The Scottish Play?

Not really!  Nope, not at all (well, okay... there was this one guy who had a very short part...)
In my new job working in a secondary school library, I now have access to a variety of plays by Shakespeare (some that I have not seen yet), so I chose a version of Macbeth featuring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench.  Why?  I like to study something thoroughly and I have been studying Macbeth all year (trying to pace myself between viewings and essays about the play).  There are only a few movies left to see and I have been surprised by a bonus showing of the play on CBC from the Stratford Festival, Ontario (which to my mind is the best one I have seen yet... Macbeth and his lady had serious chemistry, and the witches gave me  the shivers!).  But I'm digressing here...

This play, whilst performed by excellent actors, was not Scottish.  As a matter of fact their perfect, well-spoken British accents just threw me off completely and it was only when Judi Dench entered the scene that things began to come together into something that interested me.  Judi Dench was perfect... despite the accent, I could look past that into her performance which was chilling to the bone and nothing I have ever seen her do before.  When she lost her mind it was disturbingly convincing... she is a master of her craft.

 I love Ian McKellen, but I don't feel that Macbeth was his best role.

Despite this, it is a good story, and at the end of every play I have ever seen attributed to William Shakespeare I have been entertained, even if I did't like the format very much.

The form of this play was very simple; a room with lighting and a few props to indicate different scenes, it was very effective in presenting this version of the play as a psychological thriller, making it suspenseful, honing it's focus to the language of the play and it's participants.  With that purpose in mind, of making this something to mess with the mind  some things became truly worse, like the drooling and frothing at the mouth of the prophetic witch and the gore that was on Mabeth's hands (it's not a play to watch while snacking!).
It's not my favourite version, but just watching Judi Dench's Lady Macbeth is worth putting up with the rest.

Nocturnes

Ishiguro's first collection of short stories all with the theme of "music at nightfall".  I loved this.  Familiar as I am now with how Ishiguro writes, this was a special gift.  I was actually giggling (nervously) at one point when one of the characters in his stylized anxiety inducing stories went over the edge and fell in to what could only be "Basil Fawltyland".
What is usually gently built upon during the length of a full sized novel is delivered in a brief one-two punch in his short stories.  I really hope that he will write more in the future because these were perfect.

Book Twins

Okay... my title is a little tongue in cheek (I'm thinking of Ishiguro's Japanese  novels).  Both of these books are about kids in extraordinary circumstances.  I have been looking forward to Never Let Me Go as it has been on so many lists of books to read.  By this time I feel I have a handle on his writing style and I revere him for his genius and subtlety.  Any writer who evokes emotion and stimulates thought is a god in my humble opinion and Kazuo's books will be re-read on a yearly basis.  These two books in particular will have to be re-read before I can truly write properly about them.  For now I have labeled them The Ishiguro Bildungsromans.  

Something to "Squee" About

I'm not kidding... when I found out that there would be five of these screenplays I really did squee!
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I am really looking forward to seeing it soon.
After Rowling's play the year before last of the Cursed Child, I really didn't know what to expect (because while I was happy to have another Potter tale, I felt that Rowling was right the first time and that she should have stopped at seven books).
 Fantastic Beasts was marvelous!  I am delighted with the whole idea of a magizoologist whose main concern is for his creatures (since I am a hardcore vegan). Newt Scamander's focus and dedication to the protection and care of his fantastic beasts has elevated his status in my eyes to "rockstar".  Plus the fact that this is an entirely different story in Rowling's universe that doesn't have Harry Potter or Voldemort in it is really exciting and a refreshing idea.  I know that there will be lots to look forward to in the next four screenplays as Rowling has really loaded up this first one with lots of hints of what is to come... and I love it that there is a little romance in there too.

The Unconsoled

The Unconsoled was a very puzzling read for starters, but when I gave up trying to make any sense of it, I found it easier to follow.  There has always been a pattern I have found throughout an Ishiguro book where you are always left feeling anxious for the protagonist.  What this anxiety is about is not always clear like in this book, but it is there nevertheless.  Is this a signature trait?  I think it must be.  
As with any book I read I assume that the protagonist is the only sane one in the room... but I believe that in this book he, Mr. Ryder,  was the one that had some problems.  A quote from the back of the book:

"From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go is an audacious novel that is at once a gripping psychological mystery, a wicked satire of the cult of art, and a poignant character study of a man whose public life has accelerated beyond control."

