[Review] The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A group of neighborhood boys are obsessed with the Lisbon sisters who begin a downward spiral after the suicide of their sister, Cecilia. The girls hold some sort of feminine mystique over the boys, something about them enthralls the boys, even though the boys know that they're not perfect.

They immerse themselves in the sisters' lives, collecting things left behind from to live through them. It went much farther than just teenage infatuation. The story is told in the collective voice of the boys' view of the sisters and their lives up until their eventual suicides.

I enjoyed this, not quite as much as Middlesex, but this was an enjoyable overall read. I watched the movie first when it first came out on DVD, and while I enjoyed it, I felt that so much had been left out, that that couldn't be all there was to the story, and it wasn't.

The story was a complex weave of things stemming from an overbearing mother and passive father to sex. There isn't just one thing that can be pegged for the eventual suicides of the sisters. Everything seemed to work as a whole against them, but then again, sometimes you get the feeling that it isn't the strict household or the teenage troubles that made them decide to kill themselves.

You're clued in only through the boys who really only have a limited knowledge themselves of what's going on with those girls. So, the reader is left to pick and choose what might have cause their decision.

Parts of this book did seem a little unrealistic. I think it was how sometimes the prose seemed to become too dreamy to be believable, but that may have been the effect that Eugenides was striving for. Overall, the prose was beautiful, the story touching and ominous. An excellent first novel.

Note: Old review imported from old book blog.



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[Review] White Oleander

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Astrid Magnussen's mother, Ingrid, is strong, self-relying, and unsympathetic to weakness of any kind. She also has strong rules against love and the way it should be properly handled. Ingrid is Astrid's world, everything she knows she learned from her mother, but she finds herself teaching herself to survive when her mother kills a lover (whom her mother falls in love with, breaking every rule she ever had) who tossed her aside.

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. I watched the movie first and liked it. I was pretty much willing to accept what had been told in the movie, but I am glad that I finally read the novel. It was hard to put this book down. The reader follows Astrid from innocence to maturity. We also see her progress from being the doting daughter to the cynical teen who loves and hates her mother at the same time.

She does a lot of growing up in her foster homes, and she learns many things that aid her in the struggle to survive. Ingrid still plays a vital role in Astrid's life even though she's in prison. Ingrid is literally Astrid's world even in the confines of prison. She can still manipulate Astrid's life, even though Astrid tries to prevent that from happening.

Astrid and Ingrid's relationship is a complex one even to be a mother-daughter relationship. I didn't agree with some of the decisions that Astrid and her mother made, but life isn't perfect, why should this book be? Issues abound in this book from women's issues, maternal issues, mother-daughter issues, etc.

Note: Old review that I'm importing from an old book blog.



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[Review] The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



In the winter of 1973, Susie Salmon, age 14, is raped and killed by her strange neighbor, Mr. Harvey, but Susie's story doesn't end there. The novel is told by Susie from Heaven as she continues to watch over everyone she loves--and those she doesn't love. Susie describes Heaven as being a place that caters to your whims -- your own personal heaven. Susie finds she can have anything she wants in Heaven except her life on Earth back.

This turned out to be completely different from what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it. I was pleasantly surprised with the story. Even though, Susie is dead, she still seems to be going through typical adolescent behavior from Heaven. She dreams about first kisses and speaks on sex, but she no longer has the chance to experience those parts of life. So, she lives her life through her friends and family.

Of course, Susie's family--her mother, her father, her brother, and her sister--are effected deeply by her death to the point that their family starts to crumble because of her death, but we're also shown the impact that her death had on her school crush, Ray, and a girl she barely knew, Ruth. It was interesting to see how her family dealt with it and how those outside her family dealt as well.

But for all it's good points, there are some things that irked me. Some of the scene involving Ray and Ruth seemed to overshadow the main point. Susie's mother was very underdeveloped. While you could feel empathy for her father and siblings, you really couldn't do anything but dislike Susie's mother because you only saw one side of her. It was like she was a supporting character rather than one of the main characters. Also, The ending dragged a little longer than it should, and honestly, it left me feeling a little dissatisfied in regards to Mr. Harvey.

