tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28560656301559288142024-03-13T18:00:30.591-07:00Scientist Gone WordyLook at me still talking when there's Science to do. --GlaDOSRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.comBlogger456125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-74762230298636266502024-01-03T19:35:00.000-08:002024-01-03T19:35:00.182-08:002023 Favorites<p><b>Favorite fiction:</b> <i>Furious Heaven</i> by Kate Elliott<br /><br /><b>Favorite non-fiction:</b> <i>A History of New Zealand in 100 Objects</i> by Jock Phillips<br /><br /><b>Favorite historical fiction:</b> <i>Where the Rēkohu Bone Sings</i> by Tina Makereti (honorable mention to <i>Kāwai</i> by Monty Soutar which was hugely ambitious but distracting-ly clunky in its writing)<br /><br /><b>Favorite fantasy:</b> <i>Crown of Stars</i> audio version, one of the best narrations I've ever heard. It was such a pleasure to experience this series again via audio<br /><br /><b>Favorite Sci-fi:</b> see favorite fiction :)<br /><br /><b>Favorite Romance:</b> n/a, romance was all meh for me this year but I did re-read <i>The Lion's Daughter</i> by Loretta Chase which I still adore<br /><br /><b>Favorite Thriller/Mystery:</b> <i>Racing the Light</i> by Robert Crais<br /><br /><br />Beyond the pages...<br /><br /><br /><b>TV:</b><br />Favorite - Nothing really stands out to me this year so see surprise hits for shows I didn't expect to like but did.<br />Surprise hit(s) - Lucifer tied with Celebrity tied with The Glory<br />Surprise blunder - See You in My 19th Life<br /><br /><b>Video games:</b><br />Favorite - Paperback: The Game (still lol)<br /><b> </b></p><p><b>Past Editions:</b></p><p>
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2022/12/2022-favorites.html" target="_blank">2022 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2022/03/2021-favorites.html" target="_blank">2021 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-favorites.html" target="_blank">2016 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/2015-favorites.html" target="_blank">2015 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/2014-favorites.html" target="_blank">2014 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/2013-favorites.html" target="_blank">2013 Favorites</a><br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/2011-favorites.html" target="_blank">2011 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-favorites.html">2010 Favorites</a></div><p> </p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-78345806418583514712024-01-01T20:14:00.000-08:002024-01-01T20:16:03.189-08:00Year in Books<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u></u></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJECcgtcyO5KqYJwB9TayusO6AnhrK4AFdlA5xEq0d7m3SNS-EUbHoxmVjozqDmcM4Z0zWfkI1dz8qfehh2_sHRCbKtO-v_Wipvxe2egl3lM5BUj_tEeOgr6rDHLM-hPT_lKrkghW0rbpy4mItPXCFEcuZm_8q2eeFyRoianZWxzYA89k3HKgYHYg3YM/s1280/Presentation1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJECcgtcyO5KqYJwB9TayusO6AnhrK4AFdlA5xEq0d7m3SNS-EUbHoxmVjozqDmcM4Z0zWfkI1dz8qfehh2_sHRCbKtO-v_Wipvxe2egl3lM5BUj_tEeOgr6rDHLM-hPT_lKrkghW0rbpy4mItPXCFEcuZm_8q2eeFyRoianZWxzYA89k3HKgYHYg3YM/w640-h360/Presentation1.jpg" width="640" /></a></u></span></div><p></p><br /><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Started: <span> </span> 55<br />Finished: <span> </span>46<br />non-fiction: 10<br />poetry: <span> </span>1<br />short story: 1<br />audiobook: 5<br />Total pages: 14,438</b></div><p><b> </b></p><p><b>Longest: </b> <i>Furious Heaven</i> by Kate Elliott<br /><b>Shortest: </b> <i>Āria</i> by Jessica Hinerangi<br /><br /><b>Most catalogued:</b><br /><i>Piranesi</i> by Susanna Clarke<br /><br /><b>Most catalogued DNF:</b><br /><i>Six of Crows</i> by Leigh Bardugo<br /><b><br />Only catalogued by me:</b><br /><i>Āria</i> by Jessica Hinerangi<br /><i>The Cloud Dream of Nine: A Korean Novel</i> by KIM Man Jung<br /><i>Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Oman and Zanzibar: Family Ancestral Edition</i> by Emily Ruete<br /><i>Under the Covers: Secrets of a Magazine Editor</i> by Jenny Lynch<br /><br />NB:<br />I switched to LibraryThing for tracking my books so this is my attempt to create a Goodreads end of year summary. I always liked their graphic and will miss it.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-69419689037357540192022-12-31T01:00:00.002-08:002024-01-01T19:40:55.757-08:002022 Favorites<p><b>Favorite fiction:</b> <i>Kuragnaituku</i> by Whiti Hereaka<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite non-fiction:</b> <i>Struggle Without End</i> by Ranginui Walker<br />
<br /><b>Favorite historical fiction:</b> <i>Shanghai Girls</i> by Lisa See<br />
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<b>Favorite fantasy:</b> <i>The City of Brass</i> by S. A. Chakraborty<br /></p><p><b>Favorite Sci-fi:</b> <i>The Snow Queen</i> by Joan D. Vinge (must laugh at myself for this one as it was a re-read but I didn't realize until I'd almost finished it that i'd already read it. i'd even reviewed it on goodreads, apparently i liked it the first time, as well)<br />
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<b>Favorite Romance:</b> <i>The A.I. Who Loved Me</i> by Alyssa Cole<br />
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<b>Most re-read book first read in 2022:</b> <i>Servant Mage</i> by Kate Elliott<br />
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<b>Most re-read author in 2022:</b> This was a year of heavy re-reading with lots of Kameron Hurley, Courtney Milan and Kate Elliott in the mix<br />
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<br />Beyond the pages...</p><p>
<br />
<b>TV:</b><br />
Favorite - <i>Marriage, Not Dating</i><br />
Surprise hit - <i>Lupin</i><br />
Surprise blunder - <i>Love in Contract</i><br />
<br />
<b>Video games</b>:<br />
Favorite - <i>Paperback: The Game</i> <br />
<br /> </p><p><b>Past Editions:</b></p><p>
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2022/03/2021-favorites.html" target="_blank">2021 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-favorites.html" target="_blank">2016 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/2015-favorites.html" target="_blank">2015 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/2014-favorites.html" target="_blank">2014 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/2013-favorites.html" target="_blank">2013 Favorites</a><br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/2011-favorites.html" target="_blank">2011 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-favorites.html">2010 Favorites</a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-75974261171384174782022-12-30T21:45:00.000-08:002022-12-30T21:45:05.553-08:00Year in Books<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpb9sUZz0q9j9iniI_JZfyh56Iw-lDBrf3qI9a5hrv9totWIeAnhwIaRcWxL_9Adz72ZwEtiieSlaklr6QnGmCIeIo59HKcn7g9sQlsyUpW_HlROFLwGsMV1ioI2KpNEc0vuD4OfMgHC9pzlS4oVHFbdRbkat_9PLjWfy0o6FhWqjN26jF3__CzES3/s618/yearbooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="277" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpb9sUZz0q9j9iniI_JZfyh56Iw-lDBrf3qI9a5hrv9totWIeAnhwIaRcWxL_9Adz72ZwEtiieSlaklr6QnGmCIeIo59HKcn7g9sQlsyUpW_HlROFLwGsMV1ioI2KpNEc0vuD4OfMgHC9pzlS4oVHFbdRbkat_9PLjWfy0o6FhWqjN26jF3__CzES3/w286-h640/yearbooks.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">NB: <i>Child of Flame</i> was a re-read since the audiobook came out so that should actually be 38hrs vs 916 pages<i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Willy Nilly</i> is that Least Shelved title. Sadly, if I want ISBN13 numbers in my goodreads records, I often have to choose the edition with no cover. </span><br /></div><p> </p><p>Another year of not reading as much as usual... or maybe I just don't read as much as I used to. I admit I don't have the patience I previously did. I've become a little pickier, quitting books with so few pages read they don't even make it on my "read, did-not-finish" shelf, and not wanting to read yet another version of the same old story unless it has some sort of variation that really pulls me in. </p><p>I also don't think I click with current fads. Something about the pacing and voice of newly published works all read exactly the same to me. I took this as inspiration to re-read old favorites and to spend more time in the stacks. I have a feeling I'll be doing that again in 2023 (with, as always, the exception of my auto-buy authors:).<br /></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-81440648447737747122022-04-30T00:00:00.057-07:002022-05-01T00:46:21.554-07:00The Last Duel by Eric Jager<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfo4lGfx82nmSeqx0XgOZguN2BgvxQPrrZJYspA-gaxy4A93p4tPUhSD7eq3-bSqkUor14XqPBfVE7sxJmxXnQYS7qg7HRMnCGxZ_ZzCAh_Ly7xGckyPpB2dNMvWLeJ9kOjhzydWO9wjWjgUN8RLmPPC-h_k9HaD9k1-HON5kaajQJgtI5gBrJeUG/s502/lastduelcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfo4lGfx82nmSeqx0XgOZguN2BgvxQPrrZJYspA-gaxy4A93p4tPUhSD7eq3-bSqkUor14XqPBfVE7sxJmxXnQYS7qg7HRMnCGxZ_ZzCAh_Ly7xGckyPpB2dNMvWLeJ9kOjhzydWO9wjWjgUN8RLmPPC-h_k9HaD9k1-HON5kaajQJgtI5gBrJeUG/s320/lastduelcover.jpg" width="211" /></a></b></span></div><p></p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Eric Jager</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: Broadway Books (<span style="font-family: inherit;">2004</span>)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was delighted when Michael sent an email my way asking if I'd be interested in a revisit to <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank">the joint post series</a> for a book that has recently been adapted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to what was once a monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/2022/04/30/the-last-duel-2021/" target="_blank"><b>The Last Duel</b></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Last Duel, </i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">while technically a misnomer, is perfectly summarized by its subtitle.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> If you decide to pick this one up, you will indeed learn the true story of France's last trial by combat. The combatants were Jean de Carrouges, an unlikeable, litigious knight of good family, and Jacques Le Gris, a newly influential squire and former friend of the above. Le Gris was also a very close friend to the overlord of both men. The trial comes about because Marguerite de Carrouges accused Le Gris of rape [note: the assault and thus the testimony is graphic]. He is acquited of the crime by the above-mentioned overlord and thus Jean de Carrouges, Marguerite's husband, appeals to the king to seek justice via trial by combat. And so began what was a surprisingly (to me) bureaucratic chain of events. Trial by combat was an old and, by this time, unusual legal proceeding which had very strict rules governing it. Additionally, under fuedal law, Marguerite herself had no legal standing in this case without her husband's support and so rather than being the plaintiff, she was the chief witness. This was not a position without danger, if her husband lost the combat she would also be seen to have been false in her testimony and so would be put to death.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eric Jager does an excellent job of placing the reader inside medieval France. The interwoven threads of contemporary political, cultural, social, and geographical elements are well described and make it easy to understand the relationships, political connections, and what is truly at stake. That being the case, it was not only jarring but quite sobering to read a statement that could come from any number of sources published this year.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><blockquote>So if in theory rape was a serious crime for which the law provided heavy penalties, in practice it often went unpunished, unprosecuted, and even unreported.</blockquote></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a credit to the writing that we can easily slip into these lives and understand their experiences and motivations. It's disquieting to feel those experiences can resonate so fully with us today.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to firmly establishing the local political framework, Jager takes special care to describe civic infrastructure. Pardon the dry term but it does seem the best way to encapsulate how clearly he helps the reader to understand the types of roads that were being traveled, the layout of the cities, and the buildings wherein events took place. It was often in these thorough descriptions that I would find myself most firmly in "the past is a foreign country" territory. For instance, the trial took place at a monastery because Saint-Martin-des-Champ maintained a battlefield! It also contained a tribunal and a prison since it was the local criminal court. I will never think of a monastery in quite the same way again. And while we're here, let me not forget to mention that animals(!!) were also tried and condemned at Saint-Martin's.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I found too that Jager's committment to bringing medieval France to the modern reader hid entire books in throwaway sentences.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><blockquote>The altar was maintained by a tax on lawyers and alms paid by the accomplices in the murder of Evain Dol, a judge of the Parlement slain by his wife's lover in 1369.</blockquote></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Um, excuse me? You hit me with that and then just immediately carry on to the next paragraph?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One last little detail that really caught my attention was the fact that the trial had to be watched in total silence. The layout of the field of combat is detailed in the relevant chapter and, also, all the ways in which fairness was ensured. Most of this was in the design of the grounds and fencing but another rule was silence. Nothing was to distract either combatant. I truly cannot imagine watching two people fight first on horseback and then on foot, to the death, in total silence but for the sounds of the combat itself.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all I found this a rich, accessible text that wonderfully brought forth the humanity of those at the center of what were very violent and traumatic events. It can be hard to read violent testimony but I think Eric Jager takes care to present this accounting, as best he can, from the perspectives of those that left it. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/2022/04/30/the-last-duel-2021/" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">4</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span>
