pontalba

I just finished John Irving's A Widow for One Year. Devastatingly beautiful, moving, heart wrenching story/stories enfolded in a down to earth but lyrical prose that simply took my breath away. Stories within and layered upon stories. Lives enmeshed over a period of roughly 40 years, entwined by grief, enduring, everlasting love wrapped up in fidelity. A marriage, death of children, a new child, inability to cope, flight, and above all Love. Lives colliding, separating, coming together in ways unimagined. This is undoubtedly one of the most moving love stories I have ever read. More than one love story. I found myself alternatively laughing out loud, crying tears of grief and then happiness. Irving runs the gamut of emotion, Highly recommended. Read. This. Book. !!!!

Last night we watched The Door in the Floor. EXCELLENT!

I managed 183/537 pages of A Widow for One Year by John Irving. Excellent! 5 stars already.

I love that scene, the ball room....in the movie it's played just as in the book. Re Melanie, I can't wait till you reach a certain scene...you'll know it when you get there.

I'm going to start John Irving's A Widow for One Year. It's been on my TBR stack for several years, but we just watched The Door in the Floor, which covers the first 1/3rd of the novel. I have to read it now!

Finished The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham. This was my first Maugham, and while some parts dragged, I suppose 3/4th of it was very interesting.

I've started The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham.

I don't know if I'd call Ashley a wimp, he's a product of his times, sort of inbred actually. Ashley was not someone that could deal with reality too well, but he did have some strength. In some ways Melanie is one of the strongest women in the book. Strong in a different way to Scarlett, that's true, but Melanie always had an iron will. KELL, thanks for that great link to the screen tests! Wonderful!

I've read Scarlett, and 'frankly my dear'............... LOL it was pretty bad. Well, that isn't entirely fair, it had some good moments, but it was way over-dramatized, and I have my doubts about how true to the original characters it was. I was disappointed, that's all I can really say. But I don't generally care for romance novels, and this was an out and out Romance Novel. I'd not heard about Lost Laysen, not any details anyhow, I do vaguely recall something about something found. I didn't hear anymore at the time though. That was still in my pre-computer days. Vivian Leigh WAS Scarlett. Hepburn was way too brittle for the role, and as much as I liked Bette Davis, she was not near to right for the role. I liked Susan Heyward as well, but I don't think she had the right ability to project the flirtatiousness, or soft femininity that Leigh was capable of. Regarding the accent...I've read that her English accent was the closest to a Southern accent and that's why she could so easily slip into a realistic Georgia accent.

Just finished Alistair MacLean's Ice Station Zebra. Great adventure yarn. Not dated even though it was written in 1963.

I've recently finished The City & The City by China Mieville, and Elegy For April by Benjamin Black, both mysteries, or detective stories, and verra different. Mieville's TC&TC is a crime/detective noir with a fascinating twist. Fantasy has never been something I intentionally seek out and actually this was no different. My OH had actually ordered this book, and the very day we received it, a discussion opened on it at another forum. Serendipity! Imagine if you will two completely separate cities, boasting everything from separate governments to different languages and customs. Now, you are looking at a map of said cities, and lo and behold, they are in basically the same geographical location. Huh? How did this evolve? How on earth do they manage? They are trained from infant hood to "unsee" the citizens of the other city. Fascinating process. Now, throw in a young woman's murder, a disillusioned detective, a 'smart as a whip' sidekick, oh, and don't forget Breach. What is Breach? When you find out, let me know. Could be anything, could be nothing... Highly recommended. Now, Elegy For April by Benjamin Black is, to my mind, the best of this series. The characters are fully developed, the reader has established a real rapport with them. Whether we like or dislike said characters, we suffer right along with them. A young woman is missing, is she only missing, or has she been done away with by a lover, or possibly one of her kith and kin? Quirke muddles his way through an informal investigation, whilst attempting to repair his relationship with his daughter, a friend of the missing woman. Black is all about feelings and motivations, no crime noir this, but a full bodied attempt to sort out the characters lives. To understand why. Why do people do the things they do. That's what I love about Banville/Black's writing. He is an explorer of the psyche. Verra highly recommended.

I've finished Benjamin Black's Elegy For April, and I have to say it's the best of the series yet IMO. Next up, an oldie, but a goodie. Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean. I've only seen the film 2 or 3 times. Unfortunately the book won't have Patrick McGoohan, but I expect I can struggle along.

I've read the other two Nesbo, and have The Devil's Star on the shelf waiting for me to get to it. Looking forward to reading how you get along with it. I am about a quarter into Elegy for April by Benjamin Black. I've found his detective series a bit up and down, this one is great so far. Happily. We stopped and shopped for a few books today, I picked up two, the only two I think? by Anne Bronte. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Agnes Grey.

I have two of his books, Too Close to Home and Fear the Worst on the shelf TBR. Looking forward to them, especially now!

I'm finally enjoying China Mieville's The City & The City. It took 50 or 60 pages to hook me, but it's going along well now.

Hollywood certainly tested enough actresses for the role! And you are absolutely right, Leigh was the only real Scarlett. Have you ever seen any of the screen tests? I have.

We went to see Salt last night, Angelina Jolie. Lots of action, not all plausible, and one or two holes in the story, but exciting. Room for sequels. /groan/

Wyatt Earp, the version with Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. Pretty good.

The Redbreast? I read that a few years ago, loved it. I have another one, Devil's Star that is right after Nemesis. I think I'll be reading that one in the next few months. Nesbo is an interesting writer. It used to be difficult to even get his books over here. Between waiting for translations, and unavailability in the US, it was a hard go.

We watched Munich last night. /shiver/

I finished Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, and started The City & The City by China Meiville, so far so good.

Everything looks wonderfully shiny and new, and I'm glad the colors are same[ish]. I know what a nightmare a change over can be, and all I can say is Good Job! Thanks to all.

Thanks peacefield. I think the thing that interested me the most was learning how the shark's senses could spot both electronic sorts of vibrations from long distances, but also even something like the leather oars. And literally a drop of blood miles away. /shaking head in amazement/ When those sharks go rogue, it's like a psychopath, or sociopath killer. A real form of insanity.

We loved it, and are considering going back to see it again. I'd posted a few pages back. It was mind bending! We watched The Aviator on DVD tonight. What an intense portrayal of Howard Hughes. I'd seen it before, but forgotten lots of things, heck, if it wasn't for Hughes, Pan Am Airlines would have had a monopoly on international airlines. I'd forgotten that Hughes owned TWA.

Finished Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo. Great book. Posted a small review over in my book list thread here.