Review: The Course of Love

The Course of Love
by Alain De Botton
Fiction
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

The long-awaited and beguiling second novel from Alain de Botton that tracks the beautifully complicated arc of a romantic partnership, from the internationally bestselling author of On Love and How Proust Can Change Your Life.

We all know the headiness and excitement of the early days of love. But what comes after? In Edinburgh, a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love. They get married, they have children—but no long-term relationship is as simple as “happily ever after.” The Course of Love is a novel that explores what happens after the birth of love, what it takes to maintain love, and what happens to our original ideals under the pressures of an average existence. You experience, along with Rabih and Kirsten, the first flush of infatuation, the effortlessness of falling into romantic love, and the course of life thereafter. Interwoven with their story and its challenges is an overlay of philosophy—an annotation and a guide to what we are reading.

This is a romantic novel in the true sense, one interested in exploring how love can survive and thrive in the long term. The result is a sensory experience—fictional, philosophical, psychological—that urges us to identify deeply with these characters, and to reflect on his and her own experiences in love. Fresh, visceral, and utterly compelling, The Course of Love is a provocative and life-affirming novel for everyone who believes in love.

Review:

I absolutely adored this book.  It was a refreshing, fast-paced and thought-provoking read, that delved into the nature of love - not just the first infatuation and romance, but long lasting relationships and marriage.  It was just fascinating for me, and interesting to see how the actions of the two protagonists were broken down by the author.

The structure of this novel is non-traditional, in that the author often inserts philosophical or thoughtful commentary on each stage of the romance, and the actual story lacks a real novel structure because it's more of an overview of how Rabih and Kirsten met, fell in love, and their progression with marriage and children.  I'm not yet at the stage where I have a lot of experience with this, so it was wonderful to get an impartial look at the emotions that run through these experiences and what it means for the person and for the significant other.  Even though the story is mostly from Rabih's point of view, the novel looks at the relationship in such an equitable way, that I felt like I could easily relate to both Rabih and Kristen, and all of their trials and successes.  It's a little bittersweet to read the progression of their relationship, with all the ups and downs, in such a truncated way, but revelatory to get such a unique overview of these two peoples' lives.

This is a book that I think will stick with me for a long time, because the experiences discussed in this book are so meaningful and timeless.  The thoughts and emotions are applicable to almost everyone, and the search or maintenance of a long lasting romantic relationship is certainly a major part of most people's lives.  This is a beautiful and fascinating book.

Jane Eyre 1956 - an early miniseries adaptation

On my trip to England last month, I made a point of visiting the British Film Institute in London to see an early six-part (half-hour each) adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Daphne Slater and Stanley Baker.  Now, I'm definitely a purist when it comes to adaptations, and for an older adaptation, I was totally prepared to watch something over-the-top, overwrought and not very true to the story.  I was pleasantly surprised by this version however!  It was quite good!  There were a few stand-out aspects to the way the story was told, and I enjoyed Slater and Baker's interpretation of the characters.  I might have wished for a little more from them, but we can't always get what we want, haha.  For this post,  I'm going to go a little in depth with the whole adaptation, so this is another lengthy Jane Eyre-related post that I'm sure my blog does not have enough of!

The dialogue/script is a good jumping off point for my initial impression of the story.  It follows the general plot of the novel very well, but often veers off from using the actual dialogue in the book.  Which is interesting to me, because that can so easily go wrong, but in this case, I quite liked the script.  There were the odd missed moments - when it came to the more emotional scenes, it would have been nice to have Charlotte's beautiful words come into play, but the gist of the scenes, and the characters' emotions were there.

Continue reading →

Suspense Sundays (199) A Plane Case of Murder

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"A Plane Case of Murder"

Air date: October 10, 1946
Starring John Lund

>>Episodes here<<

Randy Judson, until recently, was a prisoner of a concentration camp in the Philippines.  The only thing that got him through that terrible time, was thinking of his lovely girlfriend waiting for him back home.  But when he does get home, he discovers that Marian married a rich man, and now Randy wants revenge.  He manages to convince Marian that he's a rich man too, due to all the attention over his experience in the Philippines, and now Marian wants him back.  The only way she can get rid of her husband though is through murder.