</p><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Want a little behind the scenes on this book and the movie? Listen to an interview with the author <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2021/10/last-duel-eric-jager/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Want to hear a couple of historians chat about the movie? <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2021/10/the-last-duel-a-movie-review/" target="_blank">Click here</a> (same podcast as above, different episode).</span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Want a little trial by combat in your fiction? Don't miss this <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/802147.For_My_Lady_s_Heart" target="_blank">must read</a>! It's great in audio, as well. </span></div><div class="yiv8495920418MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432887870827_3967"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">. <br /></span></span></b></span></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-26106972652520729682022-04-28T22:00:00.003-07:002022-04-28T22:02:34.223-07:00Four Years of Dramas<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">To celebrate four years of drama watching, here is my top ten <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chicago Typewriter<br />Healer<br />Hotel del Luna<br />It's Okay to Not Be Okay<br />The Legend of the Blue Sea<br />My Country: The New Age<br />My Love From the Star<br />Nirvana in Fire*</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Search: WWW<br />Sell Your Haunted House</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">228 dramas started (and counting), 108 completed</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*the one and only cdrama I've watched :)</span> </span><br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-52853660765071227062022-04-23T21:10:00.000-07:002022-04-23T21:10:18.025-07:00Dusting it off<p><span style="font-size: large;"> I've been off and on going through this blog for *mumble, mumble* years to tidy it up. I downloaded the whole thing to preserve for myself as a diary of sorts but also to go through each and every post. I wanted to evaluate if posts a) should still be taking up space on the internet or b) needed some editing. To that end I have...<br /><br />Deleted posts that-<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">were relevant in that specific moment in time (sales, contests, events)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">centered on topics that I've moved beyond and others had/have more thoughtful things to say than me (like how many posts of me ranting against the BCS does the internet need to preserve?)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">were connected to dead ends (the internet is forever except when it isn't)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">were the 4th, 9th, or billionth link to a particular author/writer; feels like I should just link directly to their work at this point in the link widget</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">highlighted people we ("we the public", I imagine a certain collection of folks always knew) now know to have been actively damaging to their colleagues/communities</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br />[revert to] Drafted posts-<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">where my thinking has evolved so much that I want to revisit/refresh the topic. This didn't end up being that many posts. That's not at all because I am some bastion of wisdom and knowledge knowing all things on all topics but because I was trying to be very careful to not wholly discard snapshots of my thinking in the past.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Edited posts that-<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">had dead links</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">had typos</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">had unclear language</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">used language I've tried to remove from my vocabulary </span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">had titles that were too connected to in-jokes or what was happening very specifically that week/month/year and so weren't really descriptive</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />There were a few posts that I outright wanted to delete for no better reason than I thought they were badly written, or lacked a coherant through-line of what my thoughts were. I can read between the lines since I remember the experience but I expressed myself so poorly the post absolutely did not make the point I wanted it to. Or the posts that address topics I know more about, or have more context for now so they feel embarassingly inadequate. However, in the end, I left them as part of preserving not just snapshots of my thinking but also how self-expression/knowledge changes... or how sometimes you just have a bad writing day.</span></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-39781807989161419552022-03-21T17:37:00.004-07:002022-03-21T17:53:47.442-07:002021 Favorites<p><b>Favorite fiction:</b> Tie!<br /><i>The Story of a New Zealand River</i> by Jane Mander<br /><i>Circe</i> by Madeline Miller<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite non-fiction:</b> <i>Merchant, Miner, Mandarin: The life and times of the remarkable Choie Sew Hoy</i> by Jenny Sew Hoy Agnew<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite mystery/thriller:</b> <i>N/A</i> <br />
<br />
<b>Favorite historical fiction:</b> <i>Pachinko</i> by Min Jin Lee<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite fantasy:</b> N/A, the fantasy I read this year just did not click with me<br /></p><p><b>Favorite Sci-fi:</b> <i>Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand</i> by Samuel R. Delany<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite Romance:</b> <i>The Heart Principle</i> by Helen Hoang<br />
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<b>Favorite Short Stories:</b> N/A<br />
<br />
<b>Surprise hit:</b> <i>Gamechanger</i> by L.X. Beckett<br />
<br /><b>Favorite author discovered in 2021:</b> N/A<br />
<br />
<b>Most re-read book first read in 2021:</b> N/A<br />
<br />
<b>Most re-read author in 2021:</b> Kate Elliott<br />
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<br />
And since I do occasionally do something other than read...<br />
<br />
<b>TV:</b><br />
Favorite - <i>Sell Your Haunted House</i><br />
Surprise hit - Tie! <i>Happiness</i> and <i>Nirvana in Fire</i><br />
Surprise blunder - <i>Thirty-Nine</i><br />
<br />
<b>Video games</b>:<br />
Favorite - <i>ibb&obb</i> <br />
<br /> </p><p><b>Past Editions:</b></p><p>
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-favorites.html" target="_blank">2016 Favorites</a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/2015-favorites.html" target="_blank">2015 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/2014-favorites.html" target="_blank">2014 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/2013-favorites.html" target="_blank">2013 Favorites</a><br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/2011-favorites.html" target="_blank">2011 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-favorites.html">2010 Favorites</a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-33993631930069662512018-02-26T23:17:00.000-08:002019-11-04T23:39:36.705-08:00I did not read a blog post by Jesus today.Purely by accident, I came by my very <a href="https://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2009/01/under-construction.html" target="_blank">first blog post</a> via a google search for something else (but still including sgwordy - let's not kid ourselves that I'm some kind of presence offered up by google searches). I barely remember writing it, but all the sentiments remain: I still mourn that email is dead all these years later. And now blogs are dead. Well, mine at least. Though I like knowing it's here for the memories - and if I ever get a wild hair to write something (wild hair here) - it's pretty obvious it's in some kind of comatose state. I don't think it's just me either. Of the blog community of which I used to be a part, I'd say about 95% of those blogs are quiet now. It feels like the only ones that really continued are those that were turned into commercial ventures.<br />
<br />
I wonder if other folks visit their quiet blog corners and smile at the memories. I know I do. Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-72087082210472147722017-05-29T04:00:00.001-07:002022-04-23T19:27:34.997-07:00King Rat by James Clavell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPaKBI-U8gUK2DKUHvz-LyoLlfvXJ7pbqc8LJIC0rwE4gb5dxBGz59QQRd1v7BA9ufVwgkyzqQvJ7H2IOClHvTl8O0c-keMZUeFDf0omb_xH3M_SmXSn2Mw-BPSmWwbm0ldEfCWleBBw/s1600/king-rat.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPaKBI-U8gUK2DKUHvz-LyoLlfvXJ7pbqc8LJIC0rwE4gb5dxBGz59QQRd1v7BA9ufVwgkyzqQvJ7H2IOClHvTl8O0c-keMZUeFDf0omb_xH3M_SmXSn2Mw-BPSmWwbm0ldEfCWleBBw/s320/king-rat.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: King Rat </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: James Clavell </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: <span style="font-family: inherit;">Nelson Doubleday, Inc.</span> (<span style="font-family: inherit;">1962</span>)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was delighted when Michael sent an email my way asking if I'd be interested in a reprise of <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank">the joint post series</a> for a book that harkens back to <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/empire-of-sun-by-jg-ballard.html" target="_blank">a past pick of ours</a>. I think he picked an evocative novel to revisit as we remember the sacrifices of American soldiers who have died in service to their country.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to what was once a monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=43850" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>King Rat</b></span></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>King Rat</i> is set in 1945 in the WWII Japanese POW camp of Changi.The King is the operator around whom this novel revolves. He is variously seen as a thief, liar, oppressor, caretaker, and friend. Despite being in a POW camp I don't think anyone ever sees him as a victim, he certainly doesn't. Nor would he think of himself as any of the adjectives I used above.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Peter Marlowe meets the King by chance and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Unlikely not just as regards personality or class, but unlikely in that Marlowe might be the only person to know the King and still think he can have friends. The King is clearly portrayed as having come from a lower class background (though he is American, not British so his views on this would be different than Marlowe's) and his entire world is centered on camp business opportunities. Marlowe is descended from several generations of highly regarded British soldiers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Well, I couldn't go into business. Marlowes aren't tradesmen..."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the King absolutely does not understand non-transactional interactions, Marlowe is bound to a personal honor code that he brings to any friendship. It is against this relationship that we see the last months of the Changi POW camp before liberation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wouldn't say I'm an extensive reader of WWII POW camp books but what strikes me every time I encounter one is the absurd normal that evolves for the prisoners. Much of it is easy to see as microcosms of a prisoner's home culture: Factions and alliances form, secret economies are maintained, debts and favors are scrupulously guarded. As a reader, it's easy to fall into these familiar rhythms and, despite it being the daily norm for the prisoners, be genuinely shocked when they don't have food or clothes or medicine. It's the familiar routines of life overlaid on a horrific existence that can take chapters to assimilate. (However, on the one hand, I don't want to assimilate it. I don't want to forget the horror of war simply because people are resilient enough to survive it.)