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Kelly (279 KP) rated The Pillars of the Earth in Books
Nov 27, 2018
A true epic
Ken Follett excelled in his development of this novel. Pillars of Earth is based around the building of a fictional cathedral in Kingsbridge (which is also fictional). Although the concept behind the story was not one that originally grabbed me as being interesting, as the story emerges, as readers, we realise the the cathedral is really just the vehicle that brings the main characters together and takes them forwards through time.
Follett uses this novel to address some of the key inequalities in society during the Middle Ages and demonstrates some of the extremes people went to in order to survive. Issues such as religion and crime are prevalent throughout the novel, as well as unjust treatment of both women and lower class men. Follett also shows an understanding of the struggles between church and crown during this period and demonstrates how each side tries to maintain what control they have, whilst seeking more.
The characters within the story are well thought out and believable. All of the characters felt hardships as well as successes throughout the story. At times, I did feel that Follett romanticed the ease of social movement around this period of history, some of the characters seem to bounce back incredibly quickly from a period of economic hardship.
I expected this story to have a rags to riches approach for the main characters when I first started reading, however, despite there being some elements of this, it was only there in a subtle undertone. I was also impressed with how much actual history that Follett was able to bring into the story without forcing it into the plot (for example the murder of Thomas Beckett).
Despite the size of this novel, it was a pleasantly easy read, which I often felt I needed to read just one more page before I put it down for the night.
Follett uses this novel to address some of the key inequalities in society during the Middle Ages and demonstrates some of the extremes people went to in order to survive. Issues such as religion and crime are prevalent throughout the novel, as well as unjust treatment of both women and lower class men. Follett also shows an understanding of the struggles between church and crown during this period and demonstrates how each side tries to maintain what control they have, whilst seeking more.
The characters within the story are well thought out and believable. All of the characters felt hardships as well as successes throughout the story. At times, I did feel that Follett romanticed the ease of social movement around this period of history, some of the characters seem to bounce back incredibly quickly from a period of economic hardship.
I expected this story to have a rags to riches approach for the main characters when I first started reading, however, despite there being some elements of this, it was only there in a subtle undertone. I was also impressed with how much actual history that Follett was able to bring into the story without forcing it into the plot (for example the murder of Thomas Beckett).
Despite the size of this novel, it was a pleasantly easy read, which I often felt I needed to read just one more page before I put it down for the night.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Body (2015) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Body starts as three friends Holly (Rogers), Cali (Turshen) and Mel (Molina) who are on a girls night including drinks, drugs and partying on Christmas, the night ends up taking them to Cali’s Uncle’s mansion.
When it turns out the house isn’t belonging to who Cali claimed they get a visitor searching for the intruder but the accident finds him falling down the stairs and the girls needing to figure out a way of covering up the accident.
Thoughts on Body
Characters/Performance – Holly is the quiet girl with the most promising future of the three, Cali is the popular friend that always gets the other two in trouble who believes she is every boys dream. Mel is the friend from the respected family that finds herself in the middle of all the decisions the two need to make. It would be fair to say these are not the best people in the first place which struggles to make us care about them.
Performance wise, the three girls all do a solid job through the film but we are left still not caring about the characters they are playing.
Story – The story follows three friends who start with one illegal action which spiral out of control as we get to see the true actions of these people. This is a good character study in places but it does just end up falling into the problem as we don’t care about characters involved.
Crime/Thriller – The crime side of the story shows us what the characters would be getting up if they were in a situation the girls find themselves in.
Settings – The film takes part inside one house which works for the story as we are left to see what the characters do to overcome the problem.
Final Thoughts – This is a good character study but doesn’t make you care about the characters involved in the story.
Overall: Clever attempt at a character study.
When it turns out the house isn’t belonging to who Cali claimed they get a visitor searching for the intruder but the accident finds him falling down the stairs and the girls needing to figure out a way of covering up the accident.
Thoughts on Body
Characters/Performance – Holly is the quiet girl with the most promising future of the three, Cali is the popular friend that always gets the other two in trouble who believes she is every boys dream. Mel is the friend from the respected family that finds herself in the middle of all the decisions the two need to make. It would be fair to say these are not the best people in the first place which struggles to make us care about them.
Performance wise, the three girls all do a solid job through the film but we are left still not caring about the characters they are playing.
Story – The story follows three friends who start with one illegal action which spiral out of control as we get to see the true actions of these people. This is a good character study in places but it does just end up falling into the problem as we don’t care about characters involved.
Crime/Thriller – The crime side of the story shows us what the characters would be getting up if they were in a situation the girls find themselves in.
