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ClareR (5686 KP) rated This Party’s Dead in Books

Feb 28, 2021

This Party’s Dead

Erica Buist | 2021 | Mind, Body & Spiritual, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

This Party’s Dead is a book, unsurprisingly, about death, and whilst it sounds like it’ll be depressing, it’s anything but that. The book follows the author, Erica Buist, as she visits seven death festivals around the world. There is a reason: after her father-in-laws death where he was left in his house for a week before he was found, Erica experiences great anxiety, feeling ill-equipped to deal with the whole idea of death. She suffers with her mental health, so decides that she needs to do something to confront her fears surrounding death. She has lived in Mexico, so has some knowledge of the Day of the Dead, and this leads her to research other death celebrations .
It’s absolutely fascinating: we in the West have a very sanitised attitude towards death, and the cultures and countries that Erica visited couldn’t have been more different. It’s quite a sobering read in places, but there is a healthy dose of humour as well. It’s a really accessible, interesting and engrossing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Erica Buist for joining in.

Kudos

ClareR (5686 KP) rated The House in Books

Nov 21, 2020

The House

Tom Watson, Imogen Robertson | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The House is a taut political thriller, packed full of intrigue, secrets, corruption and betrayal. The setting is Westminster - somewhere that Tom Watson has an intimate knowledge of. And you can tell. There are nooks, crannies and offices described in here that I’ve never even heard of - and sneaky back doors too!

The story itself seemed multi-layered and quite complex to begin with, and I have to admit to struggling with the amount of names I needed to remember (this is typical of me though, to be honest!), but once I had them all straight in my head after a couple of staves, I was able to enjoy it much more.

The story tied together really nicely towards the end - the seemingly different stories coming together and resolving - but it was left on a bit of a cliffhanger. And do you know? I think I would probably read another book set in this world of the UK Parliament. I liked the characters, and particularly the unlikeable characters intrigued me (I’m nothing if not predictable!). It’ll be interesting to see where another book takes us!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, I really enjoyed it.

Kudos

ClareR (5686 KP) rated Boy Swallows Universe in Books

Jun 1, 2021

Boy Swallows Universe

Trent Dalton | 2021 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Boy Swallows Universe is the second book in a month that:
I nearly gave up on,
I’m glad I didn’t.

It’s the story of Eli Bell, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Brisbane suburbs with his mum, stepdad and older brother. All sounds normal, until we find out that his mum and stepdad are ex-junkies, his stepdad sells heroin, and his brother is an elective mute following a traumatic, unnamed event.

Drug dealing aside, Eli and Gus’ mum, Frances and Stepdad Lyle, seem really nice! And their babysitter is equally lovely, despite the fact that he’s a murderer who has served his time. Despite all the crime and criminals around him, Eli just wants to grow up to be a good person, a crime journalist - after all, he has in depth knowledge!

This is a dark and sad book in parts, yet there were still events that made me laugh - there’s humour in even the darkest moments. Eli’s life is a one of trials and hardships, and reflects his indomitable spirit. He tries to see the good in everything, and I loved that about him.

Kudos

Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Rampage (2018) in Movies

Sep 25, 2019

Rampage (2018)

2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

7.4

(116 Ratings)

Movie Rating

When three different animals become infected with a dangerous pathogen, a primatologist and a geneticist team up to stop them from destroying Chicago.

Lots of eyebrow action from The Rock, but even that couldn't save him from being upstaged by George the gorilla.

I've got no knowledge of the video game this is based off... but really, who needs it. Yet another film that does what you want it to. It's a solid action adventure with hints of comedy.

The parental advisory at the beginning saying there were crude gestures had me confused. After all I feel like we see that quite a lot in movies but it's never listed on the rating card at the beginning. It all makes sense once you see a giant gorilla flipping off The Rock.

A great monster movie that won't leave you disappointed. I'm almost certain that I'll be seeing this one again. My initial viewing was in 3D, there were no particularly bad parts to it in this but I certainly didn't feel like anything benefited from it.

Classic enjoyable Rock action, love Jumanji, and looking forward to Skyscraper. He's definitely on a roll.