tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70906842383695032632024-03-13T15:35:07.792-07:00High Noon: A Book and Movie Review BlogBook & Movie Reviews from a Costume Drama/Brigadoon Fan & Classic Book EnthusiastÉowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-31033362454939565512017-09-20T18:35:00.002-07:002017-09-21T04:17:56.296-07:00Book Review: The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Carley Burch, a beautiful young woman, must leave her glamorous high-society life of New York to follow her fiance, Glenn Kilbourne, to the rugged Wild West. She braves fierce ruffians, brutal elements, and lack of civilization in an attempt to reclaim him. </i></div>
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<i><i>Glenn, suffering from shell shock and the betrayal of his country following World War I, had moved west to recover. He fell in love with the West, his perspective on life was changed forever, and now he finds his previous high-society life repulsive. </i></i></div>
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<i><i>Can Carley adapt to the rigorous life of Glenn's West? Or will she be able to convince him to return to his "home" in New York?</i></i></div>
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Full of probing questions, this story thrills the soul, and quickens the blood as few stories do.</div>
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On the surface it might seem a little outdated - <i>a dress that shows the knees? How scandalous! </i>I had to laugh a bit there - however, dig a little deeper and I think on the whole the story is shockingly relevant. The horrible effects of war? We don't need to go any other place in history besides our own to see leaders and men thirsting for the spoils. Glenn is a veteran of WWI, but while he and his fellow soldiers heroism and subsequent plight are variously applauded and pitied, no soft words are given to those who grow rich on strife. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><i>Luxury and the whirl of pleasure vs. honest work and a sincere appreciation for family... </i>The world may not be "jazz mad" today, but who doesn't find social media's vision of picture perfect lifestyles and 'no strings attached adventure living', just a whee bit enticing? As for family... I'm extremely wary about the glorification of the family unit as "THE WAY TO SAVE THE WORRRLD!", but let's face it, family ties and morals just aren't what they used to be; however, in COTC, the family is viewed as a symbol of ALL honest ties. So experiencing the story's view on the struggles of its own time, with a look to a healthy future, the reader gets a good dose of that reality.</span></div>
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And now for the question which we have all been waiting for with bated breath, THE ROMANCE. Glenn and Carley are engaged practically from beginning to end, and, for Carley at least, there is no question of there being any other for her. Their relationship, naturally, has a good dose of good 'ol romance, but so that the course of true love might run smooth, they find they must fall back on their rock solid friendship and understanding of one another, and that my friends, is a beautiful thing to see. </div>
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Great moral questions to heart tingling moments of romance, all I can finish with is... IS THIS EVER ONE HUMDINGER OF A STORY!!!!!</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-57605203019624279432017-04-30T07:39:00.002-07:002017-04-30T15:05:46.787-07:00Book Review: Only Children Chase Sawdust by Willowy Whisper<br />
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<i>Their whole life turned to sawdust and blew away . . . </i></div>
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<i>Please don't leave me, Jacob. I need you. I know you're grieving. Maybe we all are. But you're chasing something you'll never catch . . . and we both know you won't come back alive.</i></div>
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The one tripping stone the story presented me was the location, which was vague throughout. It was not clear to me whether the story was the "far west" or somewhere more eastern earlier in the century. Nevertheless, it didn't bother me much as the very vagueness further reminded me of some westerns I've seen, something the feel of the story was already giving me vibes of.<br /><br />And speaking of feel...<br /><br />I was going to say that the feel of this story is delightful, but then withdrew it as it didn't seem the correct adjective to use in speaking of some of the horrors the characters undergo. Except for that fact though, I would have. From the twinkly light of a mountain stream to the violence of an Indian raid the aura of this tale is simply vivid with life. Seriously, the flow of the words slip over your soul with cool delight.<br /><br />My favorite bit of all has to be the last paragraphs - <i>silently the sawdust danced in loving circles</i>...<br /><br />So the ending closes as the story began, with loveliness thrilling every word.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Author Bio</div>
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Willowy Whisper is a young Christian fiction author. She lives somewhere in the middle of nowhere, smack-dab in the country hills of West Virginia. She is the author of seven novels, six of which are published, and numerous short stories. She is also a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, an incurable romantic, and a passionate dreamer. To follow her, visit her blog at <a href="http://www.willowywhisper.com/">www.willowywhisper.com</a></div>
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The story may be purchased <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Chase-Sawdust-Willowy-Whisper-ebook/dp/B06XJS5V4P/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_sr?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1493558072&sr=8-1" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-76382935945413001502017-02-17T11:45:00.000-08:002017-02-17T14:40:55.064-08:00Movie Spotlight: Mansfield Park (1986)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">every one of us, excepting Fanny'</span></i></i></div>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever.</span></i><br />
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I borrowed that description from Goodreads. <i>Borrowing a book description for a movie review - </i>one might ask -<i> isn't that a little strange? </i>I see your point. Most times I would say so myself, but of any novel I've seen blossoming on the screen this one is so much like the book that I can hardly think of them apart. In fact - particularly in the case of one Tom - I don't in the least try. :)<br />
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Moving with careful and serious step <i>Mansfield Park, </i>both in movie <i>and </i>book form can seem quite slow at times<i>, </i>but throughout it threads an important message of the dangers of compromise. Thinking of it in that way, perhaps it's slow pace is not such a riddle after all.<br />
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In the end, though they feel the effect of it, neither the heroine Fanny, nor the hero Edmund are either particularly involved in, or even on the scene of the disastrous climax, and that really brings us to who Fanny is as a person. The pageant of life swirls around her and she both feels like, and is very much, the quiet onlooker. The people around her are caught up in the thrill and excitement of new friends and romance, and she is sitting by much as she has always been until the very end, and she is brought into the blinding limelight; and then she not even half-likes it. It's quite odd actually, but until I wrote the above about Fanny I never really thought of it; however, <i>I think that is one of the reasons I feel so very much akin to her. </i>I'm not exactly like her, of course, and I <i>don't </i>have an Edmund to be concerned about, but I understand her all the same.<br />
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Finally,<i> </i>there is Tom... Tom the teasing and serious; Tom, the person with the most sparkling smile in movie history. Vivid and alive, every scene he is in has just <i>that much </i>more sparkle; how could one not love him?<br />
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Of any character in the story I think he changes the most. Edmund and Sir Thomas make blind mistakes, but the thread of Tom's redemption - even as it is somewhat behind the more intense action of the story - glows strong. And that I believe is why one can love him so; beginning with being heedless and passionate about the wrong things, to the end where he sees, and is utterly cast down by the error of his ways. You just <i>know </i>that that same energy with which he pursued the wrong things he will put into steady pursuits. In fact the book says so, and I firmly believe it. <br />
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There is of course so much <i>more </i>to the film, from its views of pastel countryside to gracious drawing rooms glimmering with candlelight; as a thoughtful sort of book/movie it is one that calls for revisiting over and over again. And isn't it the best stories that reveal their secrets over time?<br />
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(Due to the nature of the villain there are two "scenes", however, they are easily skipped over.)<br />
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Note: This review is posted as part of Hamlette's <a href="http://hamlette.blogspot.com/2017/02/i-love-austen-week-master-post.html" target="_blank">I Love Austen Week</a>.</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-8352243171538645902017-01-19T15:30:00.000-08:002017-01-19T15:33:43.560-08:00Book Review: The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>In a faraway kingdom a king has been betrayed. Deeply hurt and bitterly angry he vows never to be deceived again. Unfortunately the king's plan to protect himself will endanger all of the realm's young women unless one of them will volunteer to marry the king -- and surrender her life.<br /><br />To everyone's relief and horror one young woman steps forward. The daughter of a legendary storyteller, Shahrazad believes it is her destiny to accept this risk and sacrifice herself.<br /><br />On the night of her wedding to the king, Shahrazad begins to weave a tale. Fascinated, the king lets her live night after night. Just when Shahrazad dares to believe that she has found a way to keep her life -- and an unexpected love -- a treacherous plot may disrupt her plan. She can only hope that love is strong enough to save her.</i><br />
