Perfectly timed with the release of Baz Luhrmann's epic adaptation of the Great Gatsby, Suzanne Rindell's debut is an impressive thriller romp set in 1920s New York against a backdrop of glitz, glamour and greed.
Our unreliable narrator for the duration is a Miss Rose Baker, a typist working at a police precinct on the Lower East Side. Prim and proper to the last, Rose lives her life according to rule and regulation - and happily so, that is until fellow typist Odalie Lazare arrives.
Rose is captivated by Odalie from the start. A flirtatious and mysterious creature, she has the ability to manipulate all those who surround her, and to this Rose is no exception. The two typists eventually form an unlikely and intimate friendship, one that leads to deceit, betrayal and to the discovery of just how unfortunate the consequences of an unhealthy obsession can be.
The Other Typist is a very enjoyable read with an array of twists and turns that will engage and delight. Sordid speakeasies and a jolly holiday to the Long Island Sound (Gatsby's old stomping ground) provide the fabulous scenery and the detailed description of these haunts incites the welcomed desire for a long cigarette and a tumbler of bathtub gin. While I greatly enjoyed this book, I found the author's continuous foreshadowing both distracting and unnecessary. Also, I felt that while it is a rare and precious thing as a reader to be left guessing until the very end, it can also be frustrating for the book to end and to still be left guessing, as I sadly was with this novel.
The Other Typist is an accomplished debut that delivers style and suspense by the bucket-load and is well worth the read if you enjoy a good period thriller and (unlike me) can do perfectly well without the need for closure. 3/5
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Fig Tree (23 May 2013)
ISBN-10: 0241002885
Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book to review.
Is there anything Zooey Deschanel cannot do? The 'New Girl' actress has directed the music video for her current single "I Could've Been Your Girl', complete with dance routine, rubber duck and colourful piñata. The single is taken from the duo's forth album 'Volume 3' and is due for release on 15th July.
Like so many women of my generation, I hold a very special place in my heart for the Gilmore Girls. So when I heard that actor Lauren Graham was writing her debut novel I was both incredibly excited and a little apprehensive. I mean sure she rocked at playing Lorelai Gilmore, the most amazing mum on television, ever. But could she write? After having my head buried in this book for two days straight, it gives me great pleasure to confirm that yes, she most certainly can.
Someday, Someday Maybe is a fictionalised account of Graham's time as a struggling actor in New York around 1995. The story centres around Franny Banks, a twenty-something woman who has given herself a deadline of three years to make it big in the big apple. We meet Franny with only six months of her allotted schedule left, contemplating failure and the dreaded life of normality that awaits. With numerous auditions to attend, a job as a waitress to juggle on the side and complicated love liaisons to boot, will Franny finally get her big break or will it all just fall apart?
The novel offers a behind-the-scenes look into the highly competitive and temperamental nature of professional acting, a rare insight which I found to be very interesting. I enjoyed the numerous literary references scattered throughout the book, firstly with Franny herself being named after the J.D. Salinger novel 'Franny and Zooey', and secondly from her father, an English teacher who regularly calls Franny and informs her of his class texts - "We're starting Dorothy Parker this week, your favourite" (coincidentally, mine also). As a literature graduate, Graham name-checks these classic works throughout her novel as a sign of admiration and also, I would venture, as an assertion that she has read these authors and has a passion for literature that warrants her the authority to take this leap into novel writing, above that of the regular actor-turn-writer.
The writing itself is accomplished and the content genuinely funny and heartwarming. I had many laugh-out-loud moments whilst reading this novel and I found myself really rooting for Franny and often being inspired by her confidence and determination. The major problem I have with this book is that there simply isn't enough of it. The book ends very abruptly without any summary or hint of a conclusion and I think that is a great shame. I understand that Graham is planning a sequel and therefore wished to leave the reader wanting more, but unfortunately the overwhelming feeling I was left with was one of disappointment. Having said that, I am both highly impatient and eager for all loose ends to be tied and I am definitely looking forward to finding out what comes next for Franny Banks.
