Book and Movie Reviews – Page 4

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis (Movie/Book Review)

June 6, 2014 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: You do not need long books to tell big stories.

The thing that keeps striking me as I read through the Chronicles of Narnia recently is how short these books are. In my imagination, these are big books, maybe not Harry Potter length children’s books, but fairly weighty tomes.

The reality is that the Chronicles of Narnia are short children’s books. The single volume of the whole series is shorter than just Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So it seems a bit odd to me that the movies are so long.

The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe is just over 4 hours on audiobook but 2 and a half hours as a movie.

The 2005 movie is faithful and good. But it loses some of the childhood wonders of the book. I have been reluctant to read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe as I have been reading through CS Lewis because it is such a familiar story to me. I choose to listen to it on audiobook (in part because I ran across it at the library) but also because I wanted to re-capture being read to. This is one of the earliest books I remember being read to me.

Behind the Candelabra by Scott Thorson and Alex Thorleifson

June 6, 2014 by All Old Users

Behind The Candelabra is a memoir about Scott Thorson’s life with Liberace. Scott recounts how he met, came to live with, love, work with, and got rejected by Liberace. Liberace was known as Mr. Showmanship as he gave extravagant performances on the piano. While he never admitted to being homosexual, according to Thorson, Liberace led a very flamboyant life within the gay community and often would maintain homosexual relationships by hiring them onto his staff. Thorson’s memoir about their relationship and how it ended abruptly in 1982 was published in 1988 and was written after Liberace died of AIDS in 1987.

I have very mixed emotions about this book. The book itself did not feel like an act of revenge. The book seemed to simply tell about the relationship that was a huge part of Scott Thorson and Liberace’s lives. I don’t feel like Liberace was bad mouthed or slandered. I don’t feel like Thorson was taking pot shots at his former lover, even though he could have as Liberace was not around to defend himself. The novel paints Liberace as a very passionate man who loves with his whole being. Unfortunately, it seems that his love fades and can be transferred quickly and become just as fierce towards the next lover. For me, it was interesting learning about how Thorson became enveloped in Liberace’s life and came to love him deeply. Thorson describes his relationship with Liberace (who was 40 years Thorson’s senior) as if it lasted a lifetime, but in reality it started when Thorson was 17 but was over before Thorson reached 23 years of age.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (TV/Book Review)

June 1, 2014 by All Old Users

Orange Is the New Black is a memoir written by Piper Kerman that chronicles the year that she spent in a minimum-security prison. The book starts with Kerman describing her college years and the events that ended up landing her in prison and ends with her release from prison after serving twelve months of a fifteen-month sentence.

In the memoir, Kerman describes many of the unique people she meets and events she experiences in prison. I found it undeniably entertaining to read about the Russian cook, the Dominican bunkmate, the politically geared warden, and delinquent electric shop manager, among others. Listening to Kerman describe how her life became a series or routines and rules, some unspoken and others tentatively ignored, gave me a very intriguing insight into the life of someone who resides in prison.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

May 30, 2014 by All Old Users

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is a well-beloved book and seen as an integral part to American literature. The book is essentially a coming-of-age novel and one that tells mainly of survival. The rather lengthy novel begins with Scarlett O’Hara at the age of 15 and carries her through many trials and tribulations such as loss of love, war, death, poverty, hunger and sometimes simply bad luck. With the American Civil War and Reconstruction of the South as the backdrop, the novel appeals to wide audience as it contains themes of romance, drama, comedy, suspense, history and adventure.

I both read the novel and saw the movie for the first time when I was a young teenager. I have seen the movie a number of times since then (although not in over ten years) but I have not read the book since then. My initial thoughts are that the book was much better than I remembered and the movie was not quite as good as I remembered it being. Both the movie and the book are quite long and I have had this 48-hour book siting in my library for at least a year and a half and have only now gotten up the courage to tackle it. The movie is 4 hours long and includes an intermission. I remember that I went to see the movie with a friend who had never seen it before and during the intermission we walked out to the lobby and she said, “œWell, that was a great movie.” Both my mom and I just stared at her because we didn’t know how to tell her that there were two more hours to watch.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

May 23, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A Classic novel about wanting what is not good for you.

For some reason that I can’t really explain, I always have felt I did not like Charles Dickens. But the only two books that I can remember reading of Dickens (Great Expectations and The Tale of Two Cities) I liked. Maybe it is like feeling like you do not like a food, but never actually trying it.

Like many classics, I was first exposed to Great Expectations as an abridged children’s book. I am pretty sure I read at least one additional abridgement in high school or college (not for school but pleasure) but I think this is the first time I have read the whole book.

With so many versions of the story in my head (I have seen at least one if not two of the movies in addition to probably two abridged versions), the basic story is not a surprise. Simon Vance (as always) did an admirable job narrating the audiobook. And like many classics, I think it could have easily been cut by at least a third without a problem. But according to Wikipedia, Dickens originally intended it to be twice as long, but his publisher restrained him. (Thank goodness).

