I'm a bit of a nerd. I listen to podcasts about history and folklore. I read constantly. My most recent completion was a book called Assassination Vacation about the assassinated presidents and their assassins. It was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it.
I love Sherlock. I love Benedict Cumberbatch as an actor. The Last Enemy is fantastic. He was Smaug and the Neromancer in the Hobbit films. He's just awesome.
And then I saw him in the Imitation Game.
It's about Alan Turing and his team during World War II and their efforts to break the Germans' Enigma code. this film is riveting. It's incredible.
The whole thing, acting, story, the historical aspect of it, all of it, is just excellent. (I feel weird calling a film about war wonderful.)
Just go watch it.
Please.
We have a tradition here in our home. On Sundays, after church, we watch a film as a family. This way, we have watched almost all of the Harry Potter films, Lilo and Stitch (which is adorable if you haven't watched it yet - probably one of my all time favorite Disney films. "Oh great, my dog found the chainsaw!" what more could you want!)
https://youtu.be/5vMEOvZ1ODk
We've done lots of Brave, Tangled, Pocahontas, Mulan...
Today was Into the Woods.
I said a while ago (like years ago) I don't know why people are so hard on musicals. They just want to make you smile. (Except for Sweeny Todd. That's not going to make you smile. great music. Lots of murder and despair.)
Some musical adaptations don't translate well. RENT, I'm looking at you. And the Disney Channel musicals (High School Musical and all others of that ilk) don't count, just so we're clear. Some films don't translate s well to the stage. (I have a hard time seeing Newsies done by anyone but Christian Bale. So I have no desire to see the play. Yes, I know, Newsies was a Disney Film. Fiddler on the Roof translated beautifully to both stage and screen. So did My Fair Lady, the Sound of Music (except for the Carrie Underwood travesty that never should have been allowed to happen)..... The point is clear. Musicals are magical when they they are done right. And that magic can be lost in so many ways when it comes to translation and adaptation.
But, Into the Woods... *low whistle here*
I was a little scared to tell you the truth. I wanted to see it in the theaters, but it never happened. then I started reading the Amazon reviews and it seemed pretty split. People loved it or hated it
But I am that person that wakes up with music going in her head. Sometimes it is a song I haven't head in YEARS, But there it is.
On a side note, my mother plays this game with me. When I was a kid, instead of doing sports, we did music and theater. The high school stage was built too deep and too wide, so if they used a cast of normal amounts, it looked empty. So at five years old, the year the year the high school did The Sound of Music, and my sister was cast as one of the Von Trapp children (she was between eight and ten years old maybe? I was five going on six) I got my chance to be living scenery in the play for one scene (the festival scene) and to sing Edelweiss with the rest of the cast. Mr. Renoll told us to project our voices. To a five year old, that means sing as loud as you can. Apparently I sang it VERY loud, and made the cast members playing the Germans crack up on opening night.
So from five years old to eighteen I was doing theater. The game my mother would play consisted of her naming one of the musical, and I had to sing at least a song from every musical. We would go back and forth until we were stumped.
Then it grew to her calling me, and humming into the phone and I had to name that tune.
She still does this, and I can usually name the song pretty fast.
Into the Woods was not a play that the school did, but it is one that I saw another school do (probably Elk Lake or Lackawanna Trail) , and it stuck in my head ever since. I never saw the filmed version with Bernadette Peters though I know I heard the music.
Which is how this song was tucked away somewhere in my mind palace, to rise to the surface one day.
As a parent it means so much more to me now.
But back on track :)
Today as I write this, we watched Into the Woods. It was incredible. It's a musical. Lots of singing. It is beautiful. It is heartfelt. It asks a very important question, are you sure you want what you wish for?
This is a great film. The singing is marvelous. There's no one pitchy, or irritating. Everyone here has pipes and it's just wonderful. There's sad parts. There's happy parts. It's a fairy tale, kind of. Stephen Sondheim who wrote this, is a master. He's a national treasure. He's someone that's in the common knowledge vernacular, like Gilbert and Sullivan, or Rodger and Hammerstein. His work is intricate, complex, simple, and elegant.
There are so many stories that weave in and out for us that there is something that everyone can relate to. The Witch is especially touching as a mother to Rapunzel. When you watch Meryl Streep sing Stay With Me, how do you as a parent not resonate with that moment?
by the way she got an Oscar nod for this. When you watch her, you can see why. (additionally, much of her singing was done live during the film, even though she had done recordings for it as well.)
Go, watch this film. If you love music, or fairy tales, or just great films, go watch this.
I have been really lucky to hit the jackpot lately with about four or five different movies, and some great books lately. I feel so lucky to have been able to experience these films.
First on the list is The Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. Kate Holmes is in there too.
