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    Devotions

    Devotions

    Mary Oliver

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Throughout her celebrated career, Mary Oliver has touched countless readers with her brilliantly...

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GustavoCampello (6 KP) rated Another Earth (2011) in Movies

Feb 10, 2022  
Another Earth (2011)
Another Earth (2011)
2011 | Drama
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The film does refer, albeit in a shallow way, to Tarkovsky and this is perhaps its greatest asset. There are exaggerations. There is not the same poetry as in the Russian master's films, but the drama that unfolds at the same time as we have a science fiction in the background can't help but remember Stalker. The two actors are well in the roles, I think it was necessary to explore a little better Rhoda's relationship with her family. Some resolutions at the end were rushed and kind of gibberish, but the film is far from the American production standard, that in itself makes it much better than most of the garbage that Hollywood throws at the crowd. The final balance is much more positive than negative, and the ending makes you think, it's not something chewy, I like endings like that.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Ice-Cream Makers in Books

Dec 14, 2018  
TI
The Ice-Cream Makers
Ernest van der Kwast | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

An intriguing blurb promises an incredible story about an Italian ice-cream making family, however the story is nothing like you expect. Ernest van der Kwast’s <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> is set between a small village in Italy and the busy summer streets of Rotterdam. The Talamini family has been creating innovative ice-cream flavours for over a century, running a successful and hard-working parlour in the Netherlands. The business is handed down from father to son throughout the years, but now eldest son Giovanni has broken the tradition.

Giovanni Talamini has no interest in making ice-cream and would much rather spend the day reading poetry. After pursuing a literary career, Giovanni is now the director of the World Poetry Festival. Younger brother Luca has been left to pick up the <i>spatula</i> of the family business, but he has a problem of his own. Giovanni faces a dilemma: cut himself of from his family entirely or help his brother out with his peculiar request.

The highly unusual request mentioned in the blurb of <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> does not actually surface until the latter stages of the book. For the majority of the narrative there is no clear storyline, however the detail and information van der Kwast provides about ice-cream making, poetry and European culture makes the novel entirely worth reading. The request itself is entirely unexpected and not at all possible to guess, but it is an oddly brilliant way of reuniting two estranged brothers.

It takes a while for the narrative to start flowing as it constantly changes time periods. Giovanni, the narrator, rarely speaks in the present tense and is constantly relating events from his childhood and adulthood interspersed with family history and historical knowledge. On occasion the book takes on the air of an autobiography as Giovanni gives an in depth insight to the life of his family and his break from tradition. There is also the odd chapter that becomes almost a work of non-fiction, providing the reader with highbrow literary references and factual information about the history of ice-cream.

Once the scenes caused by the male sexual mind have been glossed over, <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> becomes a beautifully written, almost poetical story that compels and engages the reader despite the lack of a clear-cut storyline. The literary references will appeal to the intellectual, scholar, philosopher or culture enthusiast, for this novel teaches and inspires as well as entertains.

The amount of research van der Kwast conducted is phenomenal. The accuracy (or so is presumed) of the historical factors implies the author had thoroughly investigated the subject matter prior to writing. It is almost as though van der Kwast lived the life of Giovanni; it is entirely believable – hence the sense of an autobiography. Although the nature of the novel’s theme suggests a serious tone, van der Kwast has included a great deal of humour in the form of Giovanni and Luca’s father and his questionable mental health.

The lack of a climax prevents <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> from being described as an exciting book, however its beautifully poetic prose makes up for this absence. The philosophical insight into poetry will make you think about life and admire Giovanni for insisting on making his own way in the world. Likewise, Luca’s quiet acceptance and perseverance in the family business is also an admirable feat. Readers with a dislike for descriptive sexual scenarios may feel uncomfortable in a few of the resulting scenes, however the general story compensates for these distasteful passages. All in all, a high-quality work of fiction.