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Clavell himself was from a British military family and was imprisoned in Changi. This story and its characters are supposed to be fiction but it's hard not try overlay Clavell onto Marlowe and he was inspired by an actual American prisoner for the King's character. Regardless of how autobiographical the novel is, it's undeniable that his experience in the prison camp brings this book to life in a way that is at once searing and disturbing. Even in its touching or lighter moments one can't escape the underlying tension and fear carried by everyone in the camp. It's a gift to readers that those who had these experiences are able (and willing!) to so eloquently share them.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">**Note: the rest of this review is spoiler-ish</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The King and his entourage (for lack of a better word) - and his enemies - play several cat and mouse games in attempts to maintain power, either through control of resources or control of behavior. This includes the guards (the officer-prisoners) setting up various spying plans to the King's rat breeding program (yeah, that's real!). But what has lingered in my mind far past reading the last page is how in the midst of, again, this horrific experience some people were able to be themselves for the first time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The King was a fairly obvious one to me. It was pretty clear that he was not going to be happy when the prison camp was liberated. I know how bizarre that sounds but it was certainly where his character was going. Clavell brilliantly reveals this in the juxtaposition of Marlowe and the King's response to the American soldiers who come to extract the prisoners.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sea welcomed her and made her sleep easy, and then, in the course of time, devoured the clothes and body and the time of her.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's not heavily explored but often hinted at that several of the prisoners find intimacy with each other who may not necessarily be gay. Also, though, I speculate that many soldiers who were gay but unable to be open about it could explore it here. I'll make no comment on whether that was a positive or a negative considering the prison camp backdrop but Clavell makes a very compelling case that one of the soldiers was transgender and might never have been able to fully accept that outside of the prison camp. This is not exactly a happy book with happy endings but I found it especially heartbreaking that Betty didn't survive liberation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And that is something that will be on my mind today. So many do not survive. Let's honor them by getting it right next time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=43850" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">4</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a></span>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-2812999611826777232017-04-19T15:07:00.005-07:002017-04-19T15:07:52.366-07:00Good Bones by Maggie SmithI really adore <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/89897" target="_blank">this poem</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-420930162179837852017-03-22T01:00:00.000-07:002017-03-22T01:00:49.415-07:00Untitled<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5656">
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<div class="yiv6110559602MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5654">
I
was recently reading a book that was somewhere in the vicinity of 500
pages. It was holding my attention well at first but eventually those
few things that weren’t connecting with me as a reader (mostly craft but
a little bit characterization
as well) kept pushing me further and further from the story until I got
to around page 400 and abandoned the whole endeavor (possibly
temporarily, possibly forever, who knows). However, I remain fascinated
by the book being a perfect example of what I don’t
like about my own writing. </div>
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</div>
<div class="yiv6110559602MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5669">
My
own writing, I must say, is a meager and not oft seen thing. I enjoy
writing and have outlined dozens (hundreds?) of stories but I seem way
too easily distracted by “research.” Reading is my favorite brand of
research but I can be distracted
for weeks on random scientific or historical topics in the internet
rabbit hole. Despite that, I have a distinct aspect of craft that never
changes no matter what writing challenges I might otherwise explore. I
like using the fewest words possible and I like
writing built as much around what is not said as what is. </div>
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</div>
<div class="yiv6110559602MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5671">
So,
back to this book I was reading. Scenes were constructed and dialogue
used in eerily similar ways to my own writing. But to my own writing
that I discarded or re-wrote because I wasn’t quite hitting the right
balance. The exact right
balance is a thing nebulously defined in my own head and constantly
refined as I write (seriously, I’ll go back and revise something I wrote
10 years ago just because I think I’ve finally found the exact right
turn of phrase). But, whatever it is, this book
was not hitting it. I was constantly editing it in my mind and
rearranging scenes or dialogue to tell the story better. It was like I
was revising a first draft and who wants that in a reading experience? I
might have got over it but I was also finding the
main relationship between two brothers increasingly tedious (turns out
there is a finite number of fist fights I can tolerate between two
people before I’m over it) so it was time to set the book aside. But,
but, but! I’m glad to have come by it as I thought
long and hard as to why someone who employs my own darling craft
preference could be so majorly striking out with me. And now I have
words! Words!</div>
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</div>
<div class="yiv6110559602MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5673">
There was no emotional resonance.</div>
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The
thing about saying less and using what is not said as a way to
communicate with your reader is that, if done incorrectly, connections
can feel abrupt and flat. An emotional connection with the characters
or situation becomes a lot
more difficult. Obscure dialogue or interactions can result in an
inquisitive reader avidly turning pages or to a confused, disinterested
reader not much bothered at giving up 4/5s of the way through the book.</div>
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<div class="yiv6110559602MsoNormal" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490168448946_5676">
What
I want is the balance of less leading to that tug in my chest that
means I can’t imagine not staying with a story on its emotional path.
</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-38636700463668472882017-03-10T13:36:00.000-08:002017-03-10T13:36:26.221-08:00When will we get off this merry-go-round?One hopes that with each successive year we move to new and more interesting places but, alas, we are <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/03/international-womens-day-clara-zetkin-working-class-socialist/" target="_blank">still having the same conversations our foremothers had 100 years ago</a>. Will today's vigorous conversations mean that in another 100 years this will finally be history?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jN5F0CHJij9w5KiPwp7CCaNVpQ0G14VvLL9fIe66_ghkHBR8WDYGKfAKfySlz2VF3F6sblRPOp-QiBU9D_ASq5O4ppTBqoru62Wk3Rm5OGGA6wBCimtFfE04ZToMN3-lwFQkMW2a9ns/s1600/article+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jN5F0CHJij9w5KiPwp7CCaNVpQ0G14VvLL9fIe66_ghkHBR8WDYGKfAKfySlz2VF3F6sblRPOp-QiBU9D_ASq5O4ppTBqoru62Wk3Rm5OGGA6wBCimtFfE04ZToMN3-lwFQkMW2a9ns/s320/article+quote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-25072765705499219252017-01-13T18:38:00.000-08:002017-01-13T18:38:03.757-08:00Hmmm<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Andrew rattles off information about the music playing in the pizza to
his girlfriend, Nicole (Melissa Benoist). Sebastian, of course, plays
for Mia and teaches her to appreciate jazz. Music, then, effectively
serves as both an emotional conduit and a subtle affirmation of power:
where Fletcher uses his status as Andrew’s teacher as a cudgel to assert
his dominance, Guy and Sebastian — and, indeed, Andrew — maintain their
status as the more worldly, dominant partner in a subtler way, through
the assertion of their artistic skill and cultural knowledge. With the
exception of Mia, the women on the receiving end of this treatment are
directionless and therefore ideal counterparts: Madeline’s field in
graduate school is never specified, Nicole doesn’t even know her major,
and all we know about Elena is that she is so incompetent that she has
to have a man show her how to boil water. (<em>That</em> is the stuff of fantasy.)</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Full article <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/art-age-masculinist-hollywood-damien-chazelles-la-la-land/" target="_blank">here</a>. Warning: spoilers for all the films in the article. Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-90172323013939935312016-12-31T00:00:00.003-08:002022-03-23T15:24:52.023-07:002016 Favorites<b>Favorite fiction:</b> <i>Shahnameh</i> by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (Dick Davis translation)<br />
An unusual pick as it was a year long read but a very worthwhile endeavor<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite non-fiction:</b> <i>Margaret Mahy: a writer's life</i> by Tessa Tuder<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite mystery/thriller:</b> <i>N/A</i> <br />
<br />
<b>Favorite historical fiction:</b> <i>Mr Allbones' Ferrets</i> by Fiona Farrell<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite fantasy:</b> <i>The Obelisk Gate</i> by N. K. Jemisin<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite Sci-fi:</b> <i>Planetfall </i>by Emma Newman<br />
The end left me a bit unsatisfied but this one otherwise really kept me turning pages<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite Romance:</b> <i>Mr Allbones' Ferrets</i> by Fiona Farrell<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite Short Stories:</b> <i>Best of Women's Short Stories, Vol 3</i><br />
<br />
<b>Surprise hit:</b> <i>Sunstorm</i> by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter<br />
This title sort of petered out for me but still, for a random audio pick at the library, I was really into it.<br />
<br />
<b>Surprise blunder:</b> <i>Station Eleven </i>by Emily St. John Mandel<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite author discovered in 2016:</b> N/A<br />
<br />
<b>Most re-read book first read in 2016:</b> <i>N/A</i><br />
<br />
<b>Most re-read author in 2016:</b> Laura Kinsale<br />
<br />
<br />
And since I do occasionally do something other than read...<br />
<br />
<b>Movies</b>:<br />
Favorite - <i>Moana</i><br />
Surprise hit - <i>Love & Friendship</i><br />
Surprise blunder - <i>The Hunstman: Winter's War</i><br />
<br />
<b>Video games</b>:<br />
Favorite - <i>Portal 2</i> <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Honorable mention</b> to <i>3%</i> but I didn't watch a lot of TV so I don't really have much of a list to begin with
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Past Editions:</b><i> </i><br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/2015-favorites.html" target="_blank">2015 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/2014-favorites.html" target="_blank">2014 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/2013-favorites.html" target="_blank">2013 Favorites</a><br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/2011-favorites.html" target="_blank">2011 Favorites</a> <br />
<a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-favorites.html">2010 Favorites</a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-40511390297832948462016-12-30T21:26:00.001-08:002022-03-23T15:23:18.930-07:00Year in Books<div style="text-align: center;">
Still a sucker for my Year in Books</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfDePE5WzvfWOZxEVd-BofffdKGX4i5SnKXCqdksSEWI-YS9DGdamxdDmja8KtBo04_Lv9tTZhQ4NlcPls61V6vabyyR2ypVHT9lpgsSQLzzKH6w18nkeNMpBO2C2wciGZAjRM7cr7IE/s1600/Year+in+Books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfDePE5WzvfWOZxEVd-BofffdKGX4i5SnKXCqdksSEWI-YS9DGdamxdDmja8KtBo04_Lv9tTZhQ4NlcPls61V6vabyyR2ypVHT9lpgsSQLzzKH6w18nkeNMpBO2C2wciGZAjRM7cr7IE/s640/Year+in+Books.jpg" width="585" /></a></div>