The story does involve a plane, hence the heavy-handed stress on "plane" in the title and in the opening scene of the episode.  This is a pretty clever story, despite the general awfulness of both Marian and Randy, but like with most Suspense episodes, people get what they deserve.  I did also love the double cross, that you could see coming a mile away, but was still pretty satisfying.  

Movie Musical Challenge: Easter Parade

In Movie Musical Challenge, I'm watching 20 films I picked as great films or films I wanted to watch.  This post is about the 1948 musical Easter Parade starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire.

Easter Parade is a charming film, but without a lot of substance.  Fred Astaire and Judy Garland are a great onscreen match though - they had good chemistry and a sweet romance ultimately. And of course their dancing together was excellent.

The film is a kind of a Cinderella story, with Judy's character Hannah, being primed by Astaire's character Don to becoming a big star of the stage.  Their ups and downs as a performing couple, and then as a romantic couple are shown, but it's strange that their romance was a bit of a surprise.  Although they had chemistry as performers, I felt like they didn't really show how that developed romantically until Hannah was suddenly sighing over Don.  Being such a fan of romance, I'm sure if that was developed gradually, I would have loved this film more.

The music is good, but surprisingly unmemorable to me.  I can't even pinpoint a great musical moment - the only one perhaps that stands out above the rest is "Stepping Out With My Baby" which features Fred Astaire, and some awesome dancing.  And an interesting slow-mo sequence of him dancing, while the back up dancers look to be dancing in real time.  It seemed a little odd for that bit of technical filming to be included in this, when everything else in the film was pretty straightforward, but it was cool to watch.

Originally Gene Kelly was cast in the male lead role, but had to back out when he broke his ankle, so a part of me is sad that I can't see what Gene would have done with the part, because while this is a nice film, it doesn't particularly stand out to me.  Perhaps the biggest draw is the fact that it features Judy Garland and Fred Astaire together, and for that I can recommend giving this a watch.

Review: Warrior Witch

Warrior Witch (Malediction Trilogy #3)
by Danielle L. Jensen
YA Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

Cécile and Tristan have accomplished the impossible, but their greatest challenge remains: defeating the evil they have unleashed upon the world.

As they scramble for a way to protect the people of the Isle and liberate the trolls from their tyrant king, Cécile and Tristan must battle those who’d see them dead. To win, they will risk everything. And everyone.

But it might not be enough. Both Cécile and Tristan have debts, and they will be forced to pay them at a cost far greater than they had ever imagined.

Review:

The third book in this fantastic trilogy maintains the excitement and suspense that I've loved about this series since the beginning.  The cliffhanger in the second book was pretty dramatic, so finally getting a resolution and finding out more about the trolls and magic in this world was so satisfying.  I found this an intense read, but perfectly balanced in it's drama and the resolution for the characters.

The romance was always a major draw for me in this series, and Cecile and Tristan are so close and so perfect for each other, that I was wondering where their relationship could develop from there, but the author manages to take it to the next level, and develop them even further.  It was interesting, especially to see a different side to Tristan - one in which he is not so caught up in Cecile, and had to be a bit darker, with more of an edge.  And I love that the resolution of their story had some unexpected moments that made me feel so many emotions for the both of them.

With the war finally being played out in the story, there are some major consequences that made this book very emotional in so many ways, however.  There were times when I felt things were resolved a little too easily, but that was a minor thing for me, because the ending had a major obstacle that did not resolve the way I expected at all, and added a lot more gravitas to the story, and justified that there were serious consequences to the actions of some of the characters.

It was a completely fitting and engrossing end to a wonderful series.  Anyone who hasn't had a chance to start the trilogy, should pick it up as soon as they can - it's a fantastic binge read!

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review.  I was not compensated for this review.)

Suspense Sundays (198) Three Times Murder

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"Three Times Murder"

Air date: October 3, 1946
Starring Rita Hayworth

>>Episodes here<<

Laura Morton decides to murder her husband and make it look like an accident.  Her husband loves to shave with his electric shaver in the bath, and even though she often berates him for it, he persists.  Of course something bad eventually happens.  The district attorney, Elmer, is sure that she did it, and nags her to confess.  When she is found innocent by trial, she finally breaks down in private and confesses to the DA.  But then she goes on with her life and marries another man who she is very happy with.  Sometime later she discovers that this man has a brother - the same district attorney who knows she committed murder.

