At the moment,

   "I was waiting for you," said Gregory. "Might I have a moment's conversation?"   "Certainly. About what?" asked Syme in a sort of weak wonder.
   Gregory struck out with his stick at the lamp-post, and then at the tree. "About this and this," he cried; "about order and anarchy. There is your precious order, that lean, iron lamp, ugly and barren; and there is anarchy, rich, living, reproducing itself—there is anarchy, splendid in green and gold."
   "All the same," replied Syme patiently, "just at present you only see the tree by the light of the lamp. I wonder when you would ever see the lamp by the light of the tree."

- The Man Who Was Thursday, G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton's amazing.  He fits more wit and humor into a page than most authors (myself included) can fit into five.  Oh, and Gabriel Syme is the coolest character I've met in a while.  In fact, this whole book is one of the coolest, action-packed reads ever (which is saying a lot).


Spring break is almost here, and I'm very glad.  Have been debating on what to do with a week off.  Here's the current agenda:

1. Tidy up my room.  An understatement.  :P
2. Sew.  Sew something...new spring/summer clothes, if I'm feeling practical.
3. If I'm not feeling practical, then I will draw, play piano, and work on some website designs.
4. If, on the other hand, I am feeling particularly sensible, I will pick up my notebooks and write like crazy the whole week.  I have a million ideas floating around in my head and on paper.  Prioritizing is almost painful.

If none of the above occur, it is most likely due to the side effects of too much math.  Or too many fun books to read.  


- Marian

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Young Sherlock Holmes

Young Sherlock Holmes

The Plot:  When John Watson arrives at Brompton Academy, he's eager to get into the routine of things and continue studying for his medical career--the last thing he wants is to get in trouble.  But after befriending Sherlock Holmes, an eccentric fellow student, John finds himself up to his neck in adventure as they attempt to find the perpetrator behind four horrific murders.  Along the way, Sherlock finds love, John finds courage, and they both find enemies where they least expected them.

Thoughts:  We see a very different Holmes in this film than is usually portrayed.  His talents are faulty, he has a crush on a girl, and he's got angst problems.  Sounds pathetic?  Well, it actually works, because this film is mostly about how Holmes becomes the tough, stoic, genius guy we all know him to be.  Personally, I think he became that way without any life-changing events; but this movie takes the opposite approach, and it definitely makes for an interesting story.  Nicholas Rowe was great in the role, and he looks pretty Holmesian, too. 

Watson is...well, Watson, except that he's about thirteen years old.  He seems a little young to be grumbling like a middle-aged man, and he keeps bemoaning his future medical career as if he's 18 already.  However, I thought he was true to the character, overall.

Elizabeth was all right.  She wasn't the cliched action-character "heroine" that is so common these days; she was slightly more traditional.  I guess because of that, and because Holmes is so different in this version, I didn't mind the romantic subplot too much.

The Moriarty character was very well done.  He was really well-cast, too; he had as much "stage presence" as Sherlock, if not more.  He's also probably the handsomest Moriarty ever.  =P

Lestrade and the other minor characters were written too cartoonishly, IMO.  Especially the eccentric professor--he doesn't act much like a genius, and it's hard to understand why Holmes admired him as much as he did.  This reminds me of the portrayal of Watson and Lestrade in the Rathbone series; they were written as very silly characters to make Holmes look smarter.  Unfortunate.

My biggest problem with this movie was the plot.  It was more action/adventure focused, and not the brainiac mystery-solving one would hope for.  It didn't help the portrayal of Holmes, either.  Now, the action/adventure approach might have been fine in the end, but the stakes were so high that the action was only entertaining some of the time.  The mystery itself, apart from the action, was also extremely unlikely and hard to take seriously.  Frankly, I watched this movie for the subplots and portrayal of Holmes, Watson, and their life at school--not for the mystery.

Another thing that bugged me was the tone.  The ending is really sad; but the whole movie (including the ending) has a happy-adventure tinge to it, which detracts from the plot.  As a result, the characters almost come across as callous--which they aren't.  One scene in particular that was really weird was the duel.  Its relative placement in the film was awkward, and it seemed silly and selfish.  Again, I don't think it was meant to come across that way, but it did, and it wasn't good for the character consistency/portrayal. 

There was some bad language/profanity and some scary scenes, which I mostly fast-forwarded. I think content-wise it's on par with the Jeremy Brett series, and some of the Rathbone episodes.  Not a kid's movie though.

It was a pretty interesting fantasy movie and well-worth watching if you want to see what Holmes's school days might have been like--that's what I liked best about it.  The music's wonderfully catchy, the sets are cool, and there's some great moments ("I never want to be alone").  3.5 out of 5 stars.

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It's π day

And I had two math tests.  :P

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Jane

I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth--so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane--quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.

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Book Review: Eugene Onegin

Eugene Onegin
by Alexander Pushkin
Edition:  Oxford World's Classics, paperback
My overall rating:  5 out of 5 stars.  One of my faves.

Bored by the dissipation and drama of his youthful life, Eugene Onegin withdraws from society to his inherited estate in the Russian countryside.  His only friend is Vladimir Lensky, a young, romantic poet who is engaged to Olga Larina.  Her older sister, Tatyana, is a plain, quiet introvert.  She takes more interest in books and the countryside than anything else, until she meets Onegin.  Onegin has shut his heart to true love and second-chances, but Tatyana doesn't know this; and she writes him a spontaneous but sincere love letter, then waits feverishly for his response.

