About Her
Elle E. is 26 and teaches in a state overrun by the spawn of yuppies. Therefore she is a full-time heretic much afflicted by spleen.
the colour green, reading, scribes and orators, ruffs, cuffs, Machiavellian villains and vindictive heroes.
Previously...
What I'm Reading Now
The Graduate
Charles Webb
'For twenty-one years I have been shuffling back and forth between classrooms and libraries. Now you tell me what the hell it's got me.' A brilliantly sordid tale of a young man's search for identity and a portrayal of the worst-behaved yet most sympathetic anti-hero of the day.
Reviewed
Touché
Agnes Catherine Poirier
Rating 
We know all about the rift between England and France and why they hate each other's guts so much yada yada, but do we really? This book is quite an interesting read, light, bright and sparkly. Thankfully, the author usually gets authoritative when it's France and not Britain. We don't want a French trying to prove she knows more about the 'dour' British than themselves.
The Other Queen
Philippa Gregory
Rating 
Surely, Philippa Gregory loathes Elizabeth as much as I do. Heh. Bess of Hardwick is not as likeable as the imprisoned queen but it is an easy matter to sympathise with her predicament. Overall characterizations are weak and the plot is repetitive. However, it is still a readable book what with the brave Scot, the bitchy Tudor, the indefatigable spymaster William Cecil and the Talbots trying to put up a brave front.
The Virago Book of Ghost Stories
Richard Dalby (Ed.)
Rating 
Out of 31 ghost stories, I liked a mere 7. None of the stories are frightening and all are penned by female authors. I don't know if that's the reason behind the rather sedate 'thrills' on offer here. Margaret Oliphant's
The Open Door is the best in the collection.
The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett
Colleen McCollough
Rating
Wondered about the 'ever after' in Lizzie and Darcy's marriage? McCollough constructs quite a believable state of affairs between almost everyone's favourite Austen couple - and you might not find it to your liking. Still, that's about the only thing I enjoyed in what proves to be a far-fetched plot centered around the no longer plain (but of course!) Mary Bennett. If you like your Dickens, you might just be able to appreciate the barrage of coincidences found in this book.
A Classical Education - The stuff you wish you'd been taught at school
Caroline Taggart
Rating
I can't stop myself from picking up titles such as this. It's one of the books for people who like to bluff their way through the classics.
Personal Days
Ed Park
Rating
If you've worked in an office environment before, you'll be able to identify the situations in this novel. The characters might seem typical but they certainly strike a chord. Especially astute is the examination of the prospect of getting the sack. They want to get fired (to pursue something more 'worthwhile') but hate their boss's guts anyway when it actually happens. That's real life... Heh.
Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince
David Yates
Rating 
Utterly forgettable. The worst in the franchise. I've decided I shall not be watching the last movie when it hits the theatre - I see no good coming out of a Yates film. Give me HP movie #3 anytime.
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 3:14 PM
Title: Atonement
Director: Joe Wright
Rating: 3.5/5
Briony when she's 13... Her earnestness and her desire for the housekeeper's son, Robbie, take her in the most horribly wrong direction. Saoirse Ronan's face! My god! Those icy cold eyes, that neat, short blonde hair and her frequent appearences in white frocks combine to create a striking character.
I really like James McAvoy here. He's Robbie, the housekeeper's son who studies medicine due to the generosity of the Tallis patriarch. His problems begin as soon as Briony catches her sister, Cecelia, stripping to her underthings in front of the young man so that she can retrieve a piece of an ugly vase from the fountain. Briony wrongly believes that something awful is happening - that Robbie is 'assaulting' Cee. To make matters worse, Cee doesn't know how to behave towards him after he starts at Cambridge. It's the age old tension between the classes that makes her stumble in her attitude and behaviour towards Robbie. The poor guy of course is not as confused by her sending out mixed signals. He knows how she must be feeling towards him and his sudden elevation due to her father's willingness to assist him. And yes, he loves her but doesn't get the oppurtunity or the courage to reveal his feelings - until he writes 2 letters and delivers the wrong one into the hands of his messenger, Briony. He has no idea that she sees him as a threat to Cee. And then things really start rolling.
When he is wrongly accused of raping Lola, Briony's precocious cousin, everyone is convinced that Briony's testimony to the police must be the truth. Everyone except Cee and his mother. As he gets dragged away, Cee promuses him that her love will never die. The chocolate magnate, some awful upperclass twit who behaves in a most forward manner towards Lola, is the real culprit but the girl doesn't dare say anything to contradict Briony's insistence that Robbie's the rapist. I can't help but imagine why she let Briony decide the matter for her. And this brings me to the next thing that really stood out: Lola marries the rapist. How can she do that with a clear conscience?
Briony fulfills her childhood ambition and becomes an author, but not before she abandons the Cambridge offer and atones for her sins by becoming a nurse during the second world war. Her last book is Atonement. She suddenly reveals very matter-of-factly that the ending that we've just watched was made up. Robbie and Cee never get the chance to reunite. Robbie dies during the war and Cee dies in an underground bomb shelter during an air raid. The little girl who erred suffers for almost the rest of her life. She becomes a nurse and slips into harsh anonymity.