Ooh this was a clever episode!! Interesting take on the femme fatale, because I did feel symapthetic with her, and it was interesting that Laura was very much in love with her second husband.  I was expecting that she would want to murder him too.  It is interesting that the district attorney is the one who really feels like a villain even though he did not commit murder.  But he is so unpleasant.  It's an interesting twist on a story that at first seemed pretty straightforward.

Movie Musical Challenge: Calamity Jane

In Movie Musical Challenge, I'm watching 20 films I picked as great films or films I wanted to watch.  This post is about the 1953 Western romp "Calamity Jane", starring Doris Day and Howard Keel.

I love a fun Western, and since this also has music, Doris Day, and Howard Keel, I was already completely on board with this.  And it is so much fun.  Seeing Doris Day as this "masculine", abrasive, rootin', tootin' and shootin' character might have been a stretch for me (because I associate her with feminine grace and perfect diction), but I still loved her portrayal and enjoyed seeing her in such a different role.  And truly she does a great job bringing Calamity Jane (or Calam) to life because she really committed to the part.

The actual story had some surprises for me - the cross dressing, the challenges on gender roles (although the female gender role was pretty clearly conservative with the song "A Woman's Touch") but I think the general fact that there were some instances where gender roles were blurred made the story more interesting, and of course more farcical.  This film is a great farce, with lots of misunderstandings and improbable situations.  It's definitely a romp!

My favorite song and scene in the film was the song between Calamity and Wild Bill Hickcok - "I Can Do Without You" which had some heavy "Anything You Can Do" (from Annie Get Your Gun) rivalry vibes with an undercurrent of attraction between the two characters.  And Doris Day was ludicrously swung around by Howard Keel's character during the number.

For the high shenanigans and the upbeat, catchy music, this movie was a great film to watch, and 1000%  a better choice for this challenge than my previous Doris Day film - Jumbo!

The Harry Potter Studio Tour

I have returned from my sojourn to England!  Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my blogging break post, and for everyone who kept up with my trip photos on instagram. :)  I definitely had a blast!

 I did a few literary things on my trip (and managed to finish two books - yay!) so it will be fun to recap things and get back to blogging.   Obviously today's post is all about the Harry Potter Studio Tour which was pretty magical, I have to say.  And it was surprising to me, that for a weekday, there were a lot of people going to the tour.  I mean, I know Harry Potter is uber popular, and the tour is awesome, but for some reason, I was thinking there wouldn't be such a crowd of visitors.  Maybe because the tour has been around for awhile now.  But it was nice to see the enthusiasm, and the little kids dressed up like wizards. :)

So the beginning of the experience - where we are sat in a theatre watching a taped introduction by Daniel, Emma and Rupert about the studio sets - to having the screen move up and reveal the doors to the Great Hall, was very cool.  It reminded me of the Star Trek Experience that used to be in Las Vegas, where we were assembled into a small room, and the lights went dark, there was a rush of air, and when the lights came back on the walls around us had been raised, and we were on the bridge of the Enterprise!  Of course we had just materialized there. LOL

So the tour begins in the Great Hall, where they have some of the costumes and the long tables that you see in the films.  It is a great beginning of the tour, as you feel like you've just arrived at Hogwarts, and there is the sorting hat, ready to put you in your house (please Sorting Hat, can I be in Ravenclaw??)

Continue reading →

Blogging Break

I'm going on a little trip to ye olde England, in one day (!!), so I'm putting this blog on break.  I'll be back May 23rd, with reviews, and probably a long recap of my time in the U.K.  I'm planning on visiting the Harry Potter studio tour (finally!) and also celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth, by visiting all the Jane Eyre places I know and love.  I can't wait! :)

Thank you for being a follower of my blog, and I will talk to everyone again soon!  I'll still be on twitter and instagram probably, so see you around there!