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There is nothing I relish quite as much as a romance in which the hero and heroine are married. Many variations have been done upon the theme with differing levels of emotion between the couple ranging from indifference, to dislike, to one of the parties not even knowing they are married (very awkward!) But truly, I think this story must take the prize in difficulty. Shahrazad marries the king believing he will execute her the next morning and he marries her firmly believing he <i>will.</i> If that does not put a damper on the relationship....<br />
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Surprisingly (or perhaps not so much. :)) this story also holds one of my favorite romantic scenes of any story I've read. I'm not going to outline it here because I might want to do a post about it on my other blog, but let me say it involves galloping about on fine horses, golden afternoon sun across the desert, and an oasis. It's just <i>lover-ly.</i><br />
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Exotic and mysterious this story is brimming with the most golden clarity of any fairy-tale I have yet read, and the loveliness therein could not be more dream worthy.Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-32020336697711454882016-12-10T06:58:00.000-08:002016-12-10T06:58:43.771-08:00Movie Spotlight: Rio Bravo (1959)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I almost didn’t do this review. I wanted it to be easy I guess... for every word to rush with the perfection of a mountain stream. Then it came - who said it was comfortable for a mountain stream? If water had feelings wouldn’t it be a bit painful for the water to be jounced around like that? Yet that is what makes it so madly beautiful. I’m not saying this review will be in rounded beauty of form, but it is here because I really want to share it with you!<br />
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And yet, with all that tangle of emotions <i>Rio Bravo</i> as a story, is in fact, almost glaringly simple.<br />
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<i>The Big Bad Guy is trying to intimidate the Good Guy into releasing the other Bad Guy. </i><br />
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The End.<br />
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Really on paper that’s it and once you see that the Good Guy is John Wayne, farewell to any doubt that he will give in, but in truth that is just the beginning.<br />
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It doesn’t say anything about the tough love of Chance (John Wayne) in driving his friend to crack out of the well of self-pity. Not really throwing his weight around too obnoxiously he just does it and does it right and if that steps on a few people's toes so be it.<br />
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Next is Stumpy, the rather nutty old man who is loyal to the backbone.<br />
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Then there is Colorado Ryan who feels like a breath of cool air in all the dusty strain that goes on in the rest of the movie. Chill to his fingertips with an easy smile and quips that leave people thinking, he owns his classic role of cowboy. However, with his gleam of humor and the way he can hold himself passionless about the situation and yet totally be with it, he plays the role with a stunning, unique turn of hand. <br />
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And then…<i> then,</i> there is Dude. Words fail me people, they really do. His character and everything about him is superbly shown. Some girl broke his heart and he’s lonely and betrayed and <i>it’s just so sad. </i>So he sinks to the depths, only held from drowning completely by the loyal hand of Chance. There is his struggle against the weight pulling him down, which is powerful and inspiring and frankly really tough to watch sometimes as you hear all the misery he’s known. Finally he comes out and is able to look back across his pain. Then suddenly he becomes the balancer, the straight thinking one, his smile is back and his eyes aren’t quite so tragic. He can relax and it is all so beautiful. Yes, you could say I like him and his story just a bit. :)
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The music - Dimitri Tiomkins wrote the theme song (anyone else hearing echoes of <i>High Noon</i>?) and Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson both sing, ‘nuf said.<br />
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Leaving me with a smile, a warm grand feeling inside, and maybe just a few tears, it ranks right up there with <i>High Noon</i> (yes, it's <i>that </i>high!). This story definitely worked its way into my heart. <br />
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I could not post this without a shout-out to my terrific sister Arwen who introduced me to this, (and hundreds of other great stories), and is my general "Did-I-get-this-right?" person. Thanks old thing.<br />
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And…. This is my second post for <a href="https://hamlette.blogspot.com/2016/09/announcing-john-wayne-blogathon.html" target="_blank">The John Wayne Blogathon</a> hosted by Hamlette of <a href="https://hamlette.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hamlette's Soliloquy</a> and Quiggy of T<a href="https://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">he Midnite Drive-In.</a> Thank you SO MUCH for giving me the impetus to revel in some of my Favorite Sort of Things. :)</div>
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-536825963796341702016-12-09T09:45:00.001-08:002016-12-09T16:25:55.537-08:00Movie Spotlight: The Big Trail (1930)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Google names this film as an "epic western", which is rather surprising perhaps as it was made in 1930, but is.... it... EVER! In fact so greatly laid on is the epicness that it is almost overwhelming. Imagine it as a history of the pioneers come alive. Floods, blizzards, the perils of the desert; each of the dangers the pioneers faced are shown in gritty frankness; not spoken of but shown, and as such it is a very impressive work indeed. And the people - ! They all look exactly like an old photo come to life. Yes, this film is worthy of being watched for the <i>detail </i>alone.<br />
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Now for my favorite parts - because though the above may be very educational there are other things to it as well...<br />
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Catching a glimpse of a young, rather lumberjack looking Ward Bond - he isn't even credited, but the few glimpses one can get of him made the film for me. :)<br />
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The heroine... and her siblings - You don't get to see any really close-ups of her brother and sister, but I absolutely love the interactions of the trio. Throw John Wayne in the mix, and you just wish you could see more of them all as a family.<br />
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Catch the name in the last sentence (and on the movie cover and all these screenshots)? Yes, my friend, this film stars the great and honorable John Wayne in one of his first big picture starring roles. This was before his image was really developed in the film we all know and love known as <i>Stagecoach </i>(1939) and he is still very much his twinkly boyish self and I love that a lot. From start to finish his character is just <i>fun </i>to watch... besides which his outfit is pretty neat. :)<br />
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Honestly, John Wayne as Breck Coleman, embodies<i> </i>this film with an energy that is as thrilling and marvelous as the rest of it is, and it is in that, I think, in which lives its epicness.<br />
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Posted as part of <a href="https://hamlette.blogspot.com/2016/09/announcing-john-wayne-blogathon.html" target="_blank">The John Wayne Blogathon</a> hosted by Hamlette of <a href="https://hamlette.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hamlette's Soliloquy</a> and Quiggy of <a href="https://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Midnite Drive-In.</a> Thank you SO MUCH for giving me the impetus to revel in some of my Favorite Sort of Things. :)Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-92062419093117483472016-10-06T14:19:00.000-07:002016-10-06T14:46:21.732-07:00Book Review: The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Those stories. . . the ones you've seemingly always known, the ones always there for you - <i>The Light of Western Stars</i> is one of those for me. It's not the only one of course, but it is at the heart of the list. After <i>A Speckled Bird</i> it was the first really and truly grown-up book I ever read, and the tingling bedazzlement of it has never left.<br />
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The tale starts with the greatest thunder-clap of any story I've read. The rest of the story rolls out in charming views and moments of cozy repose varied with nail-biting suspense ending in a conclusion of breath-taking height. In the words of the story: <i>Life changed for her in that instant of realization and became sweet, full, strange; </i>the entire ending, as delicately done as those words, leaves you on tip-toe to see what happens next, yet even as you wonder you surely know it will be altogether quite lovely.<br />
