By Request

Polly Courtney's Feral Youth dives headlong into the life of 15 year old Alesha, a young girl from South London just trying to rep her endz and keep all the right affiliations with Peckham Crew. From the start, it is made clear that Alesha is a hard edged fighter of a youth, shaped and roughened by circumstance and necessity. An absent father and a mother that's negligent at best paint a vague background of Alesha's past, engraining an idea that without true family, street fam is all she has. That's where JJ comes in - best friend, brother figure, and the closest thing Alesha has to a real family. It is her connections with JJ that drive most of her wishes and decisions as she struggles her way through street life, bouncing from dodgy flats to hostels, robbing, shoplifting and running errands for the Crew to make ends meet.

At it's heart, Feral Youth is a coming of age story which documents the struggles of an inner city youth pushed around from place to place, and her journey to gain confidence in her self and the ability to change the outcome of her life. Bouncing between legitimizing her life with the help of her once piano teacher Miss Merfield and giving in to the ease of money making through drug deals, black market sales, and general thievery, the reader watches Alesha flip flop her way through the novel, unable to gain the drive to pull herself out of her current lifestyle - one she is smart enough to be scared of, but not strong enough to want to leave: it's familiar, its immediately gratifying, and she's GOOD at it.

Courtney engulfs the reader in the world of Alesha, and gang affiliated life, painting the scene through Alesha's own thoughts and eyes - her very specific catalogue of diction and slang terms reinforcing the believability of her circumstance. We are inside her mind, and feel what she does which often times is the only way the reader would be able to understand the thought process or presumed logic of situations.

While the novel does well to depict the life of a disadvantaged young girl, and further contrast it to the (assumed) privilege born into others, there is an oversimplification which pervades the story. Alesha is motivated by survival - and on occasion, a need to ensure other's (JJ's) survival. Survival in itself is not a simple motivator, and yet the novel fixates on the living from day to day so much that greater motivations, intents, and emotions fall short. As a reader you care about Alesha because you feel sorry for her, and pity is not exactly the primary emotion you want a reader to feel for your character. Of course, there are situations and plots that need sympathy, but I wanted to properly connect with Alesha, understand her, and instead I found myself unsure when she would throw a tantrum and walk out on benefactor Miss Merfield and when she would have one of her 'the mother I never had' moments. While mood swings and angst are natural for a 15 year old girl, too much became for story convenience, and the continual back and forth bordered on the repetitive rather than enhancing Alesha's lack of self confidence. There were moments of course - times with Tisha primarily where I remembered that Alesha was still just a lost 15 year old girl, but these moments were too brief or too surface to fully grab hold of.

 Similarly, the revelation which final converts Alesha after various false starts, failed attempts and cases of giving up, is a simple reveal of a character who is successful, or at least appears to be, living in a posh world with nice clothes, despite having originally come from an estate. While this is a legitimate device to spur a character change in Alesha, the scene falls a bit flat after the months of pep talks, examples and support Alesha has been given to pull out of Crew life. I was frustrated by her because she did not seem to WANT to help herself for much of the novel - it is one thing to try and fail and get discouraged, but without full insight into her emotional side, these instances of failure felt less like tragic crippling self doubt, and more like a child too lazy to put in any hard work. I wanted to KNOW Alesha, what makes her tick, and was only offered brief glimpses of this in piano keys and her connection with JJ. Both could have been explored with more detail as they were reoccurring, though often unexplored themes throughout.

The emphasis on the riot itself, provided a window into youth and gang culture in a way which began to explore pack mentality, the contagion of rage and a need for action, the BBM messages highlighting the rapidity with which a collective can form, swell, and above all unite against a common theme. The tables were turned in order to show the deep rooted frustrations of a culture and society constantly put down and suppressed by ruling powers and the inevitable explosion that follows. Here the reader began to see more of Alesha - smashing in windows releasing pent up rage at all the people and things that have pushed her down. It is the depiction of those who destroy things out of envy - destruction of what they cannot have - and it is a powerful concept. But the truth remains that crime was crime - it was not food stolen for survival, but cell phones and technologies. While we feel for the caged bird, it can be hard from a readers perspective not to also call for justice.