<br />Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-29336457907729572752016-11-21T04:00:00.000-08:002016-11-22T22:10:59.767-08:00That's a wrap!<span style="font-size: large;">After seven years of great fun <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank">exploring books and their adaptations</a>, Michael and I are rolling credits on our duo posts. I guess this is an epilogue of sorts... just to make sure we keep in line with our chosen media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My partner in crime (and science fiction and horror and drama and Etc) in what I ended up tagging <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank">the joint post series</a> has a wonderful summary of what we analyzed over the years (with charts! be still my heart!) which you can find here:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=41889" target="_blank">Seven Years in Parallel</a> at It Rains... You Get Wet</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have a wander over there to see exactly what we've been up to over the
years. That includes genres, authors, directors, etc. It's an excellent
breakdown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm truly surprised 7 years went by for this series without me really noticing that holy shit(!) 7 years have gone by! What a fun ride it's been. Finding Michael in the blogiverse (back when we were only a car ride apart rather than an ocean) and then finding our Craisie love overlapped in scifi as well, is what got this whole ball rolling. I asked Michael if he would (please, please) review <i>Minority Report</i> because I loved the movie and his film reviews and wanted to see what he would have to say. He's a clever one and said "Yes, but..." And that resulted in me reviewing the short story that inspired the film. I love that that one kicked us off as I still watch and enjoy the film these 7 years later; and it's fitting for a Duo that had the most overlap of enjoyment in that genre.<br /><br /><b><br />My favorite reviews for whatever reason</b><br /><br />I'm definitely also including <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2010/05/minority-report-by-philip-k-dick.html" target="_blank"><i>Minority Report</i></a>. I'd never reviewed a short story before and hadn't thought to give it a re-read after seeing the film. <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2011/05/jurassic-park-part-i.html" target="_blank"><i>Jurassic Park</i></a> and <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/life-of-pi-by-yann-martel.html" target="_blank"><i>Life of Pi</i></a> were definitely up there as faves since they are enduring favorites in my reading life. <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2010/08/scanner-darkly-by-phlip-k-dick.html" target="_blank"><i>A Scanner Darkly</i></a> was a true delight as I'd never even heard of it and ended up loving it. I'm going to throw <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/hombre-by-elmore-leonard.html" target="_blank"><i>Hombre</i></a> in there as well as I'm not a huge fan of Westerns but this one charmed the heck out of me (but please don't be confused, it's not charming:)<br /><br /><b>My favorite reader pick</b><br />Movie: <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/all-you-need-is-kill-by-hiroshi.html" target="_blank"><i>Edge of Tomorrow</i></a><br />Book: <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/breakfast-at-tiffanys-by-truman-capote.html" target="_blank"><i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i></a><br /><b><br />My favorite collection of reviews is also 2011's.</b><br /><br /><b>My favorite and least favorite reviews to do for titles we each picked</b><br /> <u>Me</u> <br />Favorite: <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2011/05/jurassic-park-part-i.html" target="_blank"><i>Jurassic Park</i></a><br />Least Favorite: Gonna repeat on that <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/salmon-fishing-in-yemen-by-paul-torday.html" target="_blank"><i>Salmon Fishing in the Yemen</i></a><br /> <u>Michael</u><br />Favorite: <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/empire-of-sun-by-jg-ballard.html" target="_blank"><i>Empire of the Sun</i></a><br />Least Favorite: <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/hell-house-by-richard-matheson.html" target="_blank"><i>Hell House</i></a><br /><br /><br />Thanks for an amazing run, Michael! Without you I'd never have learned to listen to audiobooks, read so many books published in the 70s or had this much fun spread over 7 years! Cheers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>rating: 5 of 5 stars</b> ;-)</span>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-39819037244658283082016-10-31T04:00:00.000-07:002016-10-31T04:00:09.310-07:00The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjDFrHQStsEYjICTQ6dwfsLTuQGk-jgMls5K9KQG_cEaw-yA84xZETpQFWcd1Nj-nsMdIjd2ClTar09N14IT-6MzS9IXQl49Viu_PkMz73_gmfTEKl_ooEyF8YokzEC7ZVe7UbsGQuSo/s1600/28464342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjDFrHQStsEYjICTQ6dwfsLTuQGk-jgMls5K9KQG_cEaw-yA84xZETpQFWcd1Nj-nsMdIjd2ClTar09N14IT-6MzS9IXQl49Viu_PkMz73_gmfTEKl_ooEyF8YokzEC7ZVe7UbsGQuSo/s320/28464342.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: The Sentinel </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Jeffrey Konvitz </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: <span style="font-family: inherit;">Simon & Schuster</span> (<span style="font-family: inherit;">19<span style="font-family: inherit;">74</span></span>)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's that spooky time of year again when the pick of the month is a creepy title to stick with the mood of ghosts, goblins, and the like. Funny, these never feature candy...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
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Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=41690" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sentinel</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Allison Parker has returned to New York after <span style="font-family: inherit;">spending 4 months at her family's home.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> She left 7 years ago due to traumatic events within the family and her father's funeral has brought all those memories to the forefront. As she trie<span style="font-family: inherit;">s to <span style="font-family: inherit;">settle back in with work and friends, her o<span style="font-family: inherit;">ver-bearing and prickly boyfriend turns out to be the least of her daily annoyances. The neighbors in her new apartment building take quirky to an entirely different level.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Allison's <span style="font-family: inherit;">physical <span style="font-family: inherit;">health also seems to have deteriorated. She suffers from acute, blinding migrain<span style="font-family: inherit;">es<span style="font-family: inherit;">; sporadic paralysis<span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span> and bl<span style="font-family: inherit;">ackouts. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Along with the visit to her childhood home, <span style="font-family: inherit;">t</span></span>he mental and ph<span style="font-family: inherit;">ysical stress she is experiencing <span style="font-family: inherit;">ha<span style="font-family: inherit;">ve</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> inspired her to re-ex<span style="font-family: inherit;">plore her Catholic faith. Her <span style="font-family: inherit;">desi<span style="font-family: inherit;">re to rekindle <span style="font-family: inherit;">this</span>, and the conflict that arises <span style="font-family: inherit;">with her boyfriend (Michael) b<span style="font-family: inherit;">ecause of it, was an interesting angle that wasn't really purs<span style="font-family: inherit;">u<span style="font-family: inherit;">ed beyond what was convenient for <span style="font-family: inherit;">the plot. I found that <span style="font-family: inherit;">a <span style="font-family: inherit;">disappointing <span style="font-family: inherit;">hole in the book</span> in light of what is slowly reveal<span style="font-family: inherit;">ed</span> about Allison.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of slow re<span style="font-family: inherit;">veals, that was probably my favorit<span style="font-family: inherit;">e thing about this title. <span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a very p<span style="font-family: inherit;">leasing blur between horror and mystery in the plot. In fact, the horror comes rather lat<span style="font-family: inherit;">er and it's the mys<span style="font-family: inherit;">tery that hooks from the beginning. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only <span style="font-family: inherit;">do event<span style="font-family: inherit;">s <span style="font-family: inherit;">start to unr<span style="font-family: inherit;">avel for Allison (and the reader) but the possibly ominous background<span style="font-family: inherit;">s of Allison's friends</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> and neighbors <span style="font-family: inherit;">become known as Allison's <span style="font-family: inherit;">poor health lands her in the hospital.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Konvitz sets up <span style="font-family: inherit;">a mystery within a mys<span style="font-family: inherit;">tery when the reader lea<span style="font-family: inherit;">r<span style="font-family: inherit;">ns that <span style="font-family: inherit;">Michael <span style="font-family: inherit;">has a history with a local <span style="font-family: inherit;">detective. When the homicide detective <span style="font-family: inherit;">hears</span> that Michael is connected with Allison (and as such with the strange happenings around her) he takes the case and becomes a thorn in almost everyone's side. The fun part is, as a reader, you're never quite sure if it's the detective or Michael you should be suspicious of.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's slightly aggravating that Allison's story slowly gets taken over <span style="font-family: inherit;">by Michael. As a character, Allis<span style="font-family: inherit;">on is presented <span style="font-family: inherit;">sometimes very pro-active i<span style="font-family: inherit;">n</span> investigating what is happening to her and sometimes as <span style="font-family: inherit;">Michael's puppet. I found it annoying as a reader but also <span style="font-family: inherit;">it just didn't seem to fit with <span style="font-family: inherit;">Allison. The plus side of Michael taking over is, again, you're pretty sure you should be susp<span style="font-family: inherit;">icious of him but he's also the only one finding any kind of satisfying answers as to who might be orchestrating a very bizarre series of events desi<span style="font-family: inherit;">gned <span style="font-family: inherit;">to undermin<span style="font-family: inherit;">e</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Allison's me<span style="font-family: inherit;">ntal and physical well-being.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For all that I enjoyed the mystery <span style="font-family: inherit;">and character reveals there are a lot of really annoying tropes found in this book. I'm pretty limi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ted in my horror genre reading but it seems like <span style="font-family: inherit;">any</span> horror title<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I peruse from</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the 60s and 70s</span></span></span></span> relies heavily on sexual deviation* and sexual violence, women as victims, and <span style="font-family: inherit;">caricatures. Obviously <span style="font-family: inherit;">there is nothing wrong, in and of itself, with any of that (though <span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't really care for the writing short<span style="font-family: inherit;">cut of caricatures) but <span style="font-family: inherit;">a pa<span style="font-family: inherit;">ttern seems <span style="font-family: inherit;">to have been popular in those decades for horro<span style="font-family: inherit;">r novels that really does<span style="font-family: inherit;">n't speak to me as a reader. (I'd love to know if current horror readers feel the genre retains these trop<span style="font-family: inherit;">es and pa<span style="font-family: inherit;">tterns or if new ones have come into fas<span style="font-family: inherit;">hion.)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*I h<span style="font-family: inherit;">ave to take a <span style="font-family: inherit;">moment here to say that the <span style="font-family: inherit;">sexual deviation is, way more often than not, simply sex against prevailing convention. For instance, the homophob<span style="font-family: inherit;">ia on display in this particular book is rampant and, while the two women in question were quite rude, their de<span style="font-family: inherit;">fin<span style="font-family: inherit;">ing characterization was <span style="font-family: inherit;">L</span>esbian and<span style="font-family: inherit;">, <span style="font-family: inherit;">for this book, les<span style="font-family: inherit;">bian = sex<span style="font-family: inherit;">ual deviant.