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The characters - I haven't truly talked of them have I? Except that in a way I think I have because they <i>are</i> the story. Stillwell - the crusty old cattleman toughened by a hundred desert storms. Al and Florence as sweet and refreshingly honest as a western couple should be. Each of the cowboys: Nils, Link, Monty Price, and Ambrose who, with his little French maid wife, together are simply adorableness itself. Most of all there are Madeline aka Majesty and Gene Stewart. Majesty, having traveled the world, meets Stewart the man holding all the rough pulse of the desert within him and discovers, to her shock, that she really knows nothing at all about life. Their relationship is just as thrilling as one might expect from such a beginning.<br />
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Re-reading is something I love and am always doing. Discovering a different angle on a view you think you know as well as your own hand which, come to think of it, I'm always noticing new things about, too. This time it was the so-to-speak interlude in the mountains. A little bit tiresome I remember thinking, and on my past visits I liberally skipped over it to the more heart-pounding parts. And guess what? The “interlude” I discovered is far more exciting than I first supposed, its very quietude being wherein its vivid life begins. From that wonder, caught in words without conversation, the rest of the story spills out in powerful beauty of free-flowing waters and the dreaminess unfurling still holds me fast. Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-9250832867248551192016-06-08T07:18:00.000-07:002016-06-08T07:18:06.861-07:00Book Review: Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are the stories you either love, or dislike, or the ones that hold so much of each. It is the gift of story that in each visit or time spent pondering over it can reveal a different secret, but perhaps it is in the last category that those revelations are most surprising, <i>Downright Dencey </i>is one of those for me.<br />
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I distinctly remember at the end of my last reading, scrunching my face and figuratively throwing it across the room (because throwing books, just isn't done!) and proclaiming my dislike for it. Yet strangely enough just a couple of days ago I found myself picking it up, and not just to peruse my favorite parts, but to read it once more from beginning to end. What is more I finished my reading of it. </div>
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I love, I truly <i>love </i>the relationship between the heroine's Mother and Father. It's adorable. The flashbacks to their romance are quite my favorite part. The atmosphere of old New England - and on no such lesser place than Nantucket - is also told in perfect detail.</div>
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So you perhaps wonder about the mysterious feelings<i> </i>outlined at the beginnings of this review? It's ever so slightly bittersweet friends, which is <i>ever so slightly </i>silly for me to make a fuss over as I have a slight inclination to writing such stories myself (witness my first published story). Perhaps it is because of the youthfulness of the characters, but the story left me with a wistful feeling. I felt I could reach out and touch it like summer cobwebbed grasses, and like those cobwebs it is touched with a subtle charm that lingers with me.</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-66983970800677096162016-05-27T04:25:00.000-07:002016-05-27T07:04:28.494-07:00Movie Spotlight: Little Women (1978)<div>
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<i>Persuasion</i> and <i>Little Women</i> - one British and elegant, the other as brimming with cozy American charm as they come. One similarity betwixt them? I used to think there was NO perfect film version for either, I would ramble at length upon the topic, it was really one of my most eloquent topics. Another thing they share? I found out I was wrong and not just a touch, but <i>completely </i>100% so! <i><a href="http://ofhorseselvesandmen.blogspot.com/2014/01/movie-spotlight-persuasion-2007_1025.html" target="_blank">Persuasion</a>, </i>of course, was several years ago; however, <i>Little Women</i> was scarce a week past and what's more surprising is that, in the pleasantest of ways, the story and the way it was told have been a splendid picture of my Spring.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: center;">There is a fair amount of mixing and stacking of events, but it doesn't <i>feel </i>rushed. At 3 hours and 20 minutes it really isn't, as it allows great freedom to immerse yourself in its world; which is one of the most beloved things about the book. Many little bits are tied in, such as Jo standing by an oak tree toward the end of the film hinting toward the whole "burr" conversation between Meg and Jo in the book. and even to Fred's cheating at croquet, except here he does it to Amy. </span></div>
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<b>Scenery/Sets -</b> Films from the 70's and 80's are rarely known for their splendor, but honestly that very simplicity is one of the points about them which I so love, and this one is no different. I feel as if I could walk into it, or even work the unique beauties that make its charm into my own life.<br />
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<b>Costumes- </b>Such a colorful and fresh range of style with full splendid skirts for the girls, and proper suits for the men. Meg's blue gingham looks light and refreshing, Jo has a sage scarf and minty dress which look especially pretty on her, and she has the most cozy looking plaid dress with elbow sleeves and<i> ruffles...</i> in addition to which their Christmas ensembles at the end are all the merriest things. </div>
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<b>Music -</b> Bouncy, fun and very much in the family centered, period drama mood of the film.</div>
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<b>Other Ones - </b>My favorite rendition of Marmee, Dorothy McGuire had lots of experiences with being a mother so that was little of a surprise, she is indeed a wonderful mother figure and the interactions between her and Mr. March are everything they should be. :) Greer Garson as Aunt March is her usual, brilliant, quick fire self. She is also an extremely active and good hearted Aunt March. As Marmee puts it: "Funny old lady, I should have known I could count on her." Also, Mr. Laurence is your perfect, gruff, grandfatherly Victorian gentleman.</div>
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<b>Meg and Mr. Brook - </b>She isn't my very favorite nor exactly what I picture in the book, but then she isn't exactly my favorite there either... Together though they're quite cute and fit in well with the rest of the family.<br />
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<b>Beth - </b>Beth is sweet, gentle perfection.<br />
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<b>Amy - </b>In many ways I think her portrayal, at the heart, is the closest to how the book paints her.<i> </i>Her and Laurie's relationship still isn't quite as expounded upon as in the book, but it is greater than that shown in the other films. Even when they are younger you can see how they fit together, and what scenes they do have are adorable.<br />
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<b>Laurie -</b> Absolutely jolly! He also reminds me, for some reason, of someone we've known for ages, which is rather fun. :) <br />
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<b>Jo -</b> I've always felt like Jo was <i>somewhat</i> of a kindred spirit, but this one... almost every conversation and happening in her story I chime with PERFECTLY, and the conversation she has with Marmee before Meg gets married... it's absolutely startling how every word, every sentiment fits with my life and emotions right now. And okay, it's dreadfully fun to at last have a blue eyed blond haired Jo. :)<br />
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<b>Professor Bhaer - </b>You get to see the Professor and Jo get to know each other, particularly in his attempts at teaching her German and their walks in the park with her and her girls, and he with his lads. He brings out the girlish, almost shy, side of Jo's nature in a way that is delightful to see. <i>"Perhaps you will climb a tree for me... I challenge you miss, I race you to the top." </i> - to which her uncertain, but covertly delighted surprise at this statement is so sweet.<br />
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Professor Bhaer and Jo... I watched the "umbrella scene" thrice and teared up every single time.<br />
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The End.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts - </b>I touched upon it in my description of Jo, but this entire film is comfortable and stirring, filled with not only inspiration, but motivation to move toward where it beckons.<br />
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I UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY LOVE IT! And yes, I used caps shamelessly to write that sentence, because nothing else would encapsulate my emotions upon it.<br />
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This review was first posted as part of Miss Laurie' <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">2016</span><a href="http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/2016/01/old-fashioned-charms-2016-period-drama.html" style="background-color: white; color: #cc6600; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Period Drama Challenge!</a> </div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-40072359875350341832016-02-15T18:55:00.000-08:002016-02-15T18:55:00.233-08:00Book Review: Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal. <br /><br />The girl, Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants' care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married Cendrillon's father, and her arrival changes their lives. <br /><br />When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, Cendrillon's new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny -- a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.</i><div>
