'The Winner Stands Alone' By Paulo Coelho
Review By CAROLYN SEE
Miami Herald
I used to know a guy who hated daylight saving time. Every time it rolled around, he devoted a week to denouncing it, along with corporate greed, artificially fertilized lawns, the American highway system and white bread. When his wife bought a loaf to make the kids' lunches, he hung it out the kitchen window with a rope. He wouldn't have it under his roof. I agreed with him on principle. There are plenty of things to dislike about our culture.
This guy would have loved Paulo Coelho, although he might wonder about a novelist who deplores glitz and glamour even as he devotes more than 300 pages to evoking glitz and glamour in all its distasteful excess. Coelho takes for his subject the Cannes Film Festival, which, in his opinion, stands on shaky moral ground. ''In Cannes,'' an assistant remarks, ``there's no such thing as friends, only self-interest. There are no human beings, just crazy machines who mow down everything in their path in order to get where they want or else end up plowing into a lamppost.''
Coelho disapproves mightily of the human folly on display in Cannes: the unbridled ambition, the thirst for fame, the lure of haute couture and ostentatious jewelry. He hates dark glasses, because ''in a celebrity town like Cannes, (they) are synonymous with status,'' and he loathes cellphones, which are ''leading the world into a state of utter madness.'' He posits a small group of people whom he dubs the ''superclass,'' which has all the power, all the limos, all the private jets; those who dress in high fashion, swill champagne, drive Maybachs and who, if they're women, get regular injections of Botox. But he isn't fond of ordinary people either, who do silly things like wear neckties or eat three meals a day whether they're hungry or not. In short, while he compares Cannes to Sodom and Gomorrah, he's not prepared to let sinners of any social class off the hook, quoting Solomon's ''Vanity of vanities, all is vanity'' more than once and apparently meaning it.
So. Igor, a psychotic Russian phone executive with his own private jet, comes to the film festival in pursuit of his ex-wife, Ewa, who has run off with Hamid, an Arab clothes designer also with his own private jet. Igor aims to kill a few people and notify Ewa on her cellphone, hoping this will motivate her to return to him. Over a period of about 24 hours, he does indeed manage to suffocate a young street vendor using the Russian martial art Sambo and off an important movie distributor using a needle soaked in curare, which Igor blows through a cocktail straw. He spends the afternoon stabbing an independent film director and leaving a hermetically sealed envelope filled with hydrogen cyanide under an unknown person's door.
Several unsuspecting women move through this corrupt and glittering landscape: a 25-year-old model who yearns for a chance at the big time, a 19-year-old model from Africa and that director who has spent her entire adult life making a film for which she seeks distribution. Through them, the author visits the worlds of moviemaking. (Will it surprise many readers to learn that the writer is the least well-paid participant in any project?) And we are told that Los Angeles is ``really a large suburb in search of a city.''The world of fashion is also held up to scrutiny, its sins too numerous to mention.
Continue here...
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Alan Moore, author of "Watchmen," reinvented the comic book
By Christopher Borrelli and Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune
Over the past 30 years, author Alan Moore has almost single-handedly reinvented the comic book, transforming its language, broadening its scope and deepening its intellect. So, naturally, Hollywood has been poaching his stories for years, the most egregious being the 2003 loud and dumb adaptation of his otherwise highly literate "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."
There also have been films based on his works, such as "Constantine," "From Hell" and a glossy but tonally faithful version of "V for Vendetta"; both last year's "The Dark Knight" and Tim Burton's original " Batman" owe a debt to Moore's "Batman: The Killing Joke."
This weekend, however, we get director Zack Snyder's sprawling adaptation of " Watchmen," Moore's most celebrated creation. Initially a 12-issue series with artist Dave Gibbons, the collected volume has become one of the most acclaimed graphic novels ever, hailed by Time magazine as one of the best 100 novels of the 20th Century. It's about aging superheroes, nuclear politics and social engineering.
That said, Moore has sworn off movie profits inspired by his books; he recently told the Los Angeles Times that he is opposed to movies based on his work. About "Watchmen" he said, "I will be spitting venom all over it for months to come." As with most of his comics, Moore has insisted "Watchmen" is "inherently unfilmable," heresy in this time of inevitable big-screen adaptation.
Continue here...
Chicago Tribune
Over the past 30 years, author Alan Moore has almost single-handedly reinvented the comic book, transforming its language, broadening its scope and deepening its intellect. So, naturally, Hollywood has been poaching his stories for years, the most egregious being the 2003 loud and dumb adaptation of his otherwise highly literate "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."
