strange and random happenstance

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
Published by: EFE Books
Publication Date: 1939
Format: Kindle, 206 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Tod Hackett is looking for inspiration. He wants to do a great painting, it's what his Ivy League education demands, but moving west to Hollywood means his skills are only useful in scenic work on films. Not exactly work that has depth and meaning, which is what could be said for the town and it's denizens. The more people he meets the more he realizes that Hollywood is full of frauds and wannabes with eyes full of hatred. He wants to capture this in his great work, "The Burning of Los Angeles." He wants to watch the town burn and immortalize the conflagration. In his apartment complex there is the full array of the Hollywood unwashed, the failed dreamers, the bookmakers, the screenwriters, and the failed actresses. Faye Greener is a failed actress, though she'd never admit as much. She's just doing what she needs to to get by until her big break. Tod becomes obsessed with Faye. He wants Faye but she always keeps him at a distance which results in him fantasizing of taking her by force. It's Tod's obsession with Faye that keeps him constantly in her orbit. He is stuck in a twilight world of hangers-on. Faye plays her men off each other. She seems to get far more enjoyment from their anger than their attentions. There's Earle, an ersatz cowboy, Miguel, a fake Native American, and most importantly, Homer Simpson. Homer came west for his health, one of those who come to California to die, and has ended up supporting Faye. It's unclear what he gets from the relationship other than pain and heartbreak. All these people scrap and fight in Homer's house in the valley. There's brawls and violence and cockfights and pornography. This group of people is endemic of what is happening in Hollywood and one night it all boils over. Homer tries to leave, there's an incident with a precocious child actor who has been taunting him and Los Angeles burns. Just as Tod envisioned.

A book needs to have something going for it, a compelling plot, compelling characters, or a compelling message. If you have all these things, all the better, if you have none of them, you have The Day of the Locust. I know, you could argue with me that it does have several messages, the deevolution of man to animals instincts, that California is where the American Dream goes to die, that it was a clarion call to take heed of the rise of fascism, but guess what? I don't care. This isn't an introduction to literature class where we sit around and justify this book as a Classic with a capital "C." This is nothing more nor less than a study in entropy with such violence against women that it is triggering to read. Tod again and again has rape fantasies. He plainly states that "[n]othing less violent than rape would do" in his pursuit of Faye. That isn't love, that is violent obsession. And I'm sorry, but that doesn't make him a quicky character, that makes him a sexual predator. I can't get past this. Tod is the epitome of all the characters in this book, horrible people living lurid lives. These are not people I want to read about because these are not people I want to spend time with. Have you ever been at a party you didn't want to go to and you don't really know anyone at and then all of a sudden the atmosphere shifts and you realize not only do you really not want to be there but that it could be dangerous? Well that's The Day of the Locust. I mean, maybe if it was eloquently written there could have been some redeeming factor. I think you can gather already that there was not. Nathanael West can write descriptions but when it comes to action? Oh, the cockfight and the riot are such a mess that they literally did not make sense. There was one section of the book where Tod goes to a party and for a second I was confused, the writing was assured, the story made sense, and then I realized that it was completely lifted from The Great Gatsby, female tennis pro and all, but with a lurid pornography twist. In an interesting aside, West was good friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the day after F. Scott died of a heart attack Nathanael West ran a stop sign that killed both him and his wife. A cruel person would say that perhaps West had no more reason to live because he had no more work to rip-off... But I'm not quite that cruel, unlike the other reviewers who said that The Day of the Locust was overly praised because of West's death before he was even forty. I will just say this book was not for me and no matter how people praise Miss Lonelyhearts there's not a chance in hell I'm ever reading it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Dream, Classics, Entropy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, For the Love of Book Clubs, Hollywood, Homer Simpson, Miss Lonelyhearts, Nathanael West, Rape, The Day of the Locust, The Great Gatsby, Triggering

In Every Generation by Kendare Blake
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first in an all-new series by New York Times best-selling author Kendare Blake continues the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featuring the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.

A new Slayer for a new generation...

Frankie Rosenberg is passionate about the environment, a sophomore at New Sunnydale High School, and the daughter of the most powerful witch in Sunnydale history. Her mom, Willow, is slowly teaching her magic on the condition that she use it to better the world. But Frankie’s happily quiet life is upended when new girl Hailey shows up with news that the annual Slayer convention has been the target of an attack, and all the Slayers - including Buffy, Faith, and Hailey’s older sister Vi - might be dead. That means it’s time for this generation’s Slayer to be born.

But being the first ever Slayer-Witch means learning how to wield a stake while trying to control her budding powers. With the help of Hailey, a werewolf named Jake, and a hot but nerdy sage demon, Frankie must become the Slayer, prevent the Hellmouth from opening again, and find out what happened to her Aunt Buffy, before she’s next.

Get ready for a whole new story within the world of Buffy!"

I am a sucker for ALL things Buffy!

It Will End Like This by Kyra Leigh
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of They Wish They Were Us and Sadie comes a propulsive thriller that reminds us that in real life, endings are rarely as neat as happily ever after. A contemporary take on the Lizzie Borden story that explores how grief can cut deep.

Charlotte lost her mother six months ago, and still no one will tell her exactly what happened the day she mysteriously died. They say her heart stopped, but Charlotte knows deep down that there's more to the story.

The only person who gets it is Charlotte's sister, Maddi. Maddi agrees - people’s hearts don’t just stop. There are too many questions left unanswered for the girls to move on.

But their father is moving on. With their mother’s personal assistant. And both girls are sure of one thing: she's going to steal everything that's theirs for herself. She'll even get rid of them eventually.

Now, in order to get their lives back, Charlotte and Maddi have to decide what kind of story they live in. Do they remain the obedient girls their father insists they be, or do they follow their rage to the end?"

I'm sure watching a TV movie on Lizzie Borden at such a young age is why I am the way I am, but that also means any book that name checks Lizzie Borden is a must read!

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Where the Drowned Girls Go, the next addition to Seanan McGuire's beloved Wayward Children series, students at an anti-magical school rebel against the oppressive faculty.

"Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you’ve already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company."

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn't as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her "Home for Wayward Children," she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming..."

Well, it's the first Tuesday of the year, and to meet her insane number of books published this year, like every year, Seanan McGuire has her first book out!

The Mermaid in the Millpond by Lucy Strange
Published by: Barrington Stoke Ltd
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Kindle, 63 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"History and myth entwine in this atmospheric tale of freedom and friendship from bestselling author Lucy Strange and acclaimed illustrator Pam Smy.