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In my “papers” somewhere or other there is a very long, very rambling, and very enthusiastic review for this story... But it simply wouldn’t do.</div>
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<br />Because that’s not quite the story. Not that I don’t feel rambling and enthusiastic about it, but the beauty of this story (and the other books in this series that I have read so far for that matter) is its fresh simplicity. Oh no, not simplicity of <i>plot</i>, that takes some breath-taking spins on the good-old fairy-tale. But they have a “moral” and the story spins out around it. For instance, this one focuses on the power of love. Not so much romantic love as the kind of love that grows strong even when there is no earthly way it could have grown there. Love that grows in forsaken places and transforms frozen wastes into places of abundant and pure beauty. Or sunflowers as the case may be: a flower I love and whose symbolism is stunningly beautiful in here.<br /><br />It’s “Cinderella” with a twist completely opposite to the original, but that doesn’t weaken the center of the tale in the least. Cendrillon is forsaken and lonely... it’s just <i>who</i> she’s forsaken by (and who becomes her family). That, my friends, is my favorite part. <br /><br />The end is perhaps a little rushed (as in, she only knew Certain People some twelve hours before she has Very Definite feelings for them), however that didn’t really bother me because of <i>other</i> people and happenings. Hence I thought it actually worked out quite adorably.<br /><br /><div>
It is a golden, sunshiny, romantic tale to set your heart aglow on the coldest of days.<br /><br /></div>
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-83127702672623845502016-02-04T15:06:00.002-08:002016-02-04T15:06:50.714-08:00Book Review: Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Her whole life, Jane had believed her father was dead. It was, therefore, quite a shock to receive an invitation to stay with him for the summer on Prince Edward Island. From their very first meeting, Jane falls in love with her charming father and his whimsical cottage on Lantern Hill. A whole summer of fun and adventure, meeting neighbors, and making friends―far away from her grandmother's dreary house in the city. If only she could get her mother to come too.<br /><br />As Jane juggles her love and loyalty for both parents, she dares to dream...a dream that she and her parents could live together without Grandmother directing their lives―of a house where they could all find home. </i><i>(</i>from Amazon)<div>
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I went on a holiday this past week (six days by my record) to Canada in Toronto and on P.E.I, to wit the coziest little place tucked up in a hill overlooking the gulf. It was named Lantern Hill and I was with my friend Jane (isn't there some poem or children's book that mentions “my friend Jane;”? I think it's in <i>My Mama's a Llama… where am I going with this?</i>) Let us return to Jane of Lantern Hill because that's where I was. And oh, was it a glorious time. Baking, exploring the country-side, looking through her little bedroom window at the moon above the hill, delighting in all the blooming green things in her garden, listening to the sound of the gulf. It doesn't matter that I was a thousand miles and 75 years away from there, <i>I was still there</i>. Because that, my friends, is the magic of story and most especially the gift of Montgomery.<br /><br />All of L.M. Montgomery's stories are made of beautiful descriptions, but this one surely has the most beauteous of them all, for instance… <br /><br /><i>The little flower-beds were edged with blue forget-me-not's and in one corner was a big, clump of early, dark red peonies. Violets and plots of red and white daisies grew under the parlor windows. </i><br /><br />And each one becomes only more lovely, perfectly showing the world through the eyes of a deep-hearted young girl.<br /><br />The girl Jane: lover of spring winds and the call of the sea, practical and house-wifely, with a fine glow of imagination. She is exactly that type of person who would make the dearest of friends. <br /><br />Her father Andrew Stewart is one of those men with keen jaws, laughing eyes and fly-away hair (where are they all now I wonder? :)) and you may be sure it was awe-filled admiration for me at the first word of description. He might just equal Roger Penhallow as one of my Favorite Heroes. Let there be a shocked pause, because that means I <i>really</i> like him. <br /><br />Jane's mother is golden, laughing, and not quite grown up in many ways for her status in life because her wealthy childhood was not one to mold her well for its challenges. However, she does makes Jane the most darling mother and behaves quite well at the end. And her name is Robin. One of my aunt's is named that and I’ve always thought it the prettiest name, so I ended up quite loving her. <br /><br />Reading this story is as if you have the magic gift to be able to pop into the wondrous freshness of spring at any moment and <i>that</i> is a very dear gift indeed. Yes, siree, I loved it and you may well believe that <i>Jane of Lantern Hill</i> and her refreshing tale are now on my shelf of most beloved stories.<br /> </div>
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-9862347086094410812016-01-20T18:32:00.000-08:002016-01-20T18:32:54.583-08:00Book Review: The Inheritance by Lousia May Alcott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was inspired to order this book again after seeing <a href="http://ofhorseselvesandmen.blogspot.com/2016/01/movie-spotlight-inheritance-1997.html" target="_blank">the movie adaptation</a> of the story last week, so this is almost more of a comparison post than a proper review; however, first I will talk about the writing style which obviously isn't that connected to the movie.. or is it? There is a definite 'distance' created by the overtly poetic writing style which is somewhat betrayed by how it runs through your head! As I told my sister, I partly read it so fast because I was starting to<i> think</i> about the most everyday things in a fluting high flown style which is rather irritating in daily life. Not that I dislike poetic imagery (L. M. Montgomery is one of my muses), but the Gothic overtones of this got a whee bit head-achy. :)<br /><br />The movie softens, no, does away with, the melodrama, leaving the natural intensity of the scenes and story to play out all the more profoundly. The workings of the story are vastly different from that of the book, but the spirit of it -- the integral parts of Percy giving his friendship so freely to Edith, her courage and skill with horses (though only slightly seen in the novel), even all the way to Edith looking “long and sadly” at the portrait of her father -- are all neatly tied in. <br /><br />Perhaps it's my excitement for anything <i>Ivanhoe</i>, but I thought the whole imagery with the tableaux, Edith as Rebecca and Arlington as the Templar (while perhaps quite blatant) worked very neatly into their relationship. Having there be a Hamilton son certainly makes the whole disinherited thing a bit stronger, but why oh why was Edith so submissive to all of Ida's orders? It drove me crazy! It does make her more Cinderella-like to be sure, but I didn't see why Edith owed any especial deference to her. Why, if Lord Percy had been but a touch less observant he might have never seen anything of it! Observation, however, is the very keystone of his character which is something they bring out very well in the movie and also a character trait I highly admire/respect, so all is well. :) <br /><br />Do I think it can be completely compared to the movie? Not at all. The book is quite melodramatic, with crumbling walls and single dropping tears – whereas the movie, in its thoughtful friendship, refreshingly gentle romance and adorable humor is one of the most everyday-like costume dramas I have ever seen.<br /><br />Though the book was rather slower than I remembered it being, I had a great deal of fun remembering and placing little anecdotes and keys from it as seen in the movie and enjoyed my re-visit to it.Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-77211692521215776252016-01-13T17:39:00.002-08:002016-01-13T18:24:06.603-08:00Book Review: Golden by Cameron Dokey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future. <br /><br />After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever.</i><br />
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I usually review only books that I’m totally crazy about, but really, that creates a very lopsided view of my reading. (Well, mayhap not quite so lopsided, as I tend toward reading only books that I know I will like, but I’m trying to branch out from that too. :))<br />
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So I decided to begin with this book. A book that I half like, from an author whose stories I love. Sounds good, yes?<br />
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To begin with the plot was just a little too scrambled for me. I liked most of the individual parts, but I couldn’t quite see how they were bound together. I will say no more here lest I give away the story, but only that some of the Strong Reasons for Things felt a little weak to me. And some of the dialogue was just a <i>wee</i> modern for my taste, but that’s just old-fashioned me.<br />
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Now for the happily delicious bits. First the big one: I loved how Rapunzel (later Susan) has no hair. Absolutely none. There are many books where the hero falls in love with a heroine because of her beautiful character, but the heroine just happens to be ravishingly beautiful, as well (though there is nothing wrong with that -- in fact, I enjoy that, too). Beauty of character is truly what gives the living glow to any loveliness. But I thought it was really neat how in <i>Golden</i> that is simply swept away. Yes, she has beautiful eyes, but they are hardly spoken of and it is her character that is laid clear and for which everyone loves/learns to love her for. You know the gift her hero brings her from his travels? Extravagant head scarves - each more shining and imaginative than the last. He brings her a covering! Ah, there could be some <i>very</i> neat imagery here!<br />
