didn’t like her personality, bossiness, and I just couldn’t connect with her. I liked William, he is kind and generous, but I think he was really weak and it annoyed me that he allowed being treated like a mop.
I think the plot of this book is quite unique, highlighting couples relationship and thoughts that run through so many couples in real life. This novel carries so many feelings, memories from the past, and thoughts about the future. The narrative travels between past when they had a blooming relationship to the present when the situation is tensed. I really liked that the author chose different settings for this novel. The author describes Ireland beautifully as well as London and other towns. I am really curious, how the author did her research for this book because I would love to be a lost letter’s detective. 😀 That sounds so exciting! 🙂 Another thing that I really enjoyed was William’s little adventures while looking for the owner of those mysterious “Great Love” letters, that kept my interest going, and I was curious to find out, what William is going to do.
Helen Cullen’s prose is absolutely beautiful and it is a great debut. I found this book easy to read and it was an enjoyable journey. The chapters are a decent length, but because this novel is filled with thoughts, sometimes my mind did wander away, some of those thoughts repeated itself and in some cases, it was just too much of it for me. The ending rounded up the story nicely, but I have mixed feelings about it. I am kind of happy with the outcome but at the same time kind of disappointed.
So, to conclude, don’t be fooled by the blurb, there is way more depth in this book than it shows. It analyzes a very complex couple’s relationship, letting the reader really get into characters heads. I enjoyed this book, and if you wish to find out what happened to William, Claire and the mysterious letter sender, do give this book a try and I hope you will enjoy their story. 🙂
William and Claire are married for a very long time, their relationship saw everything, from happy times to major disappointments, now they are kind of wondering whether to continue with it or to go separate ways. So while all this is happening, William experiences everything that is mentioned in the blurb as well. So yeah, this is a very complicated story…
This story is told from multiple perspectives, in this case, William’s and Claire’s, and I am very happy, that I got to know the characters better this way. The more I read, the more annoyed I got. Even though the characters are very realistic and believable, I really disliked Claire. I just didn’t like her personality, bossiness, and I just couldn’t connect with her. I liked William, he is kind and generous, but I think he was really weak and it annoyed me that he allowed being treated like a mop.
I think the plot of this book is quite unique, highlighting couples relationship and thoughts that run through so many couples in real life. This novel carries so many feelings, memories from the past, and thoughts about the future. The narrative travels between past when they had a blooming relationship to the present when the situation is tensed. I really liked that the author chose different settings for this novel. The author describes Ireland beautifully as well as London and other towns. I am really curious, how the author did her research for this book because I would love to be a lost letter’s detective. 😀 That sounds so exciting! 🙂 Another thing that I really enjoyed was William’s little adventures while looking for the owner of those mysterious “Great Love” letters, that kept my interest going, and I was curious to find out, what William is going to do.
Helen Cullen’s prose is absolutely beautiful and it is a great debut. I found this book easy to read and it was an enjoyable journey. The chapters are a decent length, but because this novel is filled with thoughts, sometimes my mind did wander away, some of those thoughts repeated itself and in some cases, it was just too much of it for me. The ending rounded up the story nicely, but I have mixed feelings about it. I am kind of happy with the outcome but at the same time kind of disappointed.
So, to conclude, don’t be fooled by the blurb, there is way more depth in this book than it shows. It analyzes a very complex couple’s relationship, letting the reader really get into characters heads. I enjoyed this book, and if you wish to find out what happened to William, Claire and the mysterious letter sender, do give this book a try and I hope you will enjoy their story. 🙂
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Sweetpea in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This is a first book I read, which is written by this author, and it is absolutely hilarious and fantastic. I absolutely loved it! Rhinannon is a psychopath, and this book is her diary, which is incredibly amusing. By day she acts as this loving, caring and sweet friend/ colleague/girlfriend, and by night, her only urge is to kill, and relieve her tension. She targets people with bad intentions, or who gave her hard time when she was little, but the urge to kill leaves her desperate for anyone, eventually.
The main character chosen for this book is incredibly funny and seriously disturbed. I really liked the way she expressed herself in this diary. We all sometimes want to kill some nasty people around us, of course just in our heads, but the character actually does it. Rhinannon is psychotic genius, I would say, she knows how to manipulate people to her advantage, knows how to lure them into her traps, like a clever spider. It’s just hard to explain her personality, it is so twisted and complex. In some places I was really grossed out by the fetishes of the main character, they are just nasty. All these details made this book so amazing.
The plot of this book happens in one of England’s small towns, and time frame of this diary is between New Year and first of June, so, six month. Most of the chapters used to start with character’s “kill list”, the people who annoyed her in one way or the other, and she would be more than happy to end their lives. The plot of this book is full of twists and turns, and more you get into the book, the more secrets and nastiness it unfolds. It was quite scary to read, how detailed the author described the feeling, when the murder used to take place. How does she know all this stuff? I found it interesting, how author showed, that stereotypes of serial killers can be broken, and that you never know who is seriously messed up in their heads.
The book itself contains heaps of strong language, which makes it really funny, and most probably, I looked really silly, while reading and smiling on the tube. The chapters of the book are really short, and the book is fast paced, so it makes it a real page turner, as you really want to find out what is coming up next. The writing style of this book is really great, and I had real pleasure while reading it, it’s easy to understand and uses great daily terms which are very realistic, and we all used them sometimes. The ending of the book left me questioning and curious, but at the same time it was obvious and concluding. But still, I really want to know what happened next. So, to conclude, I really loved this book and I strongly recommend getting it, it is a marvellous thriller which is extremely funny, but disturbing at the same time, full of layers and insight into the mind of the psychopath. It’s one of my favourites so far and a total must read.