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty terrible.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also didn't <span style="font-family: inherit;">find the prose to be particularly smooth. I was often <span style="font-family: inherit;">distracted by over-long sentences <span style="font-family: inherit;">and weird <span style="font-family: inherit;">strings of adjectives. I su<span style="font-family: inherit;">ppose, in the end, we're here for the mys<span style="font-family: inherit;">tery and <span style="font-family: inherit;">the horror but I could have done with a little more polish<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to the text.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those looking for a<span style="font-family: inherit;">n intriguing mystery and <span style="font-family: inherit;">a bit of horro<span style="font-family: inherit;">r (with what can only be described as a balls-out audaciou<span style="font-family: inherit;">s ending) you'll certainly find a lot to enjoy <span style="font-family: inherit;">in <i>The Sentinel</i>. <span style="font-family: inherit;">However, be prepared that the prose and prejudices can <span style="font-family: inherit;">be quite distracting.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=41690" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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</div>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">2</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Finale</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-87444896204069946012016-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:002016-10-28T17:45:13.493-07:00Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKUhk74aOnZODbMq6QbNL48vK0YQKmtWzZXKX45mDiGKLdhaDro6oihU-fEegFo9JOds-Z0wYWZ853cBUTXw_US8SUNseSWMzZ01FONXh1FyHg0gtCVuXNhNo8i17xqhHuThUPq3W0FI/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKUhk74aOnZODbMq6QbNL48vK0YQKmtWzZXKX45mDiGKLdhaDro6oihU-fEegFo9JOds-Z0wYWZ853cBUTXw_US8SUNseSWMzZ01FONXh1FyHg0gtCVuXNhNo8i17xqhHuThUPq3W0FI/s320/cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: Strangers on a Train </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Patricia Highsmith </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: Harper & Brothers (<span style="font-family: inherit;">19<span style="font-family: inherit;">50</span></span>)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This month’s pick is the second of the year that we got from our reader
poll at the end of last year. It's really fun to do these that were voted on. Interestingly for me, I happened to read
my first Highsmith earlier this year so this was a second foray into
this very popular author’s
backlist. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=41150" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strangers on a Train</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>T</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>itle:</b> Germane. :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
Two strangers meet on a train (who knew?) and one of them, Bruno, is a
bit of an odd one. However, the second, Guy, clearly has odd lying in
wait beneath the surface. When Bruno gets Guy drunk and then suggests
they help each
other out with some murdering, Guy is pretty sure he wants to say no. He
does but he also underestimates just how much Bruno wants to “help.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What
works:</b> How easily the reader can get lost in the minds of Highsmith’s
characters. She gets you so close to these weirdos that you almost want a quick
shower after you finish reading.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bruno's super creepy but wholly sincere tokens. I just loved his "nice town" comment on the postcard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What
doesn’t:</b> It’s spoilerish so highlight if interested: <span style="color: white;">Immediately after
Guy finds out about Miriam’s murder he could easily go to the police
with everything that happened and solve this problem. Instead, the rest
of the book happens.
It was hard for me to get past that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I
know it’s slightly unfair of me to conflate this book with the other I
read this year (<i>The Talented Mr Ripley</i>) but all the characters blend
together, within this one and across to the other book I read. When Bruno and Guy sometimes overlapped, which
was a little bit the point
I think, I kept losing track of who was who but not really in a good way. And if I find her male
characters uninspiring her female characters don’t even bear mentioning.
Ugh. What a disappointment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s kind of a boring book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Overall:</b>
It’s not that I mind a slow burn type structure, it’s just that I’ve
always found pathological self-justification tedious. On the one hand,
Highsmith seems to wonderfully capture the pathos of her characters (I
say seems because,
really, how can I know? these people are that far off their rockers) but on the other hand, as the whiny, entitled
mind-ramblings ramble on, I got bored. However, there is clearly a huge
fan base out there for Highsmith so <span style="font-family: inherit;">obviously</span> YMMV.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=41150" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">2</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sentinel</span></span> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeffrey Konvitz</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-85822313858404666962016-08-31T04:00:00.000-07:002016-08-31T04:00:12.835-07:00The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (pere)<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikd3lY0Tu9ZLT1bg0c_e6DRibuul91FUHAJUoCG7dpDOm0MBdnO8Ofnd7qMmm_2xaUO2Zd0qyuj2vYD74t83saKQ_Q2vxz6OllwmHpe32cU6g7NeL05IZlJabEr_5ZZbcT3gC3Y-U_W8/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikd3lY0Tu9ZLT1bg0c_e6DRibuul91FUHAJUoCG7dpDOm0MBdnO8Ofnd7qMmm_2xaUO2Zd0qyuj2vYD74t83saKQ_Q2vxz6OllwmHpe32cU6g7NeL05IZlJabEr_5ZZbcT3gC3Y-U_W8/s320/cover.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: The Three Musketeers </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Alexandre Dumas, pere </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: <span style="font-family: inherit;">Century eBooks (2012) Originally <span style="font-family: inherit;">s</span></span>erialized March to July<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1844 in <i>Le S<span style="font-family: inherit;">ie</span>cle</i></span></b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We do a lot of older books in our series but we’re hanging out in the
way, WAY back machine this month. I had a hankering to read some Dumas
so I threw out a couple of titles. It wasn’t until I actually started
re-reading <i>The Three Musketeers</i> that I recalled
I’m not the biggest fan of this particular Dumas and I don’t think I’ve
previously ever actually made it to the end. I’m curious to hear what
Michael thought of it. I have to say my Dumas of re-reading choice is <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>. But, even if I’m
reading a Dumas that’s not a fave I still enjoy their larger than life
vitality and my preoccupied musings on the author himself.
</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40816" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Three Musketeers</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously,
though, if you don’t know a lot about Alexandre Dumas, pere I highly
recommend doing a bit of reading. You can start with everyone’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Dumas" target="_blank">favorite Wikipedia</a> or go <a href="http://www.dumaspere.com/pages/english/sommaire.html" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://www.cadytech.com/dumas/personnage.php?key=136" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/alexandre-dumas-9280725" target="_blank">here</a>. And if, in your reading, you
notice a mention of his
father, a General in the French army, rest assured
<a href="http://www.cadytech.com/dumas/related/thomas_alexandre_dumas.php" target="_blank">his story</a> is pretty compelling, too. (And you can read about it in
this great book that I never lose a chance to recommend.)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whoa? This won a Pulitzer? Guess I got my copy before that happened.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But
what about those musketeers? Well, as with many of Dumas’ novels they’ve been
translated into about a 100 languages and are very popular in many
English speaking countries. Film adaptations come out on the regular
and playwrights adapt it
as well (Dumas was a playwright before he was a novelist so I wonder if
he ever adapted his own work for the stage?), but I’ll still include a
synopsis. D’Artagnan is a hot-headed, talented youth who sets out for
the city with very little outside of his embarrassing
mount (quickly sold), his father’s axioms, and his mother’s cure-all recipe for
injuries (liberally applied). Turns out all a bold, resourceful person needs is those few
items and before you know it you’ll be making friends with those you
were previously meant to duel. After offending
the titular musketeers one right after the other, he becomes fast friends with
them after getting to kill some of the Cardinal’s guards (The Cardinal
is our resident baddie.). D'Artagnan and his new friends then get up to all sorts of
hijinks in the midst of court and international
intrigue<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So while it's not my favorite <span style="font-family: inherit;">it<span style="font-family: inherit;"> i</span>s hard to resist the charm of <span style="font-family: inherit;">characters who feel compelled to sword fight over a should<span style="font-family: inherit;">er jostle. The plot <span style="font-family: inherit;">twists around with fun cliffhangers and t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he baddies are sinister enough to satisfy and provide a good <span style="font-family: inherit;">counter to the heroes. <span style="font-family: inherit;">It's <span style="font-family: inherit;">a </span>fun<span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span>swashbuckling tale but there's <span style="font-family: inherit;">real depth t<span style="font-family: inherit;">o be found, as well. It's what makes <span style="font-family: inherit;">Dumas so easy to come back to again and again. Fun and humor <span style="font-family: inherit;">are</span> always there but so is something to really bite into.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not to mention those qu<span style="font-family: inherit;">ietly gen<span style="font-family: inherit;">ius lines</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monsieur, I lov<span style="font-family: inherit;">e </span>men of your kidney... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let us say in passing that he had changed his baldric and relinquishe<span style="font-family: inherit;">d</span> his cloak<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Oh, good lord," cried Porthos, "what precautions for the study of theology<span style="font-family: inherit;">!"</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Definitely give this one a go <span style="font-family: inherit;">but<span style="font-family: inherit;"> don't stop here. Make sure<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you give Dumas a <span style="font-family: inherit;">solid peru<span style="font-family: inherit;">sal.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40816" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">3</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strangers on a Train</span></span> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;">Patricia Highsmith</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-67270940585804287582016-08-28T01:28:00.000-07:002016-08-28T01:28:38.403-07:00Why lie when the truth would do?I was really excited to see <i>The Eagle Huntress</i> doco, and with good reason. As it turns out, Aisholpan and her family are immensely charming and lovely to spend time with. Their support for each other is inspiring and the young Aisholpan's hard work and dedication would encourage anyone to follow their dreams. I was even more interested in the fact that she was, as purported by the synopsis, the first woman to participate in the eagle hunting tradition of her family and nation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY91mAriwLVhHg9Co9XFPWY-r3KrfWibz6LsuCLuUfmp_dUWP09Fug0O-CcpDEjoZAkzspZBGTUJ9y3_CU2Pq0DydVSqOMQ9_t-waKiJlLT9cIm04pMw-lvoX6_Hm9bwsJtBURRN98nZg/s1600/search+result.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY91mAriwLVhHg9Co9XFPWY-r3KrfWibz6LsuCLuUfmp_dUWP09Fug0O-CcpDEjoZAkzspZBGTUJ9y3_CU2Pq0DydVSqOMQ9_t-waKiJlLT9cIm04pMw-lvoX6_Hm9bwsJtBURRN98nZg/s320/search+result.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Imagine my surprise when it turns out that wasn't true. And, moreover, that the truth is just as good if not better than the fiction the doco makers felt they needed to cultivate.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/EagleHuntress2016long.pdf" target="_blank">The Eagle Huntress Ancient Traditions and New Generations by Adrienne Mayor</a> is well worth the read. Aisholpan is following in the traditions of the men and women who came before her and the truth inspires on its own merits.<br />