Bess has left the London workhouse behind for a job at a rural cotton mill. But life at the mill is hard and cruel - a far cry from the fresh start Bess hoped for. The only way to survive is to escape, but the mill is like a prison with no way out.

Meanwhile, rumours are spreading about a vicious creature that lurks in the millpond. Bess is sure it’s all nonsense, until one night she sees something stir in the murky water.

But is it really a monster that lives in the depths of the pond? Or a creature trapped and alone, just like Bess, desperate to escape..."

Pam Smy drew me in, the millpond myth made me stay!

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women’s alternating voices.

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.

Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire.

Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby - before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.

Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.

Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.

Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled."

If you've ever wondered what the women had to say about Jay Gatsby, well, this is the book for you!

The Last Dance of the Debutante by Julia Kelly
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of the "sweeping, stirring, and heartrending" (Kristin Harmel, author of The Room on Rue Amélie) The Light Over London returns with a masterful, glittering novel that whisks you to midcentury Britain as it follows three of the last debutantes to be presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

When it’s announced that 1958 will be the last year debutantes are to be presented at court, thousands of eager mothers and hopeful daughters flood the palace with letters seeking the year’s most coveted invitation: a chance for their daughters to curtsey to the young Queen Elizabeth and officially come out into society.

In an effort to appease her traditional mother, aspiring university student Lily Nichols agrees to become a debutante and do the Season, a glittering and grueling string of countless balls and cocktail parties. In doing so, she befriends two very different women: the cool and aloof Leana Hartford whose apparent perfection hides a darker side and the ambitious Katherine Norman who dreams of a career once she helps her parents find their place among the elite.

But the glorious effervescence of the Season evaporates once Lily learns a devastating secret that threatens to destroy her entire family. Faced with a dark past, she’s forced to ask herself what really matters: her family legacy or her own happiness.

With her signature "intricate, tender, and convincing" (Publishers Weekly) storytelling, Julia Kelly weaves an unforgettable tale of female friendship amid the twilight days of Britain’s grand coming out balls."

If you're obsessed with debutantes, like I am, and are fascinated by the end of that longstanding tradition, this book is for you as well as me.

The Maid by Nita Prose
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed. Solving the mystery will turn her once orderly world upside down in this utterly original debut.

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter - she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black - but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different - and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart."

Clue-like you say? I will be the final judge on that!

A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris
Published by: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Now I'm in charge, the gates are my gates. The rules are my rules.

It's an incendiary moment for St Oswald's school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls.

Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely forty, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.

But Rebecca is here to make her mark. She'll bury the past so deep it will evade even her own memory, just like she has done before. After all, you can't keep a good woman down."

Scholastic and ivy intrigue? Yes please!

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Rachel Hawkins, the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, comes Reckless Girls, a deliciously wicked Gothic suspense, set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

ONE ISLAND

Beautiful, wild, and strange - Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. It’s the perfect destination for the most adventurous traveler to escape everything... except the truth.

SIX VISITORS

Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey - one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery.

COUNTLESS SECRETS

When one person goes missing and another turns up dead, the remaining friends wonder what dark currents lie beneath this impenetrable paradise - and who else will be swept under its secluded chaos. With its island Gothic sensibility, sexy suspense, and spine-tingling reimagining of an Agatha Christie classic, Reckless Girls will wreck you."

I love it when authors explore other locals where the Gothic can reside!

Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: January 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Love is in the air in Serendipity, a collection of stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

The secret admirer.

The fake relationship.

The matchmaker.

From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, 10 of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will fall for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.

Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen."

I love it when tropes are reimagined to become something more.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jillian Cantor, Joanne Harris, Julia Kelly, Kendare Blake, Kyra Leigh, Lizzie Borden, Lucy Strange, Marissa Meyer, Nita Prose, Pam Smy, Rachel Hawkins, Seanan McGuire, The Great Gatsby

If you are watching this for Jeremy Brett, be forewarned that there is a lot less Jeremy Brett than the DVD cover would have you believe. This is a starring vehicle for Susan Fleetwood and Robin "OG Poldark" Ellis doing his best Morgan Freeman narration in the era before Morgan Freeman started being known as the go-to narrator and was known as that guy from The Electric Company and various soap operas. The Good Soldier is a tale of infidelity set against the backdrop of a German spa town revolving around two couples, the Dowells and the Ashburnhams. This adaptation leans heavily on the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby with a dash of Brideshead Revisited, ironic because The Good Soldier predates both and more than likely influenced both. It's slowly paced, but a wonderful study of lives falling apart and what we are willing to endure for those we love. Told non-linearly we get glimpses of happy days and the disaster that is to come. Hint, it's a lot of suicide. What I particularly liked is that this felt a bit like it was cracking open the facade of the stiff upper lips of the Brits. Underneath it all they are just a complete mess of repressed and pent-up emotions that will eventually explode, usually in a darkly comic manner. That's the key here, you have to be willing to embrace Ford Madox Ford's dark humor. The Good Soldier began life as The Saddest Story but the publishers wanted a new title because of World War I and Ford Madox Ford sarcastically suggested The Good Soldier, because Brett's character is anything but a good little soldier, and the publishers jumped at the new title. Now you might be wondering, how can infidelity and suicide be darkly humorous? Well, it's all in the execution. The pauses, the timing, and the reasoning. Oh, and the dramatic wailing and gnashing of handkerchief's in hands. In fact the only memorable part of the 2012 Benedict Cumberbatch adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End was Reverend Duchemin's suicide, brilliantly brought to the small screen by Rufus Sewell. So if dark humor and distinctly British entropy is your cup of tea then be sure to check out this production from the early eighties.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brideshead Revisited, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Ford Maddox Ford, Infidelity, Jeremy Brett, Morgan Freeman, Parade's End, Poldark, Robin Ellis, Rufus Sewell, Susan Fleetwood, The Good Soldier, The Great Gatsby

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene by Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Shecter.
Published by: Serial Box
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Kindle
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Victorian England, a savvy spiritual medium must outsmart the most important client of her career: a scientist determined to expose frauds like her.

But their game of wits has fatal consequences when a vengeful spirit answers their summons. If they cannot put aside their prejudices - and growing passion - and find a way to banish the ghost together, one of them could be its next victim.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene by bestselling authors Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Shecter."

There's nothing I love more the Victorian spiritualism! 

House of the Patriarch by Barbara Hambly
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No one can talk to the dead...can they? Free man of color Benjamin January gets caught up in a strange, spiritual world that might lead to his own demise, as he hunts for a missing teenager in this gripping, atmospheric historical mystery.

