Published in 2005.
Great read! Allende has a real talent for telling stories.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Way of the World
Written by Ron Suskind
Published in 2008
This book is phenomenal. Utterly, completely, insanely relevant and hugely intelligent. If nothing else Ali, borrow the book from Lamont and read Chapter 1 about Usman Khosa.
The book outlines how America failed miserably after 9/11, when instead of rallying the world to unitedly fight the al-Qaeda, it blustered and blundered and lost all its credibility and moral authority. He follows people ranging from Bush to an Afghan exchange student to Benazir to MI5 agents and Guantanamo lawyers. You have to read this book, Ali! It puts the gut feelings that so many of us have about the way the world is going today into an exquisite and ultimately hopeful narrative.
Must read!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist.
Didn't expect much from the movie at all and was delightfully surprised at how well made it was. A masked rip-off of Juno but original in its own little way. The story follows Nick's character; rather shy, awfully awkward but a surprisingly cool, if somewhat geeky, guy, through a messy break-up. Enter Nora character; a girl with too much money but a heart of gold, a total pushover but level-headed and smart.
The whole movie takes place over the course of one drunken, debauched night, when the two characters finally meet, par hasard, to look for a band in nyc, called 'where's fluffy?'.
If Mrs. Dalloway was a woman's whole life in the course of one single day, then this movie is the life of a relationship over the course of one single new york minute. Awesome fun filled merriment for a whole new generation of confused, sexually desensitized teens.
Warning: Do NOT watch while consuming vast quantities of buttered popcorn. You WILL throw up-->guaranteed.
The whole movie takes place over the course of one drunken, debauched night, when the two characters finally meet, par hasard, to look for a band in nyc, called 'where's fluffy?'.
If Mrs. Dalloway was a woman's whole life in the course of one single day, then this movie is the life of a relationship over the course of one single new york minute. Awesome fun filled merriment for a whole new generation of confused, sexually desensitized teens.
Warning: Do NOT watch while consuming vast quantities of buttered popcorn. You WILL throw up-->guaranteed.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Testimony
Written by Anita Shreve
Published in 2008
Not very great fiction. Story revolves around sex scandal in New England boarding school. Ruins tons of lives. It is told through this annoying device. All the different characters narrate their events to a researcher from U Vermont, who is not a substantial character by herself. It was a pleasant enough read but nothing groundbreaking or earth-shattering.
Tales of Two Cities
Written by Kuldip Nayar and Asif Noorani.
Published in 2008.
Two journalists' recollection of the partition. Nayar left from Sialkot to Delhi, Noorani from Bombay to Karachi. Noorani's bit was really well written and quite humourous. Interesting book but not tremendous.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Directed by Raja Gosnell
Released in 2008.
Horrendously vapid! Just as bad as one would expect it to be. And I have to review it for the Herald. Horrors!
Notes from The Underground
By: Fyodor Fostoyevsky
A must read! The central character is worthy of praise and disgust. The story is narrated in first person by an ambiguous and mysterious Underground man who revels in the misery of others and delights in his own lack of self worth. He's a low, sickly creature, inhabiting the depths of a mind plagued by consciousness, philosophizing at odd instances about life, love and the nature of freedom.
There is no actual plot in the first half of the book. An awful, self-pitying rant about the pain and disgust he feels filters through his mind and find its way to us, the proposed subject of his monologue, the hypocritical and vile reader. There is no redemption; no catharsis; no sense of purpose, meaning or direction, merely a menacing account of his own sense of self, being and crippled pride.
A fascinating study about the human psyche and the moral degradation that follows from years of stifling the spirit and torturing the consciousness. It's a great read and will change the way you think yo!
A must read! The central character is worthy of praise and disgust. The story is narrated in first person by an ambiguous and mysterious Underground man who revels in the misery of others and delights in his own lack of self worth. He's a low, sickly creature, inhabiting the depths of a mind plagued by consciousness, philosophizing at odd instances about life, love and the nature of freedom.
There is no actual plot in the first half of the book. An awful, self-pitying rant about the pain and disgust he feels filters through his mind and find its way to us, the proposed subject of his monologue, the hypocritical and vile reader. There is no redemption; no catharsis; no sense of purpose, meaning or direction, merely a menacing account of his own sense of self, being and crippled pride.
A fascinating study about the human psyche and the moral degradation that follows from years of stifling the spirit and torturing the consciousness. It's a great read and will change the way you think yo!
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