So, this movie arrived at Netflix much more quickly than I expected. This was a strange film, but I did like it. The sets were striking and the people were beautiful, but my favorite part was the story. Not what happened, necessarily, but the fact that it was just about people’s lives. It didn’t have explosions, wizards, guns, or Russell Crow. While the storyline wasn’t particularly original (it was about a love triangle between a woman and two brothers) it was still interesting to watch it play out and see how these people would put their lives back together. If you can handle foreign films (or speak Spanish) I recommend it.
I just finished two very interesting books by British author Chris Wooding. Not only does he have fantastic writing skills, but he is only two years older than I am, and way more accomplished. On one hand, that kind of bums me out, but on the other, it gives me hope. People my age can be successful (and I’m talking success NOT of the Lindsay Lohan variety) and smart and talented…ooo, it’s almost too much to take in. Anyway, to the books.
The first was Poison, which falls into the fairy tale/fantasy stuff that I’ve been reading. It’s rather meta in a Hamletesque play-within-a-play sort of way, except this is obviously a book-within-a-book situation. In this tale we meet Poison, a sullen girl who lives with her family in a bleak and dangerous marsh. She is unhappy, but stuck with her life, until one morning the phaeries steal her baby sister away. Determined to rescue Azalea, Poison sets out to find the Phaerie Lord, and meets an interesting assortment of characters along the way: a bone eating witch, an evil fairy lord, a terrifying spider woman, a most unusual man, a scared young girl, and a very unnatural cat, among others. As she faces one trial after another, Poison comes to realize that the quest isn’t about Azalea at all; this is Poison’s story, and she holds the key to the whole adventure. A really cool read.
I followed it up with The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, Wooding’s critically acclaimed gothic horror novel, which is being adapted into a film. Set in an alternate, 1900s-esque London, this is the story of a world gone wrong. Thaniel Fox is a young but accomplished wych-hunter, who seeks out and destroys the demons that haunt London’s streets. One night during his hunt, he discovers a beautiful, mad girl and feels compelled to bring her home. With the help of his friend Cathaline, Thaniel saves the Alaizabel from a fever, only to find that she is afflicted with something much, much worse. She brings out all of Thaniel’s protective feelings, and along with Cathaline and a motley assortment of London’s finest, he sets out to save Alaizabel and London from the grip of the Fraternity, a powerful, evil cult determined to unleash hell on earth. A little bit chilling, a lot gripping. I recommend it.
(ignore Orlando Bloom here)
I had been toying around with the idea of growing my hair out a little bit for Fall (which is also when I’m planning on returning to my redhead roots) when my stylist went on maternity leave. She won’t be able to see me again until September 29, so my layers will definitely be shaggy by then. Since this will provide me with the opporunity to get a whole new cut, I’ve been looking to celebrities for inspiration. So far, my favorite is Keira Knightley’s sleek-but-slightly-layered bob, though I think by the time I actually go in, my hair might be a little longer than hers.
I like the style in the far right photo.
I’ve had Charles de Lint’s The Blue Girl sitting on my nightstand for more than a month, but I just couldn’t seem to get around to reading it. It first came onto my radar in March, when I heard it discussed at a Young Adult Fantasy session at PLA. Since I’d been reading "urban fantasy" books with teen protagonists, this made my list, and I finally managed to read it this weekend.
I can see why de Lint is so reknowned. This book has everything: ghosts, fairies, monsters, bullies, friendship, love…It was a pretty great read. The book is set in the fictional town of Newford, which de Lint has visited in more than one of his novels. It tells the tale of Imogene and Maxine, two high school girls who are social outcasts. Imogene is outgoing and strange, while Maxine is smart and controlled by her domineering mother. Recognizing kindred spirits within each other, the girls become best friends. But when Imogene’s reckless bravery captures the attention of the school ghost, he inadvertenly unleashes a world of trouble on the girls. "Aided" by a band of malicious fairies, the ghost accidentally siccs the soul-sucking anamithim on Imogene, and she and Maxine must use all their wits and courage, not to mention a little magic, to save themselves.
Patricia McKillip’s Solstice Wood is a slightly different sort of fantasy from what I’ve been reading lately. It’s such
an unusual book, I’m not entirely sure how to describe it. In fact, I was probably about halfway through the book before I finally got a firm grasp on what was going on. Sylvia Lynn, who fled her childhood home seven years ago, has returned for her grandfather’s funeral. Summoned by her grandmother, Iris, Sylvia reluctantly returns to the town of Lynnwood, but hopes to make her visit a short one. Unfortunately, things begin to go wrong almost immediately; Iris is not what she seems, Iris’s close friend Owen is harboring a dangerous secret, Sylvia’s cousin Tyler is in desperate trouble, and Sylvia grandfather has willed to her the one thing she wants least: Lynn Hall, the estate where she was born. As Sylvia comes to terms with her grandmother’s secret identity and tries to rescue Tyler, she is forced to admit just exactly what she is and why she ran away so many years ago. A most unusual book.