Overall, good read, though.

Note: Old review that I'm importing from an old book blog.



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Daybreakers: I Was Never Any Good at Being Human

"I'm good at this. I was never any good at being human."

As much as I love vampires, even I have to admit that the market is over saturated with vampire movies with Twilight leading the pack. Before you ask, I am not a fan of the series, and no, I don’t hate you if you are. Vampire movies in recent years have fallen into two categories in American cinema. Either they are the sexy, irresistible demons or they are the reprehensible monsters hell-bent on destroying their food source. Sometimes, you’ll get some amalgam of the two. Daybreakers offered something a little different in their take on vampire lore.

The movie opens with a young girl sitting in a yard as the sun comes up. Flashes of a suicide note written in childish handwriting wraps around the scene as we realize the girl is a vampire. Unable to come to terms with the fact that she’ll be young forever, she forfeits her life. The scene switches and we meet our main player.

Much of the human population has been turned into vampires. Less than 5% remains. Those humans that aren’t in hiding are kept in a bank where their blood is harvested. However, the stores are almost completely depleted, and hematologist, Dr. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), is working desperately with a team to make a blood substitute.

A chance encounter with runaway humans changes Dalton’s life literally. Learning that he is a hematologist, these rogue humans reach out to Dalton to help them. Dalton meets Elvis, played by Willem Dafoe, who turns out to be a former vampire. However, he isn’t sure how he cured his vampirism and that is why they need Dalton’s help.

Dalton is able to recreate the variables needed in creating the cure and cures his own vampirism. Thinking that a cure is preferable to a substitute, Dalton is eager to present his findings. However, administering the cure becomes a bit more complicated as company politics and greed comes into play. You knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

I liked that the movie presented this “what if” scenario with vampires, attempting to show the complications of a world filled with too many vampires and too few humans. The vampires here aren’t portrayed as particularly sexy or evil.

They’re actually still very human in their actions and interactions. They maintain jobs and families. They still follow human social cues and have complicated relationships with those closest to them. Privilege is still delegated to the “haves” rather than the “have-nots.”

It was interesting to see how the vampires had modified things to accommodate their population. They do most of their working at night. Even their cars have a “night mode” with cameras to help them navigate if they drive during the day. The brief montages of the city in the daytime showed a lifeless world where not even humans roamed. Even the military has been relegated to being nothing more than human hunters.

Yes, there were parts of the movie that were just silly and probably sounded better in theory than in practice. I felt there could’ve been more story development about how this happened, and the ending was a little bit of a letdown. However, I enjoyed it for what it was worth and appreciated the different approach to vampires.

[Review] Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Tess's father, Mr. Durbeyfield, is jokingly told by a minister that his family is the direct lineage of an old, noble family that was once thought to be completely gone. There's nothing left of the family's land and fortune, except the family name (d'Urberville).

However, Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife see this as a chance to move up on the social ladder. They devise a plan to send their daughter to become acquainted with a rich woman who's last name is d'Urberville. From then on, Tess is left to try to maintain her dignity and honor and to pick up the pieces of her broken life that resulted from her parents' need to be important.

This was my first time reading anything by Thomas Hardy. I was warned that he was cynical man, and I'll agree that Hardy's prose is cynical, yet heartrending. I couldn't help feeling bad for Tess through all her troubles. This is not a happy novel. For a moment, you think that things will get better for Tess, but the fates seem to be against her.

The landscape of the novel changes with the mood of what's happening. The land itself almost seems to be a living person that he described. He uses vivid, beautifully described imagery to describe people and places in his novels. There are themes of theology (Hardy had internal conflicts with believing in God), virtue, the boundaries of love. He employs everything from Greek mythology to modern (or what was modern in his day) poetry.

