Books 23-26
Feb. 19th, 2009 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
subplotkudzu23) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: This one should have been counted earlier, as it's one Rachel read to me earlier in the ear. It's a lovely epistolary romance between book lovers set in postwar England, splitting its time between London and Guernsey, one of the channel islands that the German occupied during the war. A bit frothy at points, a bit dark at others, I found it a highly enjoyable confection.
24) 84, Charing Cross Road: Rachel got this classic out of the library because people on Goodreads had people commenting on how much Guernsey had "stolen" from 84CCR. I don't see it - sure, they're both epistolary, they're both discussions between book lovers, they both include aspects of post-war England. The tones, stories, styles and endings are totally different. 84CCR was certainly very good, but I don't see how the movie could make the relationship between Helene and Frank into a love story unless one is bound by the theory and it's impossible to have strong cross-gender friendships. Since I have, um, a dozen or so of those, I don't hold by that theory.
23) The Kings Gold: book 4 of Perez-Reverte's 5 volume Captain Alatriste series, it's another wonderful adventure story set in a long departed Spanish empire. Just as good as the others, I eagerly await volume 5.
25) To Say Nothing of the Dog (Reread): one of my co-workers had mentioned the predestination present in the now defunct TV series Journeyman, which made me recommend this book to him. I then had to get it down and re-read it myself. Halfway through I had to read the seance chapter to Rachel because it's just too damn funny. Rachel, alas, can't read the whole book because time travel makes her brain go *squick*.
26) 'Salem's Lot: I covered quite the range this week. King's second novel, taken out of the library based on Ed McBain's recommendation in Transgressions - Peyton Place meets Dracula. I haven't read much King (Eyes of the Dragon, Dead Zone & Firestarter), but I enjoyed this. I was shocked by the casual homophobia depicted in the book, as stark a reminder that the past is a different country as one could expect, and likely very accurate to 1974 small town Maine. The book also struck me as very gamable - the heroes are intelligent, problem solving types who come to correct conclusion quickly and implement solid plans. They make some dumb errors, but at all the points where I think "they're being stupid" one of the characters stopped and went "we're being stupid" or, perhaps, 'we were just stupid." Very much like PCs. A good, solid monster hunting novel.
24) 84, Charing Cross Road: Rachel got this classic out of the library because people on Goodreads had people commenting on how much Guernsey had "stolen" from 84CCR. I don't see it - sure, they're both epistolary, they're both discussions between book lovers, they both include aspects of post-war England. The tones, stories, styles and endings are totally different. 84CCR was certainly very good, but I don't see how the movie could make the relationship between Helene and Frank into a love story unless one is bound by the theory and it's impossible to have strong cross-gender friendships. Since I have, um, a dozen or so of those, I don't hold by that theory.
23) The Kings Gold: book 4 of Perez-Reverte's 5 volume Captain Alatriste series, it's another wonderful adventure story set in a long departed Spanish empire. Just as good as the others, I eagerly await volume 5.
25) To Say Nothing of the Dog (Reread): one of my co-workers had mentioned the predestination present in the now defunct TV series Journeyman, which made me recommend this book to him. I then had to get it down and re-read it myself. Halfway through I had to read the seance chapter to Rachel because it's just too damn funny. Rachel, alas, can't read the whole book because time travel makes her brain go *squick*.
26) 'Salem's Lot: I covered quite the range this week. King's second novel, taken out of the library based on Ed McBain's recommendation in Transgressions - Peyton Place meets Dracula. I haven't read much King (Eyes of the Dragon, Dead Zone & Firestarter), but I enjoyed this. I was shocked by the casual homophobia depicted in the book, as stark a reminder that the past is a different country as one could expect, and likely very accurate to 1974 small town Maine. The book also struck me as very gamable - the heroes are intelligent, problem solving types who come to correct conclusion quickly and implement solid plans. They make some dumb errors, but at all the points where I think "they're being stupid" one of the characters stopped and went "we're being stupid" or, perhaps, 'we were just stupid." Very much like PCs. A good, solid monster hunting novel.
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Date: 2009-02-24 12:45 am (UTC)Helene and Frank do not meet, let alone have an affair. It is still a love story, as they share a love for books, and there is a non-sexual love they clearly have for each other -- and that she and all of the people at the bookstore share.
It's really clear that they're never going to have an affair, that he's not even about to consider it, let alone leaving his wife for her. That said, it makes sense when the wife admits to a certain amount of jealousy for Helene -- in a calm not-doing-anything-dumb way. And, when she can't make her planned trip to England because she has to spend the money on dental surgery, the look on Frank's face (well, Anthony Hopkins's face) is, well, more than just intellectual disappointment. This is a dear friend he's wanted to meet for ever so long.
The most erotic gesture in the entire movie, however, comes before Helene starts addressing Frank by name in the letters. It's still "Gentlemen". The gesture is her hand stroking the cover of a book.