This is the true story of a Maria Altmann to have what was her family's and what is her rightfully, returned to her - specifically a portrait of her aunt painted by Gustave Klimt Except that the portrait and all of the family's possessions (her family was very well off) were seized by the Nazis and ripped off the walls and eventually scattered across Europe. The portrait ended up in famous museum in Austria (not far from where Maria lived) and they are unwilling to return it.
This was one of the first major reparation cases when it came to returning stolen treasures (for lack of a better term) of World War II to the appropriate families and descendants.
This film is nothing less than breathtaking. It will lured me in, until I couldn't look away. By the end of the film, my heart was in my throat. My cheeks were still wet from crying. And I have yet to forget the story.
This is a beautiful film. It's not action packed. There's no swear words (except for one time towards the last part of the film). There's no bedroom scenes. It's not glitzy. It's about an older woman and her young lawyer taking on a Goliath. It's about doing what's right. finding justice, finding peace. It's about family, and love.
The film is available at the library. Go watch it. You will be better for it.
Here's a link to get you started if you're interested in the back history. Woman in Gold Story
I don't use this word often when it comes to books. But this time, there is no other word that works. It is Breathtaking.
Did that help? :)
Ok so why should you read this book. It's YA, more like JF fantasy. It was written by Patrick Ness. BUT the idea was gifted, bequeathed to Ness from Siobhan Dowd - a writer in her own right - before she died of breast cancer. It is sparsely written, beautifully illustrated (though I read the version without illustrations as my kindle doesn't do illustrations really. it's one of the older ones.) I read it in all one sitting, which I think you kind of need to because it is so sparse, and it is so impactful. To read it in portions I think would be like interrupting a symphony in random places. To fully appreciate it, to take it all in, I think you have to read it in one sitting. (I'm sure you don't have to, but I can't imagine breaking this up.)
Reading this book was like watching someone come into their own. Like watching some one come into the same levels of reputation (for lack of a better term) as Gaiman, or Bradbury, or Pratchett. He's not the same. But he will fill in nicely at the table. some might say the torch is being passed. I'd say rather that it's someone lighting their own torch from another's, or bringing their own torch to light the way as well. I think i may have a new favorite author to add to my list if all of his works are like this.
This is one book I truly hope they do not make a movie of, because there is no way they cannot muck it up. (Of course there's already talk about a movie in 2016... but I hope that is only rumor. It is too perfect on the page to put on screen.)
It is not what you think it is. This is not horror. There is no dystopian hunger games. There is no one coming to rescue Conor (the main character, all of like twelve years old) and take him away to wizard school. This is a book about stories.
His parents are divorced. He and his mom live in Ireland. His dad moved to America. Conor's mom has cancer and isn't getting better. Then his grandmother is called to come help, and Conor can't stand his gran.
But that is not where we begin. We begin when the yew tree in the field comes rushing up to conor's bedroom window, roars at him through the window, tears the wall off, and promises that he will come again. And all Conor says is, "Is that all you've got?" "Are you not terrified?" "I've seen worse." When Conor wakes up in the morning, house is put back together, and there is no clue as to the monster who came to call. Except the leaves on the floor.
That is how we begin, and I don't want to say anymore. But it is truly breathtakingly beautiful. it is nourishing. It is beautiful. This book is art. It is spellbinding. And you absolutely must read it.
A couple years ago I watched the new (not so new now) Sweeny Todd with Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter. directed by Tim Burton. It was beautifully directed. The singing was incredible. It had Tim Burton's signature style. It was striking to look at. The acting was riveting. My heart was in my throat. In a word the whole thing was riveting. It had all of the elements of a masterpiece.
But Sweeny Todd does not have a happy ending (which is not a requirement for me by the way). Those of you who know the film or the musical already know this, and are probably yelling to me, "What were you expecting!! It's Sweeny Todd for Pete's sake!!! It's subtitled the DEMON BARBER! of Fleet Street!!"
Yeah, well you could say I was naive. I didn't know. I didn't expect what happened to happen. It was a punch to my gut, while ripping my heart and lungs out.
After watching the film, (and determining that I never needed to see that again,) I felt like I needed to take a shower in maple syrup, and dust myself in powdered sugar. That's how dark it left me feeling.
I feel even stronger about The People in the Trees by Yanagihara.
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara is vile.
I'll be honest. I couldn't finish the book. The narrative structure is interesting. It's told in two first person point of views. One portion of the book (the majority) is the memoirs of Dr. Norton - a man in prison for child molestation. He was a great scientist. He won the Nobel. He made huge advances in a previously unknown disease, and adopted forty three (yes 43) children from the island where he studied, children who were dying, whose parents pushed them into his hands so they could have a better life. His children went on to teach at places like Bard, become doctors, scientists, writers.
The other portion is written in the voice of his colleague who worked in the lab with him for years, a friend who has remained steadfast in his loyalty to his colleague. It is this man that Norton entrusted his memoirs for editing and publication. (The device is meant to present the book as Norton's memoirs with his colleagues comments and footnotes in a few sections.) The author is gifted. There's no doubt about that.