This then is the dichotomy which encompassed my view of the novel. While I emphasized with the hardships of Alesha's life, I wanted more from her in terms of motivation. While I applauded Miss Merfield's benevolence, I chastised Alesha for her laziness. She had moments of gratitude, of pride, of will, yet I struggled throughout to support someone so blatantly turning to crime and drug trafficking. There may have been necessity there, but battling on through adversity is admirable - giving up is allowable - but lacking the ability to try - the DESIRE to, is frustrating.

Overall, Courtney does well to create a window into Alesha's world - the world of South, of streets, of Crew and of poverty, but I want more than a window; I want to step into that world and get lost there.

And the Mountains Echoed

Khaled Hosseini is superb, and continues to wow in this, his third novel. An expert at weaving a multitude of stories and characters into one cross-continental tale, Hosseini grabs his readers immediately and doesn't let go. Raising hopes,and leaving the reader crushed under the weight of tragic life - a reality he carefully avoids glorifying - Hosseini once again opens a window into characters lives, bit by bit, and makes you, inevitably and despite their flaws, love them. As the reader watches the slow decay of life unfurl before their eyes they are gripped by the tale of familial bonds, and deep rooted kinship that is not defined by local - be it Afghanistan, America, Paris, or Tinos. Human frailty, its capacity for love, and inevitably, fail those we love runs deep within the pages of ANd the Mountains Echoed.

The story opens upon a simple scene of storytelling, a glimpse at the relationship between the father (the speaker) and son, (the listener) while widening the ideas of family relations and obligations in the very theme of the story told. From there we are given a window into the lives of two young children - brother and sister - and the solidifying of a central them throughout the novel to come: bonds and ties of family and friendship that endure despite time or place. It is a story about finding a piece of one's self in another, and the inexplicable connections of love that tie us together.

Through heartache, trial triumph and testing, Hosseini explores relationships between parents and their children - touching on the loved, the difficult, biological families and adopted ones, in order to explore the depth of affection and loyalty inherent in such relations. There is a sense, too, for the characters of And the Mountains Echoed, that it is never too late. Whether it is Pari the young girl removed from her family at such a very young age, who - unable to remember anything but her adopted mother - lives her life with a vague, uncertain, but ever present ache; a hole undefinable of the place where something is missing from her soul, or Markos - ever running from the confines of his life, so rigid and void of tenderness, on the secluded island of Tinos, Hosseini weaves them each in turn, and the generations of family members and friends they connect with, into realistically jumbled, but ever connected tapestry.

It is a testament, also, that Hosseini is able to create such a balance - such reality. Never one to wrap everything up all nice and neat in perfect triumph or resolution, he also manages to avoid the opposite mistae of over glorifying the hardships and tragedies of poverty and circumstances. Each character is flawed, and each is redeemable, but only within the realities and confines of their lives and character. It is a masterpiece of a could-be reality. Like the works of Hosseini that came before, And the Mountains Echoed will grip your heart, and leave its resonating sound within you well after the final page has been read.

Based on the Novel By:

Taking books and transforming them into screenplays is certainly not a new idea, but it's becoming more and more apparent just how many of the major motion pictures of the last two years are adapted from books, short stories and novels.

The range, is drastic. On one end you have the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a story which would take less time to read than to watch as it was adapted into 3 hours of makeup marvel on Brad Pitt's face. On the other end of the spectrum, triologies, series and epics which attempt to pack vast twisting story lines into conventional movie length parameters (although most get around this by either splitting said series into multiple movies and/or extending run times). The point is, whether it's James Bond, Jane Eyre or Harry Potter - literary films have become the norm.

Let's take a look at the Oscars shall we?

Best picture: Les Miserables - oh, what was that? A book. Sure, it is perhaps more famously known for it brilliant and successful adaptation into broadway stage musical, but it too was a book. A very early example of the print-to-screen phenomenon that seems to be taking hold with such force these days.

