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Book Review: Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier
Summary:
This retelling of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, is set in a medieval Ireland facing the constant threat of Norman invasion. Caitrin, an Irish lass trained in the trade of a scribe by her now deceased father, runs away from an abusive situation and stumbles upon the mysterious Whistling Tor. The crippled lord of the area lives in Whistling Tor and seeks a scribe. The local villagers warn Caitrin against taking the summer job due to a fear of the host living on the hill, but Caitrin sees no other choice.
Review:
Fantasy is one of those genres that I have never been able to get into, but I do love fairy tales, so I thought maybe a retelling of a classic would work for me. When will I ever learn that I just don’t like fantasy?
Marillier does all the elements of a fantasy book well. She sets up the mysterious, old land of Ireland with just enough description to place the reader there but not so much as to slow down the action. Gothic mystery seeps through every page. The idea of the non-human servants and household members of the castle are creatively handled, as is the lord’s beast-like qualities. The members of the host who could so easily have flowed together are artfully individualized.
Additionally, the romance between Caitrin and the lord of the castle is one I actually approve of for once in a YA book. They both are flawed and have issues to work on, but love each other and have good hearts. Thank you. That’s what a relationship is supposed to look like. I would be entirely comfortable seeing a teenage girl reading this. It’s a healthy, realistic relationship.
Still, though, I had to force myself to slog through the book. I was bored a lot of the time. I don’t like long descriptive passages of a forest. I don’t like reading about dull politics of various areas of Ireland. I’m not interested in explanations of the other-worldly figures. The most interesting part to me was the mirrors all over the household, and they were not addressed fully to my liking. In spite of being able to recognize this as a well-told story, it failed to draw me in. I don’t particularly know why. My best guess is that it is fantasy, and fantasy has always bored me. I was hoping venturing away from the more typical knights in shining armor and dragons style fantasy would solve the problem, but I was wrong.
Thus, this YA fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast is creative and well-done. I recommend it to those who know they enjoy a good fantasy story, but those who do not should probably skip it.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: PaperBackSwap
Book Review: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Summary:
Buck is a spoiled southern dog enjoying a posh life when one of the family’s servants steals him and sells him away to be a sled dog for the Alaska gold rush. Buck soon goes from an easy life to one of trials and tribulations as the result of humans fawning over a golden metal, but it might not be all bad for him in the wild Alaskan north.
Review:
How did I make it to be 24 years old without having read this American classic? My shame was somewhat alleviated when my dad told me he was in his 20s too when he read it for the first time. Honestly, I can see why this book is talked about so much.
Jack London understands animals. He doesn’t present them as talking to each other the way humans speak, but he does present them as sentient beings with unique personalities and ways of interacting. It’s not easy for them to understand what humans want, and yet humans expect them to figure it out. Of course, London also highlights the wildness at the heart of every tamed animal. That is part of what makes them amazing, beautiful creatures.
I can’t say too much more without spoiling the book. I can say that I rarely cry for a book, but I cried for this one. Animal advocates would do well to simply encourage people to read this book. I have a hard time imagining anyone not sympathizing with animals more after reading it.
Beyond that, London’s writing is vivid, the story complex and engrossing. I highly recommend it to everyone.
5 out of 5 stores
Source: Audiobooks app for the iTouch, iPhone, and iPad
Book Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Summary:
Patrick Bateman is a 1980s yuppie working a Wall Street job with a dark secret. He doesn’t connect to other people except in the moments he’s torturing and killing them. But is he really a psychopathic murderer or is it all in his head?
Review:
I have a high tolerance for and even a tendency toward graphic violence and sex in novels, so I feel the need to warn my readers that this book was shockingly graphic even to me, and I was unphased by Battle Royale. So take that warning as you will. If you can’t handle graphic violence and sex, this book is definitely not for you. That said, this book pushes those with a high tolerance for such things in their reading out of their comfort zone, which is always an interesting experience.
