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ClareR (5779 KP) rated Little Women in Books
Dec 11, 2018
An enjoyable classic!
The thing with Classics, is that they don't tend to stand up to modern scrutiny. I've seen far too many people slating this book because the women had such low aspirations: wife, mother, to be well-behaved, well-mannered at all times. Did they read the bits with Jo in? Ok, so Meg is happy to marry and stay at home with the children, something which would have been expected of her at the time anyway. She doesn't make any complaints about wanting to do anything different though. The majority of women had different expectations at this time - and Jo butts heads against these expectations. She isn't an obedient daughter to a large extent (although her parents recognise her needs and pretty much let her run with it). She isn't an obedient daughter to a large extent. She makes her own money with her writing and goes away to work. Even after marriage she continues to work at the school she and Professor Behr open. So there was some indication that doors would open to those who were forceful and outgoing enough. But why can't we just enjoy these books for what they are? It's a good story that people still enjoy reading, with the added bonus of a bit of social history!
This is the second time that I've read this (which is a rare thing in itself), and I have to say that I really enjoyed it!
Many thanks to Jellybooks for giving me the impetus to read it again!
This is the second time that I've read this (which is a rare thing in itself), and I have to say that I really enjoyed it!
Many thanks to Jellybooks for giving me the impetus to read it again!
Lindsay (1727 KP) rated The Sliver Shadow (True Colors #11) in Books
Apr 19, 2021
Do you enjoy crime stories? Maybe a bit of true crime but with some fiction. This book "The Silver Shadow" is book eleven in the True Colors series. What a plot this is. There seems to be a mysterious person that keeps hitting women on the head.
We mean you introduced the main two characters—some of the crime that is going on. We meet a mysterious male that wants to teach women their place in the time of the 1900s. The woman is a reporter for the Denver Post. Edwin is the other main character; He works at the Denver Police department.
The more we get into the story or plot. It is more interesting. Polly gets another dressing down from her boss. She still wants this story and to solve these crimes. The detective has to get the runaround, and these bosses seem to think it nothing to be concerned about these crimes. The story is getting more twists and turns. The man shows up once more and remains described as the Silver shadow. Will he be caught?
This book has quite a few twists and turns. Who could be the mysterious Silver Shadow? When will they stop? It is a good book for adults if they want a little history and some crime and a mystery to go along with it. I hope to be able to read more of these True Color series books. I have read a few of them and enjoy them.
We mean you introduced the main two characters—some of the crime that is going on. We meet a mysterious male that wants to teach women their place in the time of the 1900s. The woman is a reporter for the Denver Post. Edwin is the other main character; He works at the Denver Police department.
The more we get into the story or plot. It is more interesting. Polly gets another dressing down from her boss. She still wants this story and to solve these crimes. The detective has to get the runaround, and these bosses seem to think it nothing to be concerned about these crimes. The story is getting more twists and turns. The man shows up once more and remains described as the Silver shadow. Will he be caught?
This book has quite a few twists and turns. Who could be the mysterious Silver Shadow? When will they stop? It is a good book for adults if they want a little history and some crime and a mystery to go along with it. I hope to be able to read more of these True Color series books. I have read a few of them and enjoy them.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2269 KP) rated Voodoo River (Elvis Cole, #5) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Actress Jodie Taylor wants to find out about her birth parents, so she hires Elvis Cole to go to Louisiana and track them down. She just wants medical history, so she is trying to keep the search quiet. Cole is trying to keep his inquiries a secret, but he’s hardly started when someone starts following him. What has he stumbled into?
