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The Night Shift
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
131 of 235
Kindle
The Night Shift
By Alex Finlay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in New Jersey, four teenagers working late at the store are attacked. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, more teenage employees are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive.

In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who’s convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller who must delve into the secrets of both nights—stirring up memories of teen love and lies—to uncover the truth about murders on the night shift.

I read this in one sitting and thought it was just brilliant. It kept me totally engaged and constantly guessing. It had some pretty nasty characters too which always makes for good reading. Really enjoyed it.
  
This Motherless Land
This Motherless Land
Nikki May | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This Motherless Land is a modern day retelling based loosely on Mansfield Park. Instead of the differences between a poor working class girl and a rich upperclass family, TML shows the differences between family split between Lagos and Somerset.

Funke is by no means from a poor family in Lagos, in fact quite the opposite. Instead of ‘just’ class (as in Mansfield Park), this novel shows the attitudes and racism towards Funke, and the class they perceive her to be based on that racism, when she is sent to live with her grandparents in England. Instead of the love and support she needs and deserves, her family are detached and racist. Her cousin Liv is the only one who makes an effort, and they form a special relationship as children. But even this relationship isn’t safe, and after a misunderstanding, Funke faces more tragedy.

I loved this book. Told over three decades, I really got to know the characters (although I could have really done without ever knowing Funke’s English aunt). There are emotional highs and lows for Funke and her family. Grief and loss are central themes. I loved the cultural contrasts between Nigeria and England and the way they were described - these countries are worlds apart.

I was RAGING at some parts of this book - such was the frankly excellent writing. I was all in!!
  
Four Lions (2010)
Four Lions (2010)
2010 | Comedy, Drama
The fine between comedy and tragedy...
Contains spoilers, click to show
I can remember first hearing about this early in 2010, and was unsure as what to expect. On one hand this could have been a nasty hate film, mocking the wave of Muslim extremism which is taking a firm hold in this country, merely for the entertainment value, or this could be one of the important satires on the subject to date.

It was by far, without a shadow of doubt, the latter. Four Lions follows five amateur, lackluster Muslims from Sheffield who all believe that they are a primed terror cell on the frontline of the war against the infidels. Unfortunately for them, they are bunglers, whilst achieving the ability to create explosives, they have failed to control how and when it explodes! The plot culminates with an attempt to attack the London Marathon but it is a long road, taking our protagonists to the terror camps of Pakistan, and the town halls of Sheffield. This film is written and directed so expertly, it is literally frightening.

Morris and his pitch perfect cast deliver a film which so perfectly walks the razor wire tightrope between comedy and tragedy that every laugh is tinged with sadness or pity and every dark moment, seemingly comedic.

Is this a comedy? Decidedly not, but is this funny, and intentionally so? Yes. It's almost as if the laughs are out of sheer relief, as moments which should shock are delivered or followed up by some of the most profoundly realistic and yet ridiculous conversions.

The Lion King explanation for the war against the west; The almost horrifically callous 'Honey Monster' exchange as a police sniper may well have just shot an innocent civilian will stick in your mind. Let alone more simple humour, such as the eating of the sim cards to prevent tracking, which resembled the Catholic method of taking of the bread at mass.

But this was also about grooming: Grooming the audience to sympathise with a terror cell plotting in our midst was genius, whist having to watch the various methods employed within the group itself, leading to some of the films most poignant and tragic moments.

The disenfranchised Muslim population of this country have been captured so well, though portrayed on one hand as been dimwitted 'wanna-be terrorists', but on the other as real people, miss led with some of the most ridiculous concepts designed to reduce their lives to that of mediocrity in order to convince them to take so many others. This is a sympathetic peace movie in a time of great confusion and conflict.

Until now, United 93 was the film which had most summed up the dark times in which we live, following 9/11, but this is at least on par with it and is a great addition to a long and significant catalogue of topical anti-establishment films, such as M.A.S.H. and Dr. Strangelove.

Not just highly recommended, but a MUST SEE!