But for all its interesting narrative structure, its beautiful language, I got bored. So I did what probably a lot of readers do, but won't admit to: I skipped to the ending. When I say ending, I don't mean the last page. I mean the last chapter, chapter and half.
(SPOILERS)
Norton is accused of molesting his children. We are led to believe that he is innocent.
The last section details minutely his multiple rapes of a specific adopted son. It is also in this chapter that he said that he had had other boys before this specific one in question - some of them his own children. He convinces himself and grooms his children to believe that this is his way of loving them, and that it is fulfilling to pass it on. He is teaching them it is ok to rape, to manipulate their power and position with others to continue this love he shows and gives to them.
I literally threw up in my mouth.
I don't typically write negative reviews. But I write this one as a warning.
Yes, I didn't finish the book. Yes I skipped portions. I will absolutely admit that. But this is my opinion on what I read. (Note the phrase what I read).
What I read is vile and repulsive. It puts us in the mind of a child molester who rationalizes his behavior as love. In detail. The last detailed bit of course changes the rest of the book with its presence - knowledge that had been denied the readers regarding the case and characters is revealed. It shifts from one aspect of a story to a drastically different, dark, horrific story.
The author is gifted. The pull that off takes skill. The language is beautiful. Like Sweeny Todd, it has all the elements of a masterpiece. BUT I felt like I had to go take shower in maple syrup, dust myself in powdered sugar and go sleep in unicorn footie pajamas to wash the stink off me.
Give it a try if you want. But don't say I didn't warn you.
To be
honest, I tried to put this book back. I
didn't have enough time for ANOTHER book.
I still have three on my nightstand.
Not counting the Kindle.
But as
our daughter was happily situated in the children's corner: shoes off, lounging
on the horse and the bean bags and surrounded by Scaredy Squirrel books (really fun kids books, by the way), I
wandered the stacks, and somehow found this.
I read the first couple pages,
the liner, the back and thought, "Sure, why not?"
But I
got nervous when I saw the stack of books piling up before me, and I actually put this book down. Another time.
Still, I couldn't shake it.
Something about it, stuck in my head and I picked it back up, and put
something else back. Give it a try. Nothing lost if I return it unread,
unfinished. So I tried it again when we got home, and I
didn't put it down for about an hour and a half - a pretty good report for a book
I wrote off as a maybe. Don't you love
those surprises? I sure do.
In a nutshell, Joe Talbert is a college
student and he has a problem. Truth be told,
he has LOTS of problems: drug addict mother; Jeremy his autistic younger brother who he
tries to take care of because their mother doesn't; Lila the girl he thinks he likes; and a very
big writing project for his biography class: Write the biography of a complete
stranger. So, Joe Talbert goes to the
old folks home, and finds someone that doesn't get visitors and hopes for the
best. Who he gets is Carl
Iverson: convicted murderer of a
fourteen year old girl, who has been paroled from prison because he's dying of
pancreatic cancer. When Carl agrees to tell Joe his story, his
honest death bed confession, Joe is nowhere near ready for the story that
follows. Even worse: he's not ready to
begin to question the conviction of what was believed to be an open and shut
case.
I don't
do spoilers, but wow. Just wow. Go read this
I love a good mystery. I love Inspector
Lewis; Endeavour; Case Histories; The Escape Artist. That kind of thing. (Those are all Masterpiece Theater/BBC shows
available on Netflix, or Amazon. All are
worth your time and while. The Library
even has some of the Inspector Lewis seasons.
:) The Life We Bury by Allen
Eskens fits right in there. It's thrilling, well written, compelling, and
more than anything else, it tells a great story.
Now, I
know that some people don't do mysteries or murder mysteries because of the
MURDER part of it. some mysteries or
crime stories can be gratuitous with blood and gore. Lots of details, chilling images. That kind of thing. I don't do that. I can't handle those things. When I first watched Silence of the Lambs (it was on TV) I couldn't watch TV for a
couple days because I thought Hannibal Lector was going to come out of the
screen and get me. Irrational? Yes.
But did the images and stories stick with me? Yes. I have to be careful. So I don't do gore and gross.
This
book doesn't do that. The crime scene
descriptions are objectively shown through court documents, or the photos used
in the case. The images aren't lingered
on. It's not Dickens. There's a couple scenes that are recalled in
a memories by a main character. It's
important to see them and hear them, But again, it's not gratuitous. It's not lingered on. It's acknowledged and shown as it is a part
of the story that is necessary, but then we move on.
As far
as murder mysteries go, as far as books go, this is excellent. But clear out a day, because it's not going
to let you do anything else. It's not
overly literary. It's not going to make
you work too hard. It's not going to use
words that you have to look up in the dictionary. But the plainness of the language, and the tightness
of the writing makes it more compelling.
It's perfect for a beach read, a weekend read, airplane, or just to try
something different.
Recommendation: quick, surprisingly satisfying. Watch for the author's next book.