Settings – The film takes part inside one house which works for the story as we are left to see what the characters do to overcome the problem.
Final Thoughts – This is a good character study but doesn’t make you care about the characters involved in the story.
Overall: Clever attempt at a character study.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Crown and Anchor (2019) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Body starts as three friends Holly (Rogers), Cali (Turshen) and Mel (Molina) who are on a girls night including drinks, drugs and partying on Christmas, the night ends up taking them to Cali’s Uncle’s mansion.
When it turns out the house isn’t belonging to who Cali claimed they get a visitor searching for the intruder but the accident finds him falling down the stairs and the girls needing to figure out a way of covering up the accident.
Thoughts on Body
Characters/Performance – Holly is the quiet girl with the most promising future of the three, Cali is the popular friend that always gets the other two in trouble who believes she is every boys dream. Mel is the friend from the respected family that finds herself in the middle of all the decisions the two need to make. It would be fair to say these are not the best people in the first place which struggles to make us care about them.
Performance wise, the three girls all do a solid job through the film but we are left still not caring about the characters they are playing.
Story – The story follows three friends who start with one illegal action which spiral out of control as we get to see the true actions of these people. This is a good character study in places but it does just end up falling into the problem as we don’t care about characters involved.
Crime/Thriller – The crime side of the story shows us what the characters would be getting up if they were in a situation the girls find themselves in.
Settings – The film takes part inside one house which works for the story as we are left to see what the characters do to overcome the problem.
Final Thoughts – This is a good character study but doesn’t make you care about the characters involved in the story.
Overall: Clever attempt at a character study.
When it turns out the house isn’t belonging to who Cali claimed they get a visitor searching for the intruder but the accident finds him falling down the stairs and the girls needing to figure out a way of covering up the accident.
Thoughts on Body
Characters/Performance – Holly is the quiet girl with the most promising future of the three, Cali is the popular friend that always gets the other two in trouble who believes she is every boys dream. Mel is the friend from the respected family that finds herself in the middle of all the decisions the two need to make. It would be fair to say these are not the best people in the first place which struggles to make us care about them.
Performance wise, the three girls all do a solid job through the film but we are left still not caring about the characters they are playing.
Story – The story follows three friends who start with one illegal action which spiral out of control as we get to see the true actions of these people. This is a good character study in places but it does just end up falling into the problem as we don’t care about characters involved.
Crime/Thriller – The crime side of the story shows us what the characters would be getting up if they were in a situation the girls find themselves in.
Settings – The film takes part inside one house which works for the story as we are left to see what the characters do to overcome the problem.
Final Thoughts – This is a good character study but doesn’t make you care about the characters involved in the story.
Overall: Clever attempt at a character study.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Lost History of Stars in Books
Jun 16, 2018
The Lost History of Stars by Dave Boling is a powerful and shocking story about a family during The Second Anglo-Boer War during the early part of the 20th century in Africa. It's a historical fiction story that is inspired by true events. The Lost History of Stars is a story of desperation and hope.
The main character, Lettie, who is a thirteen year old Dutch-Africkaner girl comes from a poor farming family. She endures the loss of her home with her mother and two younger siblings when the scorched earth policy employed by the British during the Boer War burns their farm and forces them to leave in a wagon. Their African maid, Bina, tries to stay with the family, but is given no choice by the soldiers but to return to her people.
Lettie and her family are sent to a concentration camp where the conditions are awful. Her father, older brother, uncles, and grandfather are sent to fight the British with guerrilla tactics. Lettie worries and wonders about Bina and her family. Often Lettie remembers the songs and wisdom Bina shared during her childhood and the history of stars that Grandpa shared with her at night under the sparkling sky.
The story is told from Lettie's point of view. The reader learns of her experience in the concentration camp. Lettie attempt to find the good in small moments. Her more treasured possession is her English dictionary, which she reads for comfort to pass time.
The story switches between the present and past. This allows the reader to understand life before the war and during the war. It give the reader background information to understand the family dynamics.
The main character, Lettie, who is a thirteen year old Dutch-Africkaner girl comes from a poor farming family. She endures the loss of her home with her mother and two younger siblings when the scorched earth policy employed by the British during the Boer War burns their farm and forces them to leave in a wagon. Their African maid, Bina, tries to stay with the family, but is given no choice by the soldiers but to return to her people.
Lettie and her family are sent to a concentration camp where the conditions are awful. Her father, older brother, uncles, and grandfather are sent to fight the British with guerrilla tactics. Lettie worries and wonders about Bina and her family. Often Lettie remembers the songs and wisdom Bina shared during her childhood and the history of stars that Grandpa shared with her at night under the sparkling sky.