There are no illusions of a happily-ever-after in this story. This was simply a beautiful novel, a novel that portrays its female heroine as the strong woman she was. She could put more modern women heroines to shame.



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[Review] She's Come Undone

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm not sure what I can say about this book without giving away too much of the plot. Everything I want to say seems like a potential spoiler, but I'll try.

Delores Price spends the early part of childhood in a sort of childish bliss. She somewhat oblivious to the problems her parents are having. It only matters that they're somewhat well-off. Then, Delores's parents divorce and she spends the next few years of her life sitting in front of the television and eating junk food to combat her problems.

Delores is like any other teen. She just wants to be accepted and liked. She admires movie stars, she likes music and guys, but she's not accepted because she's fat. Kids at school bully her (and that's the least of her worries), but instead of fighting back, she retreats into a world of overeating and the television.

I heard some people say that Lamb can't write women. I beg to differ. He wrote women exceptionally well in my opinion. Books rarely make me cry, but this one caused me to tear up quite a few times. Delores emotions, her failures, her successes were so true, so believable, as you follow Delores through tragedy after tragedy.

Note: Old review that I imported from an old book blog.



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[Review] The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book 1 of the Series of Unfortunate Events. Read it in about an hour or so. The Baudelaire children find themselves in the care of a very distant (and cruel) relative after their parents' death. This is the beginning of their unfortunate adventures as orphans.

I was expecting something a lot different when I started reading this book. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't what I expected it to be. I found it a little jarring how the omnipresent narrator would suddenly start defining words in the middle of sentence, but I can see how that would be important for children who have no interest in dictionaries.

The book was absorbing. The plot was a little thin, but I had to see what happened to the children. Yes, it is slightly despressing for a children's novel--morose, even--but it's an interesting read. I couldn't help hoping that something good happened to those children, but as we all know, this isn't the case. I'll defintely read the later books.

Note: Old review, just importing it from an old book blog.



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[Review] Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm pretty sure most people know the story by now, but if you don't, here goes nothing. An eccentric millionaire finds the funding and technology to clone dinosaurs, which he plans on turning into a tourist attraction. The government is suspicious about his motives because of some biotechnology companies have been illegally testing different "products". To prove that Jurassic Park isn't a government threat, Hammond--the millionaire--opens up his park for inspection. During a visit (pre-opening) where he must prove that things are okay, things go wrong -- of course.

The movie was entertaining, but I never thought much about reading the book. The movie just never compelled me enough to hunt the book down. However, my friend loved it, and she shares reading interests similar to my own. I have a cold and didn't actually think I would finish with this book soon. Fooled myself. Dinosaurs still don't fascinate me, but the characters in this book did. The science behind creating something like Jurassic Park was interesting as well. But mainly, I really liked the characters and how they interacted with each other.

It was an interesting read. I will definitely look into the second book since the ending of this leaves everything up in the open really.

Note: Old review, just posting it here.



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Boardwalk Empire, Subtitled “My Fucking Feelings, HBO.”

I think I just quit Boardwalk Empire.

Before I go on, I have to give the usual warnings. There be spoilers from this point on, and I am not sorry for them. So, if you haven’t watched this season and you don’t want to be caught up in some spoiler-filled ranting, crying, and raving, you may wish to leave this space right about now. Go on; I’ll wait.

I love history, and I am a sucker for the retelling of historical events like this show. HBO really knows their stuff when it comes to television shows, movies, and mini-series in this genre. I’ve been watching this show since the beginning, but while I enjoy the show, I’ve never really been compelled to write about it beyond what I’ve said in general discussions about it on sites such as Twitter and Google+ with friends.

With that being said, HBO, why did you do this to my feelings? A day later and my feelings are still completely wrecked after last night’s episode. This season started with the KKK attacking Chalky White, an African-American bootlegger (and unofficial speaker for the African-American community) aligned with Nucky, and killing a few people in Chalky’s crew, and even though I didn’t think it could be done, the season ended on an even bigger bang.

