Book and Movie Reviews

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

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Doctor Sleep by Stephen King Book ReviewDoctor Sleep by Stephen King is the sequel to his second novel, The Shining.  This novel, which comes 36 years after the release of The Shining, shows what life is like for Danny Torrence shortly after he and his mom leave the Overlook and then fast forwards about 20 years and shows how history can repeat itself.  Danny begins drinking heavily in spite of the problems his father had with alcohol, he makes some poor decisions that end up haunting him and after hopping from town to town he settles down in a New Hampshire town for the next 15 or more years.  Still possessing the powers he had as a child, Dan connects with another talented and much younger girl, Abra, who he helps fight the forces of evil plaguing them in the 21st Century.

The author of this novel, Stephen King, is more than just a write of horror/psychological thrillers.  He is a master at his craft.  I was shocked to see how many novel and short stories Stephen King has written and even more surprised to see what percentage of those have been turned into either film or made suitable for television.  There are movies that I had no idea were from a Stephen King novel, such as Children of the Corn, Firestarter, Shawshank Redemption and The Running Man (originally published under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman). Stephen King’s first novel was Carrie, which was just remade into a movie, his second novel was Salem’s Lot and his third was The Shining.  To have such success in the beginning must have been a huge boost for the writer who stated later that he writes because he was born to do so and takes the career very seriously.

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Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (Book and Movie Review)

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Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew QuickThe Silver Linings Playbook is a novel that was written in 2008.  Recognizing a winner, the Harvey Weinstein production  company snatched up the movie rights to the novel even before it was published.  The novel is about Pat, a man who had been institutionalized due to a traumatic event that is revealed towards the end of the novel.  After he is released from the institution he goes back home to live with his parents and attempts to become re-acclimated to the normalcies of life outside of an institution.  Through his best friend, he meets Tiffany, a woman who had dealt with as much trauma and mental illness as Pat.  The two make an interesting couple as they navigate through life trying to cope with their past, present, and future.

The Silver Linings Playbook is a debut novel for Matthew Quick.  Before becoming a writer, Quick taught high school literature and film in southern New Jersey.  It seems that he was very involved in the community where he coached sports, led trips to South American countries and even has counseled troubled teens. Apparently, this background was what prepared him to write such an emotionally layered film about mental illness, forgiveness, love for sports and how to move forward in life.  Since 2008, Quick has had three more novels published with two more on the way and all of them have also been optioned for film.

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The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort

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The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan BelfortThe Wolf of Wall Street is a memoir written by the wolf, himself, Jordan Belfort.  The book is about how Jordan got his start in the stockbroker business, how he made as much as 23 million dollars in one day, how he got wrapped-up into drugs and sex, and how it all came crashing down. A movie with the same title was released in December of 2013 and has garnished some major notoriety, good and bad.

Belfort writes in his introduction that his memoir is “œa true story based on his best recollection of events” that happened in his life and that he used the real names of people in the book, unless indicated otherwise.  He also states that some of the events have been compressed for the sake of the narrative and that some dialogue was recreated to best match the exchanges between people in the book.  In the prologue, after relaying his meeting with Mark Hanna, the man said to be his mentor, he states that this memoir is a “œsatirical reconstruction of the insanity” that took place. He explains that he primarily hopes that his story will serve as a cautionary tale to the rich and the poor, “œto anyone living with a silver spoon on their nose and a bunch of pills in their stomach sack and to any person who is considering taking a God given gift and misusing it.”  Having said all that and knowing that he spent much of his time being high, I have some major doubts about what actually did happen (although I am not sure how relevant that is).  Essentially, here is an expert snake oil salesman selling his own story.  You do the math.

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Book & Movie Review)

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is known by many to be an American classic.  The novel, which takes place during the American Civil War, is about a family of a mother and four sisters.  Because their family has fallen on hard times and their father is off fighting in the war, the story is about these young girls coping with poverty and the hardships of life with only each other and their mother there to guide them.  Beloved by many, the novel can be seen as a comedy, romance, tragedy, and drama because the story contains aspects of a number of different genres and is based on real life.

