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Around the world in 80 days
Around the world in 80 days
2021 | Adventure, Comedy
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Around the world in 80 days.

One of Jules Vernes most famous novels, and the inspiration for many a movie (and even a 80s cartoon).

I've never seen or heard of a TV series until this one, which - in retrospect - actually surprised me quite a bit, as you think the story would (and does) lend itself perfectly to the episodic nature of the journey.

This adaptation stars David Tennant in the lead role, alongside strong support from Ibrahim Koma as the French valet Passepartout and Leonie Benesch as the gender flipped/reimagined journalist Abigail Fix (instead of Inspector Fix), while still keeping its late Victorian setting.

Yes, you know how it is going to end.

Still very enjoyable!
  
The Fountains of Silence
The Fountains of Silence
Ruta Sepetys | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Fountains of Silence is set during Franco’s reign in Spain in 1957. Daniel and his parents are visiting Spain: his oil tycoon father hopes to cut a deal with the government. He wants his son to be more interested in the oil business, but Daniel only wants to take photos and become a photo journalist.

Daniel meets Ana, a maid at the hotel they are staying at, and falls in love. He decides to take photos of the real Spain, encouraged by an American journalist who is also staying at the hotel, and as a way of learning more about Ana’s life.

So we are introduced to real life in Franco’s Spain: the fear, the tragedy and the suffering.

There are actual excerpts from political documents and newspaper reports at the time, and these really helped clarify the background to the story that unfolded in the book. I really liked this touch.

I loved this novel. The descriptions of life in Spain at the time were so vivid: from the heat to the poverty in Ana’s village, to the opulence of Daniels hotel. Ana and her family were lovely people, having to cope in an impossible situation as the children of murdered republicans. And the end was very satisfying (although I’m sure I would have happily read on for longer!). This will definitely be a book that I recommend to anyone interested in Spain’s recent history. It is a beautiful story.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for choosing such a wonderful book to serialise.