Emma Mansfield - The Little Book of Cornwall (2007)
Trivia – 180 pages – my copy a present one birthday
- 1 nod out of 5 -
The Little Book of Cornwall is a general assortment of places and people, throughout history and today. The author is keen to impress upon the reader: ‘The things that have started or ended here, the things Cornwall’s people have created and continue to create, the things that have changed and the things, still here, that make Cornwall so special.’
However, this “little book” is nothing more than a bunch of randomly collected tid-bits from the internet; indiscriminately gleamed from any easy-to-find website, a typical copy-and-paste exercise a school child could execute. Such is the author’s enthusiasm to display all of Cornwall’s wonder, there are glaring potholes and question marks surrounding some of the statements, dates and facts.
Of course, Mansfield herself provides a warning in the introduction, stating the book ‘isn’t a history book, a travel guide or a chronological account of the place. The facts and topics included here are not in any particular order… and this collection of information certainly isn’t a scientific research.’ All very well and good; however, one thing the reader/buyer should expect is, at the minimal, the truth. It has become a pedantic hobby of the Worm to look into local history books to verify “facts” surrounding the earls and dukes of Cornwall. Here the book comes a cropper, stating how Edward (the Black Prince, first duke of Cornwall) seemingly reigned from 1345 to 1354; thereby cutting short Edward’s time as Cornwall’s duke by several decades. Any search of Wikipedia would easily disprove this.
An attempt at a fun read through of Cornwall’s past is admirable enough, however, the basic building blocks of a book’s construction must be put in place first. This small book is wonderfully illustrated with scenic and beautifying accompanying pictures; however, the statements themselves – the main meat and potatoes of the whole project – is sadly lacking. Ultimately, it is what it is: a fast published book, catered for the holiday-makers who travel to Cornwall in their droves each and every year. Next up? Why, of course: The Little Book of Devon. Just what the tourists need!
Monday, 28 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare – Romeo & Juliet
Play – read as iPhone app in January 2011
- 4 nods out of 5 -
The newly released animated film, Gnomeo & Juliet, shows once again the popularity of two of Shakespeare’s most enduring characters. We never forget the balcony scene, in which Juliet cries out for her Romeo. It has been retold, upon the stage in seventeenth century England, upon black and white in Hollywood, on the silver and small screens, decade after decade.
For those (few) not acquainted with the play, it follows the secret relationship of Romeo and Juliet; both from different families who are fierce rivals in the city of Verona. As Juliet herself says, ‘My only love sprung from my only hate!’ Their search for lasting love is, as with many things of Shakespeare, cut tragically short in the play’s climax.
Despite its popularity, Romeo & Juliet is certainly not one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Both our major protagonists are dull and, despite their language, unconvincing. But for more colourful smaller roles, most notably Mercutio, the play is about the pace of the plot, with unfolding suspense taking us to the book’s brutal conclusion. And because of this, the play is a fantastic read as a book, upon the stage, or even – as recent technology allows – as an iPhone app!
It carries many of Shakespeare’s most identifiable quotes. Not just ‘Romeo, o Romeo’, but also ‘What’s in a name. That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet’; including Romeo’s honest declaration: ‘O, I am fortune’s fool!’ Whilst the lovers’ language is pure poetry, such as Juliet’s lamentation: ‘My bounty is boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.’
The moral of the story? Of course, that true love knows no limits. Yet, more than that, Shakespeare’s play is a promotion of peace between families and rivals. As the Prince of Verona concludes, ‘Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. And I for winking at your discords too.’ It is this fierce rivalry, this intense love, that keeps Romeo & Juliet relevant to generation after generation. After an animated gnome format, what next for these two star crossed lovers?
Play – read as iPhone app in January 2011
- 4 nods out of 5 -
The newly released animated film, Gnomeo & Juliet, shows once again the popularity of two of Shakespeare’s most enduring characters. We never forget the balcony scene, in which Juliet cries out for her Romeo. It has been retold, upon the stage in seventeenth century England, upon black and white in Hollywood, on the silver and small screens, decade after decade.
