Although sold as detective fiction, the book seems to be more a relatively simple exposition of life in present day China. The
heroine is a private detective though such activity is illegal so she advertises as an information consultant. Much of the book is taken up with the background to her life and to that of some of her friends with the detecting element intruding only from
time to time. Even with this, the case she has is one given her by a family friend which turns out to relate to her mother's
past. Almost believable but not very good.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Taylor, Bernard: Mother's Boys
Published in 1988, the book has one advantage over most modern ones - it is relatively short with little expansion of the
background descriptions beyond what is necessary. Tightly written, I was drawn to it through seeing again recently the film
of the same name which stars Jamie Lee Curtis as the eponymous mother. Accepting the change of country from the UK to the USA as a given, the film does more or less follow the book until around half-way though one episode is greatly ( and
understandably) curtailed in the film. From then on the film veers into melodrama with the mother as a sort of villainous
dea ex machina whereas the book maintains the chilling overtones of the first part which is about the relationship of the
two older boys with their mother into the disturbing scenes which bring the story to a close. As one would expect, this does
provide a much more acceptable denouement. I do not know the author but will not be averse to reading something else of
his.
background descriptions beyond what is necessary. Tightly written, I was drawn to it through seeing again recently the film
of the same name which stars Jamie Lee Curtis as the eponymous mother. Accepting the change of country from the UK to the USA as a given, the film does more or less follow the book until around half-way though one episode is greatly ( and
understandably) curtailed in the film. From then on the film veers into melodrama with the mother as a sort of villainous
dea ex machina whereas the book maintains the chilling overtones of the first part which is about the relationship of the
two older boys with their mother into the disturbing scenes which bring the story to a close. As one would expect, this does
provide a much more acceptable denouement. I do not know the author but will not be averse to reading something else of
his.
Harrison, Kim: Where Demons Dare
Continuing where the previous novel left off, the adventures of Rachel Morgan and her friends are developed in this novel in an interesting and well-written way. The emotional links Rachel has are expanded in several directions and her powers are
also expanded in a logically acceptable way. At 500 pages, this is a lengthy book but one's interest is held as Rachel puts
her soul at risk for her friends. The pacing of the book is well maintained through the earlier expositions to the dramatic
finale. The close does seem to bring things to a close though there remains the possibility of future tales.
also expanded in a logically acceptable way. At 500 pages, this is a lengthy book but one's interest is held as Rachel puts
her soul at risk for her friends. The pacing of the book is well maintained through the earlier expositions to the dramatic
finale. The close does seem to bring things to a close though there remains the possibility of future tales.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Fforde, Jasper: Something Rotten
The continuing adventures of Thursday Next who has returned to the real world of Swindon from the realms of fiction. In what seems to be the final book, she is re-united with her husband and foils a plot to destroy the world while dealing with
Hamlet and his romance with Emma Hamilton as well as avoiding assassination attempts. Well up to the standards of the
prvious books, the story unfolds at a galloping pace even with the detours along the way. Entirely credible provided one
suspends disbelief not only to accept the world of this novel but also its conflict with the rules dealing with time travel in
other books. The final chapter which tidies everything up somewhat unusually is possibly the weakest part of the book but this does not really detract from the overall high standard.
Hamlet and his romance with Emma Hamilton as well as avoiding assassination attempts. Well up to the standards of the
prvious books, the story unfolds at a galloping pace even with the detours along the way. Entirely credible provided one
suspends disbelief not only to accept the world of this novel but also its conflict with the rules dealing with time travel in
other books. The final chapter which tidies everything up somewhat unusually is possibly the weakest part of the book but this does not really detract from the overall high standard.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Larsson, Stieg: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
The third and final part of the Millenium trilogy is a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment. Let me deal with the latter
first. The opening chapters of Salander's time in hospital and the gathering of the forces against her seem to provide rather
more information than is necessary and the need for a strong editor is shown by the repitition of the emails between her and
Blomkvist as they are given both when she sends them and later when he reads them, an unnecessary duplication. The
main disappointment is the inclusion of the chapters dealing with Erika Berger's change of employment and her return which
add nothing at all to the plot line. Allowing that the elaboration of the inner machinations of the Swedish Secret Service had
to be as detailed as they were and accepting the coincidences, the book as a whole does provide a satisfactory conclusion to
the events which began several hundred pages earlier with Blomkvist hiring Salander. I must admit that after the number of
novels with courtroom scenes in the USA, the informal Swedish approach took me aback - the proceedings were more akin to
a round table discussion, albeit a very serious one, at times though they were engrossing.