There also have been films based on his works, such as "Constantine," "From Hell" and a glossy but tonally faithful version of "V for Vendetta"; both last year's "The Dark Knight" and Tim Burton's original " Batman" owe a debt to Moore's "Batman: The Killing Joke."This weekend, however, we get director Zack Snyder's sprawling adaptation of " Watchmen," Moore's most celebrated creation. Initially a 12-issue series with artist Dave Gibbons, the collected volume has become one of the most acclaimed graphic novels ever, hailed by Time magazine as one of the best 100 novels of the 20th Century. It's about aging superheroes, nuclear politics and social engineering.
That said, Moore has sworn off movie profits inspired by his books; he recently told the Los Angeles Times that he is opposed to movies based on his work. About "Watchmen" he said, "I will be spitting venom all over it for months to come." As with most of his comics, Moore has insisted "Watchmen" is "inherently unfilmable," heresy in this time of inevitable big-screen adaptation.
Continue here...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Top Shelf: Recommendations of recent books from the staffs of Bay Area independent bookstores
Found at the San Francisco Chronicle
This week's list is from Copperfield's Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol. (707) 823-2618. www.copperfields.net.
Fiction
The Risk of Infidelity Index, by Christopher G. Moore: Think Dashiell Hammett in Bangkok. A hard-boiled, street-smart, often hilarious pursuit of a double murderer. In paperback.
White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga: Dark, humorous and real. This novel lets us see that morality and money don't solve every problem, but decency can still be found in a corrupt world. In paperback.
Hotel de Dream, by Edmund White: This story within a story finds Stephen Crane dictating his final work to his wife, Cora. What emerges is a strange, dreamlike novel of a boy prostitute in 1890s New York and the married man who ruins his own life to find love. In paperback.
People of the Whale, by Linda Hogan: Hogan employs just the right touch of spiritualism in this engrossing tale of a world that once was and still might be.
Tales From Outer Suburbia (ages 10 & up), by Shaun Tan: A thought-provoking book about everyday happenings that morph into remarkable and imaginative stories for adults and children.
Nonfiction
The Killing of Major Denis Mahon, by Peter Duffy: Duffy's storytelling skills render vividly the harsh realities and the alternately heartbreaking and appalling politics of the Irish Famine. In paperback.
A Place of My Own, by Michael Pollan: You might have missed this book when it came out in 1997, but this reissue is one to include in your library. Pollan is inspired to build a room of his own with his own hands. In paperback.
God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, by Richard Grant: Grant travels on horseback through Mexico's Sierra Madre, one of the largest drug-producing regions in the world, and encounters a rugged landscape where the mythical old Mexico meets the new. In paperback.
Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, by Mark Bittman: A no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big-business marketing and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table. Bittman offers recipes and straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help shrink your carbon footprint - and your waistline.
Three Cups of Tea (Young Readers Edition), by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin: This remarkable story of how Mortenson built 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is now accessible to young readers. In paperback.
This week's list is from Copperfield's Books, 138 N. Main St., Sebastopol. (707) 823-2618. www.copperfields.net.
Fiction
The Risk of Infidelity Index, by Christopher G. Moore: Think Dashiell Hammett in Bangkok. A hard-boiled, street-smart, often hilarious pursuit of a double murderer. In paperback.
White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga: Dark, humorous and real. This novel lets us see that morality and money don't solve every problem, but decency can still be found in a corrupt world. In paperback.
Hotel de Dream, by Edmund White: This story within a story finds Stephen Crane dictating his final work to his wife, Cora. What emerges is a strange, dreamlike novel of a boy prostitute in 1890s New York and the married man who ruins his own life to find love. In paperback.
People of the Whale, by Linda Hogan: Hogan employs just the right touch of spiritualism in this engrossing tale of a world that once was and still might be.
Tales From Outer Suburbia (ages 10 & up), by Shaun Tan: A thought-provoking book about everyday happenings that morph into remarkable and imaginative stories for adults and children.
Nonfiction
The Killing of Major Denis Mahon, by Peter Duffy: Duffy's storytelling skills render vividly the harsh realities and the alternately heartbreaking and appalling politics of the Irish Famine. In paperback.
A Place of My Own, by Michael Pollan: You might have missed this book when it came out in 1997, but this reissue is one to include in your library. Pollan is inspired to build a room of his own with his own hands. In paperback.
God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, by Richard Grant: Grant travels on horseback through Mexico's Sierra Madre, one of the largest drug-producing regions in the world, and encounters a rugged landscape where the mythical old Mexico meets the new. In paperback.
Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, by Mark Bittman: A no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big-business marketing and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table. Bittman offers recipes and straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help shrink your carbon footprint - and your waistline.
Three Cups of Tea (Young Readers Edition), by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin: This remarkable story of how Mortenson built 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is now accessible to young readers. In paperback.