For those (few) not acquainted with the play, it follows the secret relationship of Romeo and Juliet; both from different families who are fierce rivals in the city of Verona. As Juliet herself says, ‘My only love sprung from my only hate!’ Their search for lasting love is, as with many things of Shakespeare, cut tragically short in the play’s climax.
Despite its popularity, Romeo & Juliet is certainly not one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Both our major protagonists are dull and, despite their language, unconvincing. But for more colourful smaller roles, most notably Mercutio, the play is about the pace of the plot, with unfolding suspense taking us to the book’s brutal conclusion. And because of this, the play is a fantastic read as a book, upon the stage, or even – as recent technology allows – as an iPhone app!
It carries many of Shakespeare’s most identifiable quotes. Not just ‘Romeo, o Romeo’, but also ‘What’s in a name. That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet’; including Romeo’s honest declaration: ‘O, I am fortune’s fool!’ Whilst the lovers’ language is pure poetry, such as Juliet’s lamentation: ‘My bounty is boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.’
The moral of the story? Of course, that true love knows no limits. Yet, more than that, Shakespeare’s play is a promotion of peace between families and rivals. As the Prince of Verona concludes, ‘Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. And I for winking at your discords too.’ It is this fierce rivalry, this intense love, that keeps Romeo & Juliet relevant to generation after generation. After an animated gnome format, what next for these two star crossed lovers?
Monday, 31 January 2011
The Middle Parts of Fortune - Frederick Manning
Frederick Manning – The Middle Parts of Fortune (1929)
Novel – 250 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1990) scooped from the Plymouth MDEC “library” sometime in 2004
- 4 nods out of 5 -
For all Worms out there, reading and hoarding books, there are those few volumes we grapple at with the view to devour one day, in the not so distance future. Yet, there are some of those books that slip through the net: perhaps that new Bill Bryson is out on sale, perhaps the book has managed to find itself in wrongful storage. But that aim lingers on, that some day it shall be read.
This is the story of Frederick Manning’s The Middle Parts of Fortune. The Worm scooped this book as a “freebie” from his workplace many years ago; impressed with the Penguin edition’s promise it was amongst the canon of ‘twentieth century classics’. Yet, for a modern classic, not much is known about either the book or its author.
For the record, The Middle Parts of Fortune is a story set in the First World War, principally following the life of Private Bourne. Reluctant to take a place amongst the commanding elite, yet obviously too brilliant amongst the lower ranks, Bourne is a friend to all and fiend to life in the trenches. It is loosely based upon Manning’s own time in the Great War. An Australian by birth, he fought in the war and this book – his only known novel – was written in reaction to it. Originally published anonymously (it became notorious for its use of foul – yet realistic – language), it was hailed by the likes of Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, T.E. Lawrence and scores of critics ever since. An impressive array of supporters, indeed!
This novel is a difficult read. Not only is it dense in military terminology, it also quotes widely from Shakespeare. At its core is the pursuit of honesty. Manning’s novel is at home in the naturalistic stream of literature; although Bourne is at odds with his surroundings, he can never escape his inevitable fate.
‘And then, one by one, they realized that each must go alone, and that each of them already was alone with himself, helping the others perhaps, but looking at them with strange eyes, while the world became unreal and empty, and they moved in a mystery, where no help was.’ (p.209-210).
The Middle Parts of Fortune follows in the tradition of Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage; the same road later authors would trample down, including Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. And true to life, throughout much of the book’s pages nothing much of particular note happens. It is the usual routine, with Bourne and his two fellow friends trying to make the best of their situation. Admittedly, the story lags; yet Manning has an ace up his sleeve…
Hemingway is quoted as having read Manning’s novel once a year, regarding it as ‘the finest and noblest book of men in war that I have ever read’. And such a statement is justified and compounded in Chapter Sixteen; perhaps the most striking and evocative war writing the Worm has had the pleasure to feast upon. A chapter in which Bourne is flung into the horrors of the frontline, ‘struggling through the mud like flies through treacle’ (p.215). It is the chapter that defines The Middle Parts of Fortune, taking its place as a modern classic. The only misfortune on the Worm’s behalf was the time it took to finally open the book’s pages.