The trilogy as a whole is very good while having faults which bring it down somewhat from the very best
first. The opening chapters of Salander's time in hospital and the gathering of the forces against her seem to provide rather
more information than is necessary and the need for a strong editor is shown by the repitition of the emails between her and
Blomkvist as they are given both when she sends them and later when he reads them, an unnecessary duplication. The
main disappointment is the inclusion of the chapters dealing with Erika Berger's change of employment and her return which
add nothing at all to the plot line. Allowing that the elaboration of the inner machinations of the Swedish Secret Service had
to be as detailed as they were and accepting the coincidences, the book as a whole does provide a satisfactory conclusion to
the events which began several hundred pages earlier with Blomkvist hiring Salander. I must admit that after the number of
novels with courtroom scenes in the USA, the informal Swedish approach took me aback - the proceedings were more akin to
a round table discussion, albeit a very serious one, at times though they were engrossing.
The trilogy as a whole is very good while having faults which bring it down somewhat from the very best
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Cain, Chelsea: Heartsick
A serial killer novel with a difference and a less usual location. Set in Portland, Oregon, the novel deals with the police search for a killer of teenage schoolgirls with the task force being led by a detective who had captured a different serial killer two years earlier - or rather, had been captured by the killer and tortured almost to death before she chose to give herself up.
This has given him some degree of celebrity and he has agreed to be the subject of an extended profile written by a woman
reporter in her twenties. The present-day search is interspersed in the book with details of his capture and torture. He also
visits his captor every Sunday in part to learn details of other killings (he was the 200th victim apparently). The story moves along easily even with a number of apparently irrelevant digressions though it is not that well written (as is the case with many such novels). An interesting twist at the denouement which is just about believable. I won't go out of my way to find
anything else by this author but would read her again.
This has given him some degree of celebrity and he has agreed to be the subject of an extended profile written by a woman
reporter in her twenties. The present-day search is interspersed in the book with details of his capture and torture. He also
visits his captor every Sunday in part to learn details of other killings (he was the 200th victim apparently). The story moves along easily even with a number of apparently irrelevant digressions though it is not that well written (as is the case with many such novels). An interesting twist at the denouement which is just about believable. I won't go out of my way to find
anything else by this author but would read her again.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Larsson, Stieg: The Girl Who Played With Fire
The second book in the trilogy continues where the first left off with Salander, of course, as the focus while Blomkvist has a
less central role. Opening with her holidaying in the Caribbean, Salander returns to Stockholm to become the prime suspect in three murders. The book becomes the story of the police investigation which is helped by her previous employer who has
a separate motive in trying to find out if it is Salander who is guilty with Blomkvist running his own search. The book is nearly 600 pages long and this does show. The pre-Stockholm sequence is superfluous to this book and the mechanics of
Salander's setting up home secretly and then the minutiae of the police investigation create a slowly paced feel. For example, Salander has access to, among others, Blomkvist's computer but will not meet him so he works out that he can send
her messages by creating a file on the computer which she will read; this she does in the chapters focussing on Blmokvist's
efforts but this is repeated verbatim when the focus changes to her. The villains of the piece are truly scary and the action
well done once it occurs with the pace and vigour of the closing chapters much in contrast to what has gone before. Despite
the imbalance in the book, it kept me engrossed and I have decided to read the final book very shortly.
less central role. Opening with her holidaying in the Caribbean, Salander returns to Stockholm to become the prime suspect in three murders. The book becomes the story of the police investigation which is helped by her previous employer who has
a separate motive in trying to find out if it is Salander who is guilty with Blomkvist running his own search. The book is nearly 600 pages long and this does show. The pre-Stockholm sequence is superfluous to this book and the mechanics of
Salander's setting up home secretly and then the minutiae of the police investigation create a slowly paced feel. For example, Salander has access to, among others, Blomkvist's computer but will not meet him so he works out that he can send
her messages by creating a file on the computer which she will read; this she does in the chapters focussing on Blmokvist's
efforts but this is repeated verbatim when the focus changes to her. The villains of the piece are truly scary and the action
well done once it occurs with the pace and vigour of the closing chapters much in contrast to what has gone before. Despite
the imbalance in the book, it kept me engrossed and I have decided to read the final book very shortly.
Glauser, Friedrich: The Chinaman
Glauser is always better when writing about events around Bern and the Bernese Oberland where this excellent thriller is set.