Monday, February 2, 2009
'Reclaiming Paris' By Fabiola Santiago
'Reclaiming Paris' By Fabiola Santiago
Reviewed by Johnny Diaz
Found at the Boston Globe
Marisol is a poet and a museum historian. She's also a lover of perfumes and men. All these interests intertwine and shape her life as she leaves her native Cuba and follows her heart to Miami, Iowa, Spain, and France.
Marisol, the first-person narrator of Miami Herald writer Fabiola Santiago's debut novel, "Reclaiming Paris," searches for many things. She looks for a man who will fill the emotional spaces in her heart. She seeks to understand her complicated family's past. Most of all Marisol, whose name in Spanish means "the sea and the sun," wants to find herself.
At first sight, Santiago's novel might look like another light romantic tale, but a closer examination reveals a rich spiritual journey of self-discovery. Marisol tries to understand her dual identity as a Cuban and an American.
Bolstering the novel are the subtle references to historical immigration issues that Santiago laces into the narrative. She also pulls the reader along by initially telling only part of the story about Marisol's father's death, a fatal encounter with Castro's soldiers that led her grandmother to flee Cuba with her on a Freedom Fight in 1969 rather than face further repercussions from the regime.
With each milestone in her life, Marisol ushers in a new perfume and a new man. Naturally, the book opens with an ode to both. "Men are like perfumes," Marisol says. "In an instant, with nothing but a whiff of judgment, I either love them or discard them."
In the opening pages, Marisol's perfume is Pleasures, and she associates it with an affluent, married Miami cardiologist with whom she has fallen madly in love. As she ruminates about their dead-end relationship, the book briefly rewinds into Marisol's childhood and then flashes forward to her string of lovers and accompanying fragrances.
Continue here...
Reviewed by Johnny Diaz
Found at the Boston Globe
Marisol is a poet and a museum historian. She's also a lover of perfumes and men. All these interests intertwine and shape her life as she leaves her native Cuba and follows her heart to Miami, Iowa, Spain, and France.
Marisol, the first-person narrator of Miami Herald writer Fabiola Santiago's debut novel, "Reclaiming Paris," searches for many things. She looks for a man who will fill the emotional spaces in her heart. She seeks to understand her complicated family's past. Most of all Marisol, whose name in Spanish means "the sea and the sun," wants to find herself.
At first sight, Santiago's novel might look like another light romantic tale, but a closer examination reveals a rich spiritual journey of self-discovery. Marisol tries to understand her dual identity as a Cuban and an American.
Bolstering the novel are the subtle references to historical immigration issues that Santiago laces into the narrative. She also pulls the reader along by initially telling only part of the story about Marisol's father's death, a fatal encounter with Castro's soldiers that led her grandmother to flee Cuba with her on a Freedom Fight in 1969 rather than face further repercussions from the regime.
With each milestone in her life, Marisol ushers in a new perfume and a new man. Naturally, the book opens with an ode to both. "Men are like perfumes," Marisol says. "In an instant, with nothing but a whiff of judgment, I either love them or discard them."
In the opening pages, Marisol's perfume is Pleasures, and she associates it with an affluent, married Miami cardiologist with whom she has fallen madly in love. As she ruminates about their dead-end relationship, the book briefly rewinds into Marisol's childhood and then flashes forward to her string of lovers and accompanying fragrances.
Continue here...
Friday, January 30, 2009
The 50 Best Fiction Books of 2008
San Francisco Chronicle
No one will soon forget 2008, a year defined by an extraordinary groundswell of hope (yes, that unavoidable word) as well as lie-awake-at-night dread (nothing quite like bracing yourself for the Great Depression 2, or, if you prefer, the snappier GD2).
It will take a while, of course, for us to grasp the significance of the events of this year, but some of the best books of 2008 provide a clearer understanding of the serious issues that confront us, from wars to financial woes. Many of the books also remind us, in these challenging times, of what is most valuable in life: family, friends, community.
But there's plenty in these titles - 50 fiction and 50 nonfiction - that allows us to escape our troubles and those of this world, and sink into tales well told. Baby, it's cold outside. Grab a blanket, grab a book, and enjoy.
- John McMurtrie
Few the Entire List Here...
No one will soon forget 2008, a year defined by an extraordinary groundswell of hope (yes, that unavoidable word) as well as lie-awake-at-night dread (nothing quite like bracing yourself for the Great Depression 2, or, if you prefer, the snappier GD2).
It will take a while, of course, for us to grasp the significance of the events of this year, but some of the best books of 2008 provide a clearer understanding of the serious issues that confront us, from wars to financial woes. Many of the books also remind us, in these challenging times, of what is most valuable in life: family, friends, community.But there's plenty in these titles - 50 fiction and 50 nonfiction - that allows us to escape our troubles and those of this world, and sink into tales well told. Baby, it's cold outside. Grab a blanket, grab a book, and enjoy.
- John McMurtrie
Few the Entire List Here...
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