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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Book & Movie Review)

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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur GoldenMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is a fictional account of the life of a successful geisha in Gion, Japan during the early to mid 1950s.  Golden wrote this novel after interviewing Mineko Iwasaki, who is said to be the most famous geisha in Japan until her early retirement at the age of 29.  The story tells of how a girl named Chiyo, who began with very humble beginnings as a poor fisherman’s daughter, became an honored and successful geisha in Japan.  Not too many years after the girl became a geisha and acquired her geisha name, Sayuri, World War II broke out and the geisha district of Gion was closed down only to be opened again after the war ended. More importantly, the novel tells of the romantic feelings that motivated every of Chiyo’s moves from the moment that she met the Chairman to her death.

The story of this geisha is a very compelling one and left me with the feeling that when entering a geisha district of Japan that one is transported into the past or at the very least into a different world that follows a different set of rules.  Men could leave their wives and come enjoy a guilt-free night in the company of another woman, which could occasionally lead to more.  A geisha is not a prostitute but seen as an artist.  Her skills include conversation, joke telling, game playing, dancing, instrument playing, singing and all while being a master of seduction.  Similar to perhaps a cruise ship director or a hibachi chef, when in their company you may play games or receive a meal all while being entertained by your host (That’s the best comparison I can think of.  Please leave a comment if you can think of a better one).

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Slumdog Millionaire By Vikas Swarup (Book and Movie Review)

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Slumdog Millionaire By Vikas SwarupThe book, Slumdog Millionaire, written by Vikas Swarup was previously published as Q and A. With the success of the movie, the book was re-published under the title that was used for the movie.  The book is about an Indian boy who has grown up on the streets of India.  This boy goes on to a quiz show where, to the astonishment of most everyone around him, he is able to answer the questions correctly based on his life experiences.

We find Ram in jail because he has been arrested for cheating on the game show.  It is assumed that he cheated because how could a boy from the streets possibly know anything.  Ram states that as children growing up on the streets that “œthe brain is not something we are permitted to use.” Ram is saved from torture by his lawyer to whom he then spends the rest of the book explaining how he knew all of the answers to the questions.

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The King’s Speech by Mark Logue

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The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British MonarchyThis book, The King’s Speech, is not the book that the movie was based on.  Mark Logue explains in the introduction that because he is Lionel Logue’s grandson he was contacted and informed that a movie was going to be coming out about his grandfather’s relationship with King George VI.  Mark took it upon himself to go through his grandfather’s papers and journals so that he could help give a more accurate and in-depth account of what happened leading up to the king giving his famous speech and what happened afterwards.

The book gives a complete background of Lionel Logue explaining how he became a speech therapist in London. The generosity and compassionate nature of Logue is established well before he crosses paths with the man who would one day be king.  From books written by the royal biographer, this book also tells us more about Prince Albert, later known as King George VI, and how his upbringing affected his stammer and his relationship with his family.

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The Prestige By Christopher Priest

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The Prestige By Christopher PriestI don’t know if this makes me biased but my husband and I really like the movie, The Prestige.  I have been thinking that I should read this book for a while but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read a book where I already know the big twist in the end.  I decided to read it, or listen to it rather, because reviewers on audible highly recommend the book, because the narrator is Simon Vance (an accomplished narrator who has also done The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series among many others), and because I could review it and the movie for this blog.  I am so glad that I did decide to read it because I loved the book and, surprisingly, listening to the book made me love the movie even more.

There are a lot of revelations and twists found in this story so it is difficult to fully discuss the story without spoiling it for those who have not experienced it yet.  The story is about two rival magicians Robert Angiers and Alfred Borden.  The reason for the rivalry or the reason their rivalry begins (because it does evolve) differs between the book and the movie.  Through the use of diaries kept by both men we learn of their backgrounds, how their love for magic began, and we come to understand their point of view on magic, life, and the rivalry that comes to consume them.  This rivalry is heightened to the point of no return and many moral lines are crossed.

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