I love Edgar Allan Poe. This should be no surprise to you who read this if you look at the rest of my Favorites. (Neil Gaiman, Tim Burton, E.L. Doctorow who was named for Poe - Edgar...) The list goes on and on. To this day, The Cask of Amontillado remains my favorite piece. That final pleading of Fortunato as he awakens to the desperation of his situation. Montressor calmly and quietly, bricking him in, one at a time.
And while Pope gets a lot of flack for his lifestyle - drunk, possible druggie, marrying his teenage cousin - there is something to say for his work, for his ability to chill us to the bone. There is tragedy there.
Today is his Birthday. Born in 1809, died in 1849, Eddie would have been 202 years old today.
And every year since the 1940s, Poe has gotten a birthday gift. Perhaps your Middle School Engish teacher told you about it? That's where I heard it from, Mr. DeLeo (Long Live Susqua House!) The tradition first gained attention and publication in 1949.
Here's the legend. Every year on Poe's birthday an anonymous man who later became known as the Poe Toaster, shows up at his grave in Baltimore, dressed all in black with a white scarf and a wide brimmed hat, and leaves four roses and half a bottle of cognac. People come every year to try to catch a glimpse of him.
But this year he didn't show.
In 1993, the toaster beganleaving notes. One of them said, that the "torch would be passed."
In 1998 another note arrived, indicating that the original toaster had passed away and bequeathed the tradition to his sons.
But the sons have not been as committed to the tradition as their father. Notes kept coming on the birthday, one blaming the Superbowl for getting in the way. Another that the French's objection to U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Last year, the toaster didn't come. He was a no show this year too.
While the orignal Toaster may be gone, and those who were committed with keeping up the tradition have fallen short, there is no dearth when it comes to fans who pay tribute in their own way.
Poe is dead and gone certainly but he continues to tap into our psyches and dreams. As evidenced by the film in the works called The Raven, starring John Cusack as Poe. (check out www.boingboing.net to see pics!)
Happy Birthday, Poe.
Never gone, never forgotten.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110119/ap_on_en_ot/us_poe_mystery_visitor_7 - Toaster story source.
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/19/john-cusack-as-edgar-1.html - The Raven stills.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
why harry potter matters
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the culmination of the entire Potter series. Book seven in a series of seven. (Isn’t it interesting to note that the number seven is a number of mythological power? It can even be interpreted to mean a sheva which means a fullness of things.)
And Rowling certainly gives us a fullness of things.
This book is actually hard to write a review for because all of the spoilers have been released. We all know that Dumbledore really is dead. We know who the eye in the broken shard of mirror was. We know what a Horcrux is and what the final Horcrux was. We know what Voldemort’s fatal flaw was. And we might even understand the intricacies of wand lore.
But with the film quickly approaching (as I write this, it’s come and gone) I picked up my final tome in the Harry Potter series (the only book I ever pre-ordered, though I came very close with Clare’s Clockwork Angel), and read it again.
Why did I, a grown up start to read a children’s book? That’s who the audience was originally when Rowling wrote these books. Children. Honestly, I have no idea what made me pick it up. I couldn’t tell you, except that on long car rides with my parents I was more interested in Harry and his friends than what’s her name form Clan of the Cave Bear. By the time I actually read a book (I had heard the first two on tape) it was the Prisoner of Azkaban that I held in my hands and read in my college dorm room.
And I was hooked. Like a good number of people around the world. The language and wizarding culture of Harry Potter has infiltrated our own Muggle world. There’s even a theme park in Universal Studios devoted strictly to the Wizarding World. You can go have a cup of butter beer (non alcoholic, fyi), get a wan from Ollivanders, or fill your pockets with Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Why is that? Why has this series of children’s books become so huge, not just with children but with the adults? Aside from just being really well written stories (Rowling definitely learns her chops as she goes on), and aside form creating a mythical world that is so tangible that there can be a theme park built to it (not to mention the Wizard Rock movement or college level quidditch matches that are taking storm across the country) there is an element that darkens with age. As her readers get older, so do her themes. These are complex stories full of fear, danger, tragedy, triumph, love, lies, betrayal, redemption. There is political unrest to the point of complete and utter political infiltration by the bad guys (aka Death Eaters). There are tiny slivers of hope in a hopeless world.
