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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Skyfire (2019) in Movies
Mar 28, 2021
On a whim I put this one on, a disaster movie at just an hour and a half long felt like a good way to start my day.
Years after the volcano on Tianhuo Island erupts, businessman Jack Harris builds a paradise resort and theme park in the shadow of the volcano. Because no story that started that way ever ended badly...
Skyfire struck me in a very peculiar way that I want to address later, but for now let me just say that this is a classic sort of disaster movie. A classic with a lot of borrowing.
A state of the art resort is built on an out of the way island. But when disaster strikes, everybody is in danger... If I read that to you and asked you which film I was talking about, what would your answer be? Jurassic Park or Jurassic World? It won't be the only time you find something to reminisce on. I didn't write down all the connections I thought I saw, but if you took Jurassic World, Dante's Peak and Shape Of Water (a little odd I know, but I'm sure you'll see it too) you'll be most of the way there.
I feel like I'm about to do this film a disservice, but I don't really want to talk much about the acting in it. This is nothing against the actors, try all do a good job, chemistry is there, there's the balance of serious and light-hearted... it all works, but it's not the thing that makes this movie for me.
The effects throughout are pretty good on the scale of disaster movies. To look at it all in the heat of the moment it very rarely comes across as unbelievable (which given this scenario is quite impressive), and those scenes that could have crossed over into looking bad are blended in with some great action sequences... so they might be bad, but I really didn't notice.
What sold me on Skyfire is just how well it works visually. In my opinion (I'm going to exercise this phrase more often I think), you don't need to listen to this film to understand what's going on. If you cut out the dialogue and just had the reactions and the ambient sounds you'd still perfectly understand what was going on.
That may say to you it isn't a very complex film, but it makes for a very enjoyable watch, and whole the familiarities did occasionally verge on frustrating I did begin the enjoy the game of spotting them. Mix those things together and it might not become my go to disaster film over Geostorm, but I will absolutely watch it again if the mood takes me.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/03/skyfire-movie-review.html
Years after the volcano on Tianhuo Island erupts, businessman Jack Harris builds a paradise resort and theme park in the shadow of the volcano. Because no story that started that way ever ended badly...
Skyfire struck me in a very peculiar way that I want to address later, but for now let me just say that this is a classic sort of disaster movie. A classic with a lot of borrowing.
A state of the art resort is built on an out of the way island. But when disaster strikes, everybody is in danger... If I read that to you and asked you which film I was talking about, what would your answer be? Jurassic Park or Jurassic World? It won't be the only time you find something to reminisce on. I didn't write down all the connections I thought I saw, but if you took Jurassic World, Dante's Peak and Shape Of Water (a little odd I know, but I'm sure you'll see it too) you'll be most of the way there.
I feel like I'm about to do this film a disservice, but I don't really want to talk much about the acting in it. This is nothing against the actors, try all do a good job, chemistry is there, there's the balance of serious and light-hearted... it all works, but it's not the thing that makes this movie for me.
The effects throughout are pretty good on the scale of disaster movies. To look at it all in the heat of the moment it very rarely comes across as unbelievable (which given this scenario is quite impressive), and those scenes that could have crossed over into looking bad are blended in with some great action sequences... so they might be bad, but I really didn't notice.
What sold me on Skyfire is just how well it works visually. In my opinion (I'm going to exercise this phrase more often I think), you don't need to listen to this film to understand what's going on. If you cut out the dialogue and just had the reactions and the ambient sounds you'd still perfectly understand what was going on.
That may say to you it isn't a very complex film, but it makes for a very enjoyable watch, and whole the familiarities did occasionally verge on frustrating I did begin the enjoy the game of spotting them. Mix those things together and it might not become my go to disaster film over Geostorm, but I will absolutely watch it again if the mood takes me.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/03/skyfire-movie-review.html
Necole (36 KP) rated The Last Time I Lied in Books
Oct 12, 2018
Two Truths and I Lie is a theme throughout this book and I will never play or look at the game in the same way ever again!!!
Have you ever played two truths and a lie?
