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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: Adventures in Modern Russia in Books

Jul 28, 2017

Clash of cultures within one civilisation

A fascinating look into how Russia has essentially used contemporary and western culture to reconstruct the same Soviet system. It's not so much an evolution but adaptation to bolster their former glory.

Peter Pomerantsev is a veteran reporter for Russia, and his tongue and cheek yet informative look into the country is engaging, concerning and at times just plain insane.

The book itself meanders through a variety of topics, mostly based on the writer's experiences of working on various television programmes for state sponsored networks, therefore doesn't strictly stick to the nitty gritty political system.

Kudos

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Watcher in Books

Jul 29, 2017

The Watcher

Ross Armstrong | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

"One of the best thrillers I've read in a while"

No doubt there are clear remnants of Girl on a Train and Rear Window in this psychological thriller, and having heard a fair few, sometimes it seems obvious who the culprit is.

However - the twists and turns to get to the climax are absolutely gut wrenching, the first personal dialogue writing in a journal is engaging and the contemporary plot is interesting - so it's well worth the read. Catherine Steadman is a great performer - and it reminded me of listening to Paula Hawkin's character - there are clear similarities. Overall, definitely worth any hype.

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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Handmaid's Tale - Season 1 in TV

Aug 3, 2017

Incredibly powerful (1 more)

Elizabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes is fantastic

Very graphic at times (0 more)

Masterful adaptation of Atwood's classic book

There was a lot riding on this TV show, more than 30 years after the original book came out. But it was unbelievably dark, even more so than the book, and completely adjusted for contemporary times. Attacking various structures where women have fought hard for their rights such as the workplace, LGBTQ rights, FGM and pro-choice - this series shows how the state can take those rights away and take control of women's bodies. Extremely grim viewing, it really is a difficult watch.

Kudos

Dana (24 KP) rated The House in Paris in Books

Mar 23, 2018

For a more contemporary fiction feel to the book, I actually enjoyed it.

This was a slower book than I normally pick up. I had to read it for one of my classes, but it was pretty interesting. It was cool to be able to see the overlapping instances from chapter to chapter and even be able to see those same kind of overlaps in the past and present sections.

The characters didn't have anything particularly likable to them, but they were so well written that I didn't care that I didn't overly like them as people.