New Orleans, 1840. Freshly home from a dangerous journey, that last thing Benjamin January wants to do is leave his wife and young sons again. But when old friends Henri and Chloe Viellard ask for his help tracking down a missing girl in distant New York, he can't say no.

Three weeks ago, seventeen-year-old Eve Russell boarded a steam-boat - and never got off it. Mrs Russell is adamant Eve's been kidnapped, but how could someone remove a teenager from a crowded deck in broad daylight? And why would anyone target Eve?

The answer lies in New York, a hotbed of new religions and beliefs, of human circuses and freak shows...and of blackbirders, who'll use any opportunity to kidnap a free man of color and sell him into slavery. January's determined to uncover the truth, but will he ever be able to return to New Orleans to share it?"

I'm excited for this book because it looks like a fresh take on Southern Gothic. 

Death of the Singing Birds by Amy Myers
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A summer festival ends in disaster for chef sleuth Nell Drury in this gripping historical mystery full of dark secrets, disturbing discoveries and page-turning twists.

1926, Kent. Chef Nell Drury is busy with preparations for Lady Ansley's luncheon to welcome Wychbourne Court's new neighbours, Sir Gilbert and Lady Saddler. The couple's arrival has led to much rumour and intrigue swirling around the village, particularly with regards to the mysterious Lady Saddler. Sir Gilbert belongs to a new artistic movement, the Artistes de Cler, and is organizing a summer festival in the grounds of Spitalfrith Manor, where the Clerries will gather to reveal their Africa-inspired paintings. The whole village is invited and buzzing with excitement. But at the festival itself, Nell witnesses some strange and disturbing events, and when a terrible discovery is made the following day, she is horrified to learn that Lord Ansley's valet has been arrested. Can Nell clear his name while also confronting a face from the past?"

Just the right type of 20s Midsomer Murders vibe I'm looking for!

The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A broken family, a house of secrets - an entrancing tale of love and courage set during the Second World War.

After Rebecca’s mother dies, she must sort through her empty flat and come to terms with her loss. As she goes through her mother’s mail, she finds a handwritten envelope. In it is a letter that will change her life forever.

Olivia, her mother’s elderly cousin, needs help to save her beloved home. Rebecca immediately goes to visit Olivia in Cornwall only to find a house full of secrets - treasures in the attic and a mysterious tunnel leading from the cellar to the sea, and Olivia, nowhere to be found.

As it turns out, the old woman is stuck in hospital with no hope of being discharged until her house is made habitable again. Rebecca sets to work restoring the home to its former glory, but as she peels back the layers of paint and grime, she uncovers even more buried secrets - secrets from a time when the Second World War was raging, when Olivia was a young woman, and when both romance and danger lurked around every corner...

A sweeping and utterly spellbinding tale of a young woman’s courage in the face of war and the lengths to which she’ll go to protect those she loves against the most unexpected of enemies."

I was sold at Cornwall and a character named Rebecca!

Death of a Messenger by Robert McCaw
Published by: Oceanview Publishing
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Journey deep into the exotic locales of Hawaii’s Big Island to discover its language, culture - and crime.

On Hawaii Island, an anonymous 911 caller reports a body at Pohakuloa, the Army’s live-fire training area. Hilo Chief Detective Koa Kane, a cop with his own secret criminal past, finds a mutilated corpse - bearing all the hallmarks of ancient ritual sacrifice.

He encounters a host of obstacles as he pursues the murderer - an incompetent local medical examiner, hostility from both haoles (Westerners) and sovereignty advocates, and a myriad of lies. Koa races to discover whether the victim stumbled upon a gang of high-tech archaeological thieves, or learned a secret so shocking it cost him his life and put others in mortal danger.

Will Hilo’s most respected detective stop this sadistic fiend - or will the Pohakuloa killer strike again, with even deadlier consequences?"

I might be suffering from severe Magnum withdrawals and this book kept me going!

Nick by Michael Farris Smith
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery, he was at the center of a very different story-one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.

Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance-doomed from the very beginning-to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.

An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to paralyze even the heartiest of golden age scribes, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades."

Because the most important person in Gatsby is Nick! His views, his mind, form everything we know. He is a unreliable narrator that needs to be looked into!

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A debut YA rom-com about smart girls, love-struck boys, and quantum theory.

Seventeen-year-old Evie Beckham has always been too occupied with her love of math and frequent battles with anxiety to want to date. Besides, she’s always found the idea of kissing to be kind of weird. But by senior year, thanks to therapy and her friends, she’s feeling braver than before. Maybe even brave enough to enter the national math and physics competition or flirt back with the new boy. Meanwhile, Evie’s best friend, Caleb Covic, has always been a little in love with her. So he’s horrified when he is forced to witness Evie’s meet-cute with the new guy. Desperate, Caleb uses an online forum to capture Evie’s interest - and it goes a little too well. Now Evie wonders how she went from avoiding romance to having to choose between two - or is it three? - boys."

Because sometime you need a cute rom-com. 

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
Published by: Gallery / Saga Press
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hugo award–nominated author Stina Leicht has created a take on space opera for fans of The Mandalorian and Cowboy Bebop in this high-stakes adventure.

Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet that has largely been ignored by the United Republic of Worlds becomes the focus for the Serrao-Orlov Corporation as the planet has a few secrets the corporation tenaciously wants to exploit.

Rosie - owner of Monk’s Bar, in the corporate town of West Brynner, caters to wannabe criminals and rich Earther tourists, of a sort, at the front bar. However, exactly two types of people drank at Monk’s back bar: members of a rather exclusive criminal class and those who sought to employ them.

Angel - ex-marine and head of a semi-organized band of beneficent criminals, wayward assassins, and washed up mercenaries with a penchant for doing the honorable thing is asked to perform a job for Rosie. What this job reveals will effect Persephone and put Angel and her squad up against an army. Despite the odds, they are rearing for a fight with the Serrao-Orlov Corporation. For Angel, she knows that once honor is lost, there is no regaining it. That doesn’t mean she can’t damned well try."   

Yep, space cowboy time!

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: January 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before even The Phantom Menace...Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in The High Republic.

It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm But the even brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.

When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives.

Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbors a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi’s heart."

