After Djibouti I needed some classic Leonard to get me back on track as a fan. The aforementioned novel was one of his last, and is quite the slog, so I was eager to give him another go as I am enamored with his characters as I have seen them in the hit show “Justified.” Get Shorty, later made into the film starring Travolta, is a hoot and a half. I am always a fan of mobsters (I adore Casino, Goodfellas, etc) and a touch […]
The movie is better.
How often can you say you liked the movie better with a straight face? Not often. Here’s what the movie has going for it: 1. It’s fun and watchable. 2. It has pretty people in it. 3. Horrible things happen to those pretty people. 4. It takes parts of this book and ignores the rest. 5. It completely subverts the pro-military message of the book into a satire. 6. It has Neil Patrick Harris in it as a psychic. 7. It’s cheesy and violent and tries […]
I Think I Need Some Tums
This is a novel that feels more like a movie script with lots of amazing food descriptions—some mouthwatering and some stomach-turning (depending on how you feel about certain types of French food). There are interesting elements here and the text goes down easily but it ultimately felt a bit unsatisfying to me. Richard Morais’s novel tells the story of Hassan Haji, who travels from the kitchen of his father’s Indian restaurant to a career as an acclaimed French chef. Hassan’s early memories are of his […]
You reeeeeeeally should have talked about Kevin.
I remember seeing the trailers for the movie adaptation of the novel and it scared the bejeebus out of me. I’m not a big horror film fan, though I do enjoy suspense novels, but there is something about evil kids that completely unnerves me. Still, I was intrigued so when I came across the book at a book sale I snatched it up. Through letters written to her estranged husband, we watch Eva Khatchadourian try to make sense of life after her son, the titular […]