Frankly, I felt really daft while reading the book because while I saw these traits the quote spoke of, it didn't really explain to me why this book was so disjointed.  Why this town that Mr. Ryder was visiting was so freakingly full of odd, self-involved characters and inconsistencies.  Was this a town of nutballs?  It really seemed that way.  There is no help from beginning to end to give you a clue either except there is a part in the book close to the end when Mr. Ryder, is faced with an impenetrable wall and his feelings, his frustrations are expressed in a way that make you realize that it is he that is walled in and he cannot get out, and that the confusion of everything previous stems from him not from everyone else (they are still odd, self-involved characters which want something from Mr. Ryder and I got the mental picture of him being pulled in many different directions but not really being aware of it).
I think that when you understand that, it all clicks into place.    But that is all I think I can say about the book, except that when I read it again (and I will!) I will have a new perspective to help me see what was so baffling before.
So, even when it's not making sense, Kazuo Ishiguro's writing is a force to revel in, to embrace, because he reaches a level of consciousness inside me that nothing else does, not even myself.  After reading just four of his books I am amazed at how he draws me in and doesn't let me go until the end.

Macbeth 1971 (Hugh Hefner Style)

I was quite surprised to see that Hugh Hefner produced this version of Macbeth (and I admit when I saw how many naked folks were in the movie I had some less than generous thoughts about his influence).  But I have since discovered that all of the nudes in this movie were the directors' idea, Roman Polanski's rather than Hefner's.

For instance getting an eyeful of a cave packed with naked hags was far from sexy and added that extra oopmh to how truly repugnant the weird sisters were.

Lord and Lady Macbeth were beautiful, and everything I would expect in a young, ambitious, and happening couple.  In the photo above you can see Lady M. getting her man to screw his courage to the sticking place. 

...and then afterwards as they both begin to unravel...

 I just love how these actors played their roles!  The murder scene was obscene (as murder should be), there was no escaping the violence and the reprehensible act of betrayal that Macbeth performed (it will be many months before I can screw my own courage to watch another version of this play!).

 

There just the one crown which was not dorky at all!

If the murder of Duncan wasn't gory enough have a gander at poor Banquo who is haunting his king at dinner...

After watching so much violence and experiencing such revulsion at so many graphic scenes in this movie, the beheading of Macbeth was comic relief at the end (yeah...I laughed out loud and hard for a minute or two).  

This is, so far, my favourite version of the movie.  The costumes were gorgeous (and appropriate!), I really liked the cast.  The scenery was beyond beautiful.  

Brontemania!

Last weekend the television show To Walk Invisible: The Lives of the Bronte Sisters was shown on Masterpiece.  I was enraptured!  I loved the show so much I watched it again the the very same day and then again on Monday.  Each viewing gave me more to love and appreciate of the work and skill that was put into this production.  After seeing it the first time I wanted to get out my Bronte collection and read them again!    Last night I just contented myself with flipping through Jane Eyre and stopping to read at random places.  It is the beauty of this particular book that you can do that and be entertained wherever you open up your book!
The scenery was astounding.  Emily quoting her poetry on the moor just sent shivers down my spine.
Of the sisters in the show I loved Emily the best,  she was so fierce and passionate.  Anne and Charlotte were wonderful too, but Emily inspired me the most and I would like to believe that these amazing, wonderful women were really like what was portrayed in this production.  I wondered how I could possibly find out, but then I realized that I already knew!  You just have to read their books to know who they really were and then you can see that To Walk Invisible was faithful to them.    A love letter on a grand scale!

Remains of the Day

I am surprised that I have not already written about this book... but I am glad that I did not because I have a different way of looking at it now with comparison to what I have already read by Ishiguro.
When I first read it, I had already seen the movie with Anthony Hopkins, and Emma Thompson (two of my most favourite actors!), and I already loved it.  This is unfortunate, because the movie predisposed me to see things that aren't too apparent with the book (unless you already know what to look for).

Second time around I began to see a theme with what I have read so far in A Pale View of Hills, An Artist of the Floating World and Remains of the Day.  They are all retrospective novels, they all look back in to their past (and they are bittersweet).  Also, the protagonist does at some point try to make a change, but really it is too late to do so and learning to live with events and their consequences is inevitable and unusual in each story.  Of course, it is only a stressful situation for the lead character, and once the book concludes you do see that it isn't really as bad as you once thought it was, but I love how you are drawn in to the story and carefully held there until it is over.
Remains is a departure from the first two books, a story that is heavily steeped in a British culture that is almost extinct now (or the book would have you believe so),  it was extremely interesting to read about the life of a servant in a large country estate, and about the measures he took to be an excellent butler.   I am in awe of how Ishiguro has taken me from Japan in the first two books to England in the third and has immersed me in the distinct cultural experience of each country.  I am very excited to see where he will take me next!