Emma has. Her first summer away from home, she learned how to play the game. And she learned how to lie. And she learned from the best and biggest B**** of them all Vivian. But Vivian was a true friend, wasn't she?
Then her 3 new friends and bunk mates went into the woods and never returned . . . Was Emma behind their disappearances or is their something more sinister behind it all?
Emma is an artist now and can't help painting the same subjects over and over in different hidden ways but they all have something in common! Intrigued on what Emma paints, then pick up the book and read!!!
Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale and you won't ever guess by who. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime. What happens in the second part of the book will shock you and take you for yet another thrilling ride.
Because what is true and what is a lie????
A fun twisting, turning thrill ride that will keep you guessing all the way til the end ...
Have you ever played two truths and a lie?
Emma has. Her first summer away from home, she learned how to play the game. And she learned how to lie. And she learned from the best and biggest B**** of them all Vivian. But Vivian was a true friend, wasn't she?
Then her 3 new friends and bunk mates went into the woods and never returned . . . Was Emma behind their disappearances or is their something more sinister behind it all?
Emma is an artist now and can't help painting the same subjects over and over in different hidden ways but they all have something in common! Intrigued on what Emma paints, then pick up the book and read!!!
Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale and you won't ever guess by who. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime. What happens in the second part of the book will shock you and take you for yet another thrilling ride.
Because what is true and what is a lie????
A fun twisting, turning thrill ride that will keep you guessing all the way til the end ...
An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge)
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Many of us were put off history by the dry and dreary way it was taught at school. Back then 'The...
All I Am: Drew's Story (A This Man Novella)
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Yours and Mine: A Serrulata Saga Romance Novella
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She told a lie. He confirmed it. Now they’re secretly betrothed against their families’...
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◉ Learn to reduce anxious thoughts and sleep calmly after listening daily for just 1–3 weeks ◉...
Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated All Systems Down in Books
Feb 28, 2018
Great fast paced reading
So let’s start with the actual review first. This book was a quick read and an enjoyable one. It was action packed and although it’s a thin book to start with, it makes the reading even quicker.
Those who love plot hooks where the world runs amok and hell breaks loose will love this book. It immediately starts in the first few chapters and sets the ball rolling. The background story as to how the world (or to be exact the USA) goes downhill is explained by having North Korean hackers finding a way to plant viruses into the web which pretty much breaks down society. It’s a good “what if” scenario and further chapters show how fast society just crumbles when things we rely on daily vanish before our eyes.
There’s a variety of characters in the book that are easy to follow. Each have their own share their own spot in the plot and eventually converge and meet together (albeit a bit coincidentally but well, they’d have to meet somewhere right?)
My favourites would have to be Brandon, Vailea , and Carmen. Although the survivors of the crisis have their own strengths, these three stood out for me the most. They’re likeable, and as mentioned before showed their strengths to survive to protect their loved ones (or avenge them in some cases)
Orion and Xandra would be my two least favorite ones. Orion because he was just so whiny, Xandra because although I know she’s supposed to be analytical and a computer whiz, her personality was blah and just downright unlikable. She has her uses but she’s not really someone I would ideally have tea with if I had a choice.
So overall, a really good plot, filled with action and fun to read. The ending does result in a cliffhanger but it was a really good one. I’d love to know what’s going to happen next. It does play out almost like a movie and it’s well done.
Now for the next part of my review. Why did I like this so much? Well considering I just moved to Portland, it got me recognizing street names, bridges (still haven’t memorized all of them yet) and asking my husband (who’s lived in Portland all his life) all sorts of questions (ie: “Where is <enter name of street here>” in which he replies with a sigh and says: “Oh god you’re reading a book that’s set in Portland aren’t you?!?!?”) so because I’m familiar with the setting, it even made the reading experience twice as special.
I greatly enjoyed this one. I can’t wait for the second.
Those who love plot hooks where the world runs amok and hell breaks loose will love this book. It immediately starts in the first few chapters and sets the ball rolling. The background story as to how the world (or to be exact the USA) goes downhill is explained by having North Korean hackers finding a way to plant viruses into the web which pretty much breaks down society. It’s a good “what if” scenario and further chapters show how fast society just crumbles when things we rely on daily vanish before our eyes.