Yeah... I can't get enough of Star Wars lately, bring on The High Republic!!!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amy Meyers, Amy Noelle Parks, Ash Parsons, Barbara Hambly, Jane Johnson, Michael Farris Smith, Rachel Hawkins, Robert McCaw, Star Wars, Stina Leicht, The Great Gatsby, Tuesday Tomorrow, Vicky Alvear Shecter

The Great Gatsby
Based on the book by F. Scott Fitgerald
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jack Thompson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, Elizabeth Debicki, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher, Adelaide Clemens, Kate Mulvany, Iota, Gus Murray, Max Cullen, Brendan Maclean, Richard Carter, Jake Ryan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kim Knuckey, David Furlong, Steve Bisley, Callan McAuliffe, and Tasman Palazzi
Release Date: May 1st, 2013
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

After the events of the previous summer Nick Carraway is a disillusioned drunk who has had himself committed. Talking with Dr. Perkins he reveals that the only true thing he found through all he endured was Jay Gatsby. Dr. Perkins recommends that Nick, who has always had ambitions of being a writer, write about Gatsby. Write about his experiences with this man. The book doesn't need to be for anyone other than himself, but the doctor thinks it will help Nick recover. Over the course of the winter as it thaws and becomes spring Nick writes Gatsby's story, which begins with Nick going to see his old college classmate Tom Buchanan in East Egg, an athlete through and through who spends his copious leisure time playing polo or playing around with his mistress Myrtle. Myrtle is a bit of a surprise to Nick as he thought Tom happily married to Daisy, who happens to be Nick's cousin. But according to Myrtle's sister, neither Tom nor Myrtle love their respective spouses. This is the first real step down into the depravity that will take ahold of Nick. But for awhile he will stay afloat because of his neighbor in West Egg, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws the most lavish, most decadent, most extraordinary parties, and yet no one, other than Nick, has actually ever been invited. They just show up and the Bacchanalia begins. But who would throw a party and then not partake of the revels? That is the enigma of Gatsby. Soon though Nick will be privy to all because of his unique situation and relation to Daisy. Gatsby has a favor to ask, a simple favor, he wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea, and then he'll just stroll in and sweep Daisy off her feet. Because five long years ago they were in love. This was before the war, when Jay was a penniless nobody, and Daisy loved him but knew she must marry for money. Now Gatsby wants to erase the intervening five years. Make Daisy's love for Tom nonexistent, and their happiness guaranteed. But life can't be so easily rewritten. Time moves forward, tragedy strikes, and disillusionment settles in.       

An over-the-top, frenetic, hyperactive adaptation that is the unholy lovechild of Dick Tracy and Sin City. But The Great Gatsby lacks the production quality and artistry of those two films which actually broke new ground instead of mashing up a whole lot of old and trying to make it new again. The problem all resides with Baz Luhrmann, he wants this film to be Busby Berkley on acid but he just doesn't have the talent of even the lowliest Hollywood hack director from the golden age of cinema. His work is all surface and no substance, just movies with catchy playlists, which on paper would make Luhrmann the ideal director for The Great Gatsby, but the problem is this adaptation strives to be something more, something greater, and therefore Luhrmann should have backed the hell away and just messed about with more absurd themes for the MET Gala. How about vintage advertising with a smattering of Erté? Because he sure as hell loved those visuals in this film, which, while cool, would have made Fitzgerald roll over in his grave. As for the framing device that reeks of a hackneyed Citizen Kane wannabe, it seems more like some desperate need to make Nick's narration plausible to a modern audience instead of just accepting that sometimes stories have narrators. Yes, it was interesting having Nick locked up for being a dipsomaniac writing Gatsby's story as therapy, thus combining Zelda and Scott into a single creative force that birthed the novel, but it was unnecessary. So much of this film is unnecessary. The movie takes half of it's screen time trying to figure itself out, much like the actor's accents. Leo finally landed on Kennedy if you were wondering, as for some of the others it's anyone's guess. But the end result of all THIS is a film that somehow succeeds in spite of itself because of the casting. Leo brings a depth to Gatsby you never thought possible. You feel he is lonely and hopeful and lost. You actually feel for him. You can see why Nick believes in him. Leo is a Gatsby to believe in and his loss is our loss.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Asylum, Baz Luhrmann, Carey Mulligan, Citizen Kane, Dick Tracy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Carraway, Roaring Back to Reading, Sin City, The Great Gatsby, Zelda

The Great Gatsby
Based on the book by F. Scott Fitgerald
Starring: Paul Rudd, Martin Donovan, Mira Sorvino, Francie Swift, Alex Bisping, Bill Camp, Heather Goldenhersh, Janine Theriault, Matt Malloy, Richard Jutras, Jerry Grayson, Megan Broadman, Paul Hopkins, and Burt Harris
Release Date: January 14th, 2001
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Twenty miles outside New York City there are two eggs. Nick Carraway has found himself in the less desirable West Egg as he works in bonds in the city. But he has acquaintances in East Egg and the convergence of East and West will be memorable. One night he takes himself over to West Egg to see an old classmate from Yale who just so happens to have married his cousin Daisy. The Buchanans live a charmed and luxurious life, never worrying about what happens in their wake, and a ghost from the past will soon change their lives forever. But first there's the dinner. Nick is the only other guest besides the golf pro and childhood friend of Daisy, Jordan Baker. When Tom Buchanan gets a call during the dinner hour and Daisy storms out after her husband Jordan fills Nick in on the gossip. Tom has a girl in the city and that's her on the phone. Nick's a little surprised that Tom has the brainpower to juggle two women, but Jordan's suspicions are soon confirmed when Tom forces Nick to join him on a trip into New York City where they pick up Myrtle Wilson on the way. Once they reach the city Nick tries to break away from the couple only to be dragged into a party at their love nest with Myrtle's sister. There Nick can barely stomach the lies about Daisy being a Catholic and the violence that Tom unleashes against Myrtle and therefore he drinks. Later, inebriated, he stumbles home where he finds a manservant asleep on his front step with an invitation from his neighbor, the infamous Jay Gatsby, to come to his next party. The night of the party Nick walks over to Gatsby's house that's lit up like the world's fair. Nick feels a little superior to all the party goers knowing that he was in fact invited by the host, unlike most who just pile into a car on a weekend and head out to West Egg. Nick meets his elusive host and is invited to lunch in the city where Gatsby tells him his story and how Nick can help him achieve the one goal he has been working towards. He wants to see Daisy. Jordan fills in the details for Nick about how Gatsby and Daisy where an item but he went off to war and she married Tom. But Gatsby has never forgotten her and wants Nick to invite Daisy over so that Gatsby can show her the man he has become in an effort to take her away from her life without him. There reconciliation is everything Gatsby could have hoped for. What happens next as a result is nothing but a tragedy.    