The story is told from Lettie's point of view. The reader learns of her experience in the concentration camp. Lettie attempt to find the good in small moments. Her more treasured possession is her English dictionary, which she reads for comfort to pass time.
The story switches between the present and past. This allows the reader to understand life before the war and during the war. It give the reader background information to understand the family dynamics.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Not Thomas in Books
Jul 31, 2018
This is such a sad story I often struggled to bring myself to read it. The novel is written as if it were a true story told by the central character, 5-year-old Tomos. Tomos has just moved in with his birth mother, following a long period of foster care which came to an end when the foster parent died.
The language with which it’s written, is very much like that of its protagonist, with common wording, present tense, short sentences, and childlike enthusiasm clearly conveyed. In spite of this, you may argue it’s not necessarily easy to read, as I shall explain.
In the beginning of the book, the neglect endured by Tomos is more commonplace, such as: occasionally having crisps instead of a cooked meal, making do with a removable ladder to on and off his bed, and his mum missing his nativity play. Later a teacher spots there’s an issue and starts bringing food and uniform for him to school.
However, after each let-down, the author must have thought “Right, what’s the worst thing that can happen next?” By the end of the book, there’s a rape, an arrest, and a murder. Eventually the teacher forges a rescue of sorts for Tomos, but things may never be the same again for poor Tomos.
Reading a book where the dialogue is in my own Welsh valley dialect made the story feel all the more real to me. In the first half of the book, the dialogue amongst the adults provides more depth, context and complexity to the story, which would otherwise only be hinted at.
In the end, it’s the realism of the story that makes it such a hard read.
You can check out more of my book reviews on Wordpress or Facebook:
https://bookblogbycari.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bookblogbycari/
The language with which it’s written, is very much like that of its protagonist, with common wording, present tense, short sentences, and childlike enthusiasm clearly conveyed. In spite of this, you may argue it’s not necessarily easy to read, as I shall explain.
In the beginning of the book, the neglect endured by Tomos is more commonplace, such as: occasionally having crisps instead of a cooked meal, making do with a removable ladder to on and off his bed, and his mum missing his nativity play. Later a teacher spots there’s an issue and starts bringing food and uniform for him to school.
However, after each let-down, the author must have thought “Right, what’s the worst thing that can happen next?” By the end of the book, there’s a rape, an arrest, and a murder. Eventually the teacher forges a rescue of sorts for Tomos, but things may never be the same again for poor Tomos.
Reading a book where the dialogue is in my own Welsh valley dialect made the story feel all the more real to me. In the first half of the book, the dialogue amongst the adults provides more depth, context and complexity to the story, which would otherwise only be hinted at.
In the end, it’s the realism of the story that makes it such a hard read.
You can check out more of my book reviews on Wordpress or Facebook:
https://bookblogbycari.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bookblogbycari/
Unprepared for Life's Journey
Book
Unprepared for Life's Journey is a heart-warming true story, detailing the missionary life of an...
Kristina (502 KP) rated A Very Large Expanse of Sea in Books
Dec 7, 2020
I figured with today's current events, I'd give this a read. I can't say I've never seen (or heard) acts (or words) of racism, but I will admit that, for the most part, it hasn't truly been directed at me. Reading this hurt my heart and made me angry in a very violent way. Stupidity is everywhere. Unfortunately, racism is everywhere. However, as someone who's been privileged enough to not have true, memorable experience with it, I was shocked and disgusted by the acts of the people in this fictional community. And while the story itself, characters included, may be storybook fake, the feelings and harassment within are likely based on true acts. Hatred is a horrible thing and Shirin is literally so used to it that she feels it's safer to assume everyone is after her, everyone hates her, everyone is wilfully ignorant and therefore deliberately prejudice towards her - it's her coping mechanism; see the absolute worst in others, keep your distance, and maybe it'll hurt less. We need more people like Ocean, who was so adorably awkward and sweet, and genuinely interested in learning more!
Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars
Book
FIERCE FEMMES AND NOTORIOUS LIARS: A DANGEROUS TRANS GIRL'S CONFABULOUS MEMOIR is the highly...
Murder, etc.
5.0
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GREENVILLE, SC: January 31, 1975: Lt. Frank Looper was about to break the biggest case of his life....
True Crime
Radio Rental
9.0
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Podcast
Radio Rental, hosted by Tenderfoot cofounder Payne Lindsey, is a semi-scripted series that features...
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