Suspense Sundays (197) Consequence

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"Consequence"

Air date: February 21, 1946
Starring Jimmy Stewart

>>Episodes here<<

Philip Wolf is unhappily married to Gwen, and when his mistress, Jo, decides to leave him, Philip is devastated.  A curious thing happens though - there's a fire and someone's body is mistaken for Philip and so he decides not to say anything.  He runs away with Jo and gets married  ready to be happy.  Only Gwen finds him and for her pride, demands that he returns and claim he had amnesia or something.  Philip thinks of another way out.

Such a strange story for Philip, divorce must have been so hard back then.  This is a very tragic story too, which I didn't like at all.  I did guess the twist, and was just hoping it wouldn't happen that way.  But this is a great suspense story, and Jimmy Stewart is wonderfully understated and resigned in the role of Philip Wolf.  

Review: Saint's Blood

Saint's Blood (Greatcoats #3)
by Sebastien de Castell
Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

How do you kill a Saint?

Falcio, Kest, and Brasti are about to find out, because someone has figured out a way to do it and they've started with a friend.

The Dukes were already looking for ways out of their agreement to put Aline on the throne, but with the Saints turning up dead, rumours are spreading that the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. Now churches are looking to protect themselves by bringing back the military orders of religious soldiers, assassins, and (especially) Inquisitors - a move that could turn the country into a theocracy. The only way Falcio can put a stop to it is by finding the murderer. He has only one clue: a terrifying iron mask which makes the Saints vulnerable by driving them mad. But even if he can find the killer, he'll still have to face him in battle.

And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

Review:

As the third installment in the Greatcoats series, this novel takes a more mystical turn, as a new villain tries to take over Tristia and it's people.  Falcio, considerably weakened as he is from the events in the last book, is such a deadly, persistent force in this one.  His honor and determination, even when he's not sure why he's fighting so hard, makes him such an intriguing character for me.  And I love that he also has a sense of humor in the direst of circumstances.  Even though the last book had some dark moments, it gets even darker in this book, which made for excellent suspense and surprises.

The aspects of Saints and Gods were explored further, and while it made sense as a whole, it did seem a bit convoluted for me at times.  The whole idea of which came first, and what kind of powers were bestowed on the Saints and what that means, is gradually revealed and was interesting, but I didn't love the mystical aspect as much.  I think because it allowed for some convenient solutions.  But the way that the religion in Tristia can feed on the greed of the masses and how it can corrupt even when it's supposedly for good intentions was very astute, and I really liked the commentary in that.  Even more so in this book, the author reveals just how broken Tristia is, and it's not easy to bring back law and order to this land.  I'm so curious to see how or if it can be saved in the final book.

Many of the characters are fleshed out even more in this novel, and I found the depiction of Falcio and Ethalia's relationship was especially good because it felt more realistic than the sort of love at first sight thing they had going from the beginning.  Falcio still has issues with what happened to his first wife, and it's addressed further in this book, in a very heartbreaking way.  Kest was also one that had a heartbreaking character arc, which was great to see because he was always more of the strong, silent character in the series.  Brasti is just good fun, even when he shows that he does have some vulnerabilities.  Quentis is a new character that didn't quite fulfill the role that I expected of him, given his initial interactions with Falcio, and I loved that there was more to him than meets the eye.

The writing in this book is so wonderfully done.  I love the way the author describes duels and fights, and how this particular book begins and ends with an important duel and how the art of fighting is explained.  It makes something so visceral and brutal, very poetic and intellectual.  But that is a plus for the whole series so far.  The writing is fantastic.

The Greatcoats series is definitely one of my favorite Fantasy reads, and Saint's Blood was an amazing installment.  Exciting, fast-paced, and full of major twists - the finale to this series is absolutely my most anticipated book now!

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review.  I was not compensated for this review.)

Note: I received an ARC from the U.K. publishers where "Saint's Blood" is already out in Europe, but unfortunately this wonderful book is out June 7th in the States.

Movie Musical Challenge: The Little Mermaid

In Movie Musical Challenge, I'm watching 20 films I picked as great films or films I wanted to watch.  This post is about the 1989 Disney classic The Little Mermaid, starring the vocal talents of Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, and Samuel E. Wright.