What I find odd is how little impact any adaptation of The Great Gatsby has ever had on me. With the 1974 version I know I watched it with my Mom because she wanted me to see it, and she liked heckling movies with Robert Redford, but the only scene in the whole film I remembered is Edward Herrmann playing the piano. Then there's this TV adaptation and I have nothing. Just a blank. Oddly I remember tons of press leading up to the broadcast. An article in People about Toby Stephens being Maggie Smith's son and the "next big thing" has stayed with me more than the adaptation. Now I adore Toby, but my adoration didn't happen for many, many years, in fact it wasn't until after watching this and even Cambridge Spies and Poirot and The Queen's Sister that he made a lasting impression with Jane Eyre, but rewatching it I think I can be exempted for my lapse in memory because he's SO Jay Gatsby that you don't think of him as an actor who exists outside this role. That smile which feels like a veneer to coverup the mobster underneath is perfection. Unlike with Redford's performance you actually believe all the rumors about this Gatsby. Also I don't think I've ever seen Toby Stephens smile this much, which in itself would throw off even his diehard fans. So yes, at the time, I will admit, I was in this mainly for Paul Rudd, and a little for Mira Sorvino, because I've always loved her. But I don't know how everything about it was so forgettable because it is actually a really strong adaptation. For the first half hour it feels a bit like a beat for beat remake of the 1974 version, but listen to the genius music from Carl Davis hinting as to where this adaptation is going to go, he brings this to a whole new level. It feels like a made for TV movie that would have been event viewing in 1986, "Sidney Sheldon presents The Great Gatsby!" In fact I bet despite being only seventeen in 1986 Paul Rudd would have looked exactly the same if this was made then! And as for Rudd's Nick Carraway, at first I found his narration a little too detached, but then I noticed the subtle wry humor, the smirks, the badly concealed laughter, and I came to love this snarky version of Nick. The only flaw in the whole adaptation is the added specificity of Gatsby's wealth being tied up in fake bonds, though my Dad would probably say it was Myrtle's overly graphic death. Yes, the bonds angle made a nice parallel to what Nick's work was, but I didn't like this invented specificity. Gatsby is and should remain a mystery. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Bonds, Cambridge Spies, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Eyre, Mira Sorvino, Paul Rudd, Poirot, Roaring Back to Reading, Robert Redford, Sidney Sheldon, The Great Gatsby, The Queen's Sister, Toby Stephens

The Great Gatsby
Based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Starring: Sam Waterston, Bruce Dern, Mia Farrow, Lois Chiles, Robert Redford, Scott Wilson, Karen Black, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Edward Herrmann, John Devlin, Howard Da Silva, Patsy Kensit, Marjorie Wildes, and Roberts Blossom
Release Date: March 29th, 1974
Rating: ★★
To Rent

Nick Carraway is sailing the choppy waters from West Egg to East Egg to visit an old classmate from Yale and his wife, who happens to be Nick's cousin. Tom and Daisy Buchanan have a luxurious life of ponies and idleness. In fact Daisy barely is able to work up anything other than a sweat in the hot summer air until her friend Jordan mentions Nick's neighbor, a certain Gatsby who is known for his parties. But Gatsby's name is soon forgotten as Tom's mistress calls the house just as they are about to sit down to their repast. Tom is wild about his mistress Myrtle, and soon Nick is headed into New York City to spend a day cavorting with Tom and Myrtle and their new puppy. Their relationship is painted as a tragic love story, both no longer love their spouses and want to be together, but rumor is that Daisy, being a Catholic, would never allow a divorce. They live in a world of rumor and supposition. No one knows what's true or what's fantasy. And no one is gossiped about more than Gatsby. Did he kill a man? Did he go to Oxford? Did his family die and leave him a fortune? Did he earn all the money for his mansion in only three years? Soon Nick will be closer to the truth than anyone else as Gatsby invites him into his house and into his confidence. Because Gatsby needs Nick. Nick will be his conduit to Daisy. Gatsby has loved Daisy since they first met though they haven't set eyes on each other in almost eight years. Nick can be the cover for their affair and from Nick's point of view, if Tom is free to be with Myrtle why can't Daisy be with Gatsby? Their affair takes them back to their youth as they waltz about his house, he in his uniform, her in her debutante dress, yet perfect happiness is hard to find in this world, which is messy and complicated. Perhaps it's a fool's errand to think you can recapture what is lost, and they are all perfect little fools. 

The 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby is a technicolor phantasmagoria that felt like it had more in common with Roald Dahl's adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that debuted three years earlier than the original source material by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As we luxuriate over a veritable rainbow of shirts and more vintage copper jelly molds than I've ever seen I almost expected Mia Farrow to break into song using one of the many fish-shaped molds as her singing partner. Because this adaptation is all about how things look, the feel of old Hollywood, the pastel suits and shirts suitable for a revival of Easter Parade, forgetting that classic cinema actually crafted a narrative that didn't feel like one overly long photoshoot for Ralph Lauren, who actually provided Redford's costumes. That idea of the still image, the photograph, is brought home again and again with the images of Daisy plastered throughout Gatsby's private rooms. And if the visuals hadn't bombarded you enough with the director's vision the music will drive it further into your brainpan with the constant use of the song "What'll I Do." That earworm of "what'll I do with just a photograph of you" will get under your skin like an itch you cannot scratch while the actors play at being in a film while actually just sleepwalking through this piece trying to look pretty for the camera. Pretty pictures of what was and will always be a doomed romance with some heavy handed foreshadowing means the film has created it's own symbolism instead of actually bothering with any of the book's. In fact I feel sorry for Bruce Dern, while Redford and Farrow are off waltzing in prewar garb in some tragic glimpse of faded romance, he should be applauded for being memorable with what little he was given because the rest of this film could float away like one of those pink clouds Daisy wishes to put Gatsby in and no one would miss it when it's gone.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Bruce Dern, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Daisy Buchanan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, Hollywood, Mia Farrow, Roald Dahl, Roaring Back to Reading, Robert Redford, The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: 1925
Format: Hardcover, 198 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Nick Carraway has moved east to sell bonds in New York City. Because that's what young men do to make money right? Move east and sell bonds. But living out on Long Island he has an advantage across the bay. His wealthy former classmate from Yale, Tom Buchanan, lives in a luxurious house with his wife Daisy, who just happens to be Nick's cousin. At Nick's first dinner at their home he meets Jordan Baker, a rather infamous golfer, and gets ringside seats to the drama of the Buchanan household. There's trouble in paradise as Tom's mistress has the gall to call during the dinner hour! Of course, being old classmates, Nick is drawn into Tom's extramarital activities, and it isn't long before Nick is partying in the couple's love nest in the city where Myrtle's sister is insisting to Nick that Tom and Myrtle are miserable in their marriages and if it wasn't for Daisy being a Catholic there'd be two divorces and one marriage faster than you can blink. Nick can't be sure of this assertion and soon his life is about to be complicated by even more intrigue. He's going to be brought into Jay Gatsby's orbit. Jay Gatsby is Nick's infamous neighbor. Infamous for his parties and his secretive past. Everyone comes to his parties and yet no one ever sees him. Nick is about to see a lot of him as he brings Nick into his world and into his greatest regret, losing Daisy, the love of his life. He asks Nick to be a go-between. Of course fearing rejection he uses his own go-between, Jordan Baker. The request is simple enough, can Nick invite Daisy to his humble abode, only to have Gatsby swing in and take them to his manse next door? Nick is glad to help, especially as it's Jordan asking, and soon, like Daisy, he is under Gatsby's spell. But as Gatsby and Daisy's courtship from before the war proves, love and wooing never go smooth. Soon Tom realizes what is happening and there is a great reckoning that not everyone survives. That is the price of wealth and woo.