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I am wholly mystified by these film makers. Why lie when the truth would do?Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-67580000460200346942016-07-29T04:00:00.001-07:002022-03-23T15:38:49.188-07:0052 Pickup by Elmore Leonard<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoEglr-AxwaWwcMb3_b5HUbLWFUE6lOq8bJITAIiJ9wCc7ASSRHD3yemdOOd1aRDZS0D4lDUpzuErG94FH3hPdM0Wax_H6VWdx1nibi9TLKtMTwJWeosMFfNhtHQYitksh25y20MPKtA/s1600/52+PICKUP.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoEglr-AxwaWwcMb3_b5HUbLWFUE6lOq8bJITAIiJ9wCc7ASSRHD3yemdOOd1aRDZS0D4lDUpzuErG94FH3hPdM0Wax_H6VWdx1nibi9TLKtMTwJWeosMFfNhtHQYitksh25y20MPKtA/s320/52+PICKUP.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: 52 Pickup</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Elmore Leonard </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: <span style="font-family: inherit;">Martin S<span style="font-family: inherit;">e</span>cker & Warburg Ltd</span> (<span style="font-family: inherit;">1974</span>)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apologies for <span style="font-family: inherit;">t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he tech<span style="font-family: inherit;">nical issue<span style="font-family: inherit;">s. Hopefully this time around all wil<span style="font-family: inherit;">l be well. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know if Micha<span style="font-family: inherit;">el planned for <span style="font-family: inherit;">us to po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st another Le<span style="font-family: inherit;">onard tale almost <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/hombre-by-elmore-leonard.html" target="_blank">2 years to do the day from when we did </a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/hombre-by-elmore-leonard.html" target="_blank">one before</a> but it's a fun coi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ncidence. I had a great time with <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Homb</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>re</i> but, unfortunately, not at all wi<span style="font-family: inherit;">t<span style="font-family: inherit;">h this title. (PS Michael<span style="font-family: inherit;">, send me some of that warm weather!)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
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Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40484" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">52 Pickup</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>T</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>itle:</b> Should have been called <i>Not Even 1 Reason to Pickup </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>M</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>uch Less 52</i>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Synopsis:</b> A trio of <span style="font-family: inherit;">criminals try to <span style="font-family: inherit;">blackmail</span> a businessman <span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;">expos<span style="font-family: inherit;">ing his in<span style="font-family: inherit;">fidelity. As it happens, they end up getting more than they bargained for with this particular bus<span style="font-family: inherit;">i</span>nessman.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What <span style="font-family: inherit;">w</span>orks:</b> Leonard's spare prose and sna<span style="font-family: inherit;">ppy dialogue. I do like an author who let's the story tell itself. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What doesn't:</b> For this reader, pretty much <span style="font-family: inherit;">everything</span> else. Mitch<span style="font-family: inherit;"> was so <span style="font-family: inherit;">over the top about the only thing I found believable was <span style="font-family: inherit;">the fact he thought his stupid ass excuse re Cini w<span style="font-family: inherit;">as</span> something he should say out loud. Barbara may as well h<span style="font-family: inherit;">ave been called Convenient Mitch Decoration<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or Needed Plot Device. The union rep was ridiculous, Mitch's "straight talk" employee management <span style="font-family: inherit;">scheme was just a little too easy and the criminals were really bor<span style="font-family: inherit;">ing<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a<span style="font-family: inherit;">nd stupid. I was already gr<span style="font-family: inherit;">inding my teach in chapter 3 so I knew this was going to be a rough one. One thing I'll say for it, I think you can figure out pretty quick w<span style="font-family: inherit;">hether it's a title for you or not. And even though I plugged away to the finish, I never came around to rooting for or caring if Mitch got the better of the bad guys.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could go into the relentless violence against and exploitation of women, the one dimensional or non-existent roles for anyone who doesn't look like Mitch, the faux <span style="font-family: inherit;">sexual liberation theme b<span style="font-family: inherit;">ut, really, I think my point has be<span style="font-family: inherit;">en made <span style="font-family: inherit;">re this title.</span> </span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Overall:</b> Even <span style="font-family: inherit;">this gem of a line didn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> make it worth the read.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"Well, I guess you'll think of a way,<span style="font-family: inherit;">" Vic<span style="font-family: inherit;"> said, "if that's what you want to do, light up a briefcase."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"It's kind of what I want to do," Mitchell said. </span></span> </span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40484" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2</span></span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Three Musketeers</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alexandre Dumas</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-85359311706977731212016-06-30T04:00:00.000-07:002016-07-27T03:15:33.904-07:00Life of Pi by Yann Martel<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTJcUO224J0RnZthbyLmN_oVZ8EcZS6CLVzANfcD9lIxe-d7eQvQ0KEqxaDYCO5jBF0FvOC_9TUdoY18zY1dnkD6P0tB5_ZOGsNX410le-KtQ_EzS6MtBbgIkV3lFhwNwzKYOOVhn2Uc/s1600/lifeofpi-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTJcUO224J0RnZthbyLmN_oVZ8EcZS6CLVzANfcD9lIxe-d7eQvQ0KEqxaDYCO5jBF0FvOC_9TUdoY18zY1dnkD6P0tB5_ZOGsNX410le-KtQ_EzS6MtBbgIkV3lFhwNwzKYOOVhn2Uc/s320/lifeofpi-cover.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: Life of Pi</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: Yann Martel </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: Random House of Canada (2001)</b></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I take full<span style="font-family: inherit;"> responsibility for this month's pick. <i>Life of Pi</i> is my favorite book. I've been wanting to add it to our <span style="font-family: inherit;">seri<span style="font-family: inherit;">es for a few years now but never could bring myself to watch the movie. Finally, I asked if it was ok to add it even if I had no intention of ever<span style="font-family: inherit;"> watc<span style="font-family: inherit;">hing the movie. Michael, ever a <span style="font-family: inherit;">generous friend and partner in crime, readily agreed and here we <span style="font-family: inherit;">are.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I rem<span style="font-family: inherit;">ember first hearing about the rights being sold (many<span style="font-family: inherit;">, many years ago now<span style="font-family: inherit;">; long be<span style="font-family: inherit;">fore the movie was ever filmed</span>) and thinking how? HOW?? It's not possible! <span style="font-family: inherit;">But beyond my limited ability to imagine an adaptation of this story what it really came down to is the fac<span style="font-family: inherit;">t that Pi<span style="font-family: inherit;">, his <span style="font-family: inherit;">view of life</span>, and his <span style="font-family: inherit;">incredible</span> journey are fully alive in my mind<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The connection I have <span style="font-family: inherit;">with this book <span style="font-family: inherit;">is <span style="font-family: inherit;">the perfect expression, embodiment even, of my connection with <span style="font-family: inherit;">B</span>ooks. When a story comes alive in th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e mind it is the greatest<span style="font-family: inherit;">, most satisfying<span style="font-family: inherit;">, link between artist and <span style="font-family: inherit;">consumer. It's the lightning we're all trying to catch every time we open a book. This is my lightning in a bottle. I sincerely <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">hope</span> you, Dear Reader, have one as well (<span style="font-family: inherit;">h</span>ere's <a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2010/03/best-drop-biscuit-list.html" target="_blank">a list of my faves</a>; maybe you'll find one there:).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40202" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life of Pi</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">T<span style="font-family: inherit;">ruly, I was going to try to do a proper review with attempts at objectivity yadda yadda yadda but sin<span style="font-family: inherit;">ce </span>this is my favorite book <span style="font-family: inherit;">all attempts merely sp<span style="font-family: inherit;">iraled into a l<span style="font-family: inherit;">ove letter to <span style="font-family: inherit;">one of my favorite reads so, um, <span style="font-family: inherit;">hope you enjoy <span style="font-family: inherit;">anyway<span style="font-family: inherit;">? NB<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">I usually aim to keep my posts spoiler free but beware</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">CONTAINS MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pi<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Patel, <span style="font-family: inherit;">devotee of God/s and reli<span style="font-family: inherit;">gion (and take backer of his name) is <span style="font-family: inherit;">im</span>migrating with his family to Canad<span style="font-family: inherit;">a in the 70s. The ship carrying them and some <span style="font-family: inherit;">animals destined for new zoos (<span style="font-family: inherit;">t</span></span>he former fam<span style="font-family: inherit;">ily busi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ness is zookeeping) sinks in the Paci<span style="font-family: inherit;">fic. Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with some very aggressive castaways. This book<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is the story of his sur<span style="font-family: inherit;">vival.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brother, there's something I forgot to mention.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My love of this book <span style="font-family: inherit;">is not lim<span style="font-family: inherit;">ited to story and character. I think it's a<span style="font-family: inherit;">n amazing piece of craft. The writing is exquisite and the voice is impeccable. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The richness of the writing is as layered as the story it tells.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was more afraid that in a few words thrown out he mi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ght destroy som<span style="font-family: inherit;">ething that I loved.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pi is at once na<span style="font-family: inherit;">ive and </span>keenly observa<span style="font-family: inherit;">nt of the world<span style="font-family: inherit;">. I think it's the secret to his <span style="font-family: inherit;">resilience</span> and what makes him uniquely suited to </span></span>survi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ving his ordeal at sea.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The obsession with putting ourselves at the centre of everythi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ng</span> is the bane not only of <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span>ologians but also of zoologists.