Sergeant Studer meets a man he calls the Chinaman because of his appearance even though he is a local man returned home after years away. The man tells him he is going to be killed within three months, something Studer does not accept but this
does happen when the man's body is found shot dead across the tomb of the wife of the local poorhouse superintendent who
had died on gastric flu, supposedly, a while before. Studer establishes firstly that the man did not shoot himself and then that the dead woman had also been murdered. Over a number of chapters which seem at times tangential to the plot, Studer gets his cast of suspects, all related to the dead man who turns out to have been fairly wealthy, and proceeds to eliminate them as such or help them incriminate themselves. The language is spare yet telling with the different characteristics of the
suspects and others coming through effortlessly. Studer himself is decidedly idiosyncratic in his methods without neglecting to follow proper procedure when he deems it best. Overall, it is easy to see why Glauser is held in such high esteem.
Sergeant Studer meets a man he calls the Chinaman because of his appearance even though he is a local man returned home after years away. The man tells him he is going to be killed within three months, something Studer does not accept but this
does happen when the man's body is found shot dead across the tomb of the wife of the local poorhouse superintendent who
had died on gastric flu, supposedly, a while before. Studer establishes firstly that the man did not shoot himself and then that the dead woman had also been murdered. Over a number of chapters which seem at times tangential to the plot, Studer gets his cast of suspects, all related to the dead man who turns out to have been fairly wealthy, and proceeds to eliminate them as such or help them incriminate themselves. The language is spare yet telling with the different characteristics of the
suspects and others coming through effortlessly. Studer himself is decidedly idiosyncratic in his methods without neglecting to follow proper procedure when he deems it best. Overall, it is easy to see why Glauser is held in such high esteem.
BFI London Film Festival 2010
With only 10 films seen from the hundreds on offer it is unreasonable to make comparisons although, following much the same criteria as before, I found my overall reaction was that there was not as much to excite. Having said that, 'La Princesse de Montpensier', 'Biutiful' and '13 Assassins' were very good with 'The Book of Masters' deserving a special mention as well.
The others were disappointing to a greater or lesser extent with 'End of Animal' taking the wooden spoon closely followed by 'Kaboom'. The remaining four had some good points but were not really satisfying. Best actress - Melanie Thierry in 'La
Princesse de Montpensier' in which Lambert Wilson almost gets Best Actor though this must go to Javier Bardem in 'Biutiful'.
Best cinematography a three-way tie between my top three films. Weirdest performance - Gerard Depardieu in "Mammuth'.
Most gratuitous nudity - 'Kaboom'. Most desirable female - Melanie Thierry with a close second in Roxane Mesquida in 'Kaboom'. Most boring film - 'End of Animal' even if I did sleep almost as much in 'Sleeping Beauty'. Oddest single scene by a leading player - Janet Gaynor's dance in 'Sunny Side Up' which film also claims the most outre scene in 'Turn Up the Heat'
The others were disappointing to a greater or lesser extent with 'End of Animal' taking the wooden spoon closely followed by 'Kaboom'. The remaining four had some good points but were not really satisfying. Best actress - Melanie Thierry in 'La
Princesse de Montpensier' in which Lambert Wilson almost gets Best Actor though this must go to Javier Bardem in 'Biutiful'.
Best cinematography a three-way tie between my top three films. Weirdest performance - Gerard Depardieu in "Mammuth'.
Most gratuitous nudity - 'Kaboom'. Most desirable female - Melanie Thierry with a close second in Roxane Mesquida in 'Kaboom'. Most boring film - 'End of Animal' even if I did sleep almost as much in 'Sleeping Beauty'. Oddest single scene by a leading player - Janet Gaynor's dance in 'Sunny Side Up' which film also claims the most outre scene in 'Turn Up the Heat'
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Kaboom: Gregg Araki (LFF)
Pulled from this year's Frightfest by the director, the film tells of a bisexual college student sharing a room with a surfer stud
with a lesbian best friend at the same college. She takes him to a party where she immediately goes off with her latest desire
and he is almost as immediately approached by a girl who is sick over his shoes. While cleaning these in the men's room, he
is accosted by another girl who wants to fuck so he does. The film goes down from there with his having weird dreams, seeing the girl who was sick over him kidnapped by men in animal masks, having sex with the second girl frequently while his
best friend finds she cannot stop her sexual activities either. Brightly lit with reasonably good-looking females and an out-of-sight plot, all that can be said in the film's favour is that it is fairly short, well lit and pacy.
with a lesbian best friend at the same college. She takes him to a party where she immediately goes off with her latest desire
and he is almost as immediately approached by a girl who is sick over his shoes. While cleaning these in the men's room, he
is accosted by another girl who wants to fuck so he does. The film goes down from there with his having weird dreams, seeing the girl who was sick over him kidnapped by men in animal masks, having sex with the second girl frequently while his
best friend finds she cannot stop her sexual activities either. Brightly lit with reasonably good-looking females and an out-of-sight plot, all that can be said in the film's favour is that it is fairly short, well lit and pacy.