This is one of those books that makes you ask yourself "Why didn't I read this years ago?"  Actually, I only heard about this story via Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin "Polonaise" and "Waltz" (excellent music).  The synopsis sounded great, so I got the most convenient library copy and started it soon after I finished Blithedale.

First of all, the translation--it was a little too contemporary for me (words like "girlfriends", "zen", and the overuse of "modish" were rather irritating).  But it was a good translation, so far as I can tell.

Now, the story.  Well, where to begin?  If popular "doomed love" stories like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, or Gone With the Wind left you *facepalming* in frustration, then you should give Eugene Onegin a try.  It's got all the drama of those other ones, but it's way more romantic, melancholy, and climactic in general.  The rhythmic, half-mournful, half-humorous poetry (in which the whole book is written) also helped make it a page-turner.  The story itself was very sad, but beautifully written--half fantasy, half realism.  And the ending!  It was one of those climax endings, but it felt realistic and complete.

The two protagonists were pretty flawed, but they were also likeable.  Onegin is the anti-romantic-hero--so disgusted by his previous experiences of love (in reality, just infatuation), that he's converted his emotions to pride, and his life to solitude and idleness.  At the same time, he's a grey character; in his selfishness there are glimpses of goodness, of a "better self", so to speak.  We never get to completely see his better character, though Tatyana seems to.



Tatyana is the real main character.  She is probably the best portrayal of a heroine that a male author ever wrote--her weaknesses, strengths, and personality were brilliantly written and very believable.  When put to the test, she's a strong character who lives by her principles, putting duty and her parent's wishes before her own.  But it's not easy and she's not perfect; half of her is "sense", the other half "sensibility".  She's really a great, three-dimensional character.

Human nature, society's expectations, and virtue make up the triangular conflict of Eugene Onegin; and there's a lot in the story that's open to interpretation, so whether you like it or not may depend on your interpretation.  I was literally thinking about the book for a week afterwards.  It makes you think about life and people's choices; and it actually makes me grateful to live in a modern-day society.  And the book is a "tragic love story", but in some ways, it's also inspiring, because the tragedy isn't the ultimate end.  It doesn't have to be the end; and that was one point in the book that seemed very clear to me.  

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Book Review: The Blithedale Romance

The Blithedale Romance
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edition:  Oxford World's Classics, paperback.
My overall rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars


19th century New England.  A group of men and women set out to establish "Blithedale", a community of farmers whose aim is to set an example to the world of their peaceful, profitable, and simpler life.  Blithedale is led by three celebrities:  Miles Coverdale, a poet and the narrator; Hollingsworth, a philanthropist; and the elegant "Zenobia", an author and women's rights advocator.  They are also joined by a strange, timid girl, Priscilla, whose very existence and loving personality changes their lives--or rather, it helps bring to light the true characters of those around her.

This book was not originally on my reading list; I chose it at random at the library, because I'd been wanting to read more Hawthorne and it looked very readable.  I really didn't know what to expect.

As a work of American literature, I think The Blithedale Romance is hugely underrated.  Not only is it easy to read, but it gives some excellent glimpses of American life/culture during Hawthorne's times.  The story, too, reads like a mystery novel, with a great climax and a heartbreaking ending.  Unlike certain other 19th-century American lit, this book is not lofty, verbose, or slow; instead, it's fast-paced, concise, and elegantly readable.

The word  "romance", though relevant also in modern-day meaning, would nowadays translates to "fantasy".  Rather than describing life in detail at Blithedale, Hawthorne simply uses the "community atmosphere", as well as a rather unlikely plot, to make a study of the four main characters.  They certainly make it an interesting read.

Miles Coverdale is a much more participating narrator than one would expect...mostly because he's just plain nosy.  He makes it his business to delve into people's secrets, then he feels all hurt when nobody wants to confide in him (ha!).  He's certainly an unusual narrator and oddly likeable at times. 

Priscilla is a bit of a mystery.  Her personality is simplistic; at first she's likeable, but later on she gets to be irritating. 

Hollingsworth may well be more of a mystery than anybody else.  He's a man who has turned all his devotion to his philanthropic cause, leaving his personal life greatly drained of emotion, humanity, and conscience.  Not cool.

Last but far from least, Zenobia.  She's an anti-heroine, but one can't help but have a little sympathy for her.  Her story is as tragic as any Thomas Hardy book, only more subtle and very poignant.

As for the plot, there's a sort of love rectangle going on, a couple appearances by the enigmatic Professor Westervelt, and some weird magic show subplot that isn't ever explained.  Though ambiguous plots are fun to write, I wish Hawthorne had explained everything more--it's a trifle frustrating.  The ending, too, was sad. One thing I did like about the book, though, was that it reads like a movie or a play--there's a heavy touch of drama and mystery in it.  It would make an excellent costume drama!

Now, I subtracted 1/2 star for some of the plot elements and the fact that the narrator is very annoying at times.  Other than that, it was a good read, and I recommend it!

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Blog event!

[Public Domain]

Jane, of Novel Pretender, is having a blog event; and not only that, but it's about one of my favoritest books, Jane Eyre.  It starts March 7, so be sure to check it out at her blog and participate if you can!  I'm hoping to.  :)

I also have a couple of reviews coming sometime this month, about two great reads I read recently (tongue-twister!), as well as a sewing project, and maybe some photos. 

By the way, I watched the new Celtic Thunder show, "Heritage", last weekend!  I tend to prefer their Celtic songs over the other songs they sing, so I thought it was (overall) a great show.  You can watch the official trailer here.  The show is worth watching for "The Skye Boat Song" (sung by George Donaldson) alone.  Unfortunately, it's one of the few songs that's not on the CD.  :(

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