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm partic<span style="font-family: inherit;">ularly fond of this line as my enjoyment of this book has a lot to do with putting <span style="font-family: inherit;">me and my interpretation at the center of it. Seems fitting. <span style="font-family: inherit;">But I<span style="font-family: inherit;"> suspect a serious streak of self-<span style="font-family: inherit;">consciousness in Martel<span style="font-family: inherit;">, as well.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are always those who take it upon themselves to <span style="font-family: inherit;">defend God, as if Ultimate R<span style="font-family: inherit;">eality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were somethi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ng</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">we</span>ak and helpless.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also a compelling line, not only for its relevance to the th<span style="font-family: inherit;">eme of <span style="font-family: inherit;">th</span>e book but because, unlike the reviewer at <i>The New Yorker</i> (according t<span style="font-family: inherit;">o the backcopy anyway) I do not think the book i<span style="font-family: inherit;">s <span style="font-family: inherit;">"an impassioned defen<span style="font-family: inherit;">se of zoos" but an impassioned defense of religion. <span style="font-family: inherit;">It's why I didn't just say that Pi is a devotee of God/s. He is al<span style="font-family: inherit;">so </span>quite drawn to religion<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span> I think he finds as much satisfaction in the <span style="font-family: inherit;">ceremonies</span> and meditati<span style="font-family: inherit;">o<span style="font-family: inherit;">n of devotion as he does in <span style="font-family: inherit;">simple<span style="font-family: inherit;"> faith. In fact, I'd argue that God/s without religion would not appeal to Pi at all. He might even call that "dry, yeas<span style="font-family: inherit;">tless factuality."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I mean compared to o<span style="font-family: inherit;">ther animals, of course. Next to Richard Parker, I was deaf, blind and nose-dead.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I distinctly re<span style="font-family: inherit;">member first reading this book and thinking "Pi, what is wrong with you? Why are you hitting Richard Parker over the head instead of helping him?" And then, "Wait, what?" as I <span style="font-family: inherit;">flipped back through the book wondering how it was I never noticed Richard Parker was a <span style="font-family: inherit;">zoo animal and not a school friend. <span style="font-family: inherit;">It's <span style="font-family: inherit;">very nicely done subterfuge<span style="font-family: inherit;"> because it makes no difference <span style="font-family: inherit;">to the story if you <i>did</i> think Richard Parker was a tiger (and I'd be curious to know how many readers weren't fooled) and<span style="font-family: inherit;">, more importantly, it prepares the reader for what is to come. Things are perhaps not what they seem. Pay attention. <span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a beautiful set-up.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There couldn't be both a hyena and a tiger in such a small space.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, indeed, Pi there couldn't. <span style="font-family: inherit;">If you've read this book only once <span style="font-family: inherit;">I</span> highly re<span style="font-family: inherit;">commend <span style="font-family: inherit;">reading it again. The book is filled with these gorgeous lines of double meaning<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <span style="font-family: inherit;">But, thankfully,</span> this is not a coy piece of work. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Each well-chosen word speaks to the situation at hand<span style="font-family: inherit;"> but a re-read shows that <span style="font-family: inherit;">there is more at hand than one at first suspects.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, the delight of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">manufactured good, the man-made device, the created thing!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did I mention<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that lovely voice? This book is filled with horrors but you're as likely to l<span style="font-family: inherit;">augh and smile as despair. The tone is absolutely dead<span style="font-family: inherit;">-on and I think I've never seen such e<span style="font-family: inherit;">xcellent use of exclamation ma<span style="font-family: inherit;">rks (Yep, I've just <span style="font-family: inherit;">prai<span style="font-family: inherit;">sed the punctuation, I <span style="font-family: inherit;">told you this was a love letter!).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will tell you a secret: a part of me was glad about Richard Parker. A part of me did not want Richard Parker to die at all, because if he died I would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've never looked i<span style="font-family: inherit;">t up<span style="font-family: inherit;"> but I really hope there is a survival manual out there as shown in the book.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only one important topic was not addressed: the establishing of alpha-omega relationships with major lifeboat pests.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What I can't help <span style="font-family: inherit;">wondering<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is at what point did <span style="font-family: inherit;">Pi start telling this story<span style="font-family: inherit;">? I s<span style="font-family: inherit;">uspect i<span style="font-family: inherit;">t's right around:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I <span style="font-family: inherit;">ha</span>ve survived so far, miraculous<span style="font-family: inherit;">ly. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've said already that I think this is an im<span style="font-family: inherit;">passioned defense of religion (which, by th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e way, has <span style="font-family: inherit;">yet to be effective for this reader) b<span style="font-family: inherit;">ut I've never been able to reconcile that with its comparison to zoos. Perhaps that's part of the expression of Pi's naivete. He seems to <span style="font-family: inherit;">think it makes no difference to go<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with "the better s<span style="font-family: inherit;">tory" but the sad fact of life is that it does. Stories, better or otherwise, do not exist in a <span style="font-family: inherit;">vacuum but in societies. What society does with a s<span style="font-family: inherit;">tory matters.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I continued to disbelieve my eyes. But it was a thrill to be deluded in such a high-quality way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=40202" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpKyMXxX5EAGYqLwRlkpC0EKc09nmVnJg_FsyTey8beWbppYy0bK6sy-E2vAQtdpuOy63AKK3wM67JhlZ_AlU7xF4juACMkadzpE4LmneqoAGvJSdYWOO4_krOmk89bl_SlyGCkxFQ1g/s1600/myLoP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpKyMXxX5EAGYqLwRlkpC0EKc09nmVnJg_FsyTey8beWbppYy0bK6sy-E2vAQtdpuOy63AKK3wM67JhlZ_AlU7xF4juACMkadzpE4LmneqoAGvJSdYWOO4_krOmk89bl_SlyGCkxFQ1g/s320/myLoP.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My much read and beloved copy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">5</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">52 P<span style="font-family: inherit;">ick-up</span></span> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;">Elmore Le<span style="font-family: inherit;">onard</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-50336056998134170172016-06-23T00:22:00.001-07:002022-03-23T15:19:48.018-07:00Shahnameh genealogy (a start anyway)<!--[if !mso]>
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<![endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">I’ve been
participating in <a href="http://www.imakeupworlds.com/index.php/2016/01/the-shahnamah-reading-project-2016-with-tessa-gratton-kate-elliott/" target="_blank">The Shahnameh Reading Project 2016, with Tessa Gratton & Kate Elliott</a>. (It’s never too late to join. Click that link and get in on this
epic.) It’s been great fun but there are quite a few people to keep track of in
the stories. I did some searching but had no luck finding any family trees.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">To better understand
the connections between the noble families in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings</i> (and because I needed a break as I was pissed at Garsivaz) I flipped back
to the beginning and started taking notes in the hopes of putting together a
genealogy. As it happens, a character can be around for quite some time before
it’s mentioned that they are a prince (I’m looking at you, Tus) - or maybe it
just takes me a while to figure it out - so I started lists of nobles and
warriors, as well. Below, with some commentary, is what I have through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Legend of Seyavash</i>. In <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297267/shahnameh-by-abolqasem-ferdowsi/9781440649660/" target="_blank">the Dick Davis translation</a> we are reading that’s p. 1 through p. 280.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">A wee legend for my trees:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22YvVpjC8O4pItXKWSRk3o77rVG2niD9MwvkA6YLa7qfgTn7Cl1xUcuFgP4agIBoH_OxTlolZF5klF-BeCvqJFK_kRpAEvvx0mcjtMMkdpJYSdSvoDtrJDCOjg5XQcqhNhcieuD_QUPs/s1600/legend.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22YvVpjC8O4pItXKWSRk3o77rVG2niD9MwvkA6YLa7qfgTn7Cl1xUcuFgP4agIBoH_OxTlolZF5klF-BeCvqJFK_kRpAEvvx0mcjtMMkdpJYSdSvoDtrJDCOjg5XQcqhNhcieuD_QUPs/s320/legend.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Feraydun’s ancestors:</span></b><br />
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3osykCEp4t4ZQbVhm-JwhazAY9Kc7uGEzawx1CfnEG4fCPj3OEZ4fyl1H9d2o8xOPIPdI-znEINEp5Z3Yux03ey6KQ0yez3Bhevcvh6TcyLYbFpgJ4Wdjr26X9GEYT0de1s_YN8SZ14/s1600/Feraydun+ancestors.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3osykCEp4t4ZQbVhm-JwhazAY9Kc7uGEzawx1CfnEG4fCPj3OEZ4fyl1H9d2o8xOPIPdI-znEINEp5Z3Yux03ey6KQ0yez3Bhevcvh6TcyLYbFpgJ4Wdjr26X9GEYT0de1s_YN8SZ14/s640/Feraydun+ancestors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">My only issue with
this one was that Faranak was a bit vague with how many father-sons were between
Abetin and Tahmures.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Feraydun’s descendants:</span></b></div>
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5yIxUsXNu5Asd6F7eslIZbp_N_Dx689zDxx-lLW48wuqSI-cu5LX-78faVO6oJDhJM7ao7YZWm60qRNAC9VbAh6zLDaM5Pf7ux1i_KHMvtm01eWP0kZKNxurJfsf-0-MsvZQp1MS7aM/s1600/Feraydun+descendants.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5yIxUsXNu5Asd6F7eslIZbp_N_Dx689zDxx-lLW48wuqSI-cu5LX-78faVO6oJDhJM7ao7YZWm60qRNAC9VbAh6zLDaM5Pf7ux1i_KHMvtm01eWP0kZKNxurJfsf-0-MsvZQp1MS7aM/s640/Feraydun+descendants.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">I was a bit puzzled by
the origins of Zav and Kay Qobad. When they were first chosen as kings (Zav
because Nozar was beheaded and Kay Qobad because Zav died) I assumed it was
because Persia wanted to be ruled by Feraydun’s descendants through Iraj’s line
so they went searching for even the most obscure relatives. So, yeah, it’s a
bit annoying we have heard nothing of them during all the drama but that’s ok,
I can adjust. However, my mind was totally blown to discover that Tus is
Nozar’s son. (How did I miss this? Was it really not mentioned? I still haven’t
found a mention of it previous to what we are about to start reading if you don’t
count the Glossary of Names at the end of the book.) Tus is Nozar’s son and is
around and yet he’s not wanted for the throne? Anyway, the genealogical point
is that I didn’t think there was any justification for linking Zav and Kay
Qobad to Iraj directly.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Quick side note: Did
anyone else notice that King Sarv hung around to fight for descendants that are
not from his daughter’s line? I thought that was interesting. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Kay Qobad’s descendants:</span></b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41_eavA-iVz2NKnh56A17kLdA-zL8DMNgB-qCoBffRv71LtjKfAgw-d4l1tHrjUpQpVwkgagXxv2u5SgxjxXQbBOXqh6LLbLREhy2tEHLCPvdLxkuK8rFW4TAWQfuQKcUbeW5F4V88js/s1600/Kay+Qobad+descendants.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41_eavA-iVz2NKnh56A17kLdA-zL8DMNgB-qCoBffRv71LtjKfAgw-d4l1tHrjUpQpVwkgagXxv2u5SgxjxXQbBOXqh6LLbLREhy2tEHLCPvdLxkuK8rFW4TAWQfuQKcUbeW5F4V88js/s640/Kay+Qobad+descendants.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Pretty straightforward
except for Fariborz. I was going to assume he was Sudabeh’s child but he just
seemed too old, what with the battles and all. The timing of Fariborz,
Seyavash, Sohrab, and Sudabeh’s “young children” is still a bit fuzzy for me.