There’s a variety of characters in the book that are easy to follow. Each have their own share their own spot in the plot and eventually converge and meet together (albeit a bit coincidentally but well, they’d have to meet somewhere right?)
My favourites would have to be Brandon, Vailea , and Carmen. Although the survivors of the crisis have their own strengths, these three stood out for me the most. They’re likeable, and as mentioned before showed their strengths to survive to protect their loved ones (or avenge them in some cases)
Orion and Xandra would be my two least favorite ones. Orion because he was just so whiny, Xandra because although I know she’s supposed to be analytical and a computer whiz, her personality was blah and just downright unlikable. She has her uses but she’s not really someone I would ideally have tea with if I had a choice.
So overall, a really good plot, filled with action and fun to read. The ending does result in a cliffhanger but it was a really good one. I’d love to know what’s going to happen next. It does play out almost like a movie and it’s well done.
Now for the next part of my review. Why did I like this so much? Well considering I just moved to Portland, it got me recognizing street names, bridges (still haven’t memorized all of them yet) and asking my husband (who’s lived in Portland all his life) all sorts of questions (ie: “Where is <enter name of street here>” in which he replies with a sigh and says: “Oh god you’re reading a book that’s set in Portland aren’t you?!?!?”) so because I’m familiar with the setting, it even made the reading experience twice as special.
I greatly enjoyed this one. I can’t wait for the second.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Monstrous Child in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I finished this on Tuesday but have had some technical problems, which is why I'm posting it now. (Sorry.)
Apparently this is book #3 in the Mortal Gods series - but I read it believing it to be a standalone novel and really enjoyed it like that. It's another short, new YA book, which a pretty large font to fill up more space. I never used to like short books, but I've found some I've really enjoyed recently, including this one.
One of Loki's (monstrous) children is Hel, a girl with a perfectly normal human body... except her legs are dead. Like, full-on decaying dead. Still, she's a goddess, even if she's never treated as one.
Hel has learned to just deal with what she's got in life and carry on. But when she's kidnapped and taken to Asgard - the home of the gods - she finds an unexpected light of hope. His name is Baldr, and he's the only one who's ever treated her like she's normal. The only problem is that he's married.
And then, just to make matters worse, Hel is literally thrown into the underworld, sentenced to be the queen of Nifelheim for all of eternity. It's cold, smelly, and soon enough, full of dead people. She's alone, plotting her revenge on the gods, with no chance of escape - but at least it's hers. She can build her own fortress without anyone guiding her; she can order the dead around however she pleases. And she can have a high seat ready, beside hers, for when Baldr inevitably comes for her.
What she wasn't planning was a third seat...
Anyway, Hel has created Hel for the dead, the End of Days is drawing nearer, and dear old Dad has dropped by for a favour. All very... fun.
I thought this was a really different kind of book. The narrative voice is really sarcastic and youthful, pretty funny too, as well as still sounding like a Norse goddess. She also sounded somewhat modern, too - which I suppose would be the case if you were immortal. Sometimes I found her to find a little too sarcastic and bitter, a little too chatty and "different". I don't know, it just didn't sound all that natural sometimes.
The whole Norse theme was refreshing - not some paranormal YA romance that you see everywhere - and really well told. Hel was a really interesting character, too; modern enough to relate to yet still believably a Norse goddess.
As I said, I read this without realising there were other books before it in the series. I didn't realise that at all while reading - I didn't feel like I was missing anything and still enjoyed it plenty. I'm going to say 3.5 to 4 stars for The Monstrous Child. I'll have to look out for the other books.
Apparently this is book #3 in the Mortal Gods series - but I read it believing it to be a standalone novel and really enjoyed it like that. It's another short, new YA book, which a pretty large font to fill up more space. I never used to like short books, but I've found some I've really enjoyed recently, including this one.
One of Loki's (monstrous) children is Hel, a girl with a perfectly normal human body... except her legs are dead. Like, full-on decaying dead. Still, she's a goddess, even if she's never treated as one.