Novel – 250 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1990) scooped from the Plymouth MDEC “library” sometime in 2004
- 4 nods out of 5 -
For all Worms out there, reading and hoarding books, there are those few volumes we grapple at with the view to devour one day, in the not so distance future. Yet, there are some of those books that slip through the net: perhaps that new Bill Bryson is out on sale, perhaps the book has managed to find itself in wrongful storage. But that aim lingers on, that some day it shall be read.
This is the story of Frederick Manning’s The Middle Parts of Fortune. The Worm scooped this book as a “freebie” from his workplace many years ago; impressed with the Penguin edition’s promise it was amongst the canon of ‘twentieth century classics’. Yet, for a modern classic, not much is known about either the book or its author.
For the record, The Middle Parts of Fortune is a story set in the First World War, principally following the life of Private Bourne. Reluctant to take a place amongst the commanding elite, yet obviously too brilliant amongst the lower ranks, Bourne is a friend to all and fiend to life in the trenches. It is loosely based upon Manning’s own time in the Great War. An Australian by birth, he fought in the war and this book – his only known novel – was written in reaction to it. Originally published anonymously (it became notorious for its use of foul – yet realistic – language), it was hailed by the likes of Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, T.E. Lawrence and scores of critics ever since. An impressive array of supporters, indeed!
This novel is a difficult read. Not only is it dense in military terminology, it also quotes widely from Shakespeare. At its core is the pursuit of honesty. Manning’s novel is at home in the naturalistic stream of literature; although Bourne is at odds with his surroundings, he can never escape his inevitable fate.
‘And then, one by one, they realized that each must go alone, and that each of them already was alone with himself, helping the others perhaps, but looking at them with strange eyes, while the world became unreal and empty, and they moved in a mystery, where no help was.’ (p.209-210).
The Middle Parts of Fortune follows in the tradition of Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage; the same road later authors would trample down, including Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. And true to life, throughout much of the book’s pages nothing much of particular note happens. It is the usual routine, with Bourne and his two fellow friends trying to make the best of their situation. Admittedly, the story lags; yet Manning has an ace up his sleeve…
Hemingway is quoted as having read Manning’s novel once a year, regarding it as ‘the finest and noblest book of men in war that I have ever read’. And such a statement is justified and compounded in Chapter Sixteen; perhaps the most striking and evocative war writing the Worm has had the pleasure to feast upon. A chapter in which Bourne is flung into the horrors of the frontline, ‘struggling through the mud like flies through treacle’ (p.215). It is the chapter that defines The Middle Parts of Fortune, taking its place as a modern classic. The only misfortune on the Worm’s behalf was the time it took to finally open the book’s pages.
Friday, 14 January 2011
The Uses of History - A.L. Rowse
A.L. Rowse – The Uses of History (1963 revised edition)
History – 170 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1971) bought for £1 from The Book Cupboard on Plymouth Barbican, sometime in 2006
- 2 nods out of 5 -
A.L. Rowse is one of Cornwall’s most famous sons: from a humble beginning in St Austell, he became an outstanding scholar and adequate poet, making a name in History writing, and later in critiques upon Shakespearian works. This book – The Uses of History – is an overview of the subject, ‘of its uses and pleasures’. For a History buff, as the Worm claims to be, this was intended to be good reading.
A plethora of topics are discussed, including the Use of History, Historical Thinking, as well as History’s relation to Education and Culture. Rowse comments on many of the continuing debates, such as the difference between History as a Science or rather an Art. Rowse can debate with the best of them, but he leaves little for counter-argument; furthermore, many of his points appear dated in a new century, such as denouncing the German nation as power hungry.
This illustrious Cornishman fails to bring these pages to life. Rowse is open to many accusations: Stuffy? Yes. Pretentious? Perhaps. And most certainly always patronising (for evidence of which, jump to the last chapter: How to Teach Yourself History). Despite ticking the boxes of arguments and general discussion, Rowse fails to captivate his audience, and although he fulfils the ambition in his opening paragraph - to create ‘a manual of instruction on how to approach the subject’ – any intended pleasure is snuffed out and abandoned.
Such snobby tones are fit only for the elite; yet History is not for a section of society, for the brains of education, but instead for one and all. Sadly, Rowse’s short book in the main fails to deliver on the Worm’s expectations of access to History; but at least it is a short book.