The Japanese Novels

To my great pleasure I have been able this year to buy all of Kazuo Ishiguro's works.  It is something I have been meaning to do since I read Remains of the Day years ago.  Since May I have had this lovely stack of shiny new books by my reading chair.

       

I have been slowly rationing out the reading of them over a few months, but I plan on reading the lot this year, and I am alright with that, because these are books that I will come back to again and again.

A Pale View of Hills is Ishiguro's first novel, and the first of two books known as his Japanese novels.  I should admit that a few years ago I had read An Artist of the Floating World, and that when I had finished I was embarrassed because I didn't know much about that time (post World War II).  So I have made a point of getting informed about Japan.  I have studied customs, food, history and geography.  I really wanted to understand these novels, get the cultural references etc.  It is still not an easy job to do, and Ishiguro is the first to say that he did not write in the Japanese style (what ever that is), but just about characters in Japan.  I want to understand and to know more about the Japanese art of storytelling, but I have barely begun reading Japanese authors (I have a list of who I would like to read next!)
This time around, I felt I had a better grasp of what Japan is about (but still a very small understanding of such a rich and beautiful culture!).  So reading this book, I was happy to see that I had a better awareness of it's content (there was a lot of "Oh, I know what this is!" instead of "Huh?").

Continuing on to a re-reading of An Artist of the Floating World, I was able to see the theme of both of these novels, and to understand what they were trying to tell me.  They are both retrospects of significant times in the lives of both protagonists with a the humanizing admission that they were not perfect, that they made mistakes and that they could live with that fact in later years.  Ishiguro is a writer who carefully leads you along the same path as the protagonist, he gently supports you through the crisis of each person, and then helps you to see that there is and can be an acceptance of and a resolution to each circumstance,  but not perhaps what you were expecting or hoping for.   Both books are almost delicate in the delivery of their stories.  If this is a Japanese story telling trait, I have no idea, but I hope it could be.  I can't wait to find out!

Gormenghast

This beautiful hardcover was quite the workout.  Weighing in at nearly three pounds, I had to quickly come up with some strategies to rescue my arms and wrists from possible damage!  The book includes all three books, Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone, and has many of Peake's previously unpublished illustrations.  

Because it was such a physical workout, I had to work up the muscular strength to handle this book on a daily basis so reading one chapter at a sitting had me inching forward quite slowly, which wasn't such a bad thing.  The story gave me a lot to contemplate (I have often thought that I don't really need to meditate when I have such books because I transcend to another place and achieve peace of mind and rest for my spirit).  By the time I was at the last book Titus Alone I was just whipping through five chapters or so at a sitting.

I could see, while I was slowly working through this great work, a lot of influences (from the past and for the future).  I saw Charles Dickens in the extraordinary names of the characters, and in Peake's language, the descriptions of the people and staff of Gormenghast was alike passages in my favorite Dickens novels.  If you can think of the sweetest, softest and saddest adagio like this one Symphony #10 Adagio then you would have a pretty good idea of what this kind of writing evokes emotionally in me.

So, my first thoughts were that Peake loved his Dickens.  What occurred to me next while partaking of this symphony of words and illustrations was that Susannah Clarke must have loved this book as well, and it shows in her own equally beautiful (and huge!) novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel 

 (you can see my blog post here Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel).  These two books actually sit next to each other on my bookshelf.  

The trilogy truly was a symphony from beginning to end, though somewhat disjointed by the last book (because Peake was not able to finish it before he died).  It was a lot of work, sometimes hard work, but very worth it in the end because this is a story that is worth knowing.  I think his world of Gormenghast was so accurately described that I could really see how it was.  The BBC concurs with me, I think, because when they did their four hour miniseries of the first two books,  it was spot on.  Read the book, watch the miniseries.  I loved them both.