Hel has learned to just deal with what she's got in life and carry on. But when she's kidnapped and taken to Asgard - the home of the gods - she finds an unexpected light of hope. His name is Baldr, and he's the only one who's ever treated her like she's normal. The only problem is that he's married.
And then, just to make matters worse, Hel is literally thrown into the underworld, sentenced to be the queen of Nifelheim for all of eternity. It's cold, smelly, and soon enough, full of dead people. She's alone, plotting her revenge on the gods, with no chance of escape - but at least it's hers. She can build her own fortress without anyone guiding her; she can order the dead around however she pleases. And she can have a high seat ready, beside hers, for when Baldr inevitably comes for her.
What she wasn't planning was a third seat...
Anyway, Hel has created Hel for the dead, the End of Days is drawing nearer, and dear old Dad has dropped by for a favour. All very... fun.
I thought this was a really different kind of book. The narrative voice is really sarcastic and youthful, pretty funny too, as well as still sounding like a Norse goddess. She also sounded somewhat modern, too - which I suppose would be the case if you were immortal. Sometimes I found her to find a little too sarcastic and bitter, a little too chatty and "different". I don't know, it just didn't sound all that natural sometimes.
The whole Norse theme was refreshing - not some paranormal YA romance that you see everywhere - and really well told. Hel was a really interesting character, too; modern enough to relate to yet still believably a Norse goddess.
As I said, I read this without realising there were other books before it in the series. I didn't realise that at all while reading - I didn't feel like I was missing anything and still enjoyed it plenty. I'm going to say 3.5 to 4 stars for The Monstrous Child. I'll have to look out for the other books.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I've finally finished it! Whoop whoop!
This is a very different book to what I usually read. It contains a lot of strong language, sexual references, assault and Swedish finance. It also has a lot of investigating, which was my favourite part.
A financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, has been accused of libel after submitting a report about a rival company, owned by Hans-Erik Wennerström. The Wennerström Affair is huge - and has earned Blomkvist a three month stay in prison. This was all a bit hard for me to follow, as I don't know much about this subject. But I still managed to get the general gist of it.
A freelance worker at Milton Security is hired to research Mikael Blomkvist. Her name is Lisbeth Salander, and she's only in her twenties. Even so, she's probably the best worker Dragan Armansky has hired.
The client wanting a report on Blomkvist, Herr Frode, works for Henrik Vanger of the massive Vanger Corporation. Pleased with what they hear, they hire the journalist for a private matter - to solve the mystery of a missing girl from the 1960's.
While Blomkvist is researching the suspected crime, Lisbeth Salander is molested and raped by her legal guardian. She should turn him into the police, but that isn't her style. Instead, she gets her revenge.
Blomkvist finds out about the report written on him, and seeks out Salander. Together they begin to crack the case of Harriet Vanger. They are both put at risk when they discover the reason for Harriet's disappearance, and nobody's prepared for what they uncover.
Although the case is solved, the company Blomkvist works for - Millenium - needs revenge against Wennerström. To his surprise, Salander has just what he needs to really make a bang.
Like I said, this is quite an explicit novel - fathers raping their children, guardians attacking vulnerable young women, men sleeping with multiple women. The relationships seem to be ever-changing in this novel, but I suppose that's just realistic. But this is definitely not suitable for the faint-hearted, and there are some really horrific, visual descriptions that really will haunt you.
But if you like investigative or crime novels, I would definitely suggest giving it a go. It's not a quick read by any means, but it's cunning, it's realistic, and it's gripping. What more could you want from a novel of this genre? I really wasn't sure at first, as I just couldn't get into the multiple characters' stories or the whole situation with Mikael Blomkvist, but I did manage to get into the rhythm of it in the end, and really did enjoy it. For these reasons, I'm going to give Larsson's novel 4 stars. I'm seriously hoping I come across the next books in the series now!
This is a very different book to what I usually read. It contains a lot of strong language, sexual references, assault and Swedish finance. It also has a lot of investigating, which was my favourite part.
A financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, has been accused of libel after submitting a report about a rival company, owned by Hans-Erik Wennerström. The Wennerström Affair is huge - and has earned Blomkvist a three month stay in prison. This was all a bit hard for me to follow, as I don't know much about this subject. But I still managed to get the general gist of it.
A freelance worker at Milton Security is hired to research Mikael Blomkvist. Her name is Lisbeth Salander, and she's only in her twenties. Even so, she's probably the best worker Dragan Armansky has hired.
The client wanting a report on Blomkvist, Herr Frode, works for Henrik Vanger of the massive Vanger Corporation. Pleased with what they hear, they hire the journalist for a private matter - to solve the mystery of a missing girl from the 1960's.
While Blomkvist is researching the suspected crime, Lisbeth Salander is molested and raped by her legal guardian. She should turn him into the police, but that isn't her style. Instead, she gets her revenge.
Blomkvist finds out about the report written on him, and seeks out Salander. Together they begin to crack the case of Harriet Vanger. They are both put at risk when they discover the reason for Harriet's disappearance, and nobody's prepared for what they uncover.
Although the case is solved, the company Blomkvist works for - Millenium - needs revenge against Wennerström. To his surprise, Salander has just what he needs to really make a bang.
Like I said, this is quite an explicit novel - fathers raping their children, guardians attacking vulnerable young women, men sleeping with multiple women. The relationships seem to be ever-changing in this novel, but I suppose that's just realistic. But this is definitely not suitable for the faint-hearted, and there are some really horrific, visual descriptions that really will haunt you.
But if you like investigative or crime novels, I would definitely suggest giving it a go. It's not a quick read by any means, but it's cunning, it's realistic, and it's gripping. What more could you want from a novel of this genre? I really wasn't sure at first, as I just couldn't get into the multiple characters' stories or the whole situation with Mikael Blomkvist, but I did manage to get into the rhythm of it in the end, and really did enjoy it. For these reasons, I'm going to give Larsson's novel 4 stars. I'm seriously hoping I come across the next books in the series now!
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated To Kill a Mockingbird in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Well, February is definitely the month for discovering classics I’ve missed! For some reason, I’d always classed To Kill a Mockingbird in amongst the Agatha Christie genre of murder mysteries – not that I’ve read those either – and didn’t know enough about it for it to have piqued my interest. Now I’ve read it though, I can see what all the fuss is about, and it’s not surprising that, despite being published in 1960, it was still the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/aug/09/best-selling-books-all-time-fifty-shades-grey-compare">65th best-selling book of all time</a> in 2012. Beware of spoilers!
The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, and is written from the perspective of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, who is between six and eight years old as the story progresses. The start of the book does an effective job of introducing us to all the characters. Scout lives with her widowed father, Atticus, a lawyer, her brother Jem (who is 4 years older than her) and Calpurnia, a black woman who acts as a type of mother figure. A friend, Dill, also joins them in the summer. The three children are intrigued by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, who lives in the house on the corner but is never seen outside. I really enjoyed this part of the story; it set the scene brilliantly, as well as helping me reminisce about my own childhood. Even if there is no ‘haunted’ house, children will always make one – at least, my brother and I did! With the limitless amounts of imagination children have, there will always be adventures to be had and ‘monsters’ to escape from. There was one particular house, when we were around the same age as Jem and Scout, where they had a doorbell you pulled, like a cord. My brother Josh said it was a doorbell that made you scream every time you pulled it, so we obviously had great fun in pulling it, screaming, and running away. If by some fluke the person living there is reading this, I’m really sorry, but it still makes me laugh! There was also every Christmas, when we went carol singing. We had decided that the houses beyond the wood were richer than the others, and every year would link arms, lighting matches to try and find our way in the dark and telling ghost stories the whole time.