I would recommend Someday, Someday, Maybe as the ideal light read if you're in need of a well-written pick-me-up this summer. 4/5
Hardcover: 344 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (30 April 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345532740
Here's a lovely thing to brighten up your day. A kind and caring dog looks after his world-weary owner in this funny and touching short animated film from Madeline Sharafian. I couldn't help but smile whilst watching it. Enjoy!
As Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast once so brilliantly said..."If it ain't baroque, don't fix it!". Okay so technically that quite-frankly-fantastic joke doesn't work unless you're American, but thankfully She & Him are. For who could be more likely to follow the advice of a loveable Disney character than S&H frontwoman, everyone's favourite manic-pixie-dream-girl, Zooey Deschanel.
Now on their third album, She and Him know what they like and they like what they do, and gosh darn it, so do I. Volume 3 delivers more of the same retro doo-wop pop that fans (myself included) have come to know and love from these two crazy kids.
My only grievance is one of continuity, as previous offerings were titled 'Volume One' and 'Volume Two' and yet this release is inexplicably and infuriatingly called 'Volume 3'. I mean, what is that all about?!
...Anyway, my pedantic tendencies aside, this record is a perfect summer album full of ooh-ooh-oohs, aah-ahh-ahhs and Deschanel's gorgeous, countrified drawl. Perfection. 5/5
There was a double showing at chez Baker last night. First up was the Stanley Kubrick classic horror film The Shining, followed by Room 237 - a documentary about the Stanley Kubrick classic horror film, The Shining.
Watching both of these features in quick succession made me realise two things. The first is that I must be the least perceptive person on the planet as I failed to notice any observations made in the latter film regarding the former one. The second is that if you really look hard enough at a film, you can achieve extraordinary reaches and make any minute speck of detail fit your half-baked nonsense theories.
For instance, one of the interviewees vehemently believes that Kubrick assisted in faking the apollo moon landing footage, and that The Shining is the guise for his hidden apology to the world. One of the reasons he believes this is that the distance between the earth and the moon is roughly 237,000 miles and hence that is why in the film the room is 237 instead of 217, as it is in the book. In actual fact, the reason for this is that the staff at the hotel where the film was shot requested that the room number be changed as they actually had a room 217 and feared that guests might refuse to sleep there after the film was released. The documentary makers tactfully let us in on this valuable titbit of information by displaying it on screen while Mr moon-landings delivers his unlikely spiel. One of the things that I like most about this documentary is that it allows the theorists to state their claims free from inquisition or ridicule, simply presenting their case to the viewer for their own sceptical consideration.
A theory that I was more convinced by and that I believe held more weight in terms of visual evidence throughout the film was the observation that The Shining is about history repeating itself, of blood on the hands of the white man, of the tendency of man to forget his crimes and continue making the same mistakes over and over again. I would like to believe that Kubrick had this underlying intention when making the film as the idea of a hidden moral message in a horror film appeals to me but then, perhaps I'm just seeing what I want to see.
What disappointed me most about Room 237 was the lack of on-screen entertainment. There were plenty of clips from the original feature to illustrate the points being made and that was all well and good but these were interspersed with unrelated clips from Kubrick's earlier features and other, seemingly random films that were a bit bizarre and boring to watch. I would have liked to actually have seen the interviewees speaking to camera but then I guess the nature of the conspiracy theorist is to stay out of the spotlight. Overall though the content was intriguing enough to carry any visual deficiencies and for anyone who's seen The Shining, Room 237 is certainly interesting enough to warrant a watch. 4/5
Michael Cera directs and stars in Brazzaville Teen-Ager, a short film based on a story by Bruce Jay Friedman, about a young man who believes that by persuading his boss to sing the backing vocals ("the ooh-ooh-oohs and every other line of the chorus") on a Kelis track called 'Brazzaville Teen-Ager', he will save his father from a deteriorating death. It's a touching story with an underlying dark humour that tells of the desperation and delusion of grief.