Good literature should help us find an escape. But if it was all about escape than the bodice ripper romance novels would be on the same level as Shakespeare. Additionally, it should help us deal with the world at hand. There should be lessons we learn, things we can take away from the stories that teach us, that guide us, that provide us some sort of augmentation of spirit, and soul.
With close reading, we see the books grow more and more dark and volatile, beginning with book 4 where Voldemort kills a muggle within the very first pages of the book, and then ends the book with the murder or Cedrick Diggory (played by Robert Pattinson, who later went on to become a very glittery vampire). It also begins to sow the seeds of disbelief, and government suppression of information, all to protect the common person from being frightened.
The tone and dangers within the books escalates from there, until we get to the seventh where it’s all or nothing, Voldemort or Harry, good or evil, one will live, one will die, and for a long time, it’s touch and go. Those who were saints are revealed, those who were despised and loathed show their true colors, and friendships, and humanity are put to a test.
Harry Potter helps us see our own world in context. Perhaps we aren’t being
rounded up to prove our heritage and why we should be allowed to live in a certain neighborhood, but we live in a world where things like that do happen, where there are things like ethnic cleansings, hate crimes, political refugees. If you look through our own world history and compare it with some things we come across in Rowling’s books, we will find some very striking similarities.
And while people for a little time argued against the books on a moral issue (the objection that they were WITCHES and WIZARDS and wouldn’t that contaminate our children?), the whole basis of the series is love, and doing what is right. You have characters who could easily act out, who have the right to be angry, despondent and vengeful, but never give in to those emotions. Even in the darkest times, they still try to hold on to what is good, what is right. There are examples of family love, of the love of friends, and eventually as the characters progress in age and maturity, even a little bit of romantic love. There is nothing here to create little witches and wizards of your own, unless you want to raise good, morally wholesome children. But that’s up to you.
I think that is why I have grown to love the Harry Potter series. They prove that here, there is no such thing as a simple children’s tale.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gone But Not Forgotten
Every season there are the slaughtered tv shows, the ones who didn't make it. cut off quickly in one fell swoop of the cancelling axe, left bloody and gasping. others are allowed to finish out their seasons but with no one watching, like ageing starlets who still recite their lines to empty bedroom, remembering the theatres they used to fill.
I have a tendency to love those shows, at least some of them. Just my luck,huh?
Pushing Daisies
Caprica
Kings
If the world made sense everyone would know these shows.
My husband and i just finished watching Kings - the complete season/series, and were once again blown away by just how good this show was.
For the uninitiated, it's loosely based on the book of Kings and Saul and David.
Really. They amde a tv show based loosely on a book from the Bible. And ity was excellent. Faith, magic, betrayal, all of the good stuff. So to take a Biblical theme that is at times semi obvious and to do it so well, and make it appealing and riveting for everyone was amazing.
King Silas Benjamin played by Ian McShane (who will soon be appearing the next Pirates of the Carribean Strange Tides as Blackbeard) is nothing less than spectacular as he plays the games of court, the hidden brutality...
So here is where we begin: David Shepherd (like i said not always subtle) is a soldier in war against the neighboring country of Gath. He pulls off a daring rescue mission against Gath's prized war machines the Goliath tank. David rescues two prisoners of war, and prepares for a court martial as he disobeyed direct orders in acting alone. To add to the miracle of it all, one of the prisoners turns out to be King Silas's son, Prince Jack Benjamin.
David is thrust into the world of the court, the intricacies and espionage. He becomes Silas's golden child, his public image miracle. He also falls for the Princess, Princess Michelle. And Prince Jack isn't excatly as grateful as he should be.