Once everything has been established, the book moves on to a case Atticus is defending. A black man, Tom, has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, part of a trashy white family with very poor education and even less money. This is where the casual prejudice of the time is evident – Jem and Scout have to put up with people calling their family a “nigger-lover” (sorry if that language offends, it is a direct quote and I mean no harm); Atticus faces repercussions for his whole-hearted attempt to save Tom; and many of the Maycomb women look down on the black community. However, there’s still a touch of hope – the way Atticus defends Tom’s case makes everybody think, a great feat in the setting where black and white people are in completely different classes. In this part of the story, I really looked up to Atticus, in his seemingly-infinite wisdom.
In the final part of the story, Jem and Scout finally get to meet Boo Radley, and it is here that the title of the book becomes apparent. In the middle of the book, after Jem and Scout get air-rifles, it is said:
<blockquote>When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns. Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”</blockquote>
Obviously, not knowing what was coming, I thought the story must eventually be about the children shooting a mockingbird. The last page of the book, though, I realised that it was a lot more subtle and symbolic than that. The mockingjay is Boo Radley, the man who gives when he can and causes no harm.
I really wish I’d read this story as a child, to see what sort of perspective I’d have had back then. Reading as an adult means that, while Scout was a brilliant perspective, I was almost reading as an outsider. I could see her maturing, slowly fitting the pieces together to start acting like an adult, but at the same time it was an undeniably adult reading. I really really enjoyed the book, but I have a feeling it’s one of those multi-faceted ones where you read something different every time. I can’t help thinking that reading it as a child would have been a lot more powerful.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!
The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, and is written from the perspective of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, who is between six and eight years old as the story progresses. The start of the book does an effective job of introducing us to all the characters. Scout lives with her widowed father, Atticus, a lawyer, her brother Jem (who is 4 years older than her) and Calpurnia, a black woman who acts as a type of mother figure. A friend, Dill, also joins them in the summer. The three children are intrigued by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, who lives in the house on the corner but is never seen outside. I really enjoyed this part of the story; it set the scene brilliantly, as well as helping me reminisce about my own childhood. Even if there is no ‘haunted’ house, children will always make one – at least, my brother and I did! With the limitless amounts of imagination children have, there will always be adventures to be had and ‘monsters’ to escape from. There was one particular house, when we were around the same age as Jem and Scout, where they had a doorbell you pulled, like a cord. My brother Josh said it was a doorbell that made you scream every time you pulled it, so we obviously had great fun in pulling it, screaming, and running away. If by some fluke the person living there is reading this, I’m really sorry, but it still makes me laugh! There was also every Christmas, when we went carol singing. We had decided that the houses beyond the wood were richer than the others, and every year would link arms, lighting matches to try and find our way in the dark and telling ghost stories the whole time.
Once everything has been established, the book moves on to a case Atticus is defending. A black man, Tom, has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, part of a trashy white family with very poor education and even less money. This is where the casual prejudice of the time is evident – Jem and Scout have to put up with people calling their family a “nigger-lover” (sorry if that language offends, it is a direct quote and I mean no harm); Atticus faces repercussions for his whole-hearted attempt to save Tom; and many of the Maycomb women look down on the black community. However, there’s still a touch of hope – the way Atticus defends Tom’s case makes everybody think, a great feat in the setting where black and white people are in completely different classes. In this part of the story, I really looked up to Atticus, in his seemingly-infinite wisdom.
In the final part of the story, Jem and Scout finally get to meet Boo Radley, and it is here that the title of the book becomes apparent. In the middle of the book, after Jem and Scout get air-rifles, it is said:
<blockquote>When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns. Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”</blockquote>
Obviously, not knowing what was coming, I thought the story must eventually be about the children shooting a mockingbird. The last page of the book, though, I realised that it was a lot more subtle and symbolic than that. The mockingjay is Boo Radley, the man who gives when he can and causes no harm.
I really wish I’d read this story as a child, to see what sort of perspective I’d have had back then. Reading as an adult means that, while Scout was a brilliant perspective, I was almost reading as an outsider. I could see her maturing, slowly fitting the pieces together to start acting like an adult, but at the same time it was an undeniably adult reading. I really really enjoyed the book, but I have a feeling it’s one of those multi-faceted ones where you read something different every time. I can’t help thinking that reading it as a child would have been a lot more powerful.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!