History – 170 pages – my edition (Penguin paperback; 1971) bought for £1 from The Book Cupboard on Plymouth Barbican, sometime in 2006
- 2 nods out of 5 -
A.L. Rowse is one of Cornwall’s most famous sons: from a humble beginning in St Austell, he became an outstanding scholar and adequate poet, making a name in History writing, and later in critiques upon Shakespearian works. This book – The Uses of History – is an overview of the subject, ‘of its uses and pleasures’. For a History buff, as the Worm claims to be, this was intended to be good reading.
A plethora of topics are discussed, including the Use of History, Historical Thinking, as well as History’s relation to Education and Culture. Rowse comments on many of the continuing debates, such as the difference between History as a Science or rather an Art. Rowse can debate with the best of them, but he leaves little for counter-argument; furthermore, many of his points appear dated in a new century, such as denouncing the German nation as power hungry.
This illustrious Cornishman fails to bring these pages to life. Rowse is open to many accusations: Stuffy? Yes. Pretentious? Perhaps. And most certainly always patronising (for evidence of which, jump to the last chapter: How to Teach Yourself History). Despite ticking the boxes of arguments and general discussion, Rowse fails to captivate his audience, and although he fulfils the ambition in his opening paragraph - to create ‘a manual of instruction on how to approach the subject’ – any intended pleasure is snuffed out and abandoned.
Such snobby tones are fit only for the elite; yet History is not for a section of society, for the brains of education, but instead for one and all. Sadly, Rowse’s short book in the main fails to deliver on the Worm’s expectations of access to History; but at least it is a short book.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin – The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Autobiography – read as iPhone app before Christmas 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -
‘Dear son; I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors (and) imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week’s interrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.’
And so begins the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, scientist, revolutionary and leading figure of his age, the beginning paragraph displays typical modesty of a man of humble origins. It was completed in 1791, though a century of various drafts and publications would muddy the waters, before the coming of the twentieth century when the reading of Franklin’s autobiography was promoted as standard reading for youthful Americans.
It charts Franklin’s rise as a young man with nothing at his disposal, but for a head full of ideas and unrivalled energy. Building an honest reputation in the printing trade, Franklin writes of his rise as an integral part of the Philadelphian community: a thinker with local writers, a cog in local business, as well as a man of action in politics. It was he who brought about the initiation of a public lending library, of a fire service and various trade agreements within the American colonies.
Franklin’s autobiography has its fair share of critics; with Dennis Welland among them. At fault appears to be Franklin’s ‘exasperating… worldly wisdom’. Such words are justified, with the founding father never tiring of lecturing the reader. Read for yourself: ‘Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.’
The biggest regret of the autobiography is the timing of its end in the late 1750s. Before the nitty gritty of the revolutionary war, before his main stand in office, his travels in France and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was an outstanding man of the eighteenth century; his work of autobiography, however, remains distinctly ordinary.
Autobiography – read as iPhone app before Christmas 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -
‘Dear son; I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors (and) imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week’s interrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.’
And so begins the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, scientist, revolutionary and leading figure of his age, the beginning paragraph displays typical modesty of a man of humble origins. It was completed in 1791, though a century of various drafts and publications would muddy the waters, before the coming of the twentieth century when the reading of Franklin’s autobiography was promoted as standard reading for youthful Americans.
It charts Franklin’s rise as a young man with nothing at his disposal, but for a head full of ideas and unrivalled energy. Building an honest reputation in the printing trade, Franklin writes of his rise as an integral part of the Philadelphian community: a thinker with local writers, a cog in local business, as well as a man of action in politics. It was he who brought about the initiation of a public lending library, of a fire service and various trade agreements within the American colonies.
Franklin’s autobiography has its fair share of critics; with Dennis Welland among them. At fault appears to be Franklin’s ‘exasperating… worldly wisdom’. Such words are justified, with the founding father never tiring of lecturing the reader. Read for yourself: ‘Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.’
The biggest regret of the autobiography is the timing of its end in the late 1750s. Before the nitty gritty of the revolutionary war, before his main stand in office, his travels in France and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was an outstanding man of the eighteenth century; his work of autobiography, however, remains distinctly ordinary.