Political intrigue, power, descents into madness, good vs bad... Just such an awesome show.
This isn't fast. It's well written, amazingly acted full of mythology and blurred lines of reality and and madness. It lends itself well to marathon viewing, or one episode a night kind of viewing.
Kings is amazing.
And add to the roster an incredibly creepy Macaulay Caulkin who just makes your skin crawl....
Pushing Daisies
Yes a show about a pie maker who wakes the dead, aids a private investigator, and collects the reward. And who then awakens his childhood sweetheart but can never touch her again. Along with Olive the just gorgeous Kristen Chenoweth as the waitress at the Pie Hole who has had a long standing crush on Ned (said Pie Marker) and the two spinster aunts who are retired synchronized swimmers - the Darling Mermaid Darlings - with social anxiety disorders to match. Chi McBride (Boston Public) is the knitting private detective with a penchant for pop up books. And I feel awful but I forget who plays Chuck. A lot of familiar faces make guest appearances - Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), Joel McHale (who I will always love because of the Sooup regardless what he does on Community); David Arquette... Just such fun...
And along with such a funny quirky storyline, and whimsy, you have characters who break out into song, but in beautiful sweet ways - not Glee ways (not hating on the Glee. Don't flame me here folks). But you can have Swoozie Kurt (remember Little Shop of HOrrors - Audrey?) and Kristen Chenoweth (Wicked's Galinda) just singing at sweet little moments. One of the moments is a They Might Be Giants Song, while another time is (funny enough when you continue reading this paragraph) I'll Be Your Candle on the Water form Pete's Dragon. AND Jim Dale from Pete's Dragon (the guy who couldn't say Passamaquoddie) but most likely known for reading all of the Harry Potter Books with such amazing talent and skill. (He got a Grammy for them!) Nothing but joy here. Just how delightful. Like tucking into your favorite restraunt, and never getting tired of the food. It's all good. It's all lovely. And it's exactly what you want.
Then there's Caprica.
I never thought I'd get into Caprica.
Never. I didn't watch the new Battlestar Galactica. I remember the old one. Those Cylons (the robots with the blinky light) scared me to no end. Along with that creepy robotic dog. So is it any surprise I didn't get into the new one?
But my husband said, you should watch this pilot episode. Then we'll see if we like it..
That pilot HOOOKED ME. Completely.
And It has ERIC STOLTZ IN IT! I love Eric Stoltz. Ihave loved Eric Stoltz since The Memphis Belle when I first fell in love with Harry Connick Jr. It was a very unrequited love triangle. But I'm ok with that. (And then he weas the first Marty McFly in Back to the Future and got replaced by Michael J. Fox... Both Brilliant, but can this guy ever get a break?!)
Pre-Battlestar Galactica, set ina world where a virtual reality is the drug of choice. People put on these pretty spiffy little sunglasses, and go into their own little worlds, meeting up with others in those little worlds. but those little worlds aren't as small as you think.
It's also a world of polytheism, and the idea of a one true God is radical and unheard of. So to get the point across, some of those believers in a one true God become soliders/terrorists. One of those soldiers (STO - Soldiers True One) is Zoe Greystone the daughter of Daniel and Amanda Greystone. Daniel created the Hallo Band (those little sunglass thingies) and is evejtually going to create the Cylons.
The show begins with a train bombing. Zoe and her friend Lacey go to the train, Lacey doesn't get on. Zoe's boyfriend blows the place to smithereens in honor of the One True God (very jihadish).
Except Zoe's avatar still lives on in the Virtual world. And the question is, is it just the avatar, or is it really Zoe? Eventually her avatar takes up residence in the very first Cylon Robot her father creates. He eventually suspects something, but it's just a big dumb robot. Right?
Except Daniel is determined to see his daughter again.
Amazingly written, fantastic stories. Oh That Caprica would survive.