The book is told from the first person perspective of Patrick Bateman. This is essential for us to see and feel what it is to struggle as him. This, of course, is painfully uncomfortable because we are put in the head of a madman while he violently dismembers and eventually kills multiple people, mainly women. Some people don’t ever want to be in that person’s head. Personally, I feel it is essential to understand what drives some people to be psychopaths and Breat Easton Ellis has a frightening ability to get inside that head. It is chilling to feel that Patrick gets the same sense of release from killing someone as I get from having a glass of wine at the end of the day. Simultaneously, I don’t doubt this at all, because that is what it is to be a psychopath.
Bret Easton Ellis also does an excellent job of depicting Antisocial Personality Disorder. Essentially, people suffering from this disorder are incapable of connecting emotionally or empathizing at all with other human beings. Patrick recognizes this disconnect when he is talking with various people in his life. He suffers significantly from this inability to find any connection with anything but violence.
My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. (Location 8020-8023)
Beyond this, Patrick is completely confused about his world, and he knows it. He is unsure what is reality and what is not. This was one of the first aspects of mental illness to be recognized and seeing it all from the perspective of someone who is suffering from it is eloquent.
My mask of sanity was a victim of impending slippage. (Location 5975-5978)
Of course, beyond the uncomfortable identification with and depiction of someone suffering from one of the most difficult to understand mental illnesses is the depiction of the yuppie environment of the 1980s. What a vain, vapid existence these people lead. Extensive passages feature Patrick delineating every single designer name everyone in the room is wearing. One of the main issues in the week for all of the yuppie characters is getting into what is considered to be the best restaurant that week. Only the “best” alcohol is ordered. Only the “best” food is served, and it is served in such tiny portions that the yuppies are still hungry, yet this is considered to be better than being satiated. Frankly, I found these passages annoying to read, but they are necessary to the book. They show what a shallow, vapid world Patrick is in; one that he feels he cannot escape. These people are so selfish and lacking in empathy in that there is no way in hell they will ever notice anything is wrong with Patrick. It’s a scathing commentary on the yuppie culture.
The only negative from a writing aspect I can say about the book is the random chapters in which Patrick educates us on various musical groups. I honestly have no idea what the point of those are, and I skimmed over them. I definitely think Bret Easton Ellis should have cut them.
Overall, this is definitely a difficult book to read. It’s not comfortable or easy to alternate between identifying with a possible killer and being disgusted by his actions. Feeling sympathy for a killer is not something our society encourages, yet this book makes you feel it. Additionally, the passages depicting the yuppie world are vapid and annoying if for no other reason than because yuppies are vapid and annoying. Those difficulties though are what makes the book work. It takes the reader out of their comfort zone and forces them to confront things that they may not want to confront. Killers are not simply inhuman. They may do inhuman acts, but there are still elements of them that we may identify with. That is the truly scary part of American Psycho.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who thinks they can handle the graphic sex and violence. It will push your boundaries and force you to sympathize with those society depicts to us as the least sympathetic.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Counts For:
Book Review: Alien Tango by Gini Koch (Series, #2)
Summary:
Kitty Katt only learned about the existence of aliens on Earth five short months ago. Incredibly hot aliens who wear Armani as a uniform and can run at hyperspeed. Now she’s the head of a special American government division working with the A-Cs to keep Earth safe from the extra-terrestrial threat of superbugs. Plus she has a hot A-C boyfriend, Jeff, who gives her the best sex of her life. Their new routine gets interrupted though when the team gets sent to Florida on a routine mission that quickly turns abnormal. Can the team figure out the threat at Kennedy Space Center? Just as important, will Jeff’s family accept that he’s dating a human?
Review:
I actually received a Kindle copy of this book for free as part of its promotion, so I was unaware that it’s the second book in a series until I was a couple of chapters in. Thankfully, the paranormal romance genre tends to take a few moments to remind the reader of what’s going on in the plot, so I wasn’t lost for too long.