Friday, 10 December 2010
A Companion to American Studies - Dennis Welland (ed.)
Dennis Welland (ed.) – The United States: A Companion to American Studies
History – 580 pages – my copy (paperback – Second edition – 1987) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library in October 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Two hundred years of industrious, noteworthy and illustrious history packed under six hundred pages; this companion to American Studies promises on its first opening to appeal to the American-phile. From George Washington down to Ronald Reagan, this book has all on offer. Written and debated include the geography of the USA, a question upon Americanism, immigration into the continent, American wars, the world at large, politics and the media, including – to use a often quoted phrase – much, much more!
Each chapter introduces the crucial elements, walking us through a brief history, followed by some key debates. Although a couple of the writers lag in their enthusiasm – ‘Constitution and Government’ notably – the constant change in writer with each new chapter brings with it fresh and needed change.
It is to America’s understanding of its position as a world leader that creates the most fundamental questions: a people that pride themselves on small government who fund the largest organisations on the entire planet. One paradox of many.
As to be expected – with the book’s editor working as Professor of American Literature for two decades – there is ample space upon fiction, poetry, drama and the arts, and a tad redundant chapter upon American realism.
But despite this over emphasis, the book successfully overviews each of the major topics in American history. But an overview is all the book must remain, an introduction, a companion – but not the real meet that is history or a cultural study. And this edition, printed in 1987, equates more to an old friend; worthy of reminisce, but no longer in the phone book. The world has changed tremendously since 1987; in the twenty first century new companions are needed.
History – 580 pages – my copy (paperback – Second edition – 1987) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library in October 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Two hundred years of industrious, noteworthy and illustrious history packed under six hundred pages; this companion to American Studies promises on its first opening to appeal to the American-phile. From George Washington down to Ronald Reagan, this book has all on offer. Written and debated include the geography of the USA, a question upon Americanism, immigration into the continent, American wars, the world at large, politics and the media, including – to use a often quoted phrase – much, much more!
Each chapter introduces the crucial elements, walking us through a brief history, followed by some key debates. Although a couple of the writers lag in their enthusiasm – ‘Constitution and Government’ notably – the constant change in writer with each new chapter brings with it fresh and needed change.
It is to America’s understanding of its position as a world leader that creates the most fundamental questions: a people that pride themselves on small government who fund the largest organisations on the entire planet. One paradox of many.
As to be expected – with the book’s editor working as Professor of American Literature for two decades – there is ample space upon fiction, poetry, drama and the arts, and a tad redundant chapter upon American realism.
But despite this over emphasis, the book successfully overviews each of the major topics in American history. But an overview is all the book must remain, an introduction, a companion – but not the real meet that is history or a cultural study. And this edition, printed in 1987, equates more to an old friend; worthy of reminisce, but no longer in the phone book. The world has changed tremendously since 1987; in the twenty first century new companions are needed.
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Voices For Peace - Anna Kiernan (ed.)
Anna Kiernan (ed.) – Voices For Peace (2001)
Essays – 250 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) bought for £1.99 from Plymouth’s Oxfam Bookshop in November 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Voices For Peace is a collection of essays on the repellent nature war and the struggle and need for harmony. Quickly assembled in the wake of 9-11, and the subsequent bombing of Afghanistan, it warns of the horror of what might befall us. Unluckily, it is this horror that was to unfold in the subsequent Iraq war and Afghanistan occupation.
Notable contributors include Monty Python’s Terry Jones, the novelist Ben Okri and the singer Annie Lennox; but are varied far and wide, including journalists, scientists, business-people and poets – all joined together in their admirable need for peace. The profits of the book, therefore, according with the words, with all profits proceeding to War Child.
Although many of the essays are gleamed from newspaper articles, there remain gems and highlights. There is Dominique Lapierre’s ‘Redressing the Balance’, who asks us to remain the seeds of the 9-11 discontent, and Suheir Hammad’s excellent prose on the aftermath of the Twin Towers attack, in which she notes:
There is death here, and there are promise of more
There is life here.
Anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, but breathing for sure.