The Great Gatsby is light on plot with little depth and an unreliable narrator and for those very reasons it has become a classic. Other than a distinct "Americanness" and much rumination on the American Dream, everything is open to interpretation. Can we believe a word Nick says? Probably not. Can we blame Gatsby for how he made his fortune in order to woo the woman he loves? Depends on how he really got his money... which the characters themselves like to discuss ad nauseam. Can the valley of ashes be real or is it just a metaphor? You can literally read anything you want into this book. I was strongly reminded in the laborious and best skipped introduction of certain friends of mine who can talk for hours on end about the color symbolism in 2001: A Space Odyssey. What red means in one shot, followed by the blue of another. If they had a desire to, which I'm sure they don't, they could go into the symbolism of color that larders the pages of this book. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock, the golden sheen coming off Gatsby, all of it can be taken as something or nothing. The green could be tied to Daisy and how her voice is full of money. The green could be her openness to Gatsby's return. His golden sheen could be an outward aura of his wealth or a reference to the golden calf from the Bible and all the symbolism that weights him down because of that. In fact, though I never took a high school class that actually read The Great Gatsby, I can see why it's a popular one to teach. There is so much that can be drawn out of this book literally anything any student says is a possible interpretation. There is no wrong answer where it comes to The Great Gatsby! In fact, here's my weird little interpretation. I think The Great Gatsby is the inspiration for the TV series Remington Steele. Now prove me wrong! You literally can't. Steele is a man of infinite style whose past is dubious and who embodies the American Dream. He may or may not have tragedy in his past and as for that past, it shifts and changes with each retelling. Who knows, he might also have medals for heroic service as well as the known warrants for his arrest. This is how much this one book has become a part of the American consciousness that a popular TV show from the 80s could draw meaning form it for a modern audience and make it continually relevant. The Great Gatsby is a book for the ages.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1920s, 2001, American Dream, Daisy Buchanan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, High School, Nick Carraway, Remington Steele, Roaring Back to Reading, Symbolism, The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Unreliable Narrator

If you were only allowed to pick one writer who encapsulated the zeitgeist of the 1920s your answer would be F. Scott Fitzgerald. I mean he is credited with naming this era the Jazz Age, a moniker first used in his 1922 short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. What's more is he embodied the hedonistic lifestyle of free flowing booze and partying that everyone associates with this decade. Most of his early life, growing up in Minnesota and New York State, disappears in the telling of his life as if he emerged fully formed as a not-quite-graduate of Princeton and a second lieutenant in the infantry stationed in Montgomery, Alabama, where he met Zelda. Their lives were so entwined that you can't tell the story of one without the other. Their pasts are almost irrelevant. Yet Scott wanted to be a writer more than he wanted anything else, even a degree from Princeton. But his hastily completed novel, The Romantic Egotist, was rejected by Scribners. With the war ended and the thought that he might forever lose Zelda if he couldn't support her he rewrote The Romantic Egotist and it was published by Scribners as This Side of Paradise on March 26th, 1920, and eight days later he married Zelda.

Always hard up for cash due to their dissolute lifestyle Scott was forever writing short stories which he hated while trying to write his next great novel. He failed in many artistic attempts, from theater to cinema, and eventually he, Zelda, and their daughter Scottie, ended up in Paris as part of the Lost Generation where a dollar could stretch farther. But Europe, and Scott's friendship with Hemingway, didn't help their marriage, and they slowly destroyed each other. Scott died in Hollywood at the age of 44 from a heart attack virtually forgotten. After his death his work was reevaluated due to a resurgence in popularity in World War II because The Great Gatsby was chosen to be a part of the Armed Services Editions. His work is also a staple of high schools and colleges across the country, guaranteeing he will never be forgotten, even if it's sometimes students bemoaning having to read his work. Well Scott would have probably bemoaned it himself, not read the book, and written his own.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1920s, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hollywood, Jazz, Paris, Princeton, Roaring Back to Reading, Tales of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby, The Lost Generation, This Side of Paradise, WWII, Zelda Fitzgerald

Ah, Jack Reid. The British Harrison Ford. There is one man and one man alone I could ever see playing you, no matter what his age. He IS Jack Reid.

Name: Toby Stephens

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Jack Reid, aka The Moonflower

First Impression: The Great Gatsby. OK, it wasn't so much the ill-advised 2000 adaptation with Paul Rudd of all people that was my first impression, it was an article in People Magazine about the adaptation that got my attention. The article was about Toby and his breaking into America with The Great Gatsby. The real reason I found this so fascinating is that Toby is Maggie Smith's son! Even if you aren't a British dilettante you know who Maggie Smith is! Toby Stephens was quite literally born to be a great actor, though not in The Great Gatsby.

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Um, because he just is Jack? OK, you probably need more convincing as I'm casting a forty-six year old in the role of a man twenty years his junior. He has the gruffness down pat. Between playing Mr. Rochester and Captain Flint he's got gruff covered. With Flint he's got that ruggedness that is necessary to survive in the wilds of Portugal. But more then that, think of how Jack creates these characters and lives their lives, there's a survival attitude, but also a mischievous imp in there too... one who might dress up as a gypsy woman to mess with people perhaps? Also, really, I often say how all British actors have an American counterpart and vice versa, he really is the British Harrison Ford. He can call me Princess any day.