This is my favorite Disney movie, so I was eager to add it to my list for this challenge.  I've seen it quite a lot so I feel like there's not much in the way of new insights to the story for me, because I've thought this was a fantastic film for a long time.  But for this post, I'll highlight what I love about it, and why I think it works so well, and why it's appeal is so enduring.

The Little Mermaid's Broadway type musical structure makes it very special I think.  The orchestral main theme, that features the opening credits, is absolutely gorgeous.  I mean, I can just listen to the wistful, haunting melody forever.  Seriously.  It's probably a little thing when thinking of the whole movie, but it starts off the mood of Ariel's earnest fascination for the human world, and for the romance perfectly.

The introduction to Ariel is kind of perfect too - she is shown as scatter-brained, impulsive, curious, and brave, just from the first few scenes and she is a fantastic heroine.  I have seen disparaging comments on Ariel's changing herself to be with a man, but I think it's clearly established that she wanted to be a part of the human world, and her feelings for Prince Eric was the impetus.  Love at first sight though - I'm totally iffy on that. LOL

I think I love this story the most out of the Disney films because Ariel is so intent on achieving her dream.  She risks everything, she wears her heart out on her sleeve, she is so honest and passionate, and I love the adventure of her story.  It's nice that it has a fantastical setting, showing a (unrealistic) version of life under the sea to make the beauty of the story even more appealing.  The music is just beautiful too - listening again to just the incidental music, the melodies are so strong.  And there are three (possibly four) really popular, well known songs from this film, which not every Disney film can boast.  "Part of Your World" is my favorite song, and to me is the best one, but a case can be made that "Under the Sea" or "Kiss the Girl" can take that title.

The music, the story, and the heart of this film make it a beloved movie for me, and I don't think I can ever get tired of just how sweetly earnest and romantic it all is.

Suspense Sundays (196) Lucky Lady

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"Lucky Lady"

Air date: February 14, 1946
Starring Fay Baintor

>>Episodes here<<

Mrs. Plimm, owner of a boarding house for young actresses. hires a new, very suspicious live-in handy man.  The man, George, does not like her cat at all, and the cat doesn't seem to like him.  But George really needs the job, and the cat is the lucky charm for all the actresses at the boarding house.  They believe that a scratch from Lady Susie, will lead to a great acting job in their future.  George dotes particularly on Diane, who just landed a great job, but very soon turns up dead.  And there is no evidence that George did it.

Wow, I really enjoyed this episode.  Such a great and unexpected twist in the end, and the mystery of what happened to Diane, when there was no sign of foul play was a great one.  And of course a suicide note turned up later - all very suspicious.  I couldn't get over how Mrs. Plimm hired George despite her reservations though - he was so creepy during the interview.  It must have been really hard to find a handy man in 1946,

Brooding with the Brontes - Interview with N.B. Roberts

Before I present my post, I need to acknowledge that today is a very special day - it's the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth!  Happy Birthday Charlotte!

For Brooding with the Brontes, I reached out to a lovely author, who wrote a fantastic Jane Eyre inspired novel called "Halton Cray" (which I reviewed on my blog), for her Bronte related thoughts, since I found her novel so fascinating and was curious about her experiences and thoughts on the Brontes.

Her follow-up novel to "Halton Cray" - titled The 13th Baronet, is coming soon, and the author was kind enough to share the cover and a teaser from the second book with my blog!  Check it out below.  And thank you so much for your time Nicola!

Q. With your novel Halton Cray being inspired by Jane Eyre, I know you are a big fan of Charlotte’s novel, but what are your thoughts on the other Bronte novels you’ve read?

What’s so striking to me is how different the Bronte books are from one another; the authors had distinct styles, and I love their works in different ways. Wuthering Heights is my second favourite and I’m particularly fond of those first few chapters, with Mr Lockwood grasping a cold hand through the window: it’s a chilling discovery that kept me reading this intense, fiery tale. It’s full of dislikeable characters, but who I enjoyed reading about. In that sense, I found it as brutally honest as the ruthless climate, and ultimately not a romance at all, but a tragedy. I appreciated the story much more on reflection than during reading, probably due to the extreme and contrasting dialect used to show the class divide, which is vital to the story of Cathy and Heathcliff, but ultimately creates a bit of work for the reader. I’m no stranger to broad northern English accents (my father is from the north, my mother from the south), but I struggled with some of the northern vernacular. I really wanted to immerse myself in the unfolding of such a stormy and engrossing tale, but the stop-start of constant translation took me out of the flow a little. It was only once I had a complete picture that I could admire it for the excellent work it is.