And if there is any light to come, it will shine from the eyes of those who look for peace and justice after the rubble and rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen.
Affirm life.
Affirm life.
We got carry each other now.
You are either with life, or against it.
Affirm life.
The road of peace is a harder one to walk than that of war. War brings with it instantaneous glory, despite the lasting recrimination. And here we are, a decade later: war torn and lost. It is time again to affirm life.
Voices For Peace is no longer available on bookshelves; but perhaps the local charity shop will hold a copy, ready for saving. Within its pages are 5 nodder sentiments, with a 3 nodder overall quality.
Essays – 250 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) bought for £1.99 from Plymouth’s Oxfam Bookshop in November 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Voices For Peace is a collection of essays on the repellent nature war and the struggle and need for harmony. Quickly assembled in the wake of 9-11, and the subsequent bombing of Afghanistan, it warns of the horror of what might befall us. Unluckily, it is this horror that was to unfold in the subsequent Iraq war and Afghanistan occupation.
Notable contributors include Monty Python’s Terry Jones, the novelist Ben Okri and the singer Annie Lennox; but are varied far and wide, including journalists, scientists, business-people and poets – all joined together in their admirable need for peace. The profits of the book, therefore, according with the words, with all profits proceeding to War Child.
Although many of the essays are gleamed from newspaper articles, there remain gems and highlights. There is Dominique Lapierre’s ‘Redressing the Balance’, who asks us to remain the seeds of the 9-11 discontent, and Suheir Hammad’s excellent prose on the aftermath of the Twin Towers attack, in which she notes:
There is death here, and there are promise of more
There is life here.
Anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, but breathing for sure.
And if there is any light to come, it will shine from the eyes of those who look for peace and justice after the rubble and rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen.
Affirm life.
Affirm life.
We got carry each other now.
You are either with life, or against it.
Affirm life.
The road of peace is a harder one to walk than that of war. War brings with it instantaneous glory, despite the lasting recrimination. And here we are, a decade later: war torn and lost. It is time again to affirm life.
Voices For Peace is no longer available on bookshelves; but perhaps the local charity shop will hold a copy, ready for saving. Within its pages are 5 nodder sentiments, with a 3 nodder overall quality.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Natural Born Killers - Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino – Natural Born Killers
Screenplay – 120 pages – my copy (paperback; 1995) a present from my sister at Xmas 1996
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Natural Born Killers was an early Quentin Tarantino script, written before Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, this is Tarantino at his bloodiest and most perverse. The story follows the love of Mickey and Mallory – a modern Bonnie and Clyde – but with modern guns and more guts. Their attachment to one another brings them against the world in a gun shooting and knife slashing bender of mayhem.
The script was picked up by Oliver Stone, who filmed what many consider a cult classic; but such are the differences between script and movie that it allows Tarantino’s script to remain as a standalone read. Yes, the film kept the essence of Mickey and Mallory alive, but it also lost much of Tarantino’s earlier message: of the underestimation of dedication, and the shaky hyperbole of the modern media.
Of course, at no point does Tarantino get “that deep.” Natural Born Killers is a shoot ‘em flick, first and foremost. But his showing of America’s fascination with the couple’s murderous rampage and their deification in the eyes of even their victims satirises modern TV and shows Tarantino’s love and repulsion of today’s culture.
The script holds a certain charm. This is before Tarantino’s fame and before his later off boil films (Death Proof anyone?). Here is the usual flaring of pop cultural references, of music and of film; the burger bars and the eating of pies; of Mexican shoot-outs and indiscriminate deaths. And along with this is the slick dialogue that made Tarantino’s early films so unique and loved by quoters everywhere.
A filmed version in Tarantino’s mode could have brought greater results than Stone’s finalisation. More than likely it would not be considered a classic; but rather more of a comment of today’s culture, all the while satisfying the blood lust of the average cinema goer. As it remains, Tarantino’s vision is kept bound in script form: a fix for the fan who is left empty by the director’s recent releases.
Read the script here today:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/killers.shtml
Screenplay – 120 pages – my copy (paperback; 1995) a present from my sister at Xmas 1996
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Natural Born Killers was an early Quentin Tarantino script, written before Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, this is Tarantino at his bloodiest and most perverse. The story follows the love of Mickey and Mallory – a modern Bonnie and Clyde – but with modern guns and more guts. Their attachment to one another brings them against the world in a gun shooting and knife slashing bender of mayhem.
