TV Show Ramble: Russian Doll

Hello, my darling readers!
I finally had time to binge one of Netflix’ very own productions Russian Doll. Created by Natasha Lyonne who already excelled at her role as Nicky in Orange Is the New Black, this show was just bound to be good!

The Plot:

This is not quite how Nadia had imagined her birthday. The party sucks balls and all she wants to do is get away. Then she dies.
Only to find herself back at the party once more. Again and again…

The Rating:

Let me warn you: make sure you have enough time at hand when watching this. ‘Cause once you get started you won’t be able to stop until you finished all 8 episodes.

Yes, the show is that good.
Natasha Lyonne brings her A-game and shows what a talented actress she is. We get Charlie Barnett who plays his role heartbreakingly.
Russian Doll mixes comedy with earnest and dramatic moments but it’s a perfect fit. While in other shows of movies this often is too much of a contrast and fails to blend into one production, here it’s a smooth marriage of humor and tragedy.

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hey Guys, it’s time for another book review!
Today I want to share my opinion on Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief, which was published in 2005. Let’s see wether it is worth reading!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Cover from Goodreads

 

The Plot:
It’s 1939 in Germany. Liesel brother just died. The two kids had been on their way to a foster family in Munich, when death came for the little boy. It’s that very day, Liesel love affair with books begins: she finds a copy of The Gravedigger’s Handbook in the snow. Reading seems to be her only escape during this dangerous time. There’s no real chance for happiness, right?

 

The Rating:
When I picked up this book , I had no idea what to expect. The first surprise was the unexpected narrator. The Book Thief is told from the perspective of death himself, who always keeps an eye on little Liesel. You can already tell, this is not an ordinary novel. 

Time To Talk About Books: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

This novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides was published in 1993. It tells the story of the five Lisbon sisters who commit suicide. The story is set in the 1970 and is told by a few guys who once admired the girls from afar and try to contemplate their life years later.

The Plot:

the virgin suicides

The Lisbon girls, Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Therese and Mary, life with their parents who are quite strict. The tragedy begins when the youngest girl, Cecilia, tries to commit suicide by sliding her wrists. The paramedics manage to safe her. But a few weeks later when the girls throw a party to distract a little bit Cecilia jumps out

of her window, landing on the fence and being stabbed.

From there on everybody tries to cope with the situation. After some time things seem to go back to normal. When Lux falls in love with Trip Fontaine he persuades her parents to let the girls go to the homecoming dance. Lux comes home late and from that moment on the girls are hardly allowed to leave the house anymore, their mother makes Lux burn her Rock n Roll records.

Time to Talk about Books: The Devil’s Graveyard by Anonymus

“The Devil’s Graveyard” is the third book about a guy named Bourbon Kid. First of all I must say that I haven’t yet read the first two books but to me it didn’t seem to be a problem while reading. Not knowing the story of the first two novels does not confuse you or make it difficult to follow the story.
The Plot:

The Devil’s Graveyard ( German title: Das Buch ohne Gnade)

On Halloween the Back-From-The-Dead singing competition takes place at Nigel Powell’s hotel. The contestants dress up as a deceased singer, give their best interpretation of a song and the winner gets a contract over 1 Million Dollars. Sounds nice? Well, as it turns out, it isn’t.
The five competitors who get to be in the finale had already been chosen before it all started. And one of them really wants to win. To be sure about that he hired a killer to get rid of the other finalists.
The man who was hired – Invincible Angus – unfortunately turned up a bit late. In the mean time his room was given away to Sanchez, a guy who won a trip to the hotel via a dating website. When Sanchez enters the room he finds an envelope containing four pictures and twenty thousand Dollars. His friend Elvis who is here to win the competition, suspects that the photos are a hit list. Sanchez agrees to take the envelope to the reception but he first removes to money only to lose it all at the casino.