Other major films in the upcoming or recently released category? Silver Linings,

Life of Pi, Anna Karenina, James Bond - Skyfall (only the latest in a long loved series of films of course), One for the Money, Children's book: The Lorax, The Hunger Games (how could we forget?) - and less recently - the infamous Twilight saga, The Lucky One, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (yes, this was a book), Alex Cross/Cross, Cloud Atlas (perhaps that one should have stayed in print form, no?), The Hobbit, Jack Reacher, Safe Haven (the latest of Nicholas Sparks' to be turned into a movie), The Host, Carrie (again), Ender's Game (upcoming)... I could go on, but I think you get the point.

While adapted screenplays are clearly not a 'new' invention, it seems these past couple years have seen an insurgence of novels becoming feature films.

There are two major things that might cause this.

One is a lack of creative writing of origianl screenplays, the other, an icrease in popularity of books.

Please, please let it be the second.

Having just watched The Great Gatsby film adaptation from the iconic story by previously mentioned F. Scott Fitzgerald, I couldn't help but be reminded of the art that is print to screen transferance. Gatsby, I have to say, made the switch flawlessly. The nature and setting of the novel - being the lavish parties of Manhattan in the 1920's, lent itself especially well to visual adaptation, and the cinematographers, costume artists, set designers and visual team did an outstanding job - but it was not just the set that pulled you in, it was the characters, the storyline, the dream-like fantasy which Gatsby himself creates. He is a master inventor continually attempting to recreate himself, and thus, his past. It is the heartbeat of the novel, and so too the film. 

this, if nothing else, was captured effortlessly.

But that of course was not all. the bookishness - in the best possible understanding of the word - came through with every expression and movement, from the emphasized visual ques, to the focus on the character of Nick and his writing to the lovely image of daisy herself, dreamlike in the clouds, waving away words of an ever remembered letter. The references back to the original work were many and expertly used - not overdone or overly relying on the fame of the novel previously, but simply drawing on not only the story, but that which it stands for. 

Straying very little if at all from the original plot, Gatsby manages to both stay true to the original work while drawing in a new level of excitement and wonder. The perfect mix, I might suggest, and as such, a huge success.

It is debatable whether or not book adaptations are such a good thing - they have given us such wonders as the Epic Lord of the Rings, and yet vastly disappointed viewers (or at least this viewer) in the case of One Day or Cloud Atlas. I'm glad to say the latest did not do so. 

It is, however, with a careful hand I praise it, lest we get carried away. Adaptations may be brilliant, but let us not forget the works from which the originate, nor forget to pay tribute not only to the writers, but the very works.

In simple terms, some movies are awesome and are so because of the books that came before - so don't ever stop reading.

-Q

Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective character. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has managed to create a character that withstands the test of time, and, in recent years, seems to only be growing in popularity. From the Blockbuster starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (an impeccable match) or the BBC modern day series simply titled 'Sherlock' starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the Memoirs and Adventures of Sherlock Holmes live on.

Having recently read a large number of the iconic stories, I must admit, it makes sense to see so many of the plots adapted to screen - they are intriguing riddles which lend themselves far better to film than to print. Because really, being told in point-by-point factual reports of the minute details which lead to discovery is not entirely suspenseful or exciting. Sure, there is interest and intrigue and most definitely a sense of awe, but it's a report. It's not a... story.

So it seems that it is the mystery of how Sherlock can be so effortlessly observant, the question of the character himself rather than each individual storyline. We are captured by him, and his unusual character and, in turn, the humourous relation between himself and Watson, far more than we care to know 'who-done-it'. And thus, Sherlock becomes the perfectly malleable, transient character. You can move him through time and era effortlessly, changing crime and mystery to fit. Because that's not the part the matters to us. We, like Watson, simply want to watch the genius at work.

Pride & Prejudice

What to say about Jane Austen that hasn't been said before? I was a sceptic. Actually, I'd read about half of Mansfield Park years ago for University, and been so thoroughly bored an unimpressed I never finish. (don't tell). However, Pride and Prejudice is a classic, and on that principle alone I 'wanted' to read it eventually. Add to that my best friend Larissa pushing me to pick it up - a good recommendation from her is certainly held in high regard - and another friend not only telling me to read it, but informing me of my likeness to one of the characters. I was too intrigued to say no.
Plus, I already owned a copy sitting patiently on my bookcase.