The script was picked up by Oliver Stone, who filmed what many consider a cult classic; but such are the differences between script and movie that it allows Tarantino’s script to remain as a standalone read. Yes, the film kept the essence of Mickey and Mallory alive, but it also lost much of Tarantino’s earlier message: of the underestimation of dedication, and the shaky hyperbole of the modern media.
Of course, at no point does Tarantino get “that deep.” Natural Born Killers is a shoot ‘em flick, first and foremost. But his showing of America’s fascination with the couple’s murderous rampage and their deification in the eyes of even their victims satirises modern TV and shows Tarantino’s love and repulsion of today’s culture.
The script holds a certain charm. This is before Tarantino’s fame and before his later off boil films (Death Proof anyone?). Here is the usual flaring of pop cultural references, of music and of film; the burger bars and the eating of pies; of Mexican shoot-outs and indiscriminate deaths. And along with this is the slick dialogue that made Tarantino’s early films so unique and loved by quoters everywhere.
A filmed version in Tarantino’s mode could have brought greater results than Stone’s finalisation. More than likely it would not be considered a classic; but rather more of a comment of today’s culture, all the while satisfying the blood lust of the average cinema goer. As it remains, Tarantino’s vision is kept bound in script form: a fix for the fan who is left empty by the director’s recent releases.
Read the script here today:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/killers.shtml
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
The Berlin Wall - Frederick Taylor
Frederick Taylor - The Berlin Wall (2006)
History – 450 pages – my copy (paperback; 2009) bought for £3.99 from a discount bookstore in Chiswick, London, in August 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Last year saw the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall. A generation has passed since one of the largest of artificial and sinister divides crumbled, and destroyed along with it was the “old” way of living: of separation and fear. If time is called a healer, time is also the historian’s best friend; bringing with it retrospection and that valuable tool hindsight.
Frederick Taylor has made a name for himself by bringing modern German history to the British reading public. The Berlin Wall is a construct of love as well as dedication, with Taylor holding a long time fascination with the people of Berlin. And such attraction clearly shows amongst the book’s pages; here is a well researched and enthusiastic account of the Berlin wall, from its awful inception in 1961 to its celebratory end in 1989.
Centring primarily on the early sixties, Taylor gives the back-story to the divide of East and West, of the rise of the SED in the communist sphere and the more bourgeois allied sector. The fall out and recrimination of the Second World War brought about the wall’s construction, while Taylor shows the wall’s continuing presence as the result of the lack of agreement between communist and capitalist.
Taylor brings in the key characters, such as Walter Ulbricht and Willy Brandt; whilst sparing enough time for a cameo role for John F. Kennedy. And even though this is principally a story of the political “stars” and personalities, the author also brings in many personal stories and the tragedies of those who tried to escape the east, only to meet their early deaths.
So, if the research and the setting ticks all boxes, why is Taylor’s book not a 5 nodder? One of the Worm’s principal nit-picks is the large emphasis upon 1961 – the reader continues forward at snail-pace, even re-treading old ground. Lyndon Johnson’s visit is given the attention of chapter, which contrasts with the book’s hastily constructed conclusion. Yet the greater accusation is Taylor’s unquenchable thirst for a digression; his personal stories add warmth, but unfortunately for the reader, much of his digressions bring us away from the wall and into other political spheres.
The Berlin Wall is a well researched book; but a book that aims at becoming the authoritative text upon the wall’s life and death. However, this is an unaccomplished aim, with Taylor not being the man nor the author of talent to deliver this. His book tries too hard to hit an audience in all sectors. Such an authoritative history will be penned by a hand that has the power to weld such detail – great and small – into a history of true quality.
History – 450 pages – my copy (paperback; 2009) bought for £3.99 from a discount bookstore in Chiswick, London, in August 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -
Last year saw the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall. A generation has passed since one of the largest of artificial and sinister divides crumbled, and destroyed along with it was the “old” way of living: of separation and fear. If time is called a healer, time is also the historian’s best friend; bringing with it retrospection and that valuable tool hindsight.