Biutiful: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (LFF)
A strong and inspired central performance by Javier Barden playing a hustler who is dying of cancer holds the film together.
He cares for his two children on his own while dealing with illegal African immigrant street sellers, Chinese sweatshop workers and labourers and a divorced wife with a bi-polar condition. The cinematography in the poorer parts of Barcelona add to the downbeat tone of the film which Bardem's efforts at treating the immigrants fairly fail to overcome. There is a
more coherent film to the film because it focuses on Bardem then was apparent in Inarritu's last two films 21 Grams and Babel
but this is more a film to be admired than liked.
He cares for his two children on his own while dealing with illegal African immigrant street sellers, Chinese sweatshop workers and labourers and a divorced wife with a bi-polar condition. The cinematography in the poorer parts of Barcelona add to the downbeat tone of the film which Bardem's efforts at treating the immigrants fairly fail to overcome. There is a
more coherent film to the film because it focuses on Bardem then was apparent in Inarritu's last two films 21 Grams and Babel
but this is more a film to be admired than liked.
Sunny Side Up: David Butler (LFF)
A 1929 film starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, this is considered the first musical that had a story line, albeit a rather
stilted one. It is the 4th of July and preparations for the celebration in Yorkville are contrasted with those at a house party in
Southampton where Farrell, the rich son of Mary Foster, leaves the party in annoyance at the behaviour of his fiancee.
As the Yorkville celebrations reach the evening peak, Farrell drives in and causes a ruckus though this is not his fault as he
has crashed his car to avoid and young girl in the street. He hears Gaynor sing and decides she should go to Southampton to sing at an upcoming charity concert his mother has organised with the aim of having her make his fiancee jealous in the process. He pays for her to be suitable dressed, for her three friends to join her as her servants - butler, maid and chauffeur - and rents the next door mansion for them. The plot succeeds though Gaynor has fallen in love with him so is not too happy at this. On the evening of the concert, one of the local socialites overhears two of the friends let slip that Farrell is
paying the rent next door. The whispers start and, following a bizarre routine with 36 of the local girls dressed in furs before
they appear in swimming costumes and fountains play (shades of Busby Berkeley to come), Marjorie White tells Janet Gaynor to leave immediately. Gaynor does, however, sing her song first and then goes back to Yorkville to mope. She realises she has left her diary behind so she goes off by train while her three friends try to catch up with her by road. For some reason,
White goes to the rented house, finds and reads the diary and realises she has wrongly maligned Gaynor. So it all ends
happily. What is proved without doubt is that Gaynor can neither sing nor dance, Farrell could not act and speak in the same
film and second leads in musicals then seemed to bellow! The songs are standards - Sunny Side Up, If I Had a Talking Picture of You and I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All the main ones - and these save the film from what otherwiss would be well-
deserved oblivion.
stilted one. It is the 4th of July and preparations for the celebration in Yorkville are contrasted with those at a house party in
Southampton where Farrell, the rich son of Mary Foster, leaves the party in annoyance at the behaviour of his fiancee.
As the Yorkville celebrations reach the evening peak, Farrell drives in and causes a ruckus though this is not his fault as he
has crashed his car to avoid and young girl in the street. He hears Gaynor sing and decides she should go to Southampton to sing at an upcoming charity concert his mother has organised with the aim of having her make his fiancee jealous in the process. He pays for her to be suitable dressed, for her three friends to join her as her servants - butler, maid and chauffeur - and rents the next door mansion for them. The plot succeeds though Gaynor has fallen in love with him so is not too happy at this. On the evening of the concert, one of the local socialites overhears two of the friends let slip that Farrell is
paying the rent next door. The whispers start and, following a bizarre routine with 36 of the local girls dressed in furs before
they appear in swimming costumes and fountains play (shades of Busby Berkeley to come), Marjorie White tells Janet Gaynor to leave immediately. Gaynor does, however, sing her song first and then goes back to Yorkville to mope. She realises she has left her diary behind so she goes off by train while her three friends try to catch up with her by road. For some reason,
White goes to the rented house, finds and reads the diary and realises she has wrongly maligned Gaynor. So it all ends
happily. What is proved without doubt is that Gaynor can neither sing nor dance, Farrell could not act and speak in the same
film and second leads in musicals then seemed to bellow! The songs are standards - Sunny Side Up, If I Had a Talking Picture of You and I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All the main ones - and these save the film from what otherwiss would be well-
deserved oblivion.
