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ClareR (5950 KP) rated Shrines of Gaiety in Books

Dec 5, 2022

Shrines of Gaiety

Kate Atkinson | 2022 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

What can I write to do this book justice, other than say “just read it?” I have to admit to not having read much Kate Atkinson before - only the first Jackson Brodie novel, which I loved - but I really feel I should read more of her books!

Shrines of Gaiety is set in the 1920’s, post First World War, and encompasses post war life with all of its excesses, poverty, grief and debauchery.

Nellie Coker is a self made woman who owns a series of nightclubs in London. She’s a single mother, and five of her six children help her to run her empire (the sixth is too young). How she came to own these clubs is a mystery. But the chances are that it wasn’t legal money!

Then there are the 14 year old runaways, Freda and Florence, who want to take to the stage to find fame and fortune.

Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher is determined to bring Nellie Coker and her corrupt empire down, as well as the corrupt police officers that support her. He also becomes involved in the search for the two runaways, thanks to Gwendoline Kelling, a librarian who has inherited a considerable amount of money. She’s a friend of one of the runaways sister, and vows to find her.

I won’t just regurgitate the story, that’s no fun, and you need to read this book for yourself! Needless to say, I loved these characters - the whole novel in fact! It’s a gripping, entertaining story, and it was a joy to read.

Very highly recommended.

Oh, and for the book cover fans, it’s a gorgeous one!

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Midsommar (2019) in Movies

Dec 16, 2019 (Updated Mar 31, 2020)

Midsommar (2019)

2019 | Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.8

(43 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Beautiful, disturbing, utterly bizarre

Whether you like Midsommar or not, you have to admit, it's quite a trip.
It's so far removed from conventional horror, it's hard to pin to a genre.
It's every bit of a break up drama as a horror, and even quite amusing in places, but one things for sure, there nothing quite like it.

Midsommar starts in bleak fashion, grounded in concrete realism, as Dani (played by a fantastic Florence Pugh) deals with the sudden deaths of her parents and sister. Affected by this understandable trauma, she joins her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) and his friends as they head to Sweden to attend a rural 9-day festival.

As soon as the story shifts to the Swedish setting, the tone changes from bleak and grey, to vibrant and colourful. The rest of the film is set in broad daylight, and it carries an extremely unsettling undertone, and as the characters dabble in drugs, a sense of reality quickly becomes disorientating for both them and us as an audience.
As the narrative draws on, director Ari Aster serves up plot hints and hidden messages in almost every frame. The violence is seldom, but when it happens it's visceral and shocking. All of this combined makes for an almost dream like experience, as we watch the two leads toxic relationship collide with the unnervingly joyful people of Hårga.

Ari Aster uses jarring and emotionally charged sound cues to stir up tension (the last few minutes!) and these are complimented by the beautiful score by The Haxan Cloak.
Aster also spoils us with continuously striking shots, providing a really unique approach to horror.

Midsommar is not for everyone, but as far as I'm concerned, it's disturbing, heart breaking, and absolutely captivating - the whole package.
Definitely one of the best films this year.