Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Lovely Bones

Leave a reply

I’ve just finished reading this. I’d already watched the film, so I knew how the story was going to end, but I still enjoyed it purely because it is so easy to read. I didn’t think it lived up to the hype though. For a start I don’t think it’s very well written. Considering the material it covers, the book seems very benign. It’s a good story though and I like Sebold’s very original (as far as I can tell) idea of having the narrator tell the story after her death.

It’s rare but in this case I have to conclude that the film is better than the book, though I can’t say for certain that I would maintain that position had I read the book before I’d seen the film. Of course the film simplifies and accelerates the book, as films have to, but still I found Peter Jackson’s adaptation to be visually breathtaking and the suspense was masterful.

(6th in 2012)

The Planets

Leave a reply

Went to see CBSO perform tonight. Due to a mix up with the tickets we sadly missed La Péri but we did see the main event: The Planets. I’ve had the CD for years and I love it but to see CBSO performing it at Symphony Hall was something else. I was completely blown away. To feel rather than only hear the music made everything else seem unimportant. To be entirely consumed by the sound and its emotions, which came together so effortlessly, and yet I felt I could hear each note completely separately…was wonderful, heavenly even.

Amsterdam

Leave a reply

Read this in just a couple of days. I admit that it’s a novella so not lengthy but, even so, the plot sprints along making it difficult to put down. Dark, delicious and very British, I loved it. My only criticism was that the ending seemed very slightly unbelievable but it is still a most splendid read.

(5th in 2012)

Cosa Nostra

Leave a reply

I finished reading Cosa Nostra tonight. Given my affection for mafia-based entertainment (The Sopranos, Scorcese’s films, The Godfather Trilogy etc.) I was very much looking forward to discovering the truth behind it. Although the content of the book was interesting, my enjoyment was marred for the following reasons:

1) I frequently had to look up the meanings of words, most of which don’t occur in everyday language. Every time this happened it disrupted my flow.

2) I had to keep looking up places that were mentioned on Google maps. There are maps at the front of the book but places aren’t easily located or even present on them, as far as I could tell.

3) There are so many people involved that it’s difficult to remember who they all are. Worse still – and this isn’t the author’s fault – everyone seems to be called Giuseppe or Antonino! I had to makes notes on who was who as I went along, otherwise I got utterly confused.

4) It isn’t in strict chronological order. Where stories overlap then it’s fair enough but the author sometimes goes back and forth over the same few years. I can see that this is necessary as there are so many interwined stories – the history of the mafia is complex – but again, I couldn’t make sense of it without making notes.

I have to admit that finishing the book is a relief. I got halfway through without making notes and then had to start again because I was too confused to continue! In summary, this book is a bit too much hard work if you’re after escapism or entertainment. If you want to think and learn then by all means read it, but not without a cup of tea and a notebook.

(4th in 2012)

Super Smart Animals

Leave a reply

I’ve enjoyed this series so far. I liked this dog in particular:



Also in this episode, during the cooperating elephants feature, there was a song that I recognised. It drove me mad trying to remember what it was. Finally something stirred in my brain: it was something to do with an Apple advertisement. Much later I realised it was from the ipad2 video. Bloody Apple, finding yet another way to drive me mad. Anyway, this is the song:

British identity

Leave a reply

Inspired by the Guardian’s interactive article What Does Being British Mean to You? I pondered my own position.

Both my parents’ families are from the same little cluster of villages in Gujarat, India. My parents were among those who emigrated to England in the sixties and seventies. They met through the Gujarati community in England and married. I was born in England and my upbringing and education here has shaped the person I am today far more than my family’s background, in spite of them holding on very strongly on to their culture. I don’t feel Indian; I feel British. My husband is English, we don’t incorporate any Indian traditions into our lives and we work in his parents’ very traditional pub, that most British of institutions. To me, being British means promoting freedom and tolerance.

I’ve never been a victim of overt racism but I feel there is room for improvement. People need to be educated. For example, a few months ago I was talking to an English woman in her fifties. She used, harmlessly she believed, the word ‘Paki’ as a synonym for ‘Indian’. Leaving out the geographical error entirely, I tried to explain to her that she shouldn’t use the word ‘Paki’ because it was derogatory but she clearly didn’t know what derogatory meant. At that point I cut my losses and gave up.