13 Assassins: Takashi Miike (LFF)
In the dying years of the Shogunate, the council of elders decide they must act against Lord Naritsugu who is the present
Shogun's favoured successor, a position which allows him to behave as he will. They instruct a retired samurai to assemble
a team to make him disappear when he next returns to his domain. He does this even though a former dear colleague is now the head of Naritsugu's troops. His usual route to his domain is blocked by a nobleman who resents his behaviour so he
has to detour but is then persuaded to take a less direct route which throws the assassins' plans out. They go cross country
but get lost until they meet up with an outlaw who leads them over the hills to the town of Ochiai through which Lord Naritsugu musr pass. They chase the inhabitants out and fortify the town so that when he turns up with his escort of 200 men they are able to isolate them into smaller groups and mayhem ensues. During the extended fight, the assassins are
killed off one by one until only three remain though by now they are fighting near enough the same number. The lead
assassin fights and kills his former friend and then the evil lord before dying from his wounds. This leaves his young protege and the outlaw who has become the unfficial 13th assassin alive in the ruins of the town. A slowish build-up though not
without interest is more than offset by the prolonged battle in the final reels. Brilliently executed.
Shogun's favoured successor, a position which allows him to behave as he will. They instruct a retired samurai to assemble
a team to make him disappear when he next returns to his domain. He does this even though a former dear colleague is now the head of Naritsugu's troops. His usual route to his domain is blocked by a nobleman who resents his behaviour so he
has to detour but is then persuaded to take a less direct route which throws the assassins' plans out. They go cross country
but get lost until they meet up with an outlaw who leads them over the hills to the town of Ochiai through which Lord Naritsugu musr pass. They chase the inhabitants out and fortify the town so that when he turns up with his escort of 200 men they are able to isolate them into smaller groups and mayhem ensues. During the extended fight, the assassins are
killed off one by one until only three remain though by now they are fighting near enough the same number. The lead
assassin fights and kills his former friend and then the evil lord before dying from his wounds. This leaves his young protege and the outlaw who has become the unfficial 13th assassin alive in the ruins of the town. A slowish build-up though not
without interest is more than offset by the prolonged battle in the final reels. Brilliently executed.
Surviving Life: Jan Svankmaier (LFF)
A married man dreams of a beautiful woman and goes to a psychcoanalyst to try and resolve his confusions. Following the
usual Svankmaier mix of paper cut-outs, claymation and real life action, there are a series of surreal scenes during which his
mental state is explored. Probably well up to standard but I was in the wrong frame of mind for it.
usual Svankmaier mix of paper cut-outs, claymation and real life action, there are a series of surreal scenes during which his
mental state is explored. Probably well up to standard but I was in the wrong frame of mind for it.
The Sleeping Beauty: Catherine Breillat (LFF)
A sort of feminist update on the fairy tale with the princess being cursed to die at 16 but three young witches, first seen in
the nude bathing, convert this to falling asleep for 100 years, being able to move around in her dreams and then for the curse to run from 6 to 16 as childhood is the boring part of life. This happens and the young princess goes through a series of
adventures, falling in love with a young lad who is taken by the Snow Queen, living with gypsies and other events until she
reahces 16 when she wakes up and meets someone she takes to be the long-lost boyfriend but is actually his great-grandson. She is now old enough to do something about the love she had as a 6 year old for a protective older boy which she does to end up pregnant - end of film. Boring.
the nude bathing, convert this to falling asleep for 100 years, being able to move around in her dreams and then for the curse to run from 6 to 16 as childhood is the boring part of life. This happens and the young princess goes through a series of
adventures, falling in love with a young lad who is taken by the Snow Queen, living with gypsies and other events until she
reahces 16 when she wakes up and meets someone she takes to be the long-lost boyfriend but is actually his great-grandson. She is now old enough to do something about the love she had as a 6 year old for a protective older boy which she does to end up pregnant - end of film. Boring.
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