My thoughts?
Well, it is still an Austen, so as far as action, adventure, major events, mass plots or any such thing - it certainly fails. However, that does not mean it is as entirely boring as I may have previously thought.
The novel of course, is driven by character, and the characters of both Elizabeth Bennett, Mr Darcy and Mrs Bennett provide a rather interesting mix. Eliza is what drives the story. She is the focus, the most interesting, and arguably the most relatable character in the novel.

Blunt, intelligent, witty and lively, Eliza goes against the subdued gentle nature that is generally attributed to young girls of her time. This in itself, prevents the story from becoming dull and (overly) predictable, as she acts upon her thoughts and feelings in a more direct way than say, her sisters would. Likewise, her interactions with Mr Darcy, especially in the later chapters of the book show spunk, wit and a playful banter otherwise unseen in the novel. This break of period convention helps to open the classical novel to new readers through the ages as Eliza takes on a more time transient role, no longer entirely fixed within the confines of her time period. She is a timeless character, and that it was what makes the novel work.

Because otherwise, it's not exactly thrilling.

Something about it, though, remains beloved to readers through the generations. Young girls swoon for Mr Darcy - and not just because he is usually a good-look brit in modern-day movie adaptations. There is something about him girls adore. I am intruiged as to what exactly this is. I quite enjoy his character, his refined, shrewd and blunt nature, and yet - for him to have become a symbol of 'the perfect man' ? that doesn't entirely make sense, does it? Perhaps it is the fact that his love for her seems inexplicable to him, that he cannot understand what it is that turned his opinion of her, or why, but rather that the pair seemed drawn to each other - destined in a way. Maybe that's it. Maybe it is the fact that ELiza IS different, that she isn't the beauty that her older sister is, perhaps it is that she holds her own and does not give in the Darcy's advances at first. That she changed him, in some way, or that she refused to let him change her.

I truly am unsure of just what it is that marks the relationship of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett as so ideal, but there it is. A standing -non mushy - non romanticized - love that has lasted through the years.

My advise? Give the book a read for yourself and see if you can figure it out.

Everything Remains Dark

Browse Tumblr for more than 30 seconds, and I'll beat you'll come across some reference to Jonathan Safran Foer - most likely, a non-creative posting of cover photos of Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close scrawled in bright vibrant letters. See cover here And, I must admit, the poppy type-art simplicity, was a good seller for me. While both novels continue to circle the Literary cult cultures with quotes and trendy 'likes' I'd be lying if I said I actually knew much of anything about this novel aside from the time I was ready to watch anything Elijah Wood was in and came across his smiling sunflower-glassed visage at Blockbuster. I never did watch the movie though, so it was blindly that I dove into the pages of Everything Is Illuminated this September with no frame of reference for plot, style or literary context.
Long story short - I had no idea what the book was really about, except that Lit-hips loved it.

Taking place in the Ukraine - which might explain the bright blue and yellow, at any rate, the novel follows two or three timelines that weave their way (occasionally connecting) through the rural Ukrainian villages. The first, most 'present-day' story is that of Sasha, a small town Ukrainian young man longing for America, and a life bigger than that which he leads. Manufacturing tales and encounters that boost his image, he rattles off depictions of his daily grand life with poignant humour and charmingly broken english. Capturing that fluent but not North American style of speaking and writing, Safran immediately gains the readers trust through the voice of Sasha, and establishes a relationship where the reader is firmly on his side, and rooting for his success and happiness.

Shortly into this we meet Jonathan Safran Foer the character - an American travelling through the Ukraine in search of one woman from an old photograph, and a connection to his past: the one who saved his father's life during the second world war.

And that's about where my comprehensive overview ends.

Weaving in and out of this present day story - which itself is told partly in the moment, and in part through recounting letters from Sasha to Jonathan after the fact - are tales of the past. The relatives Jonathan is seeking to gain knowledge of have their own chance to tell a story - a stumbling and halting history of their village, and the individuals and encounters which occurred there.

Though in theory the reader is able to keep histories separate, the manner in which each is introduced and revealed leaves much to the imagination, and tends toward simple confusion. I often found myself trying to decipher who was who and related in what way, what time period/frame of the novel I was in, and just what the heck was actually going on.