This film is presented by JASH, a collective of comedic partners whose 'luminaries', as well as Cera include Sarah Silverman, Tim & Eric and Reggie Watts. JASH release a video of original content every Monday and judging by the quality of Brazzaville Teen-Ager, I for one can't wait to see what they come up with next. You can watch the film in its entirety below.
I am a TV show blitzer and for this I make no apologies. I will quite happily blitz through season after season of a single show over a sustained period of hours, days, weeks until I have seen every episode ever made, and this is how I watch television.
Psych is the show currently taking up every slot in my imaginary tv guide and with seven seasons of sixteen episodes at 45 minutes each to get through...it's fair to say that it's become a labour of love. Now I'm nearing the end of season six and, as with all intense-yet-fleeting love affairs I'm all too aware that it will soon reach its inevitable conclusion and I will be left with an empty void where Shawn and Gus used to be... (until I quickly find myself a different show with new characters to replace them - I'm pretty cut-throat like that).
So with the end drawing near, I'd like reflect on the reasons why I have grown to love Psych:
The Ridiculous Plot
Psych centres around the adventures of Shawn Spencer, a freelance psychic detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and his childhood friend Gus. Wait! Before you click the 'close tab' button because you didn't watch that Medium nonsense and you're certainly not going to watch this thank-you-very-much - there's a twist...Shawn is not actually psychic (well, duh! I hear you cry). Shawn's actual ability is one of heightened observation, developed at an early age with the help of his well-meaning father who obviously read the drill-sergeant guide to parenting. We're all in on the secret except his colleagues at the SBPD, for whom he performs the whole psychic shabang complete with crazy dance movements and sudden 'visions'. It's a novel take on the detective genre and one that allows for a lot of laughs...
A Lot of Laughs
Whether it be because of the outlandish costumes, the constant references to obscure 80's films or because of a genuinely funny gag (of which there are many), Psych usually makes me laugh out loud at least once an episode, which for me is quite the achievement. I am struggling to think of another detective show that is also so incredibly funny, and I simply can't.
The Twin Peaks Episode
'Dual Spires' is probably hands-down the best episode of Psych if you're a Twin Peaks fan. James Roday (who plays Shawn) lovingly co-wrote the script for this episode as a tribute to his favourite television show of all time. The episode stars seven of the original cast members from the cult classic series and pokes a little friendly fun at the overly dramatic and downright bizarre aspects of the show, containing numerous references for the ardent enthusiast to uncover. Apparently Roday was set to approach Twin Peaks creator David Lynch to guest star in the episode and then changed his mind for fear that he might respond negatively. Had the eccentric director done so he would have been severely mistaken, for Dual Spires is clearly a project born out of true love and is an excellent homage to the somewhat insane, but truly wonderful series.
A Great Cast
A television show is only as good as its cast and Psych has a really fantastic one. As well as Shawn and Gus, the SBPD detectives Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) and their chief (Kirsten Nelson) bring depth and some much needed discipline to counter the crazy antics of their (not-so) psychic colleague. Supporting performances from Corbin Benson and Kurt Fuller as Shawn's Dad and Woody the Coroner complete the ensemble. It's clear to see from the 'psych-outs' (bloopers) that these actors have a great time on set and that sense of humour and camaraderie is evident in the show.
True Friendship
The thing I probably love the most about Psych and what makes it a joy to watch every episode is the close friendship between Shawn and Gus. Every episode begins with a flashback to them as childhood buddies and James Roday and Dulé Hill have such great chemistry that it's not difficult to believe they've been friends their entire lives. The warmth and fun they bring to the show is abundant and you know you're in for a good time once the theme tune begins.
Speaking of the theme tune, it's not great but it's insanely catchy. I'll leave you to get acquainted with it.
I've heard it literally 200 times (beginning and end), so I'm good.
I approached On the Road somewhat naively, with the vague notion in the back of my mind somewhere that it was generally considered a big deal, innovative, revolutionary and worthy of it's place in the classic American literature archives of the twentieth-century. All this I believed, until I read it.