While some thought this season was slow at times, I thought it was wonderful. They slowed down the pace just a little to give us time to learn more about some of the leading players by really pushing some characters past their boundaries and showing the true machinations behind some of them, a prime example is Jimmy’s mom,  Gillian Darmody. A few characters I thought really benefited from this were Jimmy Darmody, Richard Harrow, and Margaret Schroeder.

Jimmy found himself way in over his head, trying to head an organization of thugs after opposing Nucky. Jimmy was never really cut out for the life of a crime boss even though his father had a hand in many underhanded political dealings, and once upon a time, Nucky had hoped that Jimmy would be the heir to his crime empire. Jimmy is hot-tempered and rash, but this season showed that he was not able to deal with the stress and deceit that came along with being a major player in the crime world. Jimmy wasn’t really a “bad guy,” in my opinion. He was just trying to play the role of one, mostly to impress his surrogate father, Nucky, and sadly, it backfired on him. He also has a fair bit of “mommy issues” that were touched on this season.

Richard Harrow

Richard Harrow, I love him. I have some weakness for tortured, tragic characters, and no one encompasses that more than Richard. Like Jimmy, Richard is ex-military, but has suffered terrible facial injuries from an attack during the war. He hides part of his face behind a flesh-colored tin mask. Richard only wants normalcy in his life, but after being exposed to the horrors of war, he’s disconnected from reality a bit and sees himself as a monster. Most people shrink away from Richard, but Jimmy and Angela (Jimmy’s wife) accept him as he is with Angela going as far as to draw his “real” face.

A pivotal episode for his character shows him looking through a book where he’s collected “fantasies.” These fantasies are made up of normal things like a house, a wife, and children. Richard goes on to attempt suicide in the forest, but after talking with hunters who tell him “the forest is for the living,” Richard returns to Jimmy and asks, “Would you die for me?” To which Jimmy responds, “Of course I would, right down to the last bullet,” cementing probably the truest friendship Jimmy ever had on the show.

Yes, I said “had.” I’m getting there.

Margaret

Margaret started the series as the abused wife of a baker’s assistant. After Nucky had her husband killed, gave her a job, and eventually made her his girlfriend, Margaret is extremely grateful for everything he’s done for her until she starts learning just how much he’s involved in. Margaret also loses herself a little bit at the beginning of this season, forgetting where she started from and becoming a bit of the domineering, snooty housewife, becoming a bit of a cunning character.

She’s only snapped back to reality when she sees her family for the first time after running away years prior and after her daughter is struck with polio. She begins to believe that God is punishing her for being in cahoots with Nucky, and Kelly MacDonald does a great job in portraying a troubled Margaret who is struggling with her faith and her lifestyle, trying desperately to make amends to God while holding on to what she has.

There were some other notable power shifts, of course. Eli Thompson changed alliances in light of Nucky’s legal troubles and joined the forces that opposed his brother. However, he tried to make amends with Nucky, but ultimately finds himself locked in a physical fight with his brother that ends with Nucky sending him away. Eli is pushed over this edge this season and desperation tempers many of his decisions, including the decision to attempt to have his brother murdered.

Creepy motherfucker, Van Alden

At the beginning of the season, Agent Van Alden is in a weird relationship with Nucky’s ex-girlfriend who is contractually obligated to birth him (Van Alden) a baby for him to give to his wife, a wife who knows nothing about this arrangement and ultimately files for divorce when she finds out about it. His whole word is turned upside down when federal agents horn in on his operation to bring Nucky down, cutting him out of the process until he relinquishes the files he’s compiled on Nucky. Van Alden is a strange character who has secrets of his own, secrets that cause him to flee from Atlantic City. I do think that he really believes that what he’s doing is for the greater good, but he is so strange in a creepy way.

Anyhow, on to this finale that caused me so much anguish.

