Updates!
Wow - that was a long break between posts! I blame vacation, an overinduglence in sleep and the cold slap of too much work when it all came to an end. Anyway, I did end up finishing the Sarah Waters' book a couple of days after I posted about it originally. It definitely held my attention. The only thing is that the dogged obsession with finishing it may have had more to do with an intense desire for something to happen versus simple adoration of prose. It was a good book with an interesting premise, but I felt a bit cheated at the end. It's strange that I left it like that. I honestly thought that I would give it a few days to suss out my reaction, but weeks later I still feel that the build up led to a sort of anti-climactic come down. I don't usually do numerical ranking, but if I had to I would probably give it a 6.5-7 out of 10 - so clearly not a waste of time, just a tad disappointing. The Ghosh book is promising, but I admit I had to set it aside during the xmas frenzy and what with the renewed work sched. I haven't had time to pick it up again...more on that soon.
Avatar was interesting. Went to see it 3d/Imax and enjoyed the spectacle factor. Was also bemused by the righteous outrage of some of my friends who took some time to dissect the diverse impolitic aspects of the narrative. I don't actually disagree. BUT...what do people expect from a mainstream, big budget, Hollywood blockbuster?!?! Yes, the politics are superficial, the white man's burden theme is carried forward and through that process the protagonist somehow finds a way to 'other' himself...BUT IT"S MAINSTREAM HOLLYWOOD...DUH. Where are you going to find subversive politics in the machinery of capitalist spectacle production? The very machinery of the Hollywood production machine is inextricably linked to the system. Ergo, Cameron may try to inject some quasi-progressive niceties, but he's not going to bite the hand that feeds him.
Might go see Kieslowski's Double Life of Veronique (La Double Vie de Veronique) next week. Not sure if it will happen as I have a meeting that evening that may conflict, but hope to do so. Director Krzyztof Kieslowski was a genius. He made movies that linger in your thoughts long after having screened them. I still remember A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love as though I had seen them yesterday (it's been a while, and likely time for a re-screening). Those two films expand upon shorter productions that he made for his Decalogue, originally released for Polish television. Get thee to a video store and dig up some Kieslowski...love it or come back here and fight me over it, lol!
What I’m reading…
Yesterday I picked up two new (or new-ish) releases: Sarah Water's The Little Stranger and Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies. Both of these of books were Man Booker Prize Finalists. That's a pretty solid accolade (last year's winner was Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger - an AMAZING book), but these things are not necessarily a given. So I'll check in with some review action as soon as I'm done.
I'm currently 205 pages into the Water's book which I started last night and I'm about 80 pages into the Ghosh that I started this morning on my way to work...
“Kay-oh-tee” vs “Kay-oat”
This weekend I hunkered down and read A.S.Byatt's newest release The Children's Book. I like Byatt in general - loved Possession and Angels and Insects - this one, not so much. That's surprising to me especially given the content. The book basically follows the intersecting lives of a series of individuals and families connected (likes spokes to a hub) to one central family of bohemian, radical artist types. Byatt's book focuses upon the tail end of the Victorian era - looking particularly at middle and upper middle class British anarchists, socialists - their general milieu and 'unconventional' family dynamic. This book is not a "fail", indeed I couldn't put it down until I finished it, it's just that it left me with a general sort of malaise, a sort of unfulfilled feeling. I committed to this book and I think that I continued to have this expectation that Byatt was going to "bring it" but that never really happened. More in keeping with the back and forth nature of this 'review', while I'll admit that I was disappointed in the book, I would still recommend it to those who have a cursory interest in 19th century radical politics in England. You know, I sort of had a similar experience reading John Cowper Powys' Wolf Solent - kept reading it and got to the end with a sort of deflated feeling...:(
Forgotten flick of the week is The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds this 1972 release is in my mind a forgotten gem. Starring Joanne Woodward, Nell Potts (Eleanor Newman - one of Woodward and Newman's daughters) and Roberta Wallach. This film is ultimately a very dark coming of age story rooted in family dysfunction. Woodward is a bitter eccentric with two teenage daughters (Wallach and Potts), the elder unstable and the younger constantly striving towards the positive despite her mother's constant negativity. I'd call this a pretty great character study and recommend it! I first saw the movie on TV when I was in grade school and it's stayed with me for many years. I should also mention that the film is adapted from Paul Zinman's Pulitizer Prize winning play.
Also, as regards the title of this entry - I am currently railing against the increased use of the pronounciation "Kay-oat" versus "Kay-oh-tee" in local media...!