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I also like Rue’s romance with the prince; because it’s just plain cute.<br />
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As with<i> <a href="http://ofhorseselvesandmen.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-review-belle-by-cameron-dokey.html" target="_blank">Belle</a></i>, this story is sparkled with nuggets of lovely prose and description, one of my favorites being the part where Rapunzel is running across the plain after being confined in the tinker’s wagon for several days. Even as I lay reading the book I could <i>feel</i> the great emptiness of the plain around and the joyous pounding of her feet upon the ground as she ran.<br />
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Now I’m finished, but I received a surprise while writing this. Examining and putting my thoughts in order, I think I might just like this story better than I first supposed. :)<br />
<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" />Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-85122603476396424112016-01-09T16:02:00.001-08:002016-01-09T16:05:33.755-08:00Movie Spotlight: The Inheritance (1997)<div>
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Lately the name of a certain costume drama has been floating around this place, to wit, <i>Lark Rise to Candleford</i>. Many feeling terms have been applied to it (one of which coming to mind is Favorite Period Drama Ever), but that's not quite accurate, because before<i> LRTC</i> there was (and still is)... <i>The Inheritance!</i> And <i>The Inheritance</i> really is truly nearly perfect.<br />
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Firstly now, a synopsis:<br />
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<i> Edith Adelon lives as the companion to the daughter of a wealthy family. Her life is a happy one, only slightly clouded by the knowledge that someday she will have to leave the only place that has ever been home to her. But time has a way of beginning things before you know it. A friend of the family, James Percy comes to ride in one of the greatest events in the neighborhood, the Greenscup. He and Edith connect in their love of horses and Edith soon finds herself falling in love with the very man specially “imported” to marry the shrewish cousin of the family. This cousin soon becomes a conniving enemy who will stop at no deceit to ruin Edith's chance at happiness.</i><br />
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And that is my own description and I'm really rather pleased with it, which is exceedingly nice. :)<br />
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<b> The Music - </b>Simply put, it is cantering put to music. Just listening, you can almost <i>feel</i> the musical inflection of the horse beneath you. Lyrical, thrilling and totally romantic, it whisks you away into the magic of olden days. <br />
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<b> Sets and Scenery - </b>Are <i>so</i> beautiful! I have little idea of where it is actually supposed to be set, but it looks like it must be in the South somewhere or it might be in California. The house looks very Spanish-inspired from the outside. But the exact locations don't really matter, because it's not really about accuracies, but just utter<i> loveliness</i>. And the overall coloring is so lovely: dusty brown and golden with tints of rose and just a general golden glow.<br />
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<b>The Costumes - </b>Bustles, riding outfits, ruffled ballgowns... it's all a pure delight. :) I talked more about most of my favorite dresses in <a href="http://www.headinthecloudsandpeninhand.blogspot.com/2016/01/cinderella-tag.html" target="_blank">this post</a>. One I <i>didn't</i> mention was Edith's ballgown, which is creamy, ruffled and simply elegant. And her hair is so gorgeous. Could anything be more refreshingly lovely? The men's garb (i.e. James's) as it ranges from practical riding clothes to distinguished evening wear, is also positively wonderful. <br />
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<b>The Characters -</b><br />
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Edith Adelon - I love how her humor and gentleness is coupled with just enough spice to make her terribly fun without being feisty. She knows uncertainty at times, but is always confident in truth. She's constantly inspiring while yet making you feel she would be the jolliest of chums. :)<br />
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James Percy – First, let us have a moment of silence. <i>His name!!!</i> Isn't it the neatest thing? Louisa May Alcott did have a knack for perfect names. :) Handsome and accomplished, he knows just how to put a shy person at ease (let alone knowing how to handle an overly-interested-young-lady) and his character is truly beautiful. He has everything a true man can and should have. A man that can be respected, with patience and just enough dash to make him very fun. :)<br />
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James and Edith together – First their meeting: oh, the sweetness... I can hardly bear it! So quiet and unassuming and there is a HORSE – his horse – there, too. Could it be better? In fact, could any of their relationship be better? The entire thing is simply beautiful, as in tear-worthily beautiful. And as their love grows – on a base of mutual interests and friendship – it will clearly be one for a full and joyful lifetime together. <br />
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Mr. And Mrs. Hamilton - The couple who have raised Edith. You know what I said about James and Edith? Well, here it is about twenty-some years later! They are different people, so it no doubt looks a little different than James and Edith's will, but it still has the wonderfulness factor. The humor between them is hilarious. And she is such an elegant and thorough gentlewoman. Honestly, she is really one of my favorite movie characters. Their daughter Amy – the young lady Edith is companion to – is truly bubbly and sweet, treating Edith much more like a sister than anything else.<br />
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The Villains... Are truly terrible! I mean, they must be on the list of the Worst Period Drama Villains Ever: sophisticated, cunning, and altogether simply infuriating. <br />
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And hence, some of the parts you should know about: Basically, the villain tries to force a kiss on Edith and there's a scuffle, but he gets his just deserts. The whole part is really easy to see coming. Also, some of the villainess's dresses especially are fairly low-cut. <br />
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So I reach the end of a review and once again words fail me. How do I adequately write of something where the glow of beauty is more <i>felt</i> than anything else: with the ache of sympathy as Edith meets and undergoes all the pain and misunderstanding that any true Cinderella knows, and then the deep bubbling joyful <i>glow</i> when she meets her “prince” and at last finds 'home.' It's all entirely heart-wrenching, romantic, and utterly beautiful!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Note: This review was first posted for Heidi's </span><a href="http://ladyofanorien.blogspot.com/2016/01/cinderella-party-kick-off-tag-giveaway.html" style="background-color: white; color: #cc6600; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cinderella Week</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> and Miss Laurie's 2016</span><a href="http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/2016/01/old-fashioned-charms-2016-period-drama.html" style="background-color: white; color: #cc6600; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Period Drama Challenge!</a></div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-35834728272697713992016-01-08T14:40:00.000-08:002016-01-08T16:23:09.891-08:00Movie Spotlight: First Love (1939)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Except... it wasn’t first love for me. I wept and gnashed my teeth over it (pretty image, is it not? :)). The teacher was too nasty (I said)… her family was odious… and that was the end of the matter for me. Or so I thought.<br />
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But then, months later, I saw it again and (what is that line from <i>Tangled</i>? “<i>And it's like the sky is new</i>”).. I know that’s a romance song, but that part is so true for this story. Because I fell totally in love.<br />
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So it’s through those new eyes that I present this review –<br />
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First thought: Connie’s teacher is rather hard, but it’s the hardness of love that teaches what the world is like so that it won’t crush and then shows that love can be found even in the busiest, blindest of places. <br />
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But what is this place? The sparkly splendor of 30’s high society, complete with its crazy fur, dainty high-heels, and the swirling shimmer of the ladies’ shining skirts… It’s the stuff dreams are made of and, believe me, the perfect setting for a Cinderella story!<br />
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This movie has, I think, the funniest meeting between Cinderella and her “prince”, which gets only more comical as I think of the other versions.<i> Ever After</i> has him (ahem) borrowing her horse (such a little gentleman :)) and <i>Cinderella</i> 2015 has them both riding (love that scene <i>so much</i>!) But in this one Connie, obeying the order of her cousin to delay Ted Drake (i.e. The Prince) till she gets there, lures away his horse with some sugar cubes from the place where he tied it. And hence proceeds the most hysterical game of tag: with Connie in front and the horse galloping after, with Ted in hot pursuit. After which Ted very niftily pretty much saves her life. Totally adorable, I do assure you. :)<br />