I’m going with the suggestion already put forth that Sohrab happened during
Seyavash’s fostering and I’m personally hypothesizing that Fariborz is older
than all of them (sorry that’s not really reflected by where I put him in the
tree).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">The <b>great champions of
Persia</b> are pretty important so I made them their own tree:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPCSU3kpzYIK5d7k5UNRDRXg3jLZSjr0Fkr-Uh5k1_zQIBFumSakSjyHtPNfqlHx1eQ6HpLU4lW7Znq9aU-Ft8Av12zp1gXOrqX3BKI8XF2QgqPrcAbSBs_SWxZki9vqipe0LT5AUjHA/s1600/Persian+champions.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPCSU3kpzYIK5d7k5UNRDRXg3jLZSjr0Fkr-Uh5k1_zQIBFumSakSjyHtPNfqlHx1eQ6HpLU4lW7Znq9aU-Ft8Av12zp1gXOrqX3BKI8XF2QgqPrcAbSBs_SWxZki9vqipe0LT5AUjHA/s640/Persian+champions.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">And we wouldn’t want
to forget about the<b> Arab kings</b> (shoulder snakes!):</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTR4pKRABOOOB3WBRTAXXiGD1S7fdmD3tjRkAyb-4Y0r-mC-3wPQ2O7ZdSUKzMb79mhhyphenhyphenmVnraOMyDOLxrslL65ahK1L3JG5Ru1lOMOt4K5CDllIus17t2tigGpix7wfgOO1CMGaSxrs/s1600/Arab+kings.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTR4pKRABOOOB3WBRTAXXiGD1S7fdmD3tjRkAyb-4Y0r-mC-3wPQ2O7ZdSUKzMb79mhhyphenhyphenmVnraOMyDOLxrslL65ahK1L3JG5Ru1lOMOt4K5CDllIus17t2tigGpix7wfgOO1CMGaSxrs/s640/Arab+kings.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">That’s it for the
trees but since you never know where another Tus might be hiding here is a list
of Persian nobles and warriors. The passage of time and generations is very
fluid but I did try to list them across columns as time/reigns pass.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPN4v4iJolddJ5O6nxhCMXS9wKBCUCBtnApLFo9sG1PGoAtfn7fz0LYFdHLadHc-YIc6F-vpgxVHerGRa0xPzGNf87KxdVXNhGiyvUzJPQrGeQsqacsGdSWCon720ZQtEpPDTRkH-Los/s1600/Persian+nobles+warriors.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPN4v4iJolddJ5O6nxhCMXS9wKBCUCBtnApLFo9sG1PGoAtfn7fz0LYFdHLadHc-YIc6F-vpgxVHerGRa0xPzGNf87KxdVXNhGiyvUzJPQrGeQsqacsGdSWCon720ZQtEpPDTRkH-Los/s640/Persian+nobles+warriors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">Then since Seyavash
spent so much time in Turan (and even married Farigis) I did a list for their
nobles and warriors, too.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAa3aXhiI9h6tY2fRTDrBFbsPVBX8cbwUjBxmp6g-myYQ9KGXoaxVbU353PRpzVE9cViNsBk9l3RrF0n6ynceAV-9630IWW0gopls-NrRgbQOozLOWqIc8SDghx8HGVGi2RZJCQfmVWw/s1600/Turan+nobles+warriors.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAa3aXhiI9h6tY2fRTDrBFbsPVBX8cbwUjBxmp6g-myYQ9KGXoaxVbU353PRpzVE9cViNsBk9l3RrF0n6ynceAV-9630IWW0gopls-NrRgbQOozLOWqIc8SDghx8HGVGi2RZJCQfmVWw/s640/Turan+nobles+warriors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ;">And that’s it (well,
almost. I have a Mazanderan list, too;). Again, all feedback/corrections
welcome. I hope this helps other readers. It was quite enjoyable for me and has
really enhanced my connection with the entire epic.</span></div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-72127290692917295452016-05-31T04:00:00.000-07:002016-05-31T04:00:00.960-07:00Deliverance by James Dickey<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADbQk_zTym0YLCCN_IZfYlWZEvyPrj0-4vPoOHNfwubRb0bIIxoYkcRhHEIpQTxtX8ixm8YyOvJ1fu4yOrWxkG7TMRrBH78F9iHIUzCjGxwzYWXBjBikh3VODVQRDXMPfihj78qyoOT0/s1600/deliverance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADbQk_zTym0YLCCN_IZfYlWZEvyPrj0-4vPoOHNfwubRb0bIIxoYkcRhHEIpQTxtX8ixm8YyOvJ1fu4yOrWxkG7TMRrBH78F9iHIUzCjGxwzYWXBjBikh3VODVQRDXMPfihj78qyoOT0/s320/deliverance.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Title: Deliverance</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Author: James Dickey </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b>Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co (1970)</b></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, fun<span style="font-family: inherit;">ny story. This month's pick is Michael's (obviously it is, it's from the 70s;) and I hadn't <span style="font-family: inherit;">read or seen it before but I'd certainly heard of it and was even looking forward to it as it'd been a while sin<span style="font-family: inherit;">ce I'd read a Western. Yeah, you saw that right; for some reason I had it in my head tha<span style="font-family: inherit;">t this was a <span style="font-family: inherit;">c<span style="font-family: inherit;">lassic</span></span> Western. Yes, the look on my partner's face when I said it was about a canoe trip and not a Western was priceless.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>He hasn't actually seen the whole <span style="font-family: inherit;">thing either but <span style="font-family: inherit;">he</span> definitely knew th<span style="font-family: inherit;">is very famous story</span> wasn't a Western. <span style="font-family: inherit;">How do these ideas take hold in one's mind?<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">It's like <i>The Untoucha</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>bles</i> all over again.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I assume <span style="font-family: inherit;">I just get the titles confused on different movies but, still, a W<span style="font-family: inherit;">estern? Well, anyway...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or those that are
new to our monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adapted
from a
book which gets a review here (**contains mild spoilers**). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Click here for Michael's film review of <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=39797" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Deliverance</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">at <a href="http://le0pard13.com/" target="_blank">It Rains... You Get Wet</a></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Premise:</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Four dudes from the 'burbs decide to go on a canoe trip down a hard to access river<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to get a break from the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> routine of<span style="font-family: inherit;"> city life. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The weekend does not go as expected.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title:</span></span></span></span></span></b></i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">...but the promise of it that promised other things, an<span style="font-family: inherit;">other life, deliverance.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I first read that line I thought the title was <span style="font-family: inherit;">ironic or satirical. But <span style="font-family: inherit;">by the time I finished the book I wasn'<span style="font-family: inherit;">t so sure. <span style="font-family: inherit;">I'd be willing to wager a hefty sum that Dickey and I see this story quite differently.</span></span></span></span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What works:</span></span></span></span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <span style="font-family: inherit;">intima<span style="font-family: inherit;">cy of the narrator. Whether or not you want to hang out with Ed Gentry and his friends for the weekend you can't help but fall <span style="font-family: inherit;">seamlessly</span> into Ed's head.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The hilarious drive to the river. I defy anyone to no<span style="font-family: inherit;">t laugh at the route and Lewis' cat-like "of course that's what I meant to do all along" attitude.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What doesn't:</span></span></span></span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh dear, this list is so long. I'll try to <span style="font-family: inherit;">keep it on the technical side of things rather than the personal<span style="font-family: inherit;">. There's an extremely heavy reliance upon "hillbilly" stere<span style="font-family: inherit;">otypes. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(For anyone who, like me, wasn't quite buying the convenient <span style="font-family: inherit;">countryfolk are always suspicious of cityf<span style="font-family: inherit;">olk -</span> probably bec<span style="font-family: inherit;">ause of moonshi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ne - excuse here's a really <a href="http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/moonshine" target="_blank">interest</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/moonshine" target="_blank">ing link</a> on the history of moonshiners in North Georgia.)</span></span></span></span> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I <span style="font-family: inherit;">just couldn't really believe</span> the things Ed was <span style="font-family: inherit;">doing physically.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In fact, I just couldn't really b<span style="font-family: inherit;">elieve these guys were all that far outside of a metropoli<span style="font-family: inherit;">tan area.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">They weren'<span style="font-family: inherit;">t exactl<span style="font-family: inherit;">y rushing to get out there on Friday and they were goin<span style="font-family: inherit;">g to be back by Sunday?<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Also, you stuff some dirty cloth into a se<span style="font-family: inherit;">rious wound <span style="font-family: inherit;">(whilst rummaging around in a wilderness) and <span style="font-family: inherit;">there are no side effects to this?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It reads an awful like <span style="font-family: inherit;">like the author <span style="font-family: inherit;">has put a lot of himself <span style="font-family: inherit;">onto the page. I always cringe when I feel that way <span style="font-family: inherit;">when reading as I think it says more about me than th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e author but I went for a little surf on the interw<span style="font-family: inherit;">ebs to read some interviews with Dickey and I'<span style="font-family: inherit;">m starting to suspect I'm right.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Not a huge deal as when can art ever not contain some of the artist<span style="font-family: inherit;">? But<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that's when all that personal stuff I <span style="font-family: inherit;">avoided talking about comes up and can ruin a reading experience. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Overall:</b></i> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3741/the-art-of-poetry-no-20-james-dickey" target="_blank">this inter</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3741/the-art-of-poetry-no-20-james-dickey" target="_blank">view</a>:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wrote the right book at the right time. People were caught up in a
savage fable of decent men fighting for their lives and killing and
getting away with it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I like that Dickey <span style="font-family: inherit;">des<span style="font-family: inherit;">cribes this as a fable. It explains all the technical hiccups that make it a hard<span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span>to<span style="font-family: inherit;">-</span>believe story. </span>But if it<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is a fable (<a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fable" target="_blank">sans the animals</a>) it's certainly not a classic fable <span style="font-family: inherit;">as there doesn't seem to be much a moral lesson <span style="font-family: inherit;">in it. Or, if there is, then I'd need to re-do that "What Doesn't" section and delve into the personal. Maybe in the comments<span style="font-family: inherit;">... if the mood strikes. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">(format h/t: <a href="http://apprentice-writer.blogspot.co.nz/" target="_blank">AW</a>) </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out <a href="https://le0pard13.com/?p=39797" target="_blank">Michael's post</a>.<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">rating:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">2</span></span> of 5 stars</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coming up next:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life of Pi </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by <span style="font-family: inherit;">Yann Mart<span style="font-family: inherit;">el</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sgwordy.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/index-of-joint-post-series.html" target="_blank"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click here for an index<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> joint po<span style="font-family: inherit;">st<span style="font-family: inherit;"> series</span></span></b></a><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </i></span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.com2