Month: March 2009

Categories
1980s Booker Prize

A Month in the Country – J. L. Carr

A Month in the Country was short listed for the Booker Prize in 1980.

My penguin modern classic copy is only 85 pages long, so this was a very quick read. The book is set just after the First World War, and describes the month Tom Birkin spent in rural Yorkshire one summer. Tom was traumatised by his experiences in the war, and so retreats to the country to enjoy the peace and quiet. He spends his time uncovering a medieval painting on the church wall, and making many friends in the village.

The writing was beautiful, and I enjoyed it initially, but after a while I need more than this in a book. I became bored of the quaintness – it was all too ordinary for me. Perhaps I’d feel differently if  I was 30 years older, but reminiscing about one perfect summer, in which not much happens was a bit too dull for me, so I’m off to read something a bit more exciting! 

I read this for Cornflower’s book group, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it much more than me. You can see their opinions here.

stars2

Categories
Other Weekly Geeks

Weekly Geeks – Worst Movie Adaptation

 

 

 

The weekly assignment for Weekly Geeks:

Worst movie adaptations: The recent release of Watchmen based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore got me thinking about what I thought were the worst movie adaptations of books. What book or books did a director or directors completely ruin in the adaptation(s) that you wish you could “un-see,” and why in your opinion, what made it or them so bad in contrast to the book or books?
 

The Golden Compass was one of the worst film adaptations of a book I have seen. Entertainment Weekly agree with me, and voted it the most disappointing movie adpatation of all time. I loved the book; it’s rich, original plot was packed with great characters, vivid descriptions and thought provoking topics, making it one of my favourite novels of all time.

The film failed to come anywhere close to my expectations. It was so short, that it felt as though everything was being crammed in as quickly as possible. Many of the most interesting religious aspects of the book were not included, or glossed over really quickly. I’m not sure how anyone who has not read the book would have have managed to follow the plot, but I urge you to read the book, and ignore the film.

 


I’m not sure that it counts, as I haven’t actually seen the film, but I can’t imagine how they managed to make a screen version of Blindness, which I read recently. The reviews seem to indicate that they haven’t. The unique feature of this excellent, but scary book, is that the characters have been affected by an epidemic of blindness, and so cannot see a thing. This leads everything in the book to be described through the other five senses, making the reader effectively blind too. Showing the action on camera will ruin this main feature of the book, diliuting the intensity of its message. Many of the scenes were powerful and disturbing, and I find it hard to imagine how they could have been sensitively shot. If you have read the book, and seen the movie, then I’d love to know your opinion of them.

 


The Cat in the Hat has to be the worst movie adaptation of a book for me. The book is a delightful, rhyming children’s story about a mischievous cat who entertains a young boy and girl with ever more daring and messy games. My children love listening to it again and again, so we were really looking forward to watching the film together over Christmas. My boys lost interest in it very quickly. The film is too slow, wih nothing remotely funny happening for half an hour. The action, when it does occur, is so spread out that I found myself clock-watching the majority of the time. None of the magic of the book is present, there is no rhyming, and the cat come across as annoying, rather than endearing.

The Cat in the Hat is my most disappointing movie adaptation. What’s yours?

Categories
Chunkster Other

Gone with the Wind – Why I’m not attempting to keep up with everyone else!

Matthew from A Guys Moleskine Notebook is hosting a Gone with the Wind read-along. I have never read Gone with the Wind, or seen the film, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to attempt this 1000+ page chunkster.

The idea was to read 200 pages a week, starting on the 1st March. So in theory we should all be at around page 400 today. I’ve only made it to around page 150 – so I am well behind the group! I’ve decided that I am not  even going to attempt to catch up with everyone anymore because… (and this reason may seem strange to you)…I’m enjoying it too much!

I think Gone with the Wind may become one of my all time favourite books, so I want to savour ever sentence. Each page is crammed with information, and I want to absorb it all. This means that I can only read about 10 – 20 pages at a time, which in turn means that it may take me a month or two to finish it, but I don’t care – I’m enjoying it so much!

Categories
Other

Quote of the Day

The world may be full of fourth-rate writers
but it’s also full of fourth-rate readers.
~ Stan Barstow ~

Categories
Other

Quote of The Day

A book is to me like a hat or coat – a very uncomfortable thing until the newness has been worn off. 
~Charles B. Fairbanks~

Categories
2009

Dirty Little Angels – Chris Tusa

Dirty Little Angels is set in the slums of New Orleans, and follows 16-year-old Hailey as she deals with problems within her family, and the dark world of drugs and violence that surround her.

When I first read the synopsis I didn’t think I’d enjoy the book at all, as I don’t normally go for books full of drugs and violence, but as the author was kind enough to contact me, I started reading the first chapter, and was quickly drawn towards the central character, Hailey. She is only sixteen year-old; I loved her innocence, and her reactions as this innocence is gradually eroded. She spots the signs of her parent’s marriage breakdown, but they try to persuade her that everything is OK:

Daddy’s side of the bed was empty. A few weeks back, he’d started sleeping on the sofa. Mama said he snored too loud, and that when he was in bed with her, she couldn’t get any sleep. I told her about those nose strips that all the football players wear, but she said nothing ever worked the way it was supposed to.

Hailey blames her father for the breakdown of her parent’s marriage, but when she discovers the truth about her mother’s past she struggles to cope. Her brother and best friend draw her into a world of drugs and violence, and slowly her life starts to fall apart.

I loved the imagery of the book:

He had a full head of black hair. It was so greasy, it looked like he’d combed it with an eel.

There were lots of original, comic, but vivid descriptions in this book, and many brought a smile to my face;  this must be the talented poet in the author, Chris Tusa, shining through.

The synopsis suggests that one of the major themes of the book is religion, but I didn’t find this to be the case. The religious aspect of the book only occupied a few pages, and there were no profound revelations, only a few well thought out sound bites:

“So you’re an atheist?”
“I dunno. I thought about being an atheist, but the whole idea of somebody’s belief being that they don’t believe in anything doesn’t make much sense.”

My main criticism of the book is that it is too short. At just 170 pages long  there wasn’t enough room for everything I’d have liked. I would have preferred it to have a more complex plot, and to develop the side characters a bit more.

Drugs, sex and violence all feature in this book, so avoid it if you are of a prudish nature! I did not find the violence in the book to be disturbing, as it was fairly brief, and directed at characters I had no emotional bond with.

The book was gripping, and I would have read it in one sitting if life didn’t get in the way! It was a light, atmospheric, and enjoyable read. Overall, I thought it was a great first novel, and if Chris Tusa writes any more books then I would love to read them.

stars41

An interview with the author, Chris Tusa, will be published on this blog soon – so keep an eye out for it!