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Jane Eyre 1973 - on Fidelity in Adaptation

For Brooding About the Brontës, I thought I should talk about my all time favorite adaptation of Jane Eyre.  I did talk about this version some years ago as part of Awesome Adaptations, but I didn't really expand on the depth of my feelings for this miniseries.  There are a lot of reasons why this is my favorite, but to give this post cohesion, I want to give it a focus and that will be in it's fidelity as an adaptation.  Most people who really love a book want it's adaptation to live up to whatever it was they loved about it.  The plot, the characters, the tone, the feelings they got when they read it.  But that's very subjective and it's difficult to translate a book to a visual medium.  Usually when these people like or dislike an adaptation it's because they feel it didn't capture the book in the right way.  Most of the time I think it comes down to: did the adaptation fulfill your perception of the book or not.  And for me, this adaptation fulfilled my perception of Jane Eyre because of it's fidelity to the novel.

Jane Eyre 1973 is a version that many love because it's so faithful.  Personally I think it is the most faithful, because while it omits scenes, it adds or embroiders very little.  I would say the adaptation that is also often cited as the most faithful - the 1983 adaptation, added a bit more to the story.  But many people also find fault with this adaptation because it is too faithful (someone is always unhappy!)  I see disparaging comments on the voiceovers in this version which takes viewers out of the story (even though the voiceover supplies narrative from the novel), or on the feeling that this version is boring because it features a lot of almost verbatim dialogue from the book.  And the staging and visuals of the production are quite dry.

Continue reading →

Three Times Young Jane Eyre Was The Realest

Most everyone remembers Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre as a paragon of virtue and restrained, passionate righteousness, but the beauty of the first nine chapters of Jane Eyre is in young Jane’s rebellious, fierce nature.  The child, who was bullied by her cousin, demeaned and ignored by her aunt, and constantly made to feel an outsider, finally makes a stand in the opening chapters of the novel, and also made it clear to the 19th century reader that this was no conventional heroine.  The child’s vehement spirit is later softened and tempered by the example of her saintly best friend Helen Burns, as well as by simply maturing, but there’s something to be said about young Jane’s fury.  Her appealing defiance made her the sort of heroine you can identify with, even today.  Her raw truthfulness fleshed out the character and made readers fall in love with Jane’s story right from the start.  And to celebrate that, here are three times young Jane Eyre was the realest:


Mr. Brocklehurst: “What must you do to avoid [going to hell]?”
Jane: I deliberated a moment; my answer, when it did come, was objectionable: “I must keep in good health, and not die.”

This is often the first laugh line in every Jane Eyre adaptation it comes up in - audiences love Jane’s child logic and her sassy response to Brocklehurst’s alarming question.  Because let’s not forget this question was asked of a child.  I get Brocklehurst’s intention of instilling a fear of God, and a moral code thereby, but maybe it would be better to ramp up to talking about burning in eternity, instead of confronting a ten year old with that within minutes of meeting her.  I could write a whole other post of helpful tips for Mr. Brocklehurst however.  


The gorgeousness of Jane’s answer though is that she knows it’s wrong.  She’s barely met this imposing, grim pillar of a man, who apparently wants to make her feel guilty and afraid, but in answer to the question he no doubt thought would be a slam dunk in making his point, he gets a reply that highlights a foolish question deserves a foolish answer.  Jane doesn’t give him the submissive shame that he wants.  Child logic for the win!


Jane: “When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should—so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.”
 

Peace, tolerance, and understanding are all noble goals to attain.  Every single person can make this world a better place by adhering to these principles.  Unfortunately we are not a perfect species, and there’s just something so basic and satisfying in seeing that if someone treats you terribly, there will be repercussions.  Can I be as forgiving as adult Jane is at the bedside of her dying, still hateful aunt?  I’m not sure if I’m there yet,  I hope I will be, but for now young Jane’s words resonate with me, even if maturity tells me I should be more forgiving.