Lasting Impression: OK, this is a really close call between Cambridge Spies and Jane Eyre, it's a dead heat tie in fact. In Cambridge Spies I really got a sense of the range of his acting skills, I mean he's such a wicked good actor that you are actually rooting for him to outwit the British. But it was in Jane Eyre that I fell in love with him. He IS my Rochester. Before I had read Jane Eyre and in all the adaptations I have watched I just couldn't get why anyone thought Rochester was so broody and wonderful. Orson Welles, nope. George C. Scott, Timothy Dalton, William Hurt, and even Michael Fassbender didn't work for me. As for Ciarán Hinds? Spare me. No no and no. It's Toby Stephens and only Toby!

What else you've seen them in: Toby is everywhere, never wanting to be typecast or pigeonholed. From several Bronte adaptations, to Shakespeare, great period pieces like Cousin Bette to actually being the villain in a Bond movie, his range and where he will show up next will surprise you. Yes, that's him on Law and Order: UK and Inspector Lewis. That new star-studded production of Agatha Christie's And Then There Where None, yes please! And if you want some comedy with your mystery, check out Vexed, but ONLY the first season. Why yes, why not star in the revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives with his wife! But one of my all time favorite random appearances is Toby's three episodes on Robin Hood as Prince John. He is the ONLY one who understood the camp nature of this show and made you realize how awesome it could have been all along if only he had been there. He was a light in a dark and depressing show, which I did completely watch for Richard Armitage, who now owes me one.

Can't believe it's them: Space Cowboys! Really!?! He played a young Clint Eastwood!?! This is too hilarious to have not known. This is now forever in my mind as the funniest fact about Toby. Might actually have to watch the movie now...

Wish they hadn't: The Chamomile "Cousin Fucking" Lawn. And yes, that is my version of the title, though most people just call Toby's first acting role as The Chamomile Lawn. I remember it so well, the one and only time I watched this miniseries. It wasn't available in the US and I was visiting my friend Sara in Canada and we went to the video store and there it was. I was so excited. But this is such a weird miniseries. All about Tara Fitzgerald having a love affair with twins. Jennifer Ehle has a great line about DANCING! But overall I remember that it was about two cousins who were in love, hence, "cousin fucking." Avoid this, it's not worth your time. Though I do wish my friend Sara had kept a running log of all the random exclamations I made while watching this, it would be quite entertaining, especially as she was in the other room and I would literally yell out random things.

Bio: Toby Stephens was literally born into acting royalty, his mother being Maggie Smith, his father was no less a great actor, being Robert Stephens. After his parents divorced he followed his mother around the world for her various acting jobs. Therefore it is not at all surprising that both him and his brother became actors. While offered so many television and film roles he has almost always shunned Hollywood, turning instead to his first love, theater. When he first started out he quickly garnered many awards, winning the Sir John Gielgud Prize for Best Actor and the Ian Charleson Award for his performance in the title role of Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1994 when he was only twenty-five! He is also a prolific narrator of books, which I didn't know and must now hunt up, oh, looks like he does Flashman, makes total sense for Jack Reid, as well as performing in broadcast radio dramas, yadda yadda, Flashman! He is married to the actress Anna-Louise Plowman, whom he has stared with several times and with whom he has three children. He is also totally and completely awesome. He can be good or evil and whatever he is you will root for him. Doubt me? Watch Black Sails STAT, especially if you want to see him get "reacquainted" with his Cambridge Spies co-star Rupert Penry-Jones.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Cambridge Spires, Dream Casting, Jack Reid, Jane Eyre, Lauren Willig, Lewis, Pink Carnation, Robin Hood, Rupert Penry-Jones, The Great Gatsby, The Lure of the Moonflower, Toby Stephens

Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann
Published by: PYR
Publication Date: February 2010
Format: Paperback, 237 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Gabriel Cross is leading a dual life. By outward appearances he is the playboy, always partying, always throwing around his cash, unconcerned by the world around him. But inside he is haunted by the war he fought in and almost died in. He will not let New York sink into a city on the brink with the cops being controlled by the mob. With the mob being controlled by the worst mobster of them all, the elusive Roman. Splitting his time between his lounge chair and the rooftops of the city, "The Ghost" as the newspapers have named Gabriel, will help his fellow citizens by getting to the bottom of who the Roman is. Yet his carefully constructed personas are about to crash around him when the songstress he loves, Celeste, gets embroiled in the Roman's dealings, and Gabriel himself exposes his identity to perhaps the only trustworthy cop in the city. What the cost of these risks are, only time will tell. But hopefully, with time, the Roman's reign will also fall.

I never thought I'd say this, but there comes a time when there are too many superheroes. This overkill, especially by Marvel, makes me inwardly groan that there is yet another Green Arrow spin-off, yet another franchise being launched off the back of an already successful franchise, Black Panther anyone? Or worse yet, a reboot of a film series that is only a few years old, The Fantastic Four or Spiderman, take your pick! Obviously I'm in the minority here as the movies and television shows keep getting the viewers but I have personally reached my saturation point, so much so that I might not even keep watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. All this lead me to be a little leery of Ghosts of Manhattan. There was the part of me going, but it's not Victorian, but more important the part of me going, really, this book is "Introducing the World's First Steampunk Superhero," spare me.

So, despite my love of George's work I wasn't unbiased going into Ghosts of Manhattan, in fact George had a lot working against him with all my preconceived notions. And then I got a few chapters in and was hooked. The writing isn't as polished as George's other stories, but there's a rawness and immediacy that sinks it's claws in, much like a certain creature in this series second volume. The best way to describe this book is Batman meets The Great Gatsby with a little Bladerunner thrown in. Gabriel Cross has the vigilante stance as well as the violent past of Batman, but instead of emulating his "true" identity of Bruce Wayne, despite there being similarities; the 1920s lifestyle, the parties, the estate on Long Island, are all straight out of Jay Gatsby's biography. As for other comic book antecedents, there's a little Hell Boy thrown in as well. These twists and also just the demeanor of Gabriel give a story that could be full of tropes and cliches a spark of life that made a cold winter day just disappear.

The turning point for me was the introduction of the golems. I blame Terry Pratchett for my love of the golem myth, seriously, if you have not read Feet of Clay go do so now! There's just something so fascinating about golems. A figure made of clay and endowed with the spark of life but not intelligence, much like Frankenstein's monster it can be either good or evil depending on who gave it life and purpose. Not to mention the fact that they are indefatigable and nigh on undefeatable! Plus, if you think about it, they are basically automatons, which is a link back to George's other work and the scary creations in The Affinity Bridge. Which might be one reason I'm so fascinated by golems. There's something so modern about them, yet at the same time there is something so old, so historical, dating back to early Judisim. I just love that more authors are taking advantage of incorporating this myth into their narratives, golems were even used in an episode of Grimm recently.

