"...but who are the most tragic of all war's victims, whose endurance is to be tried in the hardest days, who are now half strangers among their ow"...but who are the most tragic of all war's victims, whose endurance is to be tried in the hardest days, who are now half strangers among their own people, and reluctant even to tread the long-wished-for paths of home. In medical language they are classed as "Facial and Jaw Cases."
"The present wars devour him: he has grown too proud to be so valiant. Such a nature, tickled with good succes, disdains the shadow which he treads "The present wars devour him: he has grown too proud to be so valiant. Such a nature, tickled with good succes, disdains the shadow which he treads on at noon."
I had no idea at the start how much I've come to love and admire this play. Shakespeare shows so well the interaction and tension between the public and its leaders: never showing who is 'right' but how each can bring (their own) downfall. Coriolanus is a brutal but moving character and his relationship with both Volumnia and Aufidius is rich with love(?) and conflict. 4,5 stars and I will write a longer review later....more
“This was the simple happiness of complete harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, just breathes, j “This was the simple happiness of complete harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, just breathes, just is.”
The Enchanted April was the heartwarming, upbeat classic I needed right now. The plot isn't complex - four women escaping gray London and blossoming in the Italian spring - but Von Arnim describes their gloomy (inner) lives so well, that you're glad that they all find a kind of happy ending.
It begins with an advertisment, asking Those Who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine to rent a medieval Italian Castle for one month. To split the price, four women come together: Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot (neglected and ignored by their husbands), beautiful Lady Caroline (wishing to escape covetous 'grabbers'), and the elderly and brusque Mrs. Fisher.
The writing is luscious and vivid, especially in its describtions of San Salvatore's rooms and the vast gardens. The smell of pine-needles in the air, the groups of blue and purple irises, the sitting-room with walls the colour of pale honey and windows overlooking the sea of Genoa...my senses were alight.
Von Arnim also writes with a keen eye about her main characters. I loved the bond between Charlotte Wilkins and Rose Arbuthnot, going from vague acquaintances to dear friends. Stiff Mrs. Fisher first is shocked at her yearning 'to become more green' the longer she stays in Italy, but her present company slowly but steadily helps her thaw.
The ending is a bit too happily-ever-after, and I do wonder how long the spell of San Salvatore lasts once everyone is back to their old lives in England. However, I had a wonderful time reading this novel in the garden, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a sunshine escape, and fans of A Room with a View and Still Life....more
"The men always wanted people to be aware that they were with Alex, wanted eyes to follow to them as they headed towards the elevator. Did th
"The men always wanted people to be aware that they were with Alex, wanted eyes to follow to them as they headed towards the elevator. Did they imagine that they looked like anything other than what they were? As if anyone would've done the math and come up with a different explanation."
One of the reasons why TV shows like White Lotus, The Dropout and Inventing Anna are so captivating is the appeal of the trickster. A smart, manipulative character, often the main character, who plays the upper-class like a fiddle, and by using their own tools and grandious views of the world against them, gets their hands on money, relationships, or luxury items. If it all works out.
It's this appeal that forms the heart of The Guest. We follow Alex, a mercurial young woman spending the summer with sugardaddy Simon. After a little damage to his car leaves Alex kicked-out in Long Island, she's left hustling until she can meet up again at Simon's Labor Day party. Hustling however is Alex's particular talent, and while we follow her deceive Simon's friends and naive strangers, we hear the sea groan in the background. How long can Alex keep her head above water?
"Maybe some things could never be erased. Maybe they tinted some cellular level of your experience, and even if you scraped away whatever part was on the surface, the rot had already gotten underneath."
The novel's plot had me constantly engaged: seeing how Alex talks her way into people's houses, an exclusive beachclub or a fancy restaurant is both fascinating and appalling. If she's given the opportunity to trick a six-year old into letting her have a free meal, she will. When she causes real damage - stolen creditcards, broken hearts - she weasels away. Thankfully, we never learn why Alex is the way she is, because it would only flatten her.
But not everything was complex. Alex's frequent dips in the ocean or pools, her pink eye, the voicemails from Dom (was he even real?): they felt exaggerated after a while. I also wasn't crazy about the ending: I like that it's open to interpretation, but Cline jumped some big hurdles to get there.
So it's the rushed ending that brings the rating down, but overall a very strong 3,5 stars and a novel ánd main character that held my attention from start to finish....more
Pose is een interessante en prikkelende verzameling essays over (vrouwen)rollen, over the male en the female gaze en hoe deze mensen vormt - binnen dPose is een interessante en prikkelende verzameling essays over (vrouwen)rollen, over the male en the female gaze en hoe deze mensen vormt - binnen de popcultuur en in ons dagelijks leven. Door een vergrootglas te zetten op bekende stereotypes, actrices, literaire figuren en kunstenaars zet de schrijfster de lezer aan tot reflectie: wie is deze vrouw, wat draagt ze uit, en voor wie?
Voor lezers geïnteresseerd in dit (sociologische) vakgebied zullen niet alle hoofdstukken nieuwe informatie bevatten: er zijn al talloze artikelen en boeken geschreven over 'femme fatales', Marilyn Monroe, en de complexiteit van de roman Lolita. Maar Basje brengt de verhalen op nieuwe wijze met interessante invalshoeken, zoals haar analyse van de personages in King Kong, de parallalen tussen Nick Cave en Dolly Parton, en het toegankelijkheid van Beyonce's feminisme.
Tegen het einde namen de essays wat af qua kracht - alsof de schrijfster ook niet goed wist met welk type essay ze haar boek moest afsluiten - maar ik heb Pose met veel plezier gelezen en er verschillende film- en leestips aan over gehouden. 3,5 sterren.
"Het bekeken-worden heeft het zelfbewustzijn van vrouwen aangescherpt. Het heeft het, van jongs af aan, geslepen tot een mes. Waarom zou dat niet juist een voordeel zijn? De nabijheid waar Freud het over heeft, de hyperidentificatie met geprojecteerde vrouwen - of billboardvrouwen, of glossyvrouwen, of naakten in een museum - levert een perspectief op dat uniek is voor vrouwen. Een perspectief dat mannen onbekend is." ...more
"Zo gaan ze met je aan de haal, met je naam, je leven: zo ben je al vanaf je geboorte gemeengoed. Wie ben ik om te zeggen dat dat anders hoort." "Zo gaan ze met je aan de haal, met je naam, je leven: zo ben je al vanaf je geboorte gemeengoed. Wie ben ik om te zeggen dat dat anders hoort." ...more
"It was time for women to take language for themselves, Aurel said, even one word at a time, to take their own names and become. To become even one"It was time for women to take language for themselves, Aurel said, even one word at a time, to take their own names and become. To become even one word.”
The fragmented writing lost me sometimes, but the emotional punches they pack are beautiful. The lives of these women are far from easy, but how they each manage to translate Sappho's missing fragments into art of their own is so inspiring: theatre plays, dances, novels, paintings, buildings. Time is against them, but Nathalie, Romaine, Lina, Eileen, Virginia and many more overcome society's rules and find friendship, inspiration, and love with each other. Very impressive: 4 stars.
“Have you forgotten that a poet lies down in the shade of the future? She is calling out, she is waiting. Our lives are the lines missing from the fragments. There is the hope of becoming in all our forms and genres. The future of Sappho shall be us."...more
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