I love that she makes a distinction too about being struck at “without a reason.”  Jane has a pretty firm moral code already at her young age, and it doesn’t accept irrational and undeserved punishment.  There’s no understanding for the ignorance or the prejudice that led to it, there’s only the need to make sure the other person knows it is not acceptable.  Swift justice from little Judge Jane.


Jane: “No; I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough: if others don’t love me I would rather die than live—I cannot bear to be solitary and hated, Helen.”


First, round of applause for Charlotte Bronte on her perfect foreshadowing for Jane’s character development.  Young Jane can’t imagine thinking well of herself will be enough for her; older Jane clings to that completely in making her difficult decision to leave Mr. Rochester.  


So, really, how many of us could be as strong as adult Jane today?  Our culture is overflowing with our need to be validated and loved by family, friends, and strangers.  How could you bear being alone and hated?  Adult Jane espouses the ideal, but young Jane is the reality.  It would just suck to not be loved by anyone.  While, wonderfully, our culture also supports the fact that loving ourselves is important and leads to happier and healthier lives, young Jane’s plaintive need to be loved is something everyone feels.  It’s something we might not want to verbally admit to, but young Jane’s filter is off, and she is dropping truth.

Brooding About the Brontes

Today kicks off the Brooding About the Brontës event hosted by Girl With Her Head In A Book!  This week on Susie's blog you can find the schedule, book reviews as well as guest posts from some of the participants.  The event has daily topics for bloggers to talk about, but for me, I decided to answer all of the questions in one post, as I have a few other posts planned for this week.  To begin:

Why do you love the Brontës?

The first Brontë book I ever read was Wuthering Heights, which was a strange novel.  One that I didn't really empathize with, but one that I found very fascinating and difficult to put down.  I can't say I really liked Wuthering Heights though, but I decided to give that other Brontë book a chance.  And so I read Jane Eyre, and I was lost forever.  Of course, now I've read all the novels by the sisters, and find them special for different reasons and I think it's because they are varied, and emotional and intense (except Agnes Grey haha) that I love the Brontës' work so much.  The atmosphere, drama and the characters appeal to me.

Pick your favourite Brontë novel

Jane Eyre.  I guess check out my review of Jane Eyre with Gifs if you are interested in more thoughts!

Do you have a ‘favourite sister’?

Charlotte Brontë!  Most because of Jane Eyre.  It's just hard for me to find the other sisters more dear because the mind that would create such a story as Jane Eyre, must be someone I can identify strongly with.  Charlotte seemed the most fun too - snarky, sharp, witty.  I feel like I could have really talked to her.

Pick your favourite Brontë-related book (fiction or non-fiction)

This is hard for me to choose, but I guess I'll go with my favorite retelling of Jane Eyre called "Jane_E: Friendless Orphan" by Erin McCole-Cupp.  It's a futuristic retelling, and it's not very well known, but I think it did a fantastic job of bringing the same amount of emotion to the characters.  It's a more straightforward retelling too, compared to others I have read.  Which I don't necessarily prefer, but it worked well for me in this case.

Are the Brontës being forgotten?

I don't think so - at least not Charlotte and Emily.  Anne has always been overshadowed by her sisters which is unfortunate, but she is often remembered in connection with her sisters.  With it being the 200th anniversary of Charlotte's birth this year, there are even more events and attention being paid to the Brontës lives now which is wonderful.  I'm looking forward to a BBC drama coming out later this year called "To Walk Invisible" all about the Brontë sisters.

Which Brontë fictional heroine (or indeed leading man) do you most closely identify with?

Jane, Jane, Jane.  I love her for her intelligence, her passion, her resiliency, and her morality.  I don't know if I am very like her, but I feel like I often aspire to be her.  I should get a bracelet that says WWJED (What would Jane Eyre do? :D)

Suspense Sundays (195) The Black Path of Fear

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"The Black Path of Fear"

Air date: March 7, 1946
Starring Cary Grant

>>Episodes here<<

Newlyweds Bill and Eve visit Cuba on their honeymoon.  Eve has just gotten away from her former gangster husband, and with the new marriage is eager to put her past behind her.  Unfortunately someone tracks her down to the nightclub they are visiting and stabs her in the back, framing her new husband.  Bill must prove that he's innocent, and with the help of a prostitute, he has a chance.

