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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Rewind in Books

Jul 20, 2019

Rewind

Catherine Ryan Howard | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller

8.0

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Enjoyable thriller

This is a page turner of a thriller. It takes a little to get to grips with the time jumping but it helps that it uses rewind, pause and fast forward as chapters to give you some baring and once you get it it’s fine and kinda fun in a novel way. This book lends itself to being a great easy read with enough going on to keep you engaged but without being too taxing on the old noggin - perfect for holiday reading.

Natalie is a social media influencer and I did find the beginning of the book was throwing a bit too much jargon about this area at us; along with describing click bait journalist Audery’s world it felt like a real push to be “with it”. It is however a great area to explore as opening yourself up to the world like that gives a whole huge potential for weirdo exposure. When Natalie visits the remote Irish village of Shanamore she gets to meet even more odd characters in the form of holiday cottage manager Andrew with a real Norman Bates feel to him and other locals. There is definitely an air of creepy, in a skin crawling fashion, about them.

I didn’t find there to be much mystery in this book with it all being too evident who was responsible as soon as they began to appear. The multitude of POVs and the moving around in time did hamper any real development of feeling invested in the characters. All in all an enjoyable quick thriller read without too much thought required.

My thanks to the author, publisher Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kudos

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Disobedience (2018) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020

Disobedience (2018)

2018 | Drama, Romance

7.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

English language films with big name actors are not usually this European. Which is why I have chosen the beautiful French poster to highlight this unexpected gem.

I hadn’t expected to like it, but was curious to see the two lead actresses work together on something so intimate, that became in the media something controversial, regrettably, for all the wrong reasons. They chose to focus on the sexual aspect of two high profile women about to commit to film a level of titillation hitherto unseen by either… but, of course, it is so much more than that.

The world of orthodox Judaisim and commitment to a patriarchal ideal of tradition and intrinsic value is at the heart of this small, yet devastating film. At first, that world is so alien and upsetting that it seems like a fantasy. Until you allow yourself to realise that this community does exist, and thrives.

Both Rachel Weisz as a woman with a secret who managed to escape the constraints and prejudices of the male dominant world, and Rachel McAdams, as the friend left behind to swallow her pride and be the expected wife, deliver extraordinary performances. The passion, repression and guilt are apparent in every scene.

But it is Alessandro Nivola, as the key antagonist, that really wins the plaudits. Watch a character so unlikable become a hero in the most humble and unlikely sense, in a scene of such breath-taking clarity, towards the film’s climax. I can only wish all “bad guys” get this kind of human pay-off.

A film of resonance and social interest that fails as an entirely coherent piece, but works in so many good ways it is worth seeing just for the feels! There is no point where you do not believe how much these women are in love. And for that reason alone, I recommend it.