I'm reading this book as part of the Yale Open course 'The American Novel since 1945', lead by Amy Hungerford (which I thoroughly recommend if you've got a semester's worth of time to spare). I am unsure whether following on from Lolita with On the Road in this course is deliberate, but I certainly found the latter just as difficult and challenging a read as the highly controversial offering from Nabokov.
Both novels focus on the selfish desires of the intelligent white male, their abhorrent treatment of women and the voluntary blindness they adopt to block out all the many sufferings caused as a direct result of their actions. While Nabokov is warning others of the dangers of such a lifestyle, telling them to avoid the road-trip of ruin that such indulgence and excess inevitably leads to... Kerouac is packing his suitcase.
Based on true events, On the Road documents a series of road trips taken across America between 1947 and 1950 by Sal Paradise (Kerouac). It follows the relationship between Paradise and the manic Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady) and features a host of characters from the Beat Generation (a term coined by Kerouac himself), including writers Allen Ginsberg (Carlo Marx) and William S. Burroughs (Old Bull Lee). These characters live to excess, fleeing from responsibility and packing their bags the moment emotional responsibility sets in, leaving behind a string of abused women and accidental offspring in their wake.
Much like Nabokov's Lolita then, On the Road's lasting appeal is not in the company it keeps but in its effective use of language. Drug and alcohol abuse is prevalent in this novel and the writing rather impressively reflects this. Kerouac's aim was to infuse his writing with a sense of urgency, a frantic torrent of words set to a backdrop of New Orleans jazz that made the reader feel they were in the moment, living the experience as their eyes scanned the page. (A modern interpretation of this effect that would Kerouac would have been proud of was presented in 2002 by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries entitled 'Dakota'). This, I believe, he accomplishes to great effect and is the resounding triumph in a work that would otherwise amount to no more than an average coming-of-age yarn, with characters so dislikeable it's a real challenge to care what becomes of them.
Had I read this book as a teenager I have no doubt it would have been my raison d'être, my gospel, my guidebook for life. However, now all I can take from it is a self-pitying account written by a man in his twenties about how nothing that happens is his fault, how all he wants to do is drink and travel and how life really isn't fair and how...
Widely regarded as one of the most controversial novels of the twentieth century, Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita explores the hebephilic predilections of literary scholar Humbert Humbert and the relationship that transpires between himself and the primary focus of his forbidden desires, Dolores Haze a.k.a. his "Lo-Lee-Ta". Finally published in Paris by Olympia Press in 1955, after numerous rejections from American and UK publishers for either being too taboo or (as Nabokov suspected) not racy enough, Lolita has prevailed over these initial upsets to become a literary classic and undoubtedly Nabokov's most famous work.
Even now, the uncomfortable subject matter of Lolita is capable of provoking extreme reactions. Earlier this year, activists brutally attacked the producer of the stage version of the text in Nabokov's birthplace of St Petersburg, branding him a paedophile, with the same slander also being spray painted across the Nabokov museum and the author's estate.
The book itself, while by no means an easy (or frankly, enjoyable) read should be persevered with if only for Nabokov's fantastic use of language. Highly expressive and modernist in style, Nabokov's has a way with words and a descriptive flair that really captures the imagination, especially when depicting the vast American landscape on Humbert and Lolita's long and lonely road trips.
As for the content, I would liken Lolita to the contemporary novels and subsequent TV adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter - in that both authors present to us characters who think and do unspeakable things, who commit acts that are condemned by society and perceived as the worst kind of deviant behaviour, and yet they reveal these characters in such a way that one can't help but feel warmth and sympathy for them. Perhaps it is this unexpected and introspective compassion for the moral outcasts of our society that arouses such intolerance and outrage.
I would highly recommend this novel if you're looking for a challenge and wish to discover for yourself what all the fuss is about. If any literary work is worthy of such commotion, it's Lolita.