This is a simple story really, but the draw is Cary Grant in the lead role.  It's always nice to hear Cary's smooth, ironic voice, and he does play put-upon leading men very well.  This put me in mind of North by Northwest with his need to figure out what was going on.   Although nothing can touch that great Hitchcock film.  Even the story is predictable, it is an enjoyable listen.

Movie Musical Challenge: The Gay Divorcee

In Movie Musical Challenge, I'm watching 20 films I picked as great films or films I wanted to watch.  This post is about the 1934 film The Gay Divorcee starring the classic duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

For my second Astaire/Rogers films, this one was another winner - so charming and romantic, and Ginger and Fred are really perfect as a duo.  Great comic timing, chemistry and of course perfect dance partners.  They work beautifully together.

The story of this film, is another fun farcical romance with Astaire chasing after Ginger who is trying to get a divorce.  Astaire's character, Guy, pining for Ginger's character Mimi is over the top and actually I could see why Mimi was so annoyed initially.  But it was a little sweet to see him wear her down (lol) and all the romantic overtures that went with it.  Including sealing the burgeoning relationship with a beautiful, emotional dance.

The film has a great comic aspect in the two supporting cast - Alice Brady and Edward Everett Horton, who are such caricatures, but entertaining nonetheless.  They add to the farcical plot line, and I think Horton's character was a great foil to Astaire's romantic side.

This is a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy, with some fantastic actors and dancing.  I think this is one of the more popular Astaire/Rogers films and I completely understand why.

Review: Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior

Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior
by Leonard Mlodinow
Non-fiction
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard’s Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking), gives us a startling and eye-opening examination of how the unconscious mind shapes our experience of the world and how, for instance, we often misperceive our relationships with family, friends, and business associates, misunderstand the reasons for our investment decisions, and misremember important events.

Your preference in politicians, the amount you tip your waiter—all judgments and perceptions reflect the workings of our mind on two levels: the conscious, of which we are aware, and the unconscious, which is hidden from us. The latter has long been the subject of speculation, but over the past two decades researchers have developed remarkable new tools for probing the hidden, or subliminal, workings of the mind. The result of this explosion of research is a new science of the unconscious and a sea change in our understanding of how the subliminal mind affects the way we live.

Employing his trademark wit and lucid, accessible explanations of the most obscure scientific subjects, Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a tour of this research, unraveling the complexities of the subliminal self and increasing our understanding of how the human mind works and how we interact with friends, strangers, spouses, and coworkers. In the process he changes our view of ourselves and the world around us.

Review:

The workings of the human mind is fascinating to me, so when I heard about this book, I had to pick it up right away.  And not just because of the words that are hidden in the book cover, haha.  For a book that promises a lot of science and facts, I found this to be such a readable and entertaining book.  The author presents the information, with facts and anecdotes very clearly and with just the right balance.  And I learned so much reading this.

It is truly fascinating how our mind works, and how many errors and shortcuts that occur in the way we think.  The author goes through those different aspects, and how susceptible we are to how we perceive the world, until it's hard to know what we can even trust.  But I like that there is the idea that if we know our failings, we can avoid them (also this has been shown in experiments as mentioned in the book), so for that I feel like this is an important read.  People should be aware of how and why they can make mistakes in how they think.

The fact that this book delves into an aspect of psychology that is relatively new, was eye-opening as well. It presents some history on how we used to think the mind, our memory, our hopes and fears came to be, and then shows how it makes more sense that so much of our mind operates on an unconscious level and what that means.  And also how we know that it happens.  This book does go more into the science as opposed to mind tricks (although there are some cool examples of how are minds are not reliable that you can show to your friends!), and I really appreciated how much research went into this book.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, and when I do, it usually takes me some time to read, but this was a breeze to get through.  The writing is engaging and it's almost effortless to take in all the information.  This was a wonderful book!