But on a side note, we found ScyFy doing a marathon of the last remaining episodes. So we squealed and watched the show until we had to go to go bed. Thank you ScyFy! And the whole series is on dvd now. I think it's being called Caprica season 1.5
All of these are available on DVD or Netflix. Some may even be on Hulu. Do yourself a favor and go rent them, youtube them, whatever. they are just beautiful examples of the creative whismical entertainment that has been slaughtered in order to appease the masses.
I have a tendency to love those shows, at least some of them. Just my luck,huh?
Pushing Daisies
Caprica
Kings
If the world made sense everyone would know these shows.
My husband and i just finished watching Kings - the complete season/series, and were once again blown away by just how good this show was.
For the uninitiated, it's loosely based on the book of Kings and Saul and David.
Really. They amde a tv show based loosely on a book from the Bible. And ity was excellent. Faith, magic, betrayal, all of the good stuff. So to take a Biblical theme that is at times semi obvious and to do it so well, and make it appealing and riveting for everyone was amazing.
King Silas Benjamin played by Ian McShane (who will soon be appearing the next Pirates of the Carribean Strange Tides as Blackbeard) is nothing less than spectacular as he plays the games of court, the hidden brutality...
So here is where we begin: David Shepherd (like i said not always subtle) is a soldier in war against the neighboring country of Gath. He pulls off a daring rescue mission against Gath's prized war machines the Goliath tank. David rescues two prisoners of war, and prepares for a court martial as he disobeyed direct orders in acting alone. To add to the miracle of it all, one of the prisoners turns out to be King Silas's son, Prince Jack Benjamin.
David is thrust into the world of the court, the intricacies and espionage. He becomes Silas's golden child, his public image miracle. He also falls for the Princess, Princess Michelle. And Prince Jack isn't excatly as grateful as he should be.
Political intrigue, power, descents into madness, good vs bad... Just such an awesome show.
This isn't fast. It's well written, amazingly acted full of mythology and blurred lines of reality and and madness. It lends itself well to marathon viewing, or one episode a night kind of viewing.
Kings is amazing.
And add to the roster an incredibly creepy Macaulay Caulkin who just makes your skin crawl....
Pushing Daisies
Yes a show about a pie maker who wakes the dead, aids a private investigator, and collects the reward. And who then awakens his childhood sweetheart but can never touch her again. Along with Olive the just gorgeous Kristen Chenoweth as the waitress at the Pie Hole who has had a long standing crush on Ned (said Pie Marker) and the two spinster aunts who are retired synchronized swimmers - the Darling Mermaid Darlings - with social anxiety disorders to match. Chi McBride (Boston Public) is the knitting private detective with a penchant for pop up books. And I feel awful but I forget who plays Chuck. A lot of familiar faces make guest appearances - Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), Joel McHale (who I will always love because of the Sooup regardless what he does on Community); David Arquette... Just such fun...
And along with such a funny quirky storyline, and whimsy, you have characters who break out into song, but in beautiful sweet ways - not Glee ways (not hating on the Glee. Don't flame me here folks). But you can have Swoozie Kurt (remember Little Shop of HOrrors - Audrey?) and Kristen Chenoweth (Wicked's Galinda) just singing at sweet little moments. One of the moments is a They Might Be Giants Song, while another time is (funny enough when you continue reading this paragraph) I'll Be Your Candle on the Water form Pete's Dragon. AND Jim Dale from Pete's Dragon (the guy who couldn't say Passamaquoddie) but most likely known for reading all of the Harry Potter Books with such amazing talent and skill. (He got a Grammy for them!) Nothing but joy here. Just how delightful. Like tucking into your favorite restraunt, and never getting tired of the food. It's all good. It's all lovely. And it's exactly what you want.
Then there's Caprica.
I never thought I'd get into Caprica.
Never. I didn't watch the new Battlestar Galactica. I remember the old one. Those Cylons (the robots with the blinky light) scared me to no end. Along with that creepy robotic dog. So is it any surprise I didn't get into the new one?
