Search

Search only in certain items:

Circus of Wonders
Circus of Wonders
Elizabeth Macneal | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARe-copy in exchange for this honest review. You can also read my review at my blog - roamingthroughbooks@wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://roamingthroughbooks@wordpress.com
I was keen to read this having enjoyed Macneal's first novel, The Doll Factory. However, I just did not connect with this storyline. I found the characters opaque and did not relate to their motives or actions. The relationships were shallow and left me unmoved. I found the secret contrived and lacking in any real revelation. Having said this I enjoyed the historical exploration of circuses and the trend of the Victorian fascination with "oddities". The themes surrounding identity and uniqueness were well delivered.
  
40x40

Jon Dieringer recommended Canoa (1975) in Movies (curated)

 
Canoa (1975)
Canoa (1975)
1975 | International, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"A shocking parable for authoritarian populism. There’s nothing else like Canoa. Although Cazals and cinematographer Álex Phillips Jr. use only static shots, the movie is structurally fleet, shuffling chronology and cycling between faux-documentary, historical re-creation, and purely dramatic modes. I can’t think of anything else that so successfully fuses dyed-in-the-wool radical filmmaking and horror. There’s a wry on-screen narrator who creates this Brechtian distancing effect and manages to sound sinister while providing facts and statistics about life in rural communities, and by the end we’re in something like the Jonestown machete massacre. Ostensibly less outré yet harder to swallow than Salò, this is an unsettling, essential gem."

Source