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

May 16, 2014 by All Old Users

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, a story written in 1956 primarily for children, is about a robbery of 15 Dalmatian puppies that results in a good deal of adventure. While written for children, the novel contains rather severe storylines where one puppy is seemingly stillborn then survives, a wet nurse puppy is needed for the puppies to survive and the plans are that the puppies be killed and skinned so they can be made into fur coats. The most endearing part of the story is the personality and intelligence that is given to the animals in the story. In the end it is the fact that we have animals caring for other animals and their pets (i.e. owners) that makes this a fun story to listen to.

According to Wikipedia, Dodie Smith states that she always hoped that Disney would make her book into a movie, which it was in 1961 only 5 years after the release of the novel. While the 1961 animated movie does maintain some of the main points of the story, the story is certainly reworked so that it more appropriate for children and the silver screen. I wonder why Smith made her story as dark as it was if she was genuinely hoping for it to be made into an animated movie. As Smith is a British writer and Disney is an American company, it could be that Smith sincerely thought that her novel was appropriate as many children’s stories, especially those originating in Europe, are often quite a bit darker.

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

April 25, 2014 by All Old Users

The Remains of the Day is a very well known British novel by Japanese-born British novelist, Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel is a first person narrative coming from the voice of an accomplished butler, Stevens, in post-war England. Stevens goes on a much deserved “œmotoring trip” and as he makes his way around the country side of Great Britain he takes the time to think back over his career as butler at Darlington Hall. Stevens is very matter of fact as he describes his life as a butler, his duties, and his relationships with his staff and his employer. As the reader hears more and more, we discover that Stevens has perhaps taken his duties and loyalties as butler so seriously that he has missed out on a more fulfilling life, a life of love and devotion to someone other than his employer.

In reading about Ishiguro’s background, I have learned that Ishiguro experienced an especially unique upbringing, as England was all that he knew as home since his family moved to Great Britain when he was 5, and yet he grew up in a Japanese speaking home in order to keep his Japanese culture in tact. While I haven’t read his first two novels, Ishiguro states that his image of Japan that appears in the novels comes strictly from his imagination and how it had been described by his parents. While I would perhaps state that no remnants of his Japanese culture appear in The Remains of the Day, it seems that his tendency to write from the flawed first-person perspective, which is apparently a repeated theme throughout many of his works, is seen as more typical of Japanese influence then British.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Movie and Book Review)

April 11, 2014 by All Old Users

Divergent by Veronica Roth is a novel set in post-modern America where as a result of war the city of Chicago and its population has been spilt into 5 factions. The idea is that these factions, which are chosen based on an individual’s personality, live separately but use their talents and gifts for the greater good of society.

The Errudite faction values knowledge and learning so their role is to innovate, teach, study and learn. The Abdegation are a selfless faction and so take the role as public servants by running the government. The Candor faction upholds truth, reason and justice so they serve as law. The Amnity are a kind faction that have the role of caring for the earth and providing the people with food. The Dauntless faction are seen as brave and fearless so they are the protectors of the city.

The main character, Beatrice, discovers that she does not fit into any particular faction and is therefore: Divergent. She chooses dauntless to the dismay of her Abdegation family. She learns quickly after she joins dauntless that everything is not what it seems and life gets dangerous for her, those around her, and her family that she has left behind.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

March 21, 2014 by All Old Users

Howl’s Moving Castle is a fantasy novel written by Diana Wynne Jones. The story is about a young girl who lives in a world where magic, which is a very real aspect of life, can be taught, learned, possessed and used to one’s advantage and the good or ill will of others. Sophie crosses paths with the evil and powerful Witch of the Waste and is cursed so that she suddenly progresses to the age of 90. She then runs away from her town and ends up living in the magical moving castle that belongs to Howl, another magician who is less feared but just as powerful as the Witch of the Waste.

In the story, we find that even witches and magicians are human with human faults and human desires. Their ability to practice magic does not necessarily set them apart from others but it merely helps to make up who they are, similar to an accent or a personality trait. The story is about how Sophie tries to break her own curse while attempting to help and interact with the others around her, magical or otherwise.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

March 11, 2014 by All Old Users

This book, along with The Fault In Our Stars (which I recently finished), is a great representation of the way a young adult book should be. The book is not about vampires or teenagers fighting for their lives or the lives of their districts. The book is about teenagers as they navigate through life.

The reason, I feel, the book appeals to young adults and adults alike is because the characters described in the book and the events and emotions that they experience are familiar to young adults and adults alike as well. Who doesn’t know what it feels like to go to a party and feel unnoticed? There is one really well written scene where the main character, Charlie, exclaims that he feels “infinite” at that very moment and that, essentially, everything feels right.