Kitty Katt is the ideal paranormal romance heroine. She’s simultaneously strong and girly. She can kick major ass but also just wants to be held when the action is all over. Best of all, her wit and snark line up exactly with mine. I found her hilarious and would love to be her best friend. Or be her. In any case, she is 100% not annoying, which is not easy to pull off in the paranormal romance world. I want to visit Kitty again and again, which is kind of the point of paranormal romance series, yes? I kind of think of them as modern day serial stories.
I also really enjoy the alien angle. I fully admit I rolled my eyes at the fact that the aliens only wear Armani, but in that “this world is ridiculous but I love it” way, not in the annoyed way. The aliens tend to either be imageers or empaths. I’m a bit unclear as to what the imageers can do. I think that’s because I missed the first book. Kitty’s boyfriend, however, is an empath, which means he almost always knows what emotion she’s feeling. Talk about your dream guy. It’s a fun new angle as opposed to the over-done vampires and shapeshifters.
The plot is full of action and sex. It’s fast-paced with always one or the other going on. The sex scenes are believable, in spite of the alien factor, and very modern. Kitty is a gal who understands how things work in the bedroom but is also able to shoot a gun and outwit terrorists. The combination of well-written modern day sex scenes and exciting action sequences make for an intensely enjoyable read.
Overall, Alien Tango is the ideal paranormal romance. It puts something new into the mix–aliens–and features a heroine who is strong, modern, yet still retains some of her femininity. I highly recommend this series to all who enjoy a good paranormal romance and also to lovers of scifi who won’t mind some hot sex scenes tossed in.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Previous Books in Series:
Touched by an Alien
Movie Review: The Tourist (2010)
Summary:
The Scotland Yard is watching Elise Ward in the hopes that her ex-boyfriend, Alexander, who owes millions of pounds of back taxes, will contact her. They get their chance when he does, telling her to come to Venice and choose a random tourist of his height and build to trick the cops into thinking is him. The cops don’t fall for it, but unfortunately the mobster Alexander stole billions of pounds from does.
Review:
I’ve been a fan of Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp since I can remember, so that pretty much is the entire reason why I went to go see this film. Unfortunately, I have to say, Angelina and Johnny are starting to show their age. For a film largely based on youth-filled action and passion, this is a bit distracting. Although I enjoyed the old-fashioned storyline, I think I would have enjoyed it better with younger casting. I’m not ageist, but when a storyline is so youthfully oriented, the casting should match.
The storyline itself is thoroughly engaging and refreshing. It’s a romcom in the style of Cary Grant classics like Bringing Up Baby. There’s a bunch of slightly over the top but still believable action. It doesn’t rely on idiocy of the main characters or klutziness to move the story along. It’s over-the-top enough to be engaging and escapist, but still believable instead of laughable.
There are enough plot twists to keep it engaging, and the cinematography strikes the proper balance between clear action-filled shots, quieter romantic scenes, and the more technical scenes of Scotland Yard observing the whole situation.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable film that unfortunately suffers from miscasting. Hopefully romcoms coming out of Hollywood will continue moving in this direction anyway.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: I saw this in theaters.
Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Summary:
Anna Oliphant’s dad totally sold out and started writing crappy books that for some reason became incredibly popular. Now he’s insisting that she spend her senior year at a boarding school–School of America in Paris. Anna knows she should be enjoying her year abroad, after all, it is Paris! But she can’t help but miss her friends and family at home. She slowly starts to find her own new circle of friends and discover the wonderful things in Paris…..and to realize that she may be falling for one of her friends. A boy who is decidedly off-limits for multiple reasons.
Review:
Perkins takes a typical YA storyline–teenage girl sent away to boarding school, complete with teen angst–and puts just the right amount of her own twists and flavors in it to make for a delightful, unique read. I enjoyed this as an adult, but I’m sure 15 year old me would have been in love with it, re-reading it, and sighing over the main interest St. Clair.
The setting of Paris is delightful. Perkins captures the binary of excitement and trepidation at being in another country for the first time enough so that Anna is realistic but not annoying. Similarly, all of the characters act like actual human beings. They are neither perfect nor evil. They are simply doing their best to figure out how to function in the world. I appreciated this, and I’d imagine teen readers would too. Similarly, Perkins describes Paris in such a way that I wanted to move there instantaneously myself if for no other reason than the descriptions of the bread and eating meals in cemeteries. This is what it should be to be young. Angst combined with first-time glorious experiences.