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From there, the story only gets sweeter, from the interference of the “Nasty Stepsister” to the dreamiest ball sequence. Connie and Ted dance to a medley of Strauss waltzes thus instantly putting Strauss, and waltzing in general on my list of the Most Romantic Things Ever. The dance also includes the neatest fade-out effect with the other couples fading away, leaving them dancing in an empty ballroom and then having a lovely conversation on the terrace which overlooks New York City.<br />
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The entire story is entwined with songs that are variously joyful and as heartbreaking as they come. But the best moment? The end of course. (I’m skipping over the dividing part on purpose because second only to <i>Slipper and the Rose</i> it is the most heart-wrenching of the Cinderella partings.)<br />
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But I won’t tell you much of it… only that it is stirring, tugging your heartstrings, and utterly lovely with promises of a future all the brighter for dear Connie.<br />
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Aren't they the cutest ever?!!</div>
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Thus ends one of the loveliest (in both senses of the word) movies of all time, leaving you with a sigh of the dreamiest kind, a nice cozy feeling that glows to the tips of your fingers, and the feeling that love at first sight might just be possible after all.</div>
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Note: This review was first posted for Heidi's <a href="http://ladyofanorien.blogspot.com/2016/01/cinderella-party-kick-off-tag-giveaway.html">Cinderella Week</a> and Miss Laurie's 2016<a href="http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/2016/01/old-fashioned-charms-2016-period-drama.html"> Period Drama Challenge!</a>Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-46811038031541379322015-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:002015-08-19T10:02:06.531-07:00Movie Spotlight: Ivanhoe (1952) <div style="text-align: center;">
While reading <i>Ivanhoe</i> I determined to see every film version that I could. This was first on the list. And may I say it is totally worthy of that place! Also, just for fun I decided not to put in any spoilers. Hence, all and sundry may read on with impunity.<br />
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<b>Accuracy to book</b></div>
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This being an oldie interpretation of a classic, as you might guess there were a great many changes. However, I feel it kept close to the good old spirit of the story. And as the length of the film was much shorter than would allow for easy explanation of some problems, I think most of the changes made a great deal of sense.</div>
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<b>Things to note</b> </div>
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My mother didn’t have my youngest sister watching it, but that was mainly because of some of the intensity, which would have been a bit much for her to take in. Otherwise there are no irritating scenes.</div>
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<b>Costumes, scenery, and music </b></div>
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The costumes are the almost fairy-tale finery that we all know and love from that era of film. The scenery and music go along with that—the part with the burning castle being especially thrilling!</div>
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<b>Characters </b></div>
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<b>Ivanhoe </b></div>
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I have to say it. This Ivanhoe was way “better” than the book—which is good as he is not only Ivanhoe, but the “Black Knight” as well. He does make one or two rather strange mistakes, however he carries off the whole “more or less in love with two girls at the same time” difficulty very honorably, is quick on his feet and altogether is a good egg. </div>
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<b>Rowena </b></div>
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Rowena is a bit more mature and forthright than in the book. She also totally apprehends Rebecca’s feelings for Ivanhoe., indeed that whole loop comes in quite a bit. Otherwise she was quite good—and she and her chosen one make quite a noble couple.</div>
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<b>Rebecca </b></div>
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Beautiful, mysterious and with an inner glowing purity, this Rebecca is exactly how I picture her in the book. And the last scene with her and Bois-Guilbert and Rowena is simply perfection.</div>
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<b>Brian Bois-Guilbert</b> </div>
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My very first reaction to discovering that George Sanders played Bois-Guilbert was inelegant snickers. I feared the worst. But judging from my past career I am sure you might guess what happened. That feeling totally reversed. Indeed I have decided that (barring Basil Rathbone who was <i>born </i>to play Bois-Guilbert, though he never did) I can picture no other actor from the time showing the roughness and deep tension of his character and temperament so well. And his soft repentant sort of expression? No one could have done that better.</div>
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<b>Other important characters </b></div>
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Prince John is THE most evil faced John I have seen yet, but what was really fun is that he and King Richard looked extraordinarily alike (except that one had all the goodness and the other all the appearance of it :)). No wait, I just got carried away—Richard actually had both. Isaac of York is shown as a good upstanding fellow—as is Locksley. Wamba’s loyalty was bravely shown. De Bracy (who as you may know, is one of my favorites!) is mainly shown as Bois-Guilbert’s henchman, hence he doesn’t really have the screen time of the novel, however, in its context, it actually turned out quite satisfactory. Cedric was not quite as antagonistic as he is in the novel, but he was still fairly grouchy.</div>
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<b>Final Thoughts </b></div>
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This is the<i> Ivanhoe</i> that I will go to when I want a nice homey evening with plenty of comfortable thrills. Good old medieval excitement of the best tradition, it has everything I love in a medieval classic drama—sword-fights, the storming of castles, and epic romance!</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-36368386518227181112015-08-12T06:22:00.000-07:002015-08-12T10:30:32.872-07:00Book Review: Catrin in Wales by Mabel Esther Allan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>When 16 year old Catrin goes for a short visit to Wales before settling down to work in London, she little suspects she will stay for the summer and longer because of a sick aunt. During which she becomes the custodian of a historic building, overcomes the wariness of the villagers, participating in the Welsh national life, and finds friendship and romance in the colorful, picturesque community.</i><br />
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Book recommendations from friends are the greatest and yet there is always a trepidation, a slight trembling of the fingers as I reach for the book. What if I <i>don’t</i> like it, and then it might hurt their feelings? So it was with this book and I. My good blogging chum <a href="http://ramblings-of-a-red-head-girl.blogspot.com/">Natalie</a> wrote a <a href="http://ramblings-of-a-red-head-girl.blogspot.com/2015/06/catrin-in-wales.html">glowing review</a> for it, I ordered it from the library, and then read the first page and went…. <i>oh dear</i>! The story wasn’t horrid and I even liked the style and the descriptions were suburb; however, I wasn’t clicking with the heroine Catrin. I was feeling terrible about the whole thing. And then it happened. Half way through or so <i>I couldn’t put it down!</i> I was in Wales with Catrin, cycling around the cool green valleys with Gwen and visiting her friends at their farm in the steep windy hills. And I didn’t want to come back. Indeed, I read the last chapter several times just to drag out the finishing part, then sat and sighed in contentment over it. It’s not a second <i>Little Women</i> or <i>To Have and To Hold</i>, but it is unabashedly simple, refreshing and most Nancy Drew-ish (after all it was written in the 60’s). I think it is the neatest thing how they ride their bikes seemingly everywhere they go and I now have a burning desire to take a bicycle tour around Wales. Altogether it is a lovely example of a perfect summer read – light, unpretentious and quite pleasing!Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-75895667651173103522015-03-11T10:20:00.000-07:002015-03-11T10:20:42.918-07:00Book Review: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's one of the first “historical-fiction” novels. It's poetry in prose and prose in poetry (or it would be if such a thing were possible). It's stirring and romantic and totally epic. It's...<i>Ivanhoe</i>. <br /><br />Even before this reading, Scott was not unknown to me. I had read both his The Lady of the Lake and The Talisman and I had seen (most) of the 90's Ivanhoe mini-series. Yet I nearly put Ivanhoe aside. The speech of the characters was simply too outrageous, I said. Scott the poet had waxed too enthusiastic in his prose. I would pick it up only to toss it fitfully aside and that only to look at it with my face wrinkled up in indecision. In such manner I worked through the first 100 pages or so. And then something happened—I could not put it down! I tried, but the excitement within the story was intense. Each intense (or humorous, as the case might be) scene swirled to further intensity as the stakes the characters fought for mounted in tension and power. Strangely enough, it was not the troubles of the hero that kept me reading, it was the others. It was the rough yet nobly minded Cedric; the simple (or should the word be level?) minded Athelstane (you have to love Athelstane :)); the chivalrous Black Knight; the also level-headed (with the perfect touch of wit for spice) Locksley. It was the brave and hilarious De Bracy, the courageous Rebecca and finally...Brian Bois-Guilbert.