A Tale of Two Cities

                          
Charles Dickens has done it to me again.  For me, A Tale of Two Cities was an emotionally devastating book for me to read and as it lacked the comic relief of his other novels, it was also an intense and suspenseful read as well.  I liken the experience as listening to an orchestral piece by Gustav Mahler, full of the most painfully beautiful, emotionally evocative, unbelievably pure notes that an orchestra can play.  That actually sums it up quite accurately.  Every chapter in a Dickens novel is like its very own section of an intricate symphony, rich in character and feeling.
As usual Dickens' social commentary is provocative, but this book was confusing.  I could not help but feel compassion for both sides... the French Revolution was so barbaric and I am ashamed at rational people who abandoned all sense to the hatred and revenge so meted out in this book.  It is understandable though.  Dickens was brilliant in portraying everything, making you despise the aristocracy (more behaviour to be deeply ashamed of) one moment and feeling horror for them the next. 
I treasure each experience I have whenever I read his books (and yes...I lovingly hugged the book when I was finished!).  I am so grateful that he was so prolific (there are still so many for me yet to read).  As they are such an intense experience I ration myself to reading one book a year (thus ensuring that I will not run out anytime too soon!), and naturally I plan to revisit them, one book each year for the rest of my life, guaranteeing that my life shall always be enriched.
 Music to swoon to:-
Gustave Mahler Symphony #10

The Eyre Affair

 

I really got a kick out of reading this book!  Like in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,  The Eyre Affair is laced with literary references ... with a twist!  I enjoyed it just as much and know it would have been even better if I had've read the books that were used in this story (yes... I am ashamed to admit I have not read Jane Eyre, or Martin Chuzzlewit!).

This is an alternative history of which Thursday Next is the protagonist.  You'll notice right away with her name that this is no regular kind of book.  It is richly flavored in a  Dickensian way by the names that a lot of these characters have (one of which is Jack Schitt, and I still cannot read that without giggling a little bit because it was used with great skill throughout the novel).  I recommend to anyone to read the book just for that fun value alone.  More also is a science fiction/ futuristic element of technology, in a world that has to protect its literature ( Next is a cop that hunts down literary felons...and I don't mean that literally).  This is where it's a good idea that you know your literature, though I think you can get by pretty well without it (though I'd like to see you not go back and read all the books mentioned afterwards).  I won't tell you any more because I don't want to spoil it... just go out and get it!

There are a few more to read in this series, but I want to be prepared beforehand, so I will read the books featured first (so I don't feel like a stupid boobie for not knowing my stuff).  This year seems to be, so far, a year of finding books that seem to be almost tailored to my own tastes, and I am having a great time discovering them.

Great Expectations

In honor of Charles Dickens 200th birthday I chose Great Expectations to read.  I am embarrased to say that I had not read it yet!  Hopefully I will read them all one day.  I cannot help but feel that Charles Dickens is one person that I wish to get to know well, and the best way to do that is to read all of his works.  I haven't read many so far.  I read David Copperfield in my early teens, and later there was A Chrstmas Carol and Little Dorrit.  An interesting sampling so far which already gives me a good impression of the character of its author.
I admit at this stage in my life my knowledge of this century is still very skimpy, and much of my original reading was done when I was younger so the memories are hazy.  Once, when I was watching the movie Fahrenheit 541 and Montag was reading from David Copperfield, I felt like I wanted to cry too (one of the women he was reading to was) because the passage he was reading aloud  was beautiful (though I think the woman who was crying was doing it for another reason entirely).  Dickens shows me a world I cannot possibly know, but I feel as if I could because he paints very clear pictures with his words.
I am glad that I have made a point of not seeing any of the movies that have been made from this book.  I didn't know what the story was about which was great.  I loved it.  The characters were all so different from each other and some were very strange.  I loved the name Mr. Pumblechook (I think that alone helped me not to hate him!), crazy Miss Havisham, and dependable Joe.   I even joined a discussion group about this book, and earnestly defended Pip to another person who thought that he was a very selfish and awful character.    He really wasn't.  It was a valueable discussion, because I developed a better undertsanding of Pip (because my own initial impression was that he did end up being a selfish so and so). This is something I love about Dickens' books.  You are there with your characters at the beginning, so you can understand them and why they behave the way they do, and you get to share, not only in the adventure of their lives but also the characters they meet along the way.  While there is always adversity, it is sweetened with healthy helpings of good people from all walks of life to soothe the protagonist's way.
So you can see why I wish that I could meet and shake the hand of such a man, to get to know him.  He was brilliant, and an amazing scholar of human nature.  His characters are believable, they are true.

In case you would like to see this as a movie, I recommend watching the PBS 2011 television series as a good place to start.

