The Local Lit Scene

celebrating South African Literature beyond our past

Aug 22

The Time Traveller’s Wife – the movie

by imsonotablogger

I was a bit sceptic when I heard that they were making this book by Audrey Niffeneger into a movie so I hadn’t taken much interest in it.

Until yesterday when I traipsed off down to the video store in the pouring rain to find myself something to watch. Scouring the shelves, looking for something to jump out at me and say ‘watch me! watch me!’ I found this movie on the very bottom shelf.

After some pondering decided, hell, why not? May aswell give it a go, though I wasn’t particularly keen considering that most movies I have seen which have been based on books that I have enjoyed have just not had the same effect. Words are definitely my pleasure. Movies are  more for mindless entertainment. (That may just be me though…)

Anyway, so I brought it home with me, and had my evening planned on the couch watching it, with a glass of red wine and a fire blazing.

I was pleasantly surprised! This was a lovely movie. I have to be completely honest and say that I can’t compare it to the book as I cant remember all of it, but it was lovely. I think if one had to watch it without having read the book, it would be just as lovely.

The characters were brilliant and the time travelling made sense, though a thought that they should have ‘present time’ in the top corner when it was real time would of been a help, especially in the beginning;-) But apart from that, I enjoyed it.

A beautiful love story which I think will be as timeless as the book. Leaky seams were the result at the end, and as I do remember the book had the same result, I really was not dissapointed.

Have you seen it?

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Jul 15

Book review – The Kite Runner

by imsonotablogger

I am sure I must be one of the last people on the planet who hadn’t read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Considering it has been made into a movie already! But now I can join the ranks and be one who has officially read it.

What an absolutely heartbreaking novel. I have to admit that I had to leave it halfway for a while, it was just a bit too much to deal with all in one sitting (in between I read The Angina Monologues and Sapho’s Leap – review to be up soon) but last night I finished it.

And if you are also one of the last to not have read it, or not even have an inkling as to what it is about, read on:

The story is about friendship. Courage. Guilt. War. Compassion. Lies. It has a heady mix of realism and if you are anything like me, it will be hard reading at times. Set in Afghanistan it relates the time both pre and post-soviet invasion and  how the lives of individuals carry on. How the country has changed and the violence that pervades but still there is goodness hidden under the shadows. The story is about familial ties. Inhumanity. Love. Forgiveness. The characters in this novel are bound together in cultural identity, spanning from the 70’s to the 90’s and how the weaving of family and of blood is never truly gone.

Amir is an upper class Pashtun and his constant play mate is Hassan, the son of his fathers long time  Hazara servant. The story tells us of how decisions made in a morally testing friendship can have repercussions a longer way down the line than one thinks. That personal character can always be challenged and that it is up to the individual to make a change.

It depicts with honesty the feelings of Amir as we follow him through his life, the pervading sense of guilt and internal struggle but then the justice which inevitably takes place.

It is a sad, breathtaking, heartbreaking yet heartwarming novel. That in amidst the violence and unease, there can exist kindness and joy.

A joy as simple as kite flying.

Reviews

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Jul 12

Book review – The Angina Monologues

by imsonotablogger

The Angina Monologues by Rosamund Kendal is her second novel(her first being ‘The Karma Suture’) depicting the lives of female doctors doing their first year year of community service in the rural parts of South Africa.

The story tells us of the lives of three female doctors finding love, courage and compassion as they do their residency at a rural hospital.

Pampered, spoilt Rachel struggles to establish her independence and learns to love across the cultural divide. Conservative, beautiful Seema struggles to end a relationship that has become increasingly abusive. And street-savvy Nomsa finally learns to accept a past she has spent a lifetime denying.

I really enjoyed this book, as much as I did her first one and it shows the state of rural hospitals in the ‘third world’ How AIDS is still a ‘silent death’ and how with compassion much can be overcome.

I urge you to read this book, if only for the ‘seeing’ what it is like in hospitals. I know I would not be able to be a doctor, but have huge respect for those that are and the work that they do.

Reviews

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Jul 6

Book review – Blankets

by imsonotablogger

Blankets by Craig Thompson is a graphic novel of great beauty with sadness in it too.

I am not averse to graphic novels, but  have to say that they haven’t been high on my list of priorities when choosing a book to read but that has now changed. I discovered a review of this book near the beginning of the year and it apart from the striking cover, the review had only good things to say.

While  at the library last week, I had a look in the graphic novel section on the off chance it would be there, and what luck! There it was. It wasn’t what I was expecting, in the first case, it was a thick book! I had envisioned it being thin and large, yet, it was a tome of a book. Great!