The golems I think get at the crux of the matter as to why this book works. It's a fusing of the old and the new. Your run of the mill superhero is all about the present or the future, and of course the gadgets, with maybe the occasional need for and old relic, but that's a rare need. Here we have a superhero who is more Indiana Jones, more about the old and the new meeting and clashing and forging something no one thought possible. If the golems weren't enough to convince you of this then I bring into consideration the role The Metropolitan Museum of Art plays in the book. Not only is it the location of one of the most important scenes, as well as cringe worthy if you're in art lover, but the curator friend of Gabriel's, Arthur Wolfe, provides an entree into this older world. The relics and artwork The MET house create an important link between the here and now and the time when golems and Roman currency were more common occurrences.

This is the heart of the book, the way to make a superhero story that will actually engage me. Ghosts of Manhattan is something more. By not just being about a vigilante on a roof with his gadgets we get this other side, an old world past that hints at the supernatural and the dark arts. Before the modern era superstition and urban legends and fairy tales were so important. People didn't just listen to them as entertainment, there was truth in the tales. As time has progressed more and more people forget that perhaps, just maybe, even though we are ruled by technology and the microchip, that fairy tales can be true. The Ghost learns this the hard way and in doing so takes us on a ride that puts all other superheroes in the shade.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agents of SHIELD, Batman, Feet of Clay, Gabriel Cross, George Mann, Ghosts of Manhattan, Grimm, Hell Boy, Mann Month, Marvel, New York, Superhero, Terry Pratchett, The Ghost, The Great Gatsby, The MET

Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann
Published by: PYR
Publication Date: February 2010
Format: Paperback, 237 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Gabriel Cross is leading a dual life. By outward appearances he is the playboy, always partying, always throwing around his cash, unconcerned by the world around him. But inside he is haunted by the war he fought in and almost died in. He will not let New York sink into a city on the brink with the cops being controlled by the mob. With the mob being controlled by the worst mobster of them all, the elusive Roman. Splitting his time between his lounge chair and the rooftops of the city, "The Ghost" as the newspapers have named Gabriel, will help his fellow citizens by getting to the bottom of who the Roman is. Yet his carefully constructed personas are about to crash around him when the songstress he loves, Celeste, gets embroiled in the Roman's dealings, and Gabriel himself exposes his identity to perhaps the only trustworthy cop in the city. What the cost of these risks are, only time will tell. But hopefully, with time, the Roman's reign will also fall.

I never thought I'd say this, but there comes a time when there are too many superheroes. This overkill, especially by Marvel, makes me inwardly groan that there is yet another Green Arrow spin-off, yet another franchise being launched off the back of an already successful franchise, Black Panther anyone? Or worse yet, a reboot of a film series that is only a few years old, The Fantastic Four or Spiderman, take your pick! Obviously I'm in the minority here as the movies and television shows keep getting the viewers but I have personally reached my saturation point, so much so that I might not even keep watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. All this lead me to be a little leery of Ghosts of Manhattan. There was the part of me going, but it's not Victorian, but more important the part of me going, really, this book is "Introducing the World's First Steampunk Superhero," spare me.

So, despite my love of George's work I wasn't unbiased going into Ghosts of Manhattan, in fact George had a lot working against him with all my preconceived notions. And then I got a few chapters in and was hooked. The writing isn't as polished as George's other stories, but there's a rawness and immediacy that sinks it's claws in, much like a certain creature in this series second volume. The best way to describe this book is Batman meets The Great Gatsby with a little Bladerunner thrown in. Gabriel Cross has the vigilante stance as well as the violent past of Batman, but instead of emulating his "true" identity of Bruce Wayne, despite there being similarities; the 1920s lifestyle, the parties, the estate on Long Island, are all straight out of Jay Gatsby's biography. As for other comic book antecedents, there's a little Hell Boy thrown in as well. These twists and also just the demeanor of Gabriel give a story that could be full of tropes and cliches a spark of life that made a cold winter day just disappear.

The turning point for me was the introduction of the golems. I blame Terry Pratchett for my love of the golem myth, seriously, if you have not read Feet of Clay go do so now! There's just something so fascinating about golems. A figure made of clay and endowed with the spark of life but not intelligence, much like Frankenstein's monster it can be either good or evil depending on who gave it life and purpose. Not to mention the fact that they are indefatigable and nigh on undefeatable! Plus, if you think about it, they are basically automatons, which is a link back to George's other work and the scary creations in The Affinity Bridge. Which might be one reason I'm so fascinated by golems. There's something so modern about them, yet at the same time there is something so old, so historical, dating back to early Judisim. I just love that more authors are taking advantage of incorporating this myth into their narratives, golems were even used in an episode of Grimm recently.

The golems I think get at the crux of the matter as to why this book works. It's a fusing of the old and the new. Your run of the mill superhero is all about the present or the future, and of course the gadgets, with maybe the occasional need for and old relic, but that's a rare need. Here we have a superhero who is more Indiana Jones, more about the old and the new meeting and clashing and forging something no one thought possible. If the golems weren't enough to convince you of this then I bring into consideration the role The Metropolitan Museum of Art plays in the book. Not only is it the location of one of the most important scenes, as well as cringe worthy if you're in art lover, but the curator friend of Gabriel's, Arthur Wolfe, provides an entree into this older world. The relics and artwork The MET house create an important link between the here and now and the time when golems and Roman currency were more common occurrences.

This is the heart of the book, the way to make a superhero story that will actually engage me. Ghosts of Manhattan is something more. By not just being about a vigilante on a roof with his gadgets we get this other side, an old world past that hints at the supernatural and the dark arts. Before the modern era superstition and urban legends and fairy tales were so important. People didn't just listen to them as entertainment, there was truth in the tales. As time has progressed more and more people forget that perhaps, just maybe, even though we are ruled by technology and the microchip, that fairy tales can be true. The Ghost learns this the hard way and in doing so takes us on a ride that puts all other superheroes in the shade.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agents of SHIELD, Batman, Feet of Clay, Gabriel Cross, George Mann, Ghosts of Manhattan, Grimm, Hell Boy, Mann Month, Marvel, New York, Superhero, Terry Pratchett, The Ghost, The Great Gatsby, The MET