Perkins manages to be both subtly funny:
“Huh?” I have such a way with words. I should write epic poetry or jingles for cat food commercials. (Location 1054-1058)
And perfectly capture what it is to be an adolescent female:
It makes me dizzy. It smells like freshly scrubbed boy. It smells like him. (Location 3100-3104
This is what an ideal YA book should be. Realistic about what young people face, but also about who young people are. Holding out hope that they can become good people, and they can learn and grow and overcome their mistakes. I highly recommend it to teen girls, as well as to adult women who still enjoy YA.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Movie Review: Saw (2004)
Summary:
Two men wake to find themselves chained on opposite sides of a worn-down, underground bathroom, the newest victims of Jigsaw. Jigsaw doesn’t actually commit murder himself, but instead puts people into situations where they have to make horrible choices in an attempt to save their own life. These men are told the only way out is for one of them to kill the other, and as their time limit ticks on greater amounts of information are revealed about the men’s lives and Jigsaw’s previous victims.
Review:
My very first comment as the end credits rolled was, “Holy crap, I can see why this became a franchise.” The story is sufficiently complex to hold interest. Jigsaw is incredibly creepy as he uses a voice distorted puppet to communicate to his victims. Puppets are always creepy. Bottom line. I love the concept of a serial kidnapper/torturer doing so presumably to teach people a lesson as opposed to just really enjoying gore.
Speaking of gore, it definitely exists in the film, but the most gut-wrenching moments take place just off-screen. Apparently this was re-edited as the original cut showed those moments on-screen, and the MPAA required the cuts for it to receive an R rating. Personally, I think given their low budget, it works better letting the audience’s imagination fill in the worst moments.
Also, Losties will be pleased to know that Michael Emerson, aka creeptastic Ben, has a rather significant role in the film. I loved his acting so much in Lost, and his work here is just as good. I may have squealed a bit every time he showed up on screen. One casting negative, though, is Cary Elwes, who plays one of the men locked in the bathroom, has the worst fake American accent ever. He repeatedly slips in and out of it. I have no idea why they didn’t either just let him be British or hire an American actor for the part. Very odd.
Overall, this horror movie primarily gives viewers chills from the whole idea of such a situation far more so than gore. If horror movies are your thing, you definitely need to give the Saw franchise a shot. It became a franchise for a reason.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
5 More Questions About Books
You guys may remember the previous meme post I did 5 Questions About Books, which I acquired from Syosset Public Library’s Readers and Reference blog. Well, the lovely Sonia of the library, contacted me with the complete list of questions they use in case I wanted to do another meme! So here’s 5 More Questions About Books, and as before, feel free to use the meme yourself.
What book is on your nightstand right now?:
The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders: An Interactive Self-Help Guide by Joseph Santoro, PhD. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it!
What is a book you’ve faked reading?:
Bleak House by Charles Dickens. It was assigned for a required course in British literature. I attempted to read it, but after a couple of chapters and with the other homework I had going on that semester, Sparknotes became my very dear friend. For the record, I aced the exam questions on it. ;-)
What’s a book that’s changed your life?:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I was raised in a very traditional, religious, patriarchal manner, and this book was what spurred me on to investigate other ways of looking at the world. Needless to say, I am no longer religious; I am a feminist. This book is what started me on the path to free-thought, and I will always love Margaret Atwood for that.
Can you quote a favorite line from a book?:
“…If death
Consort with thee, death is to me as life;
So forcible within my heart I feel
The bond of nature draw me to my own;
My own in thee, for what thou art is mine:
Our state cannot be severed, we are one,
One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.”
Adam to Eve, Paradise Lost by John Milton. One of my favorite quotes of all time.
What’s your favorite book genre?:
This should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone, but dystopian literature followed closely by scifi with horror a super-duper close third.
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