The main character chosen for this book is incredibly funny and seriously disturbed. I really liked the way she expressed herself in this diary. We all sometimes want to kill some nasty people around us, of course just in our heads, but the character actually does it. Rhinannon is psychotic genius, I would say, she knows how to manipulate people to her advantage, knows how to lure them into her traps, like a clever spider. It’s just hard to explain her personality, it is so twisted and complex. In some places I was really grossed out by the fetishes of the main character, they are just nasty. All these details made this book so amazing.
The plot of this book happens in one of England’s small towns, and time frame of this diary is between New Year and first of June, so, six month. Most of the chapters used to start with character’s “kill list”, the people who annoyed her in one way or the other, and she would be more than happy to end their lives. The plot of this book is full of twists and turns, and more you get into the book, the more secrets and nastiness it unfolds. It was quite scary to read, how detailed the author described the feeling, when the murder used to take place. How does she know all this stuff? I found it interesting, how author showed, that stereotypes of serial killers can be broken, and that you never know who is seriously messed up in their heads.
The book itself contains heaps of strong language, which makes it really funny, and most probably, I looked really silly, while reading and smiling on the tube. The chapters of the book are really short, and the book is fast paced, so it makes it a real page turner, as you really want to find out what is coming up next. The writing style of this book is really great, and I had real pleasure while reading it, it’s easy to understand and uses great daily terms which are very realistic, and we all used them sometimes. The ending of the book left me questioning and curious, but at the same time it was obvious and concluding. But still, I really want to know what happened next. So, to conclude, I really loved this book and I strongly recommend getting it, it is a marvellous thriller which is extremely funny, but disturbing at the same time, full of layers and insight into the mind of the psychopath. It’s one of my favourites so far and a total must read.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated A Present from India in Books
Sep 24, 2020
When I started reading this book, it did not hook me, and that remained till the end of the book. The main characters of the book were mother whose name was Eva and her half Indian, half English daughter Dee. I really admired Eva’s character in this book. She was like an old wise owl, I liked that, at least now she was wise and made good decisions.(what I wouldn’t say about her study days) Unfortunately I found Dee quite stupid and annoying, with her silly decisions and being stubborn with those not logical wishes she makes in the book. Because of these real life character features I found them both to be very realistic and believable, there are many mixed marriages in the UK and I liked the diversity of the characters.
As it was mentioned in the description, there are two stories told of two generations. It is the trip to India which is happening at present and a time spent in Moscow in 1977. I really loved reading about Eva's time in Moscow; it was really interesting to me. I enjoyed all the details author told about Moscow. I think that's where authors experience comes in, she studied in Moscow during seventies herself, that's why she was able to portray the city and the atmosphere of those days quite accurate. The relationship Chandra was having with Eva was really complicated and for me it kept the suspense going, that's why I used to get excited once those chapters used to come up. Unfortunately the Indian trip was not very interesting to read for me. I think in many places there was too much detail which was not necessary. What drinks they had and what food they ate, I was not very interested in that. The characters wanted to see real India, but what was written in the book was far from the real India. Living in a hotel and travelling first class is not real India experience. It seemed like a tour which most probably author had, and this was the way to share the experience. As person who saw and lived in everyday Indian conditions, I can assure, it’s not like it was in the book. Even though I didn't really enjoy the parts of India voyage, it made me want to take my mother there. I liked the relationship which Eva and Dee shared during that trip.
I liked the writing style of this novel; it has this lovely English way: refined and polite, avoiding conflict. I am a big fan of short chapters, or long chapters divided into smaller, so the length of the chapters was not my favourite part in this book as well. They were long and too boring sometimes. Another thing I really enjoyed, was the ending of this book. It was unexpected to me and made sense why the novel was written in the way it was. So to conclude, if you never visited India and have interest in Soviet history, you will enjoy this book and will find some exotic places and interesting way of living in 1970ties Russia.
As it was mentioned in the description, there are two stories told of two generations. It is the trip to India which is happening at present and a time spent in Moscow in 1977. I really loved reading about Eva's time in Moscow; it was really interesting to me. I enjoyed all the details author told about Moscow. I think that's where authors experience comes in, she studied in Moscow during seventies herself, that's why she was able to portray the city and the atmosphere of those days quite accurate. The relationship Chandra was having with Eva was really complicated and for me it kept the suspense going, that's why I used to get excited once those chapters used to come up. Unfortunately the Indian trip was not very interesting to read for me. I think in many places there was too much detail which was not necessary. What drinks they had and what food they ate, I was not very interested in that. The characters wanted to see real India, but what was written in the book was far from the real India. Living in a hotel and travelling first class is not real India experience. It seemed like a tour which most probably author had, and this was the way to share the experience. As person who saw and lived in everyday Indian conditions, I can assure, it’s not like it was in the book. Even though I didn't really enjoy the parts of India voyage, it made me want to take my mother there. I liked the relationship which Eva and Dee shared during that trip.
I liked the writing style of this novel; it has this lovely English way: refined and polite, avoiding conflict. I am a big fan of short chapters, or long chapters divided into smaller, so the length of the chapters was not my favourite part in this book as well. They were long and too boring sometimes. Another thing I really enjoyed, was the ending of this book. It was unexpected to me and made sense why the novel was written in the way it was. So to conclude, if you never visited India and have interest in Soviet history, you will enjoy this book and will find some exotic places and interesting way of living in 1970ties Russia.