But my husband said, you should watch this pilot episode. Then we'll see if we like it..
That pilot HOOOKED ME. Completely.
And It has ERIC STOLTZ IN IT! I love Eric Stoltz. Ihave loved Eric Stoltz since The Memphis Belle when I first fell in love with Harry Connick Jr. It was a very unrequited love triangle. But I'm ok with that. (And then he weas the first Marty McFly in Back to the Future and got replaced by Michael J. Fox... Both Brilliant, but can this guy ever get a break?!)
Pre-Battlestar Galactica, set ina world where a virtual reality is the drug of choice. People put on these pretty spiffy little sunglasses, and go into their own little worlds, meeting up with others in those little worlds. but those little worlds aren't as small as you think.
It's also a world of polytheism, and the idea of a one true God is radical and unheard of. So to get the point across, some of those believers in a one true God become soliders/terrorists. One of those soldiers (STO - Soldiers True One) is Zoe Greystone the daughter of Daniel and Amanda Greystone. Daniel created the Hallo Band (those little sunglass thingies) and is evejtually going to create the Cylons.
The show begins with a train bombing. Zoe and her friend Lacey go to the train, Lacey doesn't get on. Zoe's boyfriend blows the place to smithereens in honor of the One True God (very jihadish).
Except Zoe's avatar still lives on in the Virtual world. And the question is, is it just the avatar, or is it really Zoe? Eventually her avatar takes up residence in the very first Cylon Robot her father creates. He eventually suspects something, but it's just a big dumb robot. Right?
Except Daniel is determined to see his daughter again.
Amazingly written, fantastic stories. Oh That Caprica would survive.
But on a side note, we found ScyFy doing a marathon of the last remaining episodes. So we squealed and watched the show until we had to go to go bed. Thank you ScyFy! And the whole series is on dvd now. I think it's being called Caprica season 1.5
All of these are available on DVD or Netflix. Some may even be on Hulu. Do yourself a favor and go rent them, youtube them, whatever. they are just beautiful examples of the creative whismical entertainment that has been slaughtered in order to appease the masses.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
VHS - Rated G.
We say the word Musical like it's an apology. Like it's a bad thing that people burst out into song and spontaneous dance sequences. All these films want to do is make its audience smile, to whisk them away and to fill the world with maybe a few tunes to whistle or sing after the credits roll.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is like ultimate comfort food. It's not complex, it's not difficult but it's still delicious, still wonderful like a giant plate of home made macaroni and cheese.
Back in the day, this was one of the first movies my family owned on VHS. All because our local library had a copy of it. We got a copy of it in the days when piracy wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and watched it so much that we wore our tape out. Come to think of it, the copy at the library may be that very same copy that I fell in love with... So those of you who still have a VCR you're in luck!
Here's the Cliff Notes version: Adam (played by Howard Keel whose voice is as deep as the ocean and just as big) is a mountain man in the days of the Ingalls and the Trek West, who needs to find a wife. So he puts Wife on his shopping list for the next time he goes to town. Determined, he finds one in the feisty Millie. What he doesn't tell her is that he lives with his six other adult backwoodsmen brothers. Talk about a short honeymoon. She sets out to civilize her new brothers in law, and introducing a bit of culture to the backwoods. Hilarity and musical grandeur ensue.
This film is over fifty years old, but is still a joy to watch. Chock full of music, as any good musical should be, but the real stand outs are the pieces sung by the brothers --- particularly the Sobbin Women where the brothers plot to kidnap the girls they like in order to make them like them more. One track minds, little forethought and even less logic. But that is the way of the musical.
The Barn Dance
The Trailer
Can't you just fall in love with Howard Keel's voice right there at the end? Oh my goodness!!!
VHS - Rated G.
We say the word Musical like it's an apology. Like it's a bad thing that people burst out into song and spontaneous dance sequences. All these films want to do is make its audience smile, to whisk them away and to fill the world with maybe a few tunes to whistle or sing after the credits roll.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is like ultimate comfort food. It's not complex, it's not difficult but it's still delicious, still wonderful like a giant plate of home made macaroni and cheese.
