‘Round Midnight Book Review

Life is sometimes full of coincidences. The stranger on the street could be just that or they could be closer to us than we think.

Author Laura McBride’s new book, ‘Round Midnight, was published earlier this year. It tells the story of four women are who are linked in unexpected ways.

Originally from the New York City area, June left her Jewish family and her Jewish first husband behind for the glitz and glamour of the Vegas strip. She owns the El Capitan night club with her second husband. It’s 1960 and June is in love with one of the African-American singers who regularly performs at the club.

Honorata left the Philippines as a mail order bride. Her groom to be is not exactly prince charming. When she wins a very healthy jackpot, she decides that she no longer needs to marry. But her past and her decision to walk away from the marriage will come back to her.

Engracia is Mexican immigrant who smuggled herself over the border with her son. She makes ends meet as a cleaning woman. While working for Honorota, she becomes more than just the cleaning woman when a gunman forces himself into Honorota’s home.

Coral has always known that she is both adopted and bi-racial. Despite the fact that her adopted mother and siblings treat her as if they were of the same flesh and blood, the question of Coral’s birth parents are never far from her mind.

This book is amazing. Ms. McBride is able to skilfully intertwine not just the multiple narratives, but multiple time periods in a novel that is thoroughly engrossing and entertaining.

I absolutely recommend it.

The New Dr. Who Is……

Among science fiction fans Dr. Who is one of the most respected television series. On the air since 1963, it has generations of fans.

Up until recently, the title role has been played by a male actor. That is about to change.

I am not a huge fan of Dr. Who, but I know enough of the basics to get by. The fact Jodie Whittaker is playing the new doctor is nothing short of amazing. It is one step further towards real equality, both on the screen and in real life.

I hope that she will be the first many women who will one day inhabit the role.

Flashback Friday-The Incredibles (2004)

The best animated films are those that appeal to young and old.

In 2004, The Incredibles hit theaters. It’s been 15 years since Bob and Helen Parr, aka Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl (voiced by Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter) have left the superhero world. They appear to live a life of suburban normalcy. But when Mr. Incredible receives a communication that the world needs him, he springs into action with his, his children and Lucius Best aka Frozone (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). Can they save the world once more?

The thing that I remember about this film is that not only that is funny and entertaining, but the jokes are on multiple levels. The kids in the audience get one type of joke and the adults in the audience get another kind of joke. I also appreciate that Elastigirl is as much a superhero as her husband.

I recommend it.

Character Review: Marguerite Krux

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the television show, The Lost World (which is loosely based the book of the same name). Read at your own risk if you are unfamiliar with the either the book or the television series.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from The Lost World to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

It’s not uncommon in adventure series to see a lopsided ratio of male characters to female characters. Female characters are either the damsel in distress, the native girl or the background character who is not seen or heard.

While Marguerite Krux (Rachel Blakely) may not be a cannon character in the original Lost World novel, she is certainly a modern and complex addition to the character list.

The audience is first introduced to Marguerite in the pilot. She is walking to the Zoological Society meeting where Challenger (Peter McCauley) is presenting his findings to his colleagues. Finding that she is being followed, she shoots the man and goes on her merry way.

Marguerite Krux is initially a mystery to the audience and her fellow explorers. Her past is a well guarded secret. While she appears to be selfish and self-serving, Marguerite is hiding the one thing that no one expects her to have: her heart.

Orphaned at an early age, her parents are a mystery to her. Shrewd, intelligent and independent, Marguerite has learned early on to survive by her wits. The things she wants most in this world are family and love. They were also the things she did not have when she needed them most.

Her ultimate goal is to find her birth certificate. Finding her birth certificate means finding out not only who here parents are or were, but finding the identity she has been longing for. Like many who have learned to survive early on, Marguerite has learned how to hide her emotions and do what needs to be done.

The Lost World was cancelled just after the third season ended, leaving quite a few story lines open. While Marguerite may not have found her parents (as of the final episode of the third series), she found the family she was looking with her fellow explorers and love with John Roxton (Will Snow).

To sum it up: Not all characters have easy lives. Sometimes, all a character knows is survival. Do whatever you need to do to get by, even if that means doing something shady or dangerous. Marguerite Krux is one of those characters. But in the hands of a skilled writer, a character of this nature goes beyond the stereotype. Whatever they are looking for, that is the key to their growth over the course of the narrative. Survival for survival’s sake is fine early on in the story, but without eventually learning the character’s motives and needs, the audience or the reader is unable to latch on the character and follow them across the narrative.

Throwback Thursday-Reading Rainbow (1983-2006)

Books are more than pages sewn and glued together with words printed on them. Books are magic. They can take the reader to another place and time and they can open the mind the reader. Many book worms (myself included) started their love of books early in life.

