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Janeeny (200 KP) rated Lanny in Books

Aug 5, 2019

Lanny

Max Porter | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.0

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I have to admit, when I first started reading this book I did stop several times, look at the cover and the blurb and think “What the heck am I reading?”

This is the first Max Porter novel I have read. He has a very interesting way of laying out his prose which baffles the brain at first, but once you adapt to the flow you just float along with the story. The book is broken up into three parts, and each part is told in a different but distinctive way.

Lanny is a young boy with a gift, a very peculiar gift that his parents can’t quite figure out. So Lanny’s mother enlists the help of ‘Pete’ a local grizzled artist to teach the boy and harness some of his ‘eccentricities’. However, a mysterious event soon throws the lives of Lanny’s parents, Pete, and indeed the whole village in to utter chaos. Questions are asked, relationships are closely examined, but what really lies beneath all that goes on in this little village just outside of London.

One aspect of the book I admired was in part two, after the main turning point of the story. This part of the book is told in sporadic paragraphs of peoples thoughts and deeds during the event. It’s not always clear whose thought or deed you’re reading (and it’s not always necessary to know) but through this episodic storytelling you build up a picture not only of what is happening but how the people involved are feeling about it.

This was very cleverly written and the way that Porter plays with words builds up a very vivid image of the events happening in ‘Lanny’. What Porter has shown us is that in order to tell a good story you don’t necessarily have to write in a smooth and progressive way, sometimes you just have to throw words at the pages and see what sticks!

Kudos

Kaz (232 KP) Aug 5, 2019

This is a book I've wanted to read for a while. It sounds challenging, but possibly worth a go at reading. Great Review!

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Hateful Eight (2015) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

The Hateful Eight (2015)

2015 | Action, Western

7.6

(36 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Tarantino has accomplished something I have always thought impossible, created a bad Samuel L. Jackson film. It’s unfortunate, but despite all of the hype and build up for the release of Tarantino’s latest film, I was unable to enjoy the experience no matter how hard I tried.

Film is supposed to transport the audience to another place and time. The fact that the plot of “The Hateful Eight” mostly unfolds during a blizzard in a small cabin makes it a film which relies heavily on the development of its characters and the relationships between them. If this is done well, the audience can become entranced by the story.

But it is a very disappointing lack of character depth that makes the story fall flat. Many people will sit back completely prepared to let Tarantino take them on yet another adventure filled with gore, creativity, and depth. Yet, for many, that moment will never come.

The film starts out with an artistic introduction and some beautiful scenery, but then continues along at a slugs pace. The underdeveloped characters’ recite choppy and unconvincing lines. Samuel L. Jackson delivers his classic sharp tongued speech in the fashion which usually builds up to one of his great freak out moments. But this time, the buildup leads to nothing.
The plot, while attempting to catch the audience by surprise, waits too long and fails at this task as well. Sure, there is some gore of course. However, nothing like the infamous cringe-worthy scenes of Tarantino’s past work.

Personally, I was never fully consumed, and was left trying to enjoy the film out of a feeling of necessity. But no matter how much of a cinematic master Tarantino has proven to be over the years, it is undeniable that this just isn’t his best work.

I give “The Hateful Eight” 2.75 stars. But I really, really did, want to give it five.