Because of this, the novel quickly became muddled, confusing, and frustrating. Though there were certainly moments where the reader could sympathize with the characters of the novel, the disconnect of the stories and the narrative style prevented continuity or emotional attachment at the level which the story needed. Without it, the weight of character's emotional baggage, war trauma, and inner turmoils fall flat, missing the reader all together on their downward spiral into muddled reality and confused plot lines.

Rather as though bits an pieces of the novel were left out, revelations and conversations would occur in the novel without explanation or backstory to provide either context or relevancy. As such, I often found myself frustrated with entire sections of the novel, unable to connect to one character or another, or piece together the significance of one story in relation to another.

While I could grasp at the thought that the miss-mash of stories is a commentary or depiction of the way in which history circles, or memories blur in the minds of both individuals and nations - pulling this all together in the collective frame of reference of Jewish life in the Second World War - I'd have to say that's the type of stretch more commonly found in the pages of a second year English Major's dashed together analytic essay. It's time to face the music. Parts of the novel held merit, but as a collective book, it fell short.

I'm not saying each and every aspect needs to be explained in full detail, or that backstories need be outlined for every anecdote, but when the reader is left with an overwhelming feeling of 'so what' or, 'how does this relate to anything again?' you know that something's missing. Finishing the novel with an overwhelming sense of frustration, I have to admit I was disappointed. Sure, Safran illuminates some honest, blunt truths here and there, but generally speaking, I found the very title of the novel a wild irony (the one thing I can say just may have been deliberate) and the resounding conclusion lingering darkness.
And I'm not really sure what to do in the dark.

Rant

Chuck Palahniuk, where DO you come up with these things?
Rant, the 'oral history' of one Buster (Rant) Casey, is a tale which is ever intriguing, wildly insane, and just once you think you've got the crazy concept, jumps up several notches into the exceedingly imaginative.
Now I realize that description does little to inform of the actual plot, synopsis or narrative modes of the novel, but that's just it with Palahniuk - he's genius in his very concepts.

The novel is written in the halting, broken style of accounts, or oral histories, whereby sections of interview or conversation are transcribed with little evidence of chronology, relevance of speaker, or merit. Aside from the brief description of each character in the form of tagline ex: (Party Crasher) , (Childhood Enemy), (Mother) etc, the story is in many ways about deciphering the credibility and biases of each speaker as much as it is unravelling the story of Rant himself.

From the get-go, it is clear that this is not your average tale. Rant is a teen with ambition, cunning and a plan. Outwitting his small town in under the table old-fashioned coin deals - the Tooth Fairy scheme - he inflates the entire economy of his tiny town by way of paying children in gold coins for lost teeth, thereby drawing attention away from his own pile of gold which would otherwise be deemed suspicious.
The parents lie, the children lie, and everyone gains.

This is the mindset of Rant Casey - reckless, rash and pleasure seeking. From the moment the reader hears of him stuffing his arm down holes and dens in the middle of the dessert just to see what might be inside, the image of Rant is solidified. He is insane, but wondrously and geniusly so.

As the story unfolds we read of thinks like PartyCrashing, and Night timers and Day timers concepts and phrases known not the the reader, and never fully explained. It is with a level of authenticity and completeness that Palahniuk leaves it up to the reader to piece together over time what exactly the world in which Casey lives is like, and what it means to be a 'night timer'. Accounts of Rabies epidemics and coin trades add to the mystery of who Casey is, and what really was all the interest in his life - was he a serial killer? Patient X, just a regular reckless teenage boy?

Palahniuk's style and poignant voice make his novels - and this is no exception - a mind bending experience. If you've ever seen or read Fight Club and thought, yes, that seemed exceptionally likely, maybe you're the one person who would not be impressed, but for the rest of us I'd have to say his creativity and careful unfolding of information and character development masterfully evoke not only intrigue, but suspicion and avid following. I was hooked. Rather confused, at times, but hooked. And once I hit the end - well - I was ready to call it down right genius.

It's an insane story, and certainly not meant for everyone - it's a pretty specific appeal as far as the style of writing and content go, but if you're willing, it's well worth the mind bend.

-Q