For several generations, a love of books was assisted by the PBS television program, Reading Rainbow (1983-2006). Hosted by Star Trek actor LeVar Burton, the genius of the show is that instead of speaking down to its young audience, it spoke to the audience. The children watching were encouraged not only to read, but to explore, imagine and to grow, using books as a means to explore, to imagine and to grow.

The show was cancelled in the 2006, but it has since been revitalized for the modern digital age.

I come from a literary family. My parents encouraged their children to read from a very early age. But not every child is so lucky. For many children, reading is an unappealing chore that has to be done or it is an activity pushed aside for something else. I have fond memories of watching this show and knowing that it’s ok to be a bookworm. Books can change the world.

I recommend it.

A Dolls House Part II Review

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, has one of the most famous endings in the world of theater. Nora Helmer walks away from her husband and her children, the door slamming behind her.

The new play, A Dolls House Part 2, is the sequel to the classic play. Nora (Laurie Metcalf) returns to her husband and her home 15 years after the original play ends. She is greeted by her children’s nanny, Anne Marie (Jayne Houdyshell), who is both pleased and displeased to see her. Nora receives similar responses from her husband, Torvald (Chris Cooper) and her now teenage daughter, Emmy (Condola Rashad), who was very young when her mother left.

At first glance, this play appears to be a straight drama. But it turns out to be a very funny comedy. It is also speaks, as it did with the original in 1879, about the difficulty of marriage and how women are still fighting for their own needs vs. the needs that the overall culture says we should strive for.

I absolutely recommend it.

A Dolls House is playing at The John Golden Theater at 252 W 45th Street in New York City. The show runs until January 8th of 2018.

Maudie Film Review

Life is messy. So is romance. Some movies portray both with a sentimental view or via rose-colored glasses.

The new film, Maudie, portrays the real life mess of both. Based on the life of artist Maud Lewis, the film starts in 1930’s Nova Scotia. Maud (Sally Hawkins) has lived with juvenile arthritis her entire life. Needing to escape the emotional confines of her family, she takes a job as a housekeeper for Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). A gruff loner, Everett is expects things a certain way. Maud surprises him with her art, her outlook on life and her tenacity. Their marriage is something of a surprise, but somehow, they stay married until Maud’s death in 1970.

This movie is nothing short of a revelation. Directed by Aisling Walsh, the film could have been taken in the direction of sentimental mush with the predictable messages of love conquering all and dreams can come true. But thankfully, the film is not sentimental mush with the predictable messages. It’s a movie about how hard life is and how hard relationships are. Everett is an a**hole at points in the film. He is not the romantic hero by any stretch of the imagination. Neither is Maud the predictable romantic heroine. That was one of the things about the film that struck me, neither the narrative or the lead characters are what the audience would expect for a film that is essentially a romantic drama. That quality alone makes the film stand out for me.

I absolutely recommend it.

Maudie is presently in theaters.

Double Bind: Women on Ambition Book Review

One of the upsides of feminism over the last few decades is that it has allowed women to be open about their ambitions. But while we are told to be ambitious, there is limit to how ambitious women can be without crossing the line.

Editor Robin Romm has compiled a series of essays by a diverse group of women about ambition. The list of contributors to the anthology Double Bind: Women on Ambition, includes writer Roxane Gay, singer/actress Molly Ringwald and playwright/TV show-runner Theresa Rebeck.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it because it shows that even with a diverse group of women, the overall experience is the same. At the end of the day, the book reminds of not only the battles that we as women have won, but also the battles that we still need to fight.

I recommend it.

Flashback Friday-His Girl Friday (1940)

Sometimes, the simplest narratives are often times the best. Especially when layered with the perfect comedic sensibility.

In the 1940 movie, His Girl Friday, Walter Burns (Cary Grant) has lost touch with his ex-wife and former employee, Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell). Now she is back in his life and about to re-marry. His plan is to keep Hildy from marrying her fiance, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy) and once more disappearing from his life. Will he succeed?

The movie is based on a 1920’s play, The Front Page by Ben Hecht. When the film was adapted for the screen, the character that Rosalind Russell played was changed from a male character to a female character. This movie is absolutely brilliant for a number of reasons, including the subversive feminist statement of Hildy being a working woman in the early 1940’s.

The best scene is the first scene, it never fails to make me laugh.

I absolutely recommend it.

The Sounds Of Silence

One of my new favorite songs is actually a classic. Disturb’s cover of The Sounds Of Silence is one of the most beautiful, haunting songs I have heard in a very long time.

It reminds me that this song, is still as powerful in 2017 as it was in late 60’s. The basic message of the song to be quiet and listen to one another. Given our present fractured political climate, it feels right to re-introduce the song to a new generation. Instead of yelling over each other, this country and this world would be a better place if we actually understood what it is to listen to others.

Songs are more powerful than we think they have. Songs can move mountains, change the world, change an opinion. This song is one of those songs.

That is the reason it is one of my new favorite songs.