First, I hate Horvitz with every ounce of my being. I have never cared for him much since he started showing his stupid face. Whenever he’s in a scene someone is going to die by his hand whether they deserve it or not. After he killed Angela, I really disliked him and wanted nothing more than for him to disappear as quickly as possible. I thought for sure that Jimmy was going to go berserk after Angela’s death, but he was calm. Terribly upset for sure, but he didn’t go on the blood rage that I was expecting. He did some things in a moment of heat, but he was mostly in control of himself. I guess that should’ve been my first sign that things were only going to get ugly.

Things seemed to be going so well, too well maybe. Jimmy did right by Chalky by personally handing him the three Klan members that attacked his operation, paying more “restitution” than Chalky had demanded, and getting Chalky’s murder charges dropped. He only asked that Chalky get in touch with Nucky to let him know that he wanted to talk to him. Nucky meets with Jimmy, and it’s understood that  Jimmy needed to make things right with Nucky making a weak promise to tell Jimmy about Horvitz’s whereabouts if he should hear anything. 

He met with Horvitz at the beginning of the episode, but I figured he’d drop the information on Jimmy a little later in the episode. Then, Nucky calls up Jimmy and lets him know that he knows where Horvitz is, and… it was a fucking setup! Nucky’s coming up roses at this point in the show. Jimmy has pretty much helped Nucky beat his charges (along with Nucky marrying Margaret to keep her quiet). Of course I’m thinking that things may not be all well and fine between them, but Nucky was at least willing to give Jimmy a chance.

WRONG, WRONG, and WRONG. GODDAMMIT!

To take a Kanye West phrase and completely turn it inside out to suit my purposes: “Jimmy gone, my dude is dead.”

Jimmy and Nucky

Even though Nucky came out in full force, he executed Jimmy personally. Was this to establish his dominance? Was it because he couldn’t let anyone else do it? Or some combination of both? In any case, it was the most heart-rending scene.  Nucky has never killed anyone personally from what I’ve seen on the show. Jimmy talks Nucky through the process. He doesn’t plead for his life. He’s at peace with his decision. He tells Nucky that he died in the trenches while he was still a soldier. He tells Nucky not to be scared. The scene ends with Nucky killing Jimmy and telling him that he isn’t seeking forgiveness while a flashback or memory of Jimmy’s time in the trenches plays.

And then I realize that throughout the episode Jimmy had put his affairs in order. He knew this would happen. All the signs were there, but this is Jimmy! Jimmy wasn’t supposed to die. I was so sure that that scene would end with Nucky turning on Horvitz and shooting him or having his brother Eli (who Nucky made amends with somewhat) shoot him. I gasped audibly in true shock when Nucky did shoot Jimmy. That tied my emotions all up.

And though I said I quit Boardwalk Empire at the beginning of this, truth is, this is the mark of good storytelling. To be able to confuse and stomp on the feelings of so many fans—because I’m not the only person who feels like this—is a remarkable thing. They’re not afraid to take risks with their main characters. Honestly, I can’t wait to see what next season brings. How will they fill this hole that Jimmy has left? Where do they go from here?

[Review] Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Never have I respected Superman as much as I did after reading this comic. Superman and I have a rocky relationship. I have never been a big fan of his because he’s just too perfect. And I have a hard time caring for perfect characters. I won’t go into that rant again. This isn’t about that.

This is set in an AU (alternate universe). Superman has retreated to solitude after a hero named Magog is acquitted of killing Joker—who went on a killing spree in Metropolis, a bender that resulted in Lois’ death. When humanity expresses that Magog is where superheroism should go, Superman leaves them to that, seeming to lose quite a bit of faith in people.

Shortly thereafter, humanity learns that heroes left unchecked terrorize the just and the unjust alike and aren’t too different from the “villains.” They only care about fighting and destroying what they personally perceive as threats to the people (such as one “hero” attacking immigrants), much of which is personal prejudices and biases.