Back in the day, this was one of the first movies my family owned on VHS. All because our local library had a copy of it. We got a copy of it in the days when piracy wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and watched it so much that we wore our tape out. Come to think of it, the copy at the library may be that very same copy that I fell in love with... So those of you who still have a VCR you're in luck!
Here's the Cliff Notes version: Adam (played by Howard Keel whose voice is as deep as the ocean and just as big) is a mountain man in the days of the Ingalls and the Trek West, who needs to find a wife. So he puts Wife on his shopping list for the next time he goes to town. Determined, he finds one in the feisty Millie. What he doesn't tell her is that he lives with his six other adult backwoodsmen brothers. Talk about a short honeymoon. She sets out to civilize her new brothers in law, and introducing a bit of culture to the backwoods. Hilarity and musical grandeur ensue.
This film is over fifty years old, but is still a joy to watch. Chock full of music, as any good musical should be, but the real stand outs are the pieces sung by the brothers --- particularly the Sobbin Women where the brothers plot to kidnap the girls they like in order to make them like them more. One track minds, little forethought and even less logic. But that is the way of the musical.
The Barn Dance
The Trailer
Can't you just fall in love with Howard Keel's voice right there at the end? Oh my goodness!!!
Wuthering Heights as seen on Masterpiece Theatre
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights
as seen on Masterpiece Theatre
2009
First off, let's get one thing very clear. This is NOT your mother's Wuthering Heights. Nor is this the Wuthering Heights you may have been forced to sit through in tenth grade English class. This is a grown up, sexy, dark, haunting Wuthering Heights. Get your paper bags and your smelling salts, because this film may cause swoons and shortness of breath.
Book purists will be satisfied with the faithful interpretation presented here in the film. There are very few changes, the chief among them, being the ages of Cathy and Heathcliff when they first meet the Lintons, and then the ensuing courtship. In the book Cathy and Heathcliff are quite young, barely teenagers, when they first come upon the Lintons. The ensuring courtship seems to take place not far from that age, which might seem a little awkward. In the film, both Cathy and Heathcliff are portrayed a slightly older, thus when the courtship and proposal happen, there's less squirming and questions about age. Any other alterations in the film are minor, artistic, and true to the characters and storyline. (Remember few movies are EVER exactly like the book.)
While the book is an undisputed classic, it shines in this film. Yorkshire and the moors which figure so heavily in the book are given enough respect in the film to become characters in the film itself. The camera work, the location, the cinematography, everything is just beautiful. It is not beautiful like a Hollywood sound stage. This film was actually made in Yorkshire and on the moors. So what Bronte herself was talking about, what she had grown accustomed to living among, we are able to see and witness. It is a desolate beauty, a beauty that is wild, and sad, and haunting all at the same time. (On a side note, the actress who plays Cathy - Charlotte Riley - is the first Yorkshire woman to perform the role. So both what we see and hear is authentic.)
The book's prose allows us to understand there's some attraction and jealousy between Cathy and Heathcliff, in the film that love affair, an affair that destroys all around them if they cannot have each other, comes to life with such heat that you might just find your wall paper peeling. (Keep in mind that when one of them gets spiteful, the coldness of heart might be enough to freeze the paper in place. So don't redecorate just yet.)
Ladies, kick the men out of the house for a spell, schedule slumber party, or take advantage of a camping/hunting/fishing/ ... trip and curl up for a spell.
It runs 141 minutes. It was a Masterpiece Theatre mini-series. It's not rated. But if it were, it would certainly not be R, nor would it be G. Available at your public library.
Here's a few scenes to whet your appetite :)
The trailer:
as seen on Masterpiece Theatre
2009
First off, let's get one thing very clear. This is NOT your mother's Wuthering Heights. Nor is this the Wuthering Heights you may have been forced to sit through in tenth grade English class. This is a grown up, sexy, dark, haunting Wuthering Heights. Get your paper bags and your smelling salts, because this film may cause swoons and shortness of breath.