<br /><br />Cedric begins on rather an unwieldy note. In other words, I couldn’t bear him. However, through the story his nature begins to unfold and you begin to see him for the true noble he is. Indeed, such were my feelings for him that by the end I wished I could give him a big squeezing hug as I give my father (except that I think that Cedric would not appreciate it as much as my father).<br /><br />De Bracy. I know he is technically on the side of the wicked Prince John, but honestly, if Scott wanted us to love the hero, he should not have created such charming and not-exactly-evil villains. And De Bracy is every wit that, for with all his ambition and mad schemes he does have some sense of honor and he is a brave and skillful knight. Finally, he has humor and light-spirits even in slightly unpleasant circumstances, which Ivanhoe does not. Altogether I like him very much indeed!<br /><br />Brian Bois-Guilbert aka The Templar. Where do I begin…? His character is incredibly complex and incredibly fascinating. Though the book may be called <i>Ivanhoe,</i> it is Bois-Guilbert who sweeps the story before him and takes hold of the imagination with all the questions raised of a soul tortured by both his past and present. Of all the characters in the story Rebecca was the only one whose quiet strength was the equal of the intense flame of his. The one thing which his incredibly strong nature attempts to break unheeded. Or rather, in the attempt, it is broken itself and the proud Templar finds himself shaken in all the power he held within his hitherto unmoving hand. Ah—and then the end. Trust to Scott to make a hopelessly tied-up situation, with only one way out—and that only for the hero and none for his adversary! However, it was the only way…or at least the only way to finish it with honor for everybody and without ending it in ridiculous improbability. Scott never sways you to think that any of the evil Bois-Guilbert does is good and his ending is a just retribution for his actions. Yet it hurts. Scott had invested so much into his character and though I knew what must be his end, it was painful when the time came and—I admit—I cried.<br /><br />I have not touched on the many others that make this story memorable, too: Rowena, the Black Knight, Friar Tuck, Wamba, Isaac the Jew—even the named hero of the piece, Ivanhoe. I don't know if I did it on purpose or if it just happened that way, but I think it's turned out perfectly. Those characters are all good and I relish the reading of them, but it is in the bitter and grieved and complex that Scott's brilliance shines and it is for that—in both his writing and his characters—that I love this story.Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-30732012173415486042015-02-04T12:29:00.000-08:002015-02-04T13:26:27.781-08:00Book Review: The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore M. Jewett <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> “Hugh groaned. 'The mob! I know well what that means! Jacques, we cannot face a mob gone wild again!' </i></div>
<i> At that moment a peasant appeared far down the road, running. He was shouting and, as he drew nearer, others joined him. </i><br />
<i> 'Hue and cry!' he bellowed in a great voice that soon brought the village folk pouring in from the fields, down lanes, and out of byres and huts which but a moment before had seemed so still and lifeless. <br /> 'Hue and cry! Hue and cry! 'Tis a criminal fleeing from justice!' <br /> The man at Hugh's side looked desperately at the oncoming crowd and seemed for the moment to freeze into inactivity. <br /> 'Quick!' Hugh cried scrambling clumsily onto the high-wheeled cart. 'Quick! Climb in! We'll make Glaston before they can catch us! Sanctuary! You'll find sanctuary at the abbey!' </i><br />
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<span style="text-align: right;"> -from <i>The Hidden Treasure of Glaston </i></span><i><br /></i><br />
Mixing legend, historical facts, boyish antics, and gentle humor–this is a book to relish. The characters are quick and alive and there are some wondrous descriptions of meadows and marshes in addition to the hallowed and peaceful atmosphere of the abbey. Pure superstition is kept to a minimum and the legend displayed really encourages you to open your eyes and see what a magical world is spinning about you. There are also some thrilling mentions of King Arthur and the Holy Grail–all most delightful if you, like me, love tales of Camelot and have a medieval-loving heart.</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-25101949843506164892015-01-19T12:43:00.000-08:002015-01-19T12:43:28.807-08:00Book Review: Belle by Cameron Dokey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once in a while, in our brief mortal span, you discover a story—sometimes it’s a gift straight from the author to you—sometimes it is a given through the medium of another person/reader (either because you did not know of it or for some mad reason resisted getting it). And for me the person was Heidi and the reason the latter. Everybody has different stories that warm every part of you. For my part I had exactly three in that place: “Light of the Western Stars”, “Shattered Summer”, and “A Tangled Web”. Why those three exactly I cannot say—even I can see their crazy points—but it was exactly that number until this story came along. And now readers, I have a very definite forth. <br /><br />I don’t know why reading is thought of as such a mild way to spend one’s time… It is nor—or at least the reading of splendid stories isn’t. Reading those can leave you joyful or tragic or simply weak from the beauty of them, and that is exactly what “Belle” did to me.<br /><br />The story and writing is at once lyrical and relevant (the “scene upon the lake” particularly brims with such clarity of the starlight that you really are nearly there with the Beast and Belle) and the entire story is made of the stuff of lovely dreams—with such presence that at any moment you might expect to meet the characters. But it is a love story that goes so much deeper than simple romance. It’s about the love that is at the very heart of life, the love that leaves you dizzy and shaky simply from the beauty of its description (and I should know because that’s exactly what this story did to me). I read it backwards and forwards at least three times in two days and every word is put in with delicate precision in exactly the right moment. It’s dazzling and I could read it over and over again reveling in every refreshing passage and delighting in every turn and shade of the characters. Ah, the characters who brim and sparkle with every intensity of human feeling yet in an entirely real way. The author’s take on Belle’s family is so unique and lovely: the parents being loving and not foolish, the sisters being given a fresh “nice” twist—and all of it without losing, but rather enhancing the feel of the fairy-tale as, for one, it shows all that Belle had to lose by going to the Beast as she really had no reason or desire to wish to leave them in the first place. (And as a slight aside, her one sister’s romance is so adorable!) <br /><br />Finally, Belle and the Beast… Belle is completely authentic. She has the honesty, hard working nature, contentment in a place and loving heart that is central to the character, but yet she gets disconcerted and sometimes says the wrong thing. The Beast… He is compelling and gentle, strong and rather vulnerable all in the space of five seconds. Yes, I must mention the Five Second Thing. It is so neat how it mounts tension and increases the mystery. Though I have always liked the Beast, I have never—with the possible exception of Prince Philip form the Disney “Sleeping Beauty”—had a fairy-tale prince on my list of favorite heroes, but this Beast is most decidedly on it. <br /><br /><div>
Altogether this story has the spirit which is the heart of all true fairy-tales—that of making “real life” all the more real and I love it!!</div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-53584200256965971732014-09-24T11:18:00.000-07:002014-09-24T11:29:13.778-07:00Book Review: With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lt. Mellie Blake is
looking forward to beginning her training as a flight nurse. She is not looking
forward to writing a letter to a man she's never met- even if it is anonymous
and part of a morale-building program. Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer
stationed in North Africa, welcomes the idea of an anonymous
correspondence-he's been trying to escape his infamous name for years. As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom
and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true
identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet
face-to-face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who
they are, or will their future be held hostage by their pasts?</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The reason I picked this book up in
the first place was because Mellie was a flight nurse. Nursing is one of my
favorite things to read about and my favorite Cherry Ames was the one in which
she is a flight nurse. That being the case, I was elated to find a “deeper”
book in the same setting. Nursing is still my favorite part of the story, yet
as I read I grew to like it for more reasons than that. First, I loved the
Christian element Mrs. Sundin put in, but still without being preachy as it
flows so naturally in the letters between the pen-pals. Mellie has trouble with
being shy and reserved, which I can relate to. Her shyness puts me in mind of
another heroine who is shy, but who does not deal with it in such a
satisfactory way (Valancy, I'm looking at you ;)). For one thing, Valancy runs
away and Mellie deals with it right where she is. Another thing I enjoyed was
the way Mrs. Sundin crafted the story with so many parallels between Tom and
Mellie's story, etc. The romance was also well balanced with deeper themes.
