The Endgame Review

The “cat and mouse game” narrative is a potent one. When done right, the story sends the audience on a ride that keeps us hanging on to the very end.

The new NBC series, The Endgame premiered last night. Criminal mastermind Elena Federova (Morena Baccarin) has just been caught by the US government. While Elena is in custody, a series of bank heists happen simultaneously across New York City. The only one who can stop her is FBI agent Val Fitzgerald (Ryan Michelle Bathe). Val is both dedicated to her job and not willing to cut corners in order to close cases.

I like the premise and I like the fact that both the protagonist and antagonist are female. Each is formidable in her own right.

I can’t say that based on the pilot, I am head over heels in love with this series. There is a lot of potential for a long-running program, but I don’t know if it will be realized. I will probably watch upcoming episodes, but only time will tell if I continue with the full season.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

The Endgame airs on NBC on Monday night at 10PM.

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Both/And: A Life in Many World Book Review

It’s easy to think that we know someone famous based on the headlines and the soundbites coming from the press. The reality is that we don’t know them at all.

Huma Abedin‘s memoir, Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds, was published last November. Born to Muslim Pakistani and Indian immigrants in Michigan, she spent her formative years in Saudi Arabia. Taking a job with the Clinton administration in the late 1990s, she has worked for Hillary Clinton for more than two decades. She is also known for her troubled marriage to Anthony Weiner, a politician whose fall from grace can only be described as brutal.

The reader is taken on a journey across the world and across the spectrum of local, national, and international politics over the last few decades. Abedin’s tale is that a woman who has broken boundaries, redefines what it is to be American, and that of a survivor who has thrived in spite of the dark times in her life.

This book is so good. Abedin leaves nothing off the table, telling her story in an emotionally honest and open manner. Her narrative is nothing short of inspirational.

The part of the book that was the most challenging for me as a reader was the scandal that broke up her marriage and opened the door to he who shall not be named. It is akin to a rollercoaster that had no off switch. Given what was being thrown at her, she could have easily taken to her bed and soothed her grief with food or alcohol. Instead, she took it one day at a time and got through it with her head held high and her courage intact.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.