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The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman | 2020 | Crime, Mystery
10
8.1 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
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I am so happy I am able to be part of the instagram tour for The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Thank you to the amazing team at Penguin Random House and Viking, for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

<b><i>Synopsis:</i></b>

We follow Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, who all meet up on Thursdays and solve mysteries. But when a murder happens in their environment, they cannot stay idle. Having their own tricks up their sleeves, they uncover evidence and keep getting closer to solving the mystery. But one mystery leads to another, and another, and before they know it, they are tangled in a mystery where everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted. 

<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>

Their personalities, especially the ability to be brutally honest and not care what they say or do is what kept me giggling throughout. Their resilience and perseverance, and the ability to trick people as well as be a nuisance was so refreshing to read, because it was so real, and I have seen it before. 

I used to work in a care home with people that were suffering from dementia, and I am glad that there is a book like this one, that realistically describes how the elderly spend their free time and how mischievous they can be. 

Sometimes they help the police, and sometimes they hide things and manipulate so much that I just couldn’t believe the audacity (which was funny on its own). But I think what I loved the most was how much fun they have while they are doing what they want to do - solve mysteries. And they are very good at it! 

<b><i>“In life, you have to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.”</i></b>

As a foreigner, I thought I wouldn’t understand the British humor.

But I suppose living with a British partner and working in the UK does help a lot. Damn, I’ve been here too long :D Although, there was one part that I did not get, and my partner had to assist me with. 

I didn’t understand the meaning of “What forty-six kilos was in real money". And when explained, let me tell you, I was not impressed. :D

<b><i>“People without a sense of humour will never forgive you for being funny.”</i></b>

On the subject of mystery, because in the end, this is a mystery novel, it does deliver. There are multiple mysteries, shall I say multi-layered, and some of the mysteries did keep me wondering until the end. Some of them, I did guess quite early in the book. I kept thinking that all the mysteries would somehow end up connected, and they do, but not in the way I expect - that’s all I will say, without revealing too much.

<b><i>I loved the The Thursday Murder Club.</i></b>

It made me giggle, it made me wonder and try to solve the multi-layer mystery, it made me sad and surprised. It got all the emotions out of me, and I loved it! I would definitely recommend this book! 

<b><i>“Tony is not a believer in luck, he’s a believer in hard work. If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.”</i></b>
  
Soul (2020)
Soul (2020)
2020 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
After all the chopping and changing in the release schedules I have to say that I was pretty glad I picked up tickets to see Soul at Watershed in Bristol before they announced its moving to Disney+.

Joe's life is music, and he's about to get the break he's been dreaming of... but life has a way of messing those dreams up. Finding himself bodiless and in a strange place, he makes the acquaintance of 22, a new soul who's keen on staying right where she is. Can the two of them work together to get what they both want the most in life?

As you'd expect with a Pixar it's got a story with a deeper meaning with an emotional rollercoaster built-in. We follow Joe as he is desperate to get back to the one thing he thinks will make his whole life make sense. Along the way he gets sidelined by a set of mishaps that bring him into pre-life where he crosses paths with 22. The pair make an unlikely team and the adventure they go on is full of comedy and relatable decisions, off-hand comments for the adults... and that's all before the expected crying portion of the film.

The voice acting was spot on with Jamie Foxx as Joe, our leading man, and Tiny Fey as 22, an adorable little blob of soul, They're a fun little mix together, and Fey in particular brings a quirky aspect to proceedings. I might only briefly query the casting of Richard Ayoade and Graham Norton, don't get me wrong, I adore both of them, but I can't deny that they felt out of place with this being set in America... but at the same time, they identified and created a multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment that you would see in the pre- and after-life, which is great attention to detail.

As always, the animation is a wonderful piece of thought, between the human realm and the spirit worlds there are clearly defined styles and ideas. The real-world design is the usual quirkiness you expect from Pixar, but the spirit world is where we really see the imagination that we've all come to love from them. Those bouncy little souls are so adorable and the celebrities you see will blow your mind. All the concepts that are dealt with in this space feel like they are crazily accurate and seeing them on-screen feels like something of a revelation.

I wondered where the film was going at the beginning, I wasn't seeing how it related to what would inevitably be coming, but the story comes full circle and, as expected, every moment turns into a thoughtful and teachable moment.

With music at its heart, Soul is a tribute to the love of a rhythm. From the skillfully done opening, the sleek saxophone (which I'm still not convinced was "merely" an animated object), to every moment we see Joe at his piano, you're faced with a piece of music that has been deftly constructed to fit its purpose and bring a rousing feeling of heart and passion into being.

Would it be better to see this on the big screen? Sure, I would rather see every film that way... but the magic of seeing a Pixar film for the first time can't be taken away from you, it doesn't matter what you're watching Soul on, I'm sure it will spark the same. I will admit there was a point while I watched that I wondered for the briefest moment how my life would look inside Soul, but if the film taught me anything it's that there's always something good there, you just have to find it.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/10/soul-movie-review.html
  
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