This book also made me “think” more than many books I have read. I picked up
this book with high expectations and I am happy to say it did not disappoint! </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b><a href="http://www.ofhorseselvesandmen.blogspot.com/p/what-countries-have-i-visited.html">Around the World in 365 Days:</a> </b>Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Italy.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-68257875021847182222014-09-19T05:06:00.001-07:002015-09-04T12:17:36.359-07:00Movie Spotlight: Yankee Buccaneer (1952)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Thanks to <a href="http://hamlette.blogspot.com/">Hamlette</a> for hosting this blog-a-thon and so inspiring me to write this review in the first place! Let us give her three cheers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">For most of my life Pirates did not attract me in the least. I would have liked to have liked them as I love the ocean, and the exotic places which were their legendary lurking places have always fascinated me, but I have never been attracted to the swashbuckling, mustache-swirling type—and be it true or be it false that is what I thought they all were. I did not seek them out and the only place we ever crossed paths was most often when I happened to see something in stores connected to “Pirates of the Caribbean”. And there for a time the matter rested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">However, the tide makes many changes and when in my surfing of the blogging world I ran across a review of "Double of Crossbones" I was caught. A classic with Donald O'Conner as the main character? Pirate or no, this I must see and so we did and we (especially Arwen and I) loved it...(but that is truly its own story). Suffice to say, Arwen got a DVD collection including “Double Crossbones” and with it came an obscure film called “Yankee Buccaneer”. I read that the costumes were not good and the story was only fine...and I decided without any other thought that it was not worth watching. Lesson One: Do not believe everything you read on the internet. For had not time overcome my scruples, I shudder to think what I would have missed. One thing I have found, is that I tend to like the Bloodthirsty Dave order of pirates, or at least the ones who are not particularly swashbuckling and the Captain especially (in Yankee Buccaneer) is not exactly that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Still, the statements were in part true: the sailors outfits could have been more realistic and the plot a little more tightly woven. Yet what I read missed one thing—the characters: Farragut, the Countess, even *cough* that irritating Link, but above all...The Captain! But I shall maintain calm and not get ahead of my story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">One of the most comical bits about this story is how the ship's crew is masquerading as pirates, hence they are supposed to be picture perfect specimens and the sight of the no-nonsense captain in such a costume is highly diverting. Also, the sight of Farragut striding about in his purple magenta pants is unforgettable. As for the red and blue Spanish uniforms, however, they are equally unforgettable—but in quite a different way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Farragut: I have not quite been able to decide whether he or the Captain is the main character. Farragut goes though a great deal of maturing in the film as we see him go from new recruit (making some rather foolish mistakes) to—well—the man he is at the end of the film. I didn't like him at all the first time I watched it, mainly for a reason I will not mention (and no, it is not because of his purple pants), however, I have forgiven him his offense and on this third (or fourth?) viewing I decided I quite like him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Countess Margarita La Raguna</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> is brave and clever and lovely. She has a wardrobe to match and I am </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">still</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> trying to see how I could pull off her taffeta skirt, tapestry sash, and blouse look.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">And now...Captain Porter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When thinking of someone to compare him with, Jean Valjean always comes to mind. But he is so much more as he is very much the commander and man of action. Strict with his men, he demands nothing of them that he would not do himself. Besides which, he is also the king of cutting-edge lines. I will not spill any secrets here, but I must say that the ending is incredible and chair-gripping terrific—with certain people galloping around the jungle and fencing. And (though it might seem silly) the first time we watched it I was nearly in tears because “the Captain was <i>just</i> like Jean Valjean and I <i>knew </i>they were going to kill him!” But now I love it and to see Arwen and I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">watching it is quite the sight as we sit in our chairs—bouncing and shrieking periodically throughout the entire last fifteen minutes of the film. Writing of the Captain, a line of my brother's comes to mind that he once said about Will Kane in “High Noon” and—interestingly enough—could also I think describe this (one of my other favorite heroes): “He is a tough guy that doesn’t need to prove it to anyone.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I freely admit that the reason I love this film is because of Captain Porter—but there are other lovely and exciting bits, too—so altogether I like it very, very much indeed!</span></div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-87165792494653045302014-07-14T17:07:00.000-07:002014-07-14T17:09:31.408-07:00Book Review: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><i> Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor’s world—Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn’t promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by “log, lead, and lookout.” Nat’s long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the “Sailors’ Bible”), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Nyala; mso-fareast-font-family: Nyala;">You know those books from young childhood. The
ones where you remember the feel of the cover and the pages between your
fingers and most of all the vividness of the story upon your young mind. And
you love the memory of it yet you sometimes wonder, “Is it really as good as I
thought it was?” Then perhaps you find it again and pick it up, wondering all
the time and also a little worried that it might not be as good as you thought.
You read half of the book in one sitting. You take notes because the book has just
<i>so much</i> information! The seed the story left in your imagination and
heart through all those years grows even deeper and you find even <i>more. </i>So
it was with this story of a young man who 'sailing by the ash breeze' refused
to be daunted by any setback, and who learned and studied everywhere he went. A
man who after the age of twelve never received any official tutoring and who ended
up receiving an honorary degree from Harvard. A man who saw his dreams smashed
and pluckily rose up to greater ones. The story and writing are easy to read
and simple to grasp as I found it a decade ago, but it is now also inspiring
and convicting...and still as memorable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-50098406066830289622014-05-15T16:05:00.001-07:002014-05-15T16:06:13.459-07:00Book Review: Lost Horizon by James Hilton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“In sight of Karakal misgivings faded, and qualms about his three companions were lost in an uncanny acceptance of the new world that lay so far beyond their guesses. There came a time, he realized, when the strangeness of everything made it increasingly difficult to realize the strangeness of anything; when one took things for granted merely because astonishment would have been as tedious for oneself as for others.” </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> - from </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lost Horizon<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">First introduced to the stories of James Hilton through the classic film “Random Harvest” with Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman (there is genius right there!) and having read a fair amount about “Lost Horizon” itself, I was prepared for the book...or so I thought. However, what I was not expecting was the crystalline sharpness of the prose as it echoed the frigid and withdrawn beauty of the Himalayas. Indeed the entire skill of the author in keeping every point of the story remote and on a higher–nigh fantastic plain was incredible. He even practically ignores the verdant valley of Shangri-La rather focusing on the higher clarity of the mountains above. Really, the quotation above describes the entire storyline of “Lost Horizon” itself as it follows the stories of four travelers and languidly hints at the life of the monks and people of the mountain valley as they pursue their lives, free from the horror of war and the wild rush of civilization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hence, (perhaps not very surprisingly) I found myself linking it in my mind to quite another story - “Brigadoon”. Both show the innocence and beauty the world was fast forgetting in the new enlightenment of technology. Both show general disillusionment. And both tell of villages (or in the case of “LH”, a monastery) set apart from time and the rest of the world. Brigadoon has its Dominie; Shangri-la its High Lama. So in some ways the stories do address the same problems the world faces. Yet several of the key points are quite different. Brigadoon's “Blissen” is directly from God. Shangri-La's is a remote state based on the eating of a special herb and the unique air of the valley resulting in a high state of mental clarification. Shangri-La's peace and contentment is from its training of the mind and body into a state of perfect moderation. Brigadoon's is quite the opposite as the entire story is a vibrant romance with dance and laughter and love as it swirls with the pulse of village life. One of my favorite differences is that while Shrangi-La has to replenish its inhabitants through any means they can–even kidnapping–and once there they must stay, whether they will or no. Brigadoon is surprised–a very emotion of which the High Lama would not have approved–at the sight of strangers and the only way to stay there is if–as the Dominie tells Tommy Albright–they love not Brigadoon itself, but someone there. It is at this point that the order of Shangri-La would have died as one man–from horror at such extravagance of feeling; that is if shock itself was not too fiery an emotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the end, they are both unique stories, each having strong points; both could trigger different reactions in different personalities. One of the good points “Lost Horizon” raises is the hearty futility and foolishness of war, however the whole basis of Shangri-La turns on the idea of moderation. Or in other words, a state of being lukewarm–and that I cannot approve. According to the apostle Paul, it is one of the worst states to be in! We are to love laughter and light, and the more I ponder the idea of a perfectly moderated existence, the less it appeals to me. I </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">like </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">adventures and spirited horses and cats that behave like excitable kittens. At the same time, however, we are to strive for perfection in all our doings and those cool, remote, crystalline drinks of creation caught in mountains and meadows and libraries and in all the quiet pathways of God's world do fill our hearts with another part of life. So keep “Lost Horizon” for those times–and enjoy the sip. </span><br />
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090684238369503263.post-327218439418224382014-05-07T17:01:00.000-07:002014-05-07T17:15:35.207-07:00Waiting On Wednesday #1: God's Will<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.90625px; text-align: left;">"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by</span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.90625px; text-align: left;"> Breaking the Spine</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.90625px; text-align: left;">, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Two stubborn hearts with no common ground must </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">work together when the Great Depression ravages the nation. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kathy Andrews is good at goodbyes. Her mother is sent to a sanatorium, her sister, left behind in Chicago, and her father, forced to roam looking for work. So she holds close the only person she has left, her brother, Danny. When the two go to live with the Marshalls in the sleepy town of Brighton, she doesn't let anyone past hello. Elliot Russell frowns at his aunt and uncle's generosity--even though he and his sister are on the receiving end. He frowns, too, at the uppity city girl with a chip on her shoulder whom he can't get out of his head.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When a tragedy rips apart when tenuous existence they manage to forge, will they find the sweetest place to be is in God's will--or will they turn their backs on faith that fails to protect against pain?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why I am looking forward to it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Megan (from <a href="http://justasiam-meghan.com/">Just As I Am</a>) recently announced that this (her debut novel) is shortly going to be published and I can hardly wait to read it! The story synopsis is so interesting and the cover has a neat vintage-y feel.</span><br />
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Éowynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11740991607580029470noreply@blogger.com2