Before I Go To Sleep

 

A truly scary concept.  Waking up every day and not remembering yesterday or your life for the past twenty to twenty-five years.  Not remembering growing up, going to school, getting married, the book, movie or music you listened to the day before... terrible!  Devastating!  What would you do with your life?  You wouldn't be able to read a book (one of the biggest horrors imaginable in my world), you could watch the same movie more than twenty times and never know!  And music would be a fleeting and shallow pleasure because you would not be able to put in the time to really appreciate it.  There would be no depth to your life at all.  And you would be alone, because who could you really trust?  
This book is all about trust and the consequences of trusting someone.  I followed the protagonist Christine everywhere she went with the intense interest and care, full to the brim and overflowing with anxiety and suspense about what could possibly happen next.  While the wrapping up was a little too brief and very "storybook ending-ish" I didn't expect it to conclude as it did.  And S. J. Watson has my admiration respect for the way he did it!  Well done!  A super first novel.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Sometimes I can't help but feel that certain things out there in the whole wide world were written  just for me.    This is one such book.  Lovely and long (intimidating at first), it didn't take long to be drawn in to this story, with its intriguing twists and freshly original story that is just so interesting that you don't want to stop until you know what will happen next (and since it is such a long book you are in this state of anxious suspense- mild as it is - throughout most of the book).

   I say it was written just for me as it is a Regency era tale (and I am particularly fond of this time period because of its literature, music and art).  Throughout the book I read phrases that were happily familiar...  having read Jane Austen's books many times I love the language and feel comfortable in it. This is a good thing as it lends  an authenticity to the story that Clarke is telling (and feeds my love of all things literary from that era).  Even Lord Byron makes a cameo appearance in this tale.   And magic!   An alternate history where magic is commonplace.   I just love the illustrations, they provide a depth to the sinister undertones of this story.
   There are so many novels out there about this period they kind of run together after a while (more of the same), but this one was so fresh and invigorating I read it with pure joy.  Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell stands alone.

Don't try to figure out what will happen in the story, or try to forecast how the book will end... let it slowly creep up on you.  It's really worth it, I promise, to just trust the author to just take you where she wants you to go. I wont tell any more as I really want you to go out and buy this book for yourselves and discover the many special features and pleasures inside.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One

 What a treasure trove of  literature, graphica and steampunk!  This seems like a match made in heaven for myself (a confessed science fiction fanatic and lover of literature from  the 18 and 1900's).  During the first read-through I enjoyed myself immensely, playing a game of I-at I had found on Wikipedia  List of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Characters I did just that and had a lot of fun doing it, as well as finding new authors and series to read.  It was exciting to just flip a page and see what character  I would read about next (and no peeking until I had finished reading that book).  I couldn't track down them all, but I did manage to read quite a few that I had been meaning to read for quite a while, among them Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Insidious Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer, Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (007's grandfather is featured in the graphic novel), H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morge and Zola's Nana.  Not all the characters were featured but just referenced through an image added like a street sign or the great picture gallery shown behind the league featured on the front cover.    My second reading was even more enjoyable once I understood more about the characters original story and could recognize the occasional reference alluding to something particular in it's pages.

A well written book can instill in you the horror of the imagination... with a graphic novel one page says it all and there is no need for your imagination to fill in the gaps.  This one is no exception.  I love it when the illustrations are well done, and with this novel I could see the 'humanity' of our characters as well as the horror of their private circumstances, the brutality of  Jeckyll's Hyde for example, or the precision and stoicism of Captain Nemo, the weaknesses and strengths of Alan Quartermain, the lack of morality and ethics in our Invisible Man,  the strength and determination of character in Mina Murray, who doesn't hesitate to do what needs to be done no matter how strange or unseemly the job may be.

I love it when such beloved characters are brought back to life and they have not been altered in any way to suit the author's story line, but seem to have had the story written around the strengths of each character's personality and circumstances.  I have seen movies do this (and sometimes alter the character so much that it is not possible to recognize the original in any way and they have had to fall back on some silly and often lame device to label the person so you know who it might be) and it has always bothered me to see a character altered in this way.  I can understand why Alan Moore did not like the movie that was inspired by his book (though I am grateful for the inspiration as I liked the movie very much regardless). 

For lovers of the steampunk genre, graphic novels, and literature from the late 1800's in general, this is a must-have for your library, and I am looking forward to the reading of Volume Two because there was a hint at the end of Volume One that had me squeeing like a teenage girl!