I started reading it as soon as I could, and it was another one of those,that I could not put down. I took me a day to read, in amidst looking after  a busy toddler- that is one thing that graphic novels have in their favour, they have pictures and few words, perfect for when you don’t have time to concentrate.

The story line is simple and is a  coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson’s childhood in an Evangelical Christian  family, his first love, and his early adulthood. Thompson has said that the novel grew out of a simple idea: to describe what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time.

The graphics are beautiful and striking, simple and effective. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend you to read it. It brings back nostalgia for reading picture books, and, that first love.

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Jun 24

Book Review – The Forty Rules of Love

by imsonotablogger

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, is breathtaking!

Once I started reading it, I did  not want to put it down. It truly is a book that every single person on this planet should read.

The story is a simple one, with a book within a book. Ella is a married housewife with three children who starts a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first book, is by Aziz Z. Zahara about the fabled poet Rumi and how his world view was transformed by the whirling dervish Shams of Tabriz. Ella begins to correspond with Aziz, bringing about a change to her world view.

This story is written in such a way that it speaks to the average person, there is no judgement, there is only Love. Of course, as one reads, one discovers the ‘Forty rules of love’ , hence the title of this novel.

This is a classic and awe inspiring and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Yet, when I got to bed after having finished reading it, it left me pondering about Love. And why we as humans find it so difficult to open out heart. Why there is such fear from ridicule and the thoughts of others. If we all just opened our hearts and lived with Love, then the world would be a vastly different place.

What I enjoyed about this novel is that it struck to the very core of me, and made me realise, that all we have is this present moment.

This book is about Love. About Love of God, and of people. It challenges your opinions on Love and I urge you to find a copy and read it. Now.

Reviews

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May 28

Review: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

by timeout

Many thanks to Gareth for submitting this review (and apologies for the delay in posting it!).

An Oprah-approved hype magnet that, for once, is worth the praise. Edgar Sawtelle is a mute who communicates with his farmer parents and their kennel of renowned, purebred ‘Sawtelle dogs’ by sign language. Being mute, his powers of observation are finely tuned.

He soon suspects visiting uncle Claude has a hidden agenda that no one else can see – but it’s up to Edgar and his exceptionally loyal pack of pups to prove it. Wroblewski’s writing is unfussy and authentic, credible even when ghosts and the inner thoughts of animals are introduced. A must for dog or literature lovers … and a great Cape winter read!

Anyone else read this? I have to admit that i did take it out of Bookclub, but am yet to read – although now I am more tempted.  Thanks Gareth for the review!

Reviews

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Apr 6

You heard it here first…

by imsonotablogger

Well, if you haven’t heard yet, then you will have heard it here first!

‘A Million Miles from Normal‘, the novel by the newly published South African author, Paige Nick is now available at Kalahari, Exclusive Books and Wordsworth. Today is the official release date and what better timing? Just after the long weekend, going back to work, children almost back at school, now is the perfect time to head out and purchase your copy (or just click on the book cover and it will take you straight to Kalahari and you can order online.)

I have to admit that I received an  advance copy so my review will be further down the page.

The Blurb:

All Rachel Marcus wants is a cool job, a guy who has all his own teeth and a decent cup of tea. Is that too much to ask?

Rachel Marcus has a great life and an amazing job as a top copywriter at an advertising agency in Johannesburg, or rather Rachel Marcus HAD a great life and an amazing job as a top copywriter at an advertising agency in Johannesburg – right up until she got fired. Forced to sell everything she owns and leave Joburg in a hurry, Rachel decides to move to New York City, where she plans to make a fabulous life for herself and prove to everyone back home that she’s not a complete disaster.

Except the only job she can find is at a crap ad agency, with a hippie freak for a boss and an alcoholic drug addict for an art director. The only apartment she can afford is the world’s smallest cockroach-infested rat trap. And all the men she meets are stalkers, ex cons and whack jobs. In fact, the only up side to her new life is her new best friend – her frustratingly petite neighbour, Sue.

Will Rachel Marcus ever get it together or is she destined to spend the rest of her life working on ads for sanitary pads, trawling Internet dating sites and dreaming of that elusive cup of Five Roses? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: living in the Big Apple will change Rachel’s life forever.

I loved this book!

It was chick lit with an edge. Not the usual fare that one gets when reading about a girl looking for a guy, you know the usual story – girl meets guy, girl gets together with guy, something happens they break up, then get back together again and live happily ever after…This was so much more than that.

‘A Million Miles from Normal’ has substance.  The characters are vivid with  a realness about them which makes you want to get to know them. The reasons for Rachel leaving Joburg are not revealed straight away, and when they are revealed, it is in such a way that you feel for Rachel as you would for an ‘In real life’ person. The descriptions of New York City makes you feel as though you could be there, in Rachel’s shoes, even if you have never been there before. And the references to ‘Five Roses Tea’ adds a particularly homely touch which adds that extra touch of humour and quirkiness, that I have yet to find in another ‘homegrown’ book.