Book purists will be satisfied with the faithful interpretation presented here in the film. There are very few changes, the chief among them, being the ages of Cathy and Heathcliff when they first meet the Lintons, and then the ensuing courtship. In the book Cathy and Heathcliff are quite young, barely teenagers, when they first come upon the Lintons. The ensuring courtship seems to take place not far from that age, which might seem a little awkward. In the film, both Cathy and Heathcliff are portrayed a slightly older, thus when the courtship and proposal happen, there's less squirming and questions about age. Any other alterations in the film are minor, artistic, and true to the characters and storyline. (Remember few movies are EVER exactly like the book.)
While the book is an undisputed classic, it shines in this film. Yorkshire and the moors which figure so heavily in the book are given enough respect in the film to become characters in the film itself. The camera work, the location, the cinematography, everything is just beautiful. It is not beautiful like a Hollywood sound stage. This film was actually made in Yorkshire and on the moors. So what Bronte herself was talking about, what she had grown accustomed to living among, we are able to see and witness. It is a desolate beauty, a beauty that is wild, and sad, and haunting all at the same time. (On a side note, the actress who plays Cathy - Charlotte Riley - is the first Yorkshire woman to perform the role. So both what we see and hear is authentic.)
The book's prose allows us to understand there's some attraction and jealousy between Cathy and Heathcliff, in the film that love affair, an affair that destroys all around them if they cannot have each other, comes to life with such heat that you might just find your wall paper peeling. (Keep in mind that when one of them gets spiteful, the coldness of heart might be enough to freeze the paper in place. So don't redecorate just yet.)
Ladies, kick the men out of the house for a spell, schedule slumber party, or take advantage of a camping/hunting/fishing/ ... trip and curl up for a spell.
It runs 141 minutes. It was a Masterpiece Theatre mini-series. It's not rated. But if it were, it would certainly not be R, nor would it be G. Available at your public library.
Here's a few scenes to whet your appetite :)
The trailer:
Her Fearful Symmetry Review
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenger
We all know the adage about not judging a book by its cover. But when I'm chasing a two year old through the public library, with a list of books in my hand, and my little girl positively squealing with delight, sometimes the cover and the blurbs are all I have. (Really, the library is like Disney World for her. She just can't believe there are this many books in one place, all for her. And honestly, I can't get over that feeling either.)
The cover is what grabbed me when I came to Her Fearful Symmetry. The trees reminded me of the tangled trees in Snow White as she tried to escape the huntsman. The trees here look so stark, so naked, so cold, and so ominous. And at the same time, trees like this - bare stark naked winter trees, having lived in NEPA all my life, I know give way to budding trees, to hints of spring. I love trees, and I love the mystery to them. This cover spoke to me, and I was able to toss it in my bag before my child ran out the front doors.
The story starts this way. Elspeth passes away, and leaves her entire flat and possessions to her twin nieces Julia and Valentina, on the one condition they must live in the flat (which borders Highgate Cemetery in London) for one full year. They must never allow their parents to step foot inside the flat. After the year, the twins can then choose to sell the flat or remain. But only after the full year. Except, Elspeth though dead, doesn't vacate the flat.
With a cast of characters from the twin nieces, Robert (Elspeth's significant other), Martin the brilliant cross word puzzle writer who suffers from severe anxiety and OCD, this book twists, turns, and makes us care about each and every one of them. To say that each character is 'well developed' is nice and good review talk. But it is more accurate to say, that each of these characters is real. (It is fiction. I know.) We care about them. We cry for them, we ache for them.
This is a deliciously written, well layered, ghost story, love story, mystery. When I think of the reading experience, I want to use the word devour, but then I also want to use the word savor. And while these words don't seem go together - devour (being something that indicates eating quickly and ravenously), and savor (usually meaning to take ones time with the food) - that's still the experience. I couldn't put the book down. Every time I had a spare moment, I was reading it.