Then, Wonder Woman appeals to Superman to come back after a devastating battle between the “good” guys and the “bad” guys leaves Kansas in ruins and millions dead. Reluctantly, Superman returns, but things don’t go as smoothly as hoped when he’s faced with opposition from this new school of heroes, enemies, and even old allies, namely Batman.

This seemed to be a commentary on old school superhero comics versus today’s ultra-violent, grim “heroes” who seem more intent on destroying half the city than saving human lives with Superman representing how heroes used to be and Magog representing these new “heroes.”

I thought it was interesting (and superb storytelling) that the story isn’t told from any of the heroes’ point of views. Instead, the story is told by Norman McCay, a minister and a friend of Sandman who has “inherited” Sandman’s powers after his death. McCay is struggling with his faith and, like Superman, has lost some faith in humanity. Before his death, Wesley Dodds (Sandman) had apocalyptic visions that most people thought were the result of senility. He passed these visions on to McCay.

A being known as Spectre uses McCay to bear witness to the madness unfolding between the heroes and tells him that he must ultimately pass judgment on them, to decide who is right and who is wrong, a decision that proves difficult because both sides start making rash decisions in this “war.”

And while logically, readers know that Magog is wrong (and even that plays interestingly into the story), you can’t say the old school heroes are completely “right” either. Some of them, such as Wonder Woman, have their own reasons behind that fight as well, causing them to be as brutal and decisive as the new heroes. And you can even somewhat see the new heroes reasoning for their actions.

Superman is presented very human here, making it hard for me to hold a grudge against him. He’s a man who has lost a lot, and even though he won’t admit it, he’s living in some kind of bubble that filters out the rest of the world. He reluctantly comes out of retirement and makes tough decisions, while questioning if this is really what it’s come to.

And the ending, wow. I actually got a little misty-eyed there, and I’m not even that familiar with Shazam or his exploits. And the art really was able to pull out a lot of emotion in this story. It was breathtaking, enhancing an already well-written tale. Overall, this was a great read. Definitely goes on my favorites list.




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[Review] Tao Te Ching Journal

Tao Te Ching Journal by Stephen Mitchell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Very refreshing and insightful read. This gave me much to think about. I thought I would go through this slowly, but I found myself completely in love with this book after reading on the first few pages. My favorite passage:

"Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come;things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever."

I will admit that it can be somewhat repetitive. I don’t know if that’s because of this particular translation or if Lao Tzu really was being repetitive. It’s not a bad thing, though. It’s sort of like saying, “This is what you need to remember.” Repetition is a learning method—after all.

A couple of things to note. Some people I talked to about this while I was reading said this translation is “dry,” but after finding some of the other translations online, I believe this one speaks to me the most. Also, this is a modern interpretation of this, so Mitchell uses modern things that would make sense to the modern reader.

Note: This is actually an old review I wrote some years ago. I reread this last night. It's a very quick read.



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[Review] The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals

The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals by John E. Douglas

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book is essentially written by John Douglas. I’m not sure what Mark Olshaker’s contribution to the book was, unless Douglas was giving him credit due to the research they’d done together. This book basically goes into details about the movtives, behavior, etc. of serial murders, rapists, career criminals, etc. Interesting read overall. I’ll have to read his book Mindhunter in the future.



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[Review] Wrong Place, Wrong Time?

Wrong Place, Wrong Time? by Ann Jacobs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



2.5 stars, actually. Darlene’s NFL star husband is found murdered with a woman that Darlene assumes is her husband’s mistress. For the past few month’s Vlad (a Russian ex-soccer player turned FBI agent) has been posing as a kicker to find the killer that’s been killing women in the cities the team visits.

Okay, the plot is a little thin because it basically focuses on the budding relationship between the two characters, but I enjoyed it for what it’s worth. It's erotica. I don't know what I was expecting anyway. And the writer does have a way with words that makes the reading enjoyable.

Warning--this book does contain explicit sex scenes dealing with BDSM.



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