This book has a believability about it, and the story is an interesting one, it focuses on Rachel’s job at a ‘below the line’ advertising agency and the people she meets. It is her experience in New York which brings an honesty to the pages and your own reading pleasure.

‘A Million Miles from Normal’ is hugely entertaining, I enjoyed it immensely and I definitely recommend it.

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Mar 25

‘Enid’

by imsonotablogger

Remember ‘The Secret Seven’, ‘The Famous Five’ and ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’? The author of these books, Enid Blyton sold over 600 million copies of her books and wrote about 40 books in her lifetime.

Last night, I watched ‘Enid’ the film based on her life and I must say that the depiction of Enid Blyton was rather sad. Though she was an admired children’s author among children – I loved her books as a child – she comes across as a rather odd lady with deep seated issues concerning her parents and the fact that her father left the family due to having an affair. The repercussions of this one tragic event in her childhood left her distraught  and with a pining that never quite leaves her.

What struck me with this was that once she had married and had decided to have children, and couldn’t, the doctor told her that her uterus had stopped forming and was technically still at the stage of a 12 year old. She needed hormone therapy in order for her to have children. I find this interesting in a pyschological sense that subconciously she never wanted to grow up. One can also see this through the movie. How when things are difficult, she writes, and all her writing is about adventures, and picnics and all the good, fun things that children do.

As a mother she comes across as  unavailable and cold, and when she and her first husband divorce, cannot see that by not allowing the children to see their father, that she is reliving her childhood. I find it interesting that she was so closed to the truth of her own childhood that it comes through while she is raising her own children. One scene in particular stands out, a group of children have won a competition to have a picnic with Enid. The children come to the house and have a whale of a time, but her own children have been banished to the nursery.

I found this movie sad and thought provoking, interesting and a little off putting. But one cannot change the fact that her books are well loved and adorn many a bookshelves around the world.

Enid-blyton-newspaper Enid Blyton died on the 28 November 1968, aged 71 after being inflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Mar 24

Book Review – The Swan Thieves

by imsonotablogger

swan_theives_240

As you all know from my previous post, I only had a week in which to read this book. Well, it only took me two and a half days to finish it. (I did however read at all available times, as well as having an evening off in which to get a head start!)

The Blurb:

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life – solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. Desperate to understand the secret that torments this genius, Marlowe embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism. Kostova’s masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy; from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history’s losses, and the power of art to preserve hope.

This was a beautiful book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I liked the way the author managed to combine art with pyschology and the past with the present. It brought back to mind ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ by Audrey Niffeneger.

Not that it was in any way the same,but the two different stories within The Swan Thieves,  which were connected by a love story was reminiscent of The Time Traveller’s Wife. (If you didn’t enjoy it, don’t be swayed by my thoughts).

The second novel by Elizabeth Kostova, her first being ‘The Historian’ are similar in that they combine the past with the present, but whereas I felt ‘The Historian’ was quite eerie (for my review head here) her second one was beautiful and filled with a type of longing. Sadness too but definitely less intense.

I can certainly recommend this book, I think it is the perfect read to take you away to the distant past. It is a quiet book with none of the immediacy of The Historian and perfect to curl up with and savour.

Reviews

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Mar 17

GLBT Reading challenge

by imsonotablogger

woolfbuttonAs most of you know, I joined in the GLBT reading challenge for this year. I am doing the Lamda level which is to read 4 books.  So far, I have read one. I know you would think I could of managed more than one, considering we are officially almost  a quarter way through this year already. Ah well, it will happen… but back to what I read.

Michael Tolliver Lives – Armistead Maupin

maupin

I read ‘The Tales of the City’ books about 10 years ago and I loved them and this one, though not a continuation of it per se, Michael is one of the main characters from this series. He is no longer a young gay boy, but a man of 50 odd who has survived the AIDS pandemic.

It is a story told from this perspective.

I enjoyed it, though have to be honest and say that I did ‘skip’ the sex scenes. Not that I am a prude or anything, but I have still yet to find a book where I don’t cringe at the sex scenes. (Mind you, saying that, Anais Nin managed to write erotic fiction extremely well, hmm, maybe I should read her for this challenge..)

This book was an honest look and portrayal of someone who has survived AIDS while many haven’t. It was honest in its portrayal of someone finding love after all that has gone on before, and it was an honest portrayal of relationships.

I do recommend this book, it is an easy book to read, and Armistead Maupin delivers once again.

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