Book Talk: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Hello my lovely readers!
I finally got around to reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s famous and iconic account of her journey to finding herself. Let’s see what it’s all about and whether it’s worth the fuss!

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
Liz is in a very bad place. Going through a terrible divorce which is followed by a tough break up she’s battling depression. That’s when Liz decides to make a change. She packs her bags and embarks on a journey. Over the course of a year she spends time in Italy, India and Bali, learning about the countries, the people but most importantly about herself.

 

The Rating:
I have to say, I was extremely surprised by this book. My hopes weren’t too high and I was expecting something a bit cheesy. However, what I got was an inspiring novel that provided lots of food for thought.
Liz Gilbert tells the story from a very relatable place. Her heartache, her problems, it’s all something you’ve felt in some way. She also seems like a lovely person so for a large part of the book I just wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything’s going to be alright.
But the thing is, Liz teaches us an important lesson: it will be alright in the end but you have to make it work. Nothing will ever change if you don’t make it change.

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Book vs. Movie: Fahrenheit 451 (1966+2018)

Hey guys!
Today I have a classic for you. As the iconic novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury got a new adaptation this year, I was inspired to finally see all there about this story!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
In a time where fireman don’t put out fires but ignite them, reading has become a crime. Books are banished and even owning one is punished. Amidst totalitarian times like these, fireman Guy Montag begins to rethink his life…

 

Book vs. Movie:
Let’s kick off with the novel.
I know this book is famous and praised by critics and fans alike. However, I’m not exactly over the moon. The story and the topics are relevant and Bradbury provides a lot of food for thought. My problem is his writing style and the pace of the story. While the ideas fascinate me, the story bored me. I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly that annoyed me, but I wasn’t excited or thrilled by this book. It just felt flat to me, just as one-dimensional as a world without books. Furthermore, I was rather disappointed with the representation of women in this novel. Bradbury wrote in 1953 and was imagining some far away future, so you might expect him to be a bit diverse with his female characters. However, women generally appear to be brain-washed ideas who are incapable of thinking on their own. There is one exception, but Clarisse also wasn’t a character I liked. She was just weird and irritating, which clearly didn’t help with enjoying the book.

Maybe it works better on-screen, so let’s talk about the first adaptation by Francois Truffaut in 1966. First of all, it’s cool that the main role is played by an Austrian actor. You don’t see that too often! Seeing it all visualized helped bringing some of the ideas across and added in terms of intensity. But in general, the film was missing something, just like the book. The idea is important but the story built around it just doesn’t do the trick for me. It’s not Truffaut’s fault, he made the best film you could with the story given and the effects at hand at that time.

Better Call Saul: Season 4 – A Review

Hello my lovely readers.
The fourth season of the hit show Better Call Saul concluded a few weeks ago. I finally had time to catch up, so let’s get down to it!

 

The Plot:
Jimmy is fighting to get his licence back and practice as a lawyer – which is easier said than done. In the mean time Kim is recovering from her accident and decides to move on with her career.
With the help of Mike Gus Fring takes the next steps in building his drug empire…

 

The Rating:
I was really excited about this season and I have to say, it certainly surprised me.
The plot surrounding Gus Fring wasn’t all that eventful but definitely intense and fascinating. You didn’t know what to expect on that front and the final episode was a huge plot twist.
Another point I hadn’t seen coming was the change in Kim’s personality. I don’t want to add any spoilers her. But she’s moving in a direction I hadn’t thought possible for her.

Movie Mania: Joy

Hey guys!
It is movie review time. Joy was one of the biggest films released in 2015 and got Jennifer Lawrence tons of award nominations. So let’s see what it is about!

 

The Plot:
Joy Mangano desperately tries to turns her life around. She invented a self-wringing mop which she tries to sell on the streets. When the shopping channel QVC gives her a chance, Joy is over the moon. But for her nothing is ever smooth sailing…

 

The Rating:
It’s terribly difficult to make a movie about mops that is not boring. For the first third of the film, I thought director David O. Russell had succeeded. But Joy is more than two hours long and nobody in the world can keep mops interesting for that long – even if they are self-wringing. I understand that we are talking about an important part of Joy’s life, but I had rather seen some of the later stages of her career. To be honest, I also don’t know which scenes to leave out in order to have the picture still making sense. But after a certain point the humor kept getting lost and the interest in the picture started to die.

Book Talk: And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave

Hey guys!
Today’s book review focuses on a novel recommended to me by a friend: And the Ass Saw the Angel. It was multi-talent Nick Cave’s first novel. So let’s see what he came up with!

And The Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
And The Ass Saw the Angel tells the story of Euchrid Eucrow. Born to an alcoholic and abusive mother and a demented father, the mute boy has a tough start. He spends his whole life as an outcast, but the older he gets, the stronger his angelic visions become…

 

The Rating:
I plunged head first into this book without even reading the blurb.
What I found is a unique and intense novel that won’t let you go. At first I had my troubles getting acquainted with Cave’s writing style and language. But as soon as that barrier was down, I developed a love-hate-relationship with the book. On the one hand I wanted to know more but on the other hand I dreaded what was on the next page.
And the Ass Saw the Angel is a weird and irritating story. You will end up hating most of the characters as Cave manages to depict the cruelty of humankind extremely well.

Orange is the New Black Season 6 – A Review

Hey guys!

In my attempt to catch up with all the new seasons out there, I finally finished Orange is the New Black season 6. After season 5 ended with a big cliffhanger, I was excited about this one! So let’s see what happened…

 

The Plot:
After the riot of season 5, the inmates are assigned to new blocks. Piper, Alex and the others find themselves in the middle of a gang war. Good old friend is not exactly on friendly terms with both gang leaders…

 

The Rating:
There’s only one word to describe this season: boring.
I had never expected to be gang wars being this uneventful. For the most part there is absolutely nothing going on and even the background stories are rare. Even the storylines that seemed promising fall flat. For example the story surrounding Caputo got more or less reduced to him being/not being in a relationship with Figueroa.
By now I am so annoyed with Piper I had the urge to skip the scenes that contained her.