Unfortunately, what he has stumbled into is a rather weak entry in the series. The plot rambles all over the place before finally introducing us to a crime that Cole seems to care about. By the time that happens, the book just has time for a rush to climax, and the climax is yet another weak dues ex machina. The characters are interesting and save the book, although I can’t help but roll my eyes at the way women fall all over Cole.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/06/book-review-voodoo-river-by-robert.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Unfortunately, what he has stumbled into is a rather weak entry in the series. The plot rambles all over the place before finally introducing us to a crime that Cole seems to care about. By the time that happens, the book just has time for a rush to climax, and the climax is yet another weak dues ex machina. The characters are interesting and save the book, although I can’t help but roll my eyes at the way women fall all over Cole.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/06/book-review-voodoo-river-by-robert.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
'You're pulling my leg,' says one character when the events of Almodovar's seventh movie are explained to him: suffice to say this is a frantic screwball farce (with the odd serious moment), involving a voice-over actress, a cell of Shiite terrorists, the least successful viewing of a rental property in Spanish history and a jug of gazpacho soup spiked with tranquilisers. Starts slow, but accelerates rapidly once it gets into its stride.
Almodovar is coming into his stride as a film-maker and his classic style has more or less appeared by this point: the film is full of strong but vulnerable women (the men are feckless or stupid and generally not worth bothering with), the whole thing is bursting with colour and compassion, and the plotting is rather preposterous even before we consider the outrageous coincidences peppering the film. Very entertaining; if not quite one of Almodovar's best movies, then an important step on the way there.
Almodovar is coming into his stride as a film-maker and his classic style has more or less appeared by this point: the film is full of strong but vulnerable women (the men are feckless or stupid and generally not worth bothering with), the whole thing is bursting with colour and compassion, and the plotting is rather preposterous even before we consider the outrageous coincidences peppering the film. Very entertaining; if not quite one of Almodovar's best movies, then an important step on the way there.
The Ottoman Age of Exploration
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ClareR (5779 KP) rated Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter in Books
Jul 19, 2022
Moonlight and the Pearler’s daughter ticked a lot of the boxes on my ‘favourite books’ list:
Historical fiction ✅
Set somewhere completely out of my previous knowledge ✅
A strong female character, operating in a difficult situation ✅
A bit of a mystery ✅ (I don’t really want to try and solve it, I just like the big reveal!)
As is often the case, the expectation of women in historical fiction is to stay at home, look after the house, wait to get married and have babies. But Eliza won’t stay at home when her father goes missing - she doesn’t assume he’s dead like the rest of the townsfolk.
There’s a real feeling of danger in a town where there appears to be no law keepers - not honest one’s, anyway. And if the corrupt, prejudiced townsfolk don’t get you, the climate and the wildlife (jellyfish, crocodiles!!) will.
This is a gripping, descriptive novel, that puts the reader firmly in Eliza’s world. I certainly had more of an idea of the hardships of living in NW Australia at this time. What will stay with me however, is Eliza’s determination to save her father and her family. She’s single-minded in her quest to find him, and determined not to let anyone else take the blame for his supposed death. It’s unnerving at times, when the attitudes of the white settlers towards the Aboriginals and other people of colour are starkly described.
A dark time in history, indeed.
And I’d highly recommend this. It’s wonderfully told.
Historical fiction ✅
Set somewhere completely out of my previous knowledge ✅
A strong female character, operating in a difficult situation ✅
A bit of a mystery ✅ (I don’t really want to try and solve it, I just like the big reveal!)
As is often the case, the expectation of women in historical fiction is to stay at home, look after the house, wait to get married and have babies. But Eliza won’t stay at home when her father goes missing - she doesn’t assume he’s dead like the rest of the townsfolk.
There’s a real feeling of danger in a town where there appears to be no law keepers - not honest one’s, anyway. And if the corrupt, prejudiced townsfolk don’t get you, the climate and the wildlife (jellyfish, crocodiles!!) will.
This is a gripping, descriptive novel, that puts the reader firmly in Eliza’s world. I certainly had more of an idea of the hardships of living in NW Australia at this time. What will stay with me however, is Eliza’s determination to save her father and her family. She’s single-minded in her quest to find him, and determined not to let anyone else take the blame for his supposed death. It’s unnerving at times, when the attitudes of the white settlers towards the Aboriginals and other people of colour are starkly described.
A dark time in history, indeed.
And I’d highly recommend this. It’s wonderfully told.
JK
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Life Beyond Her Wildest Dreams
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The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
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An engrossing biography of the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and the story of her...