Let's try it this way. This book is like a thick piece of chocolate cake, drizzled in strawberry sauce, a tiny scoop of home made strawberry ice cream on the side, with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings on top. It is decadent. It is multi flavored and each texture, flavor play off the other in perfect balance. You may look at the plate and just drool for a moment before sliding your fork into the moist cake. Or you may just dive right in fearlessly, into the ice cream before it melts. But either way, if it takes you five minutes to eat that lavish dessert (though I can't imagine the stomachache you might receive on account of it) or if takes you a full hour to clean your plate, you will finish. And the plate will be empty. You might be sad because it was soo good. You might think it right that the plate is empty, and that you couldn't eat another bite, though secretly you wish you had asked for a second order of it in a doggy bag for another day (but that would be greedy of us). Regardless you will remember that dessert fondly, lavishly, and likely order it again, or recommend it to your friends.
Her Fearful Symmetry is like that. And I can't wait to go back, and read it again.
We all know the adage about not judging a book by its cover. But when I'm chasing a two year old through the public library, with a list of books in my hand, and my little girl positively squealing with delight, sometimes the cover and the blurbs are all I have. (Really, the library is like Disney World for her. She just can't believe there are this many books in one place, all for her. And honestly, I can't get over that feeling either.)
The cover is what grabbed me when I came to Her Fearful Symmetry. The trees reminded me of the tangled trees in Snow White as she tried to escape the huntsman. The trees here look so stark, so naked, so cold, and so ominous. And at the same time, trees like this - bare stark naked winter trees, having lived in NEPA all my life, I know give way to budding trees, to hints of spring. I love trees, and I love the mystery to them. This cover spoke to me, and I was able to toss it in my bag before my child ran out the front doors.
The story starts this way. Elspeth passes away, and leaves her entire flat and possessions to her twin nieces Julia and Valentina, on the one condition they must live in the flat (which borders Highgate Cemetery in London) for one full year. They must never allow their parents to step foot inside the flat. After the year, the twins can then choose to sell the flat or remain. But only after the full year. Except, Elspeth though dead, doesn't vacate the flat.
With a cast of characters from the twin nieces, Robert (Elspeth's significant other), Martin the brilliant cross word puzzle writer who suffers from severe anxiety and OCD, this book twists, turns, and makes us care about each and every one of them. To say that each character is 'well developed' is nice and good review talk. But it is more accurate to say, that each of these characters is real. (It is fiction. I know.) We care about them. We cry for them, we ache for them.
This is a deliciously written, well layered, ghost story, love story, mystery. When I think of the reading experience, I want to use the word devour, but then I also want to use the word savor. And while these words don't seem go together - devour (being something that indicates eating quickly and ravenously), and savor (usually meaning to take ones time with the food) - that's still the experience. I couldn't put the book down. Every time I had a spare moment, I was reading it.
Let's try it this way. This book is like a thick piece of chocolate cake, drizzled in strawberry sauce, a tiny scoop of home made strawberry ice cream on the side, with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings on top. It is decadent. It is multi flavored and each texture, flavor play off the other in perfect balance. You may look at the plate and just drool for a moment before sliding your fork into the moist cake. Or you may just dive right in fearlessly, into the ice cream before it melts. But either way, if it takes you five minutes to eat that lavish dessert (though I can't imagine the stomachache you might receive on account of it) or if takes you a full hour to clean your plate, you will finish. And the plate will be empty. You might be sad because it was soo good. You might think it right that the plate is empty, and that you couldn't eat another bite, though secretly you wish you had asked for a second order of it in a doggy bag for another day (but that would be greedy of us). Regardless you will remember that dessert fondly, lavishly, and likely order it again, or recommend it to your friends.
Her Fearful Symmetry is like that. And I can't wait to go back, and read it again.
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