Frederick Taylor has made a name for himself by bringing modern German history to the British reading public. The Berlin Wall is a construct of love as well as dedication, with Taylor holding a long time fascination with the people of Berlin. And such attraction clearly shows amongst the book’s pages; here is a well researched and enthusiastic account of the Berlin wall, from its awful inception in 1961 to its celebratory end in 1989.
Centring primarily on the early sixties, Taylor gives the back-story to the divide of East and West, of the rise of the SED in the communist sphere and the more bourgeois allied sector. The fall out and recrimination of the Second World War brought about the wall’s construction, while Taylor shows the wall’s continuing presence as the result of the lack of agreement between communist and capitalist.
Taylor brings in the key characters, such as Walter Ulbricht and Willy Brandt; whilst sparing enough time for a cameo role for John F. Kennedy. And even though this is principally a story of the political “stars” and personalities, the author also brings in many personal stories and the tragedies of those who tried to escape the east, only to meet their early deaths.
So, if the research and the setting ticks all boxes, why is Taylor’s book not a 5 nodder? One of the Worm’s principal nit-picks is the large emphasis upon 1961 – the reader continues forward at snail-pace, even re-treading old ground. Lyndon Johnson’s visit is given the attention of chapter, which contrasts with the book’s hastily constructed conclusion. Yet the greater accusation is Taylor’s unquenchable thirst for a digression; his personal stories add warmth, but unfortunately for the reader, much of his digressions bring us away from the wall and into other political spheres.
The Berlin Wall is a well researched book; but a book that aims at becoming the authoritative text upon the wall’s life and death. However, this is an unaccomplished aim, with Taylor not being the man nor the author of talent to deliver this. His book tries too hard to hit an audience in all sectors. Such an authoritative history will be penned by a hand that has the power to weld such detail – great and small – into a history of true quality.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Charles Duke of Cornwall - Michael Williams
Michael Williams – Charles, Duke of Cornwall (1977)
Biography – 80 pages – my copy (paperback; 1977) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library
- 1 nod out of 5 -
A request to immediately ask: don’t judge. The Worm justifies the purchase of this biography on Prince Charles for “research purposes”, regarding the Duchy and the preceding earldom of Cornwall from the medieval era. At least that is what the Worm told the cashier in Plymouth Library when he parted with his hard-earned pence. But if fifty pence had not been spared, this short biography on Charles’ role as Duke of Cornwall would have been lost to the ether, forever.
The author, Michael Williams, takes the reader through a short tour of Charles’ duties as Duke of Cornwall, his visits to the west-country, and the history of the Duchy itself. Though an amiable host, Williams is nothing more than court jester to the Duke, applauding Charles for his warmth and his jokes - even going as far to suggest that if it were not for a future fit for a king then Charles could have become an accomplished comedian!
Published in the Queen’s Jubilee – 1977 – this book never pretends to be anything more than a contemporary royal fanzine. Due to the worn pages of the book and the sentiments expressed, it exerts a certain charm… but the ether still surely beckons.
Biography – 80 pages – my copy (paperback; 1977) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library
- 1 nod out of 5 -
A request to immediately ask: don’t judge. The Worm justifies the purchase of this biography on Prince Charles for “research purposes”, regarding the Duchy and the preceding earldom of Cornwall from the medieval era. At least that is what the Worm told the cashier in Plymouth Library when he parted with his hard-earned pence. But if fifty pence had not been spared, this short biography on Charles’ role as Duke of Cornwall would have been lost to the ether, forever.
The author, Michael Williams, takes the reader through a short tour of Charles’ duties as Duke of Cornwall, his visits to the west-country, and the history of the Duchy itself. Though an amiable host, Williams is nothing more than court jester to the Duke, applauding Charles for his warmth and his jokes - even going as far to suggest that if it were not for a future fit for a king then Charles could have become an accomplished comedian!
Published in the Queen’s Jubilee – 1977 – this book never pretends to be anything more than a contemporary royal fanzine. Due to the worn pages of the book and the sentiments expressed, it exerts a certain charm… but the ether still surely beckons.
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