I’ve only read three of his books now, but I kind of love Thomas Hardy. Because he gets it. He gets how shitty social and moral conventions are to women. Does Hardy have an avid following like Austen or Dickens? Because he totally should! I demand more Hardy adaptations! Bathsheba Everdene – what an awesome name – is a beautiful, intelligent, confident, and fiercely independent young woman. Upon inheriting her uncle’s farm, she moves to Weatherbury, where she attracts the attention of three very different men: loyal shepherd Gabriel Oak, reserved farmer William Boldwood, […]
He May Have a Moving Castle, but She Has a Magic Stick!
Of all the Miyazaki films I have loved before, Howl’s Moving Castle is not one of them. However, upon discovering that the original source material was a young adult fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones, I decided to give it a shot, as it is filled with the things my younger heart would have loved. Witches? Wizards? Magic? A minimal romantic subplot? Yes, please! Read the rest of the review here.
The Real Housewife of Yonville
Clearly the only way I can get myself to read one of the books in my continually growing to-be-read pile is for there to be a movie coming out. Get on it Hollywood, there are about 60 books I still need to get through. Disclaimers: I read a translation due to my French being nonexistent, but the original is supposed to be exquisite. I don’t have to warn about spoilers in a review about something published in 1856, do I? Madame Bovary is one of those classics in which the elements that […]
In Our Family Portrait, We Look Pretty Happy
First things first: The Lives of Others is a very good book. It is skilfully written, the imagery is vivid and the portrayals are, as far as I can tell from my limited experience with Indian culture, realistic and poignant. It is also, at times, an infuriating and frustrating read. Make no mistake: this is not a story about a quirky but essentially kind-hearted Indian Addams Family. If you’re looking for something to cheer you up, look elsewhere. The Lives of Others focuses on the […]