Something entirely different

War Requiem (Britten & Jarman)

Having just read a book featuring Benjamin Britten and it being the centenary of his birth Mr Norfolkbookworm and I visited the cinema recently to see this film.

I'm not sure what to make of it.  The film is Jarman's response to the Requiem and the first 3rd was stunning telling the simple narrative of a soldiers and nurses in the First World War.

After this I'm not sure what it was about apart from the segment that was set to a crescendo of music as it showed the futility of all wars since 1914.  It was graphic but the images really fitted the music.

The parts of the film that were obviously symbolic passed me by totally I just didn't understand the images at all.

If the whole piece had been like the first movement I think I'd have been totally spellbound and profoundly moved. In the end I was just confused.

On reading about the piece of music I can see why it moved away from being totally a WW1 story - it wasn't written about that war, and wasn't about the 'Glorious Dead' of this war despite using the poems from then.

The music also wasn't quite to my taste, I can see (hear?) that it is technically good but I didn't connect with it totally.

On the whole I'm really glad that we had the chance to see this on a big screen thanks to having a great art house cinema but I don't think I shall be hurrying to anything else by either Britten or Jarman.

Best laid plans

This was supposed to be a review of the first piece of theatre I plan on seeing in 2012 - oh well plans are nice!

I think that the trip was doomed from the start as the tickets never arrived (company I ordered them with were great and had arranged for them to be at the box office for me).

Today I awoke to the news that there had been a fire next to the rail track which had melted the over head power cables - no trains and no alternative route that could guarantee I could get there on time. Added to that the worry about how I'd get home afterwards. The train company hopes there will be trains but also suggested a new route. This alternative would mean the two carriage cross country train would be holding the equivalent of two intercity trains - no thanks!

Amazon have the play script available for the Kindle, I shall stay in the warm this afternoon and read the play instead. Not quite the same is it....

World Book Night Challenge 20/25

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood

This book leads me to another confession. I haven't actually re-read this one for World Book Night.

I only read this one last summer and I found it such a struggle then that I just couldn't face reading it again.

I'm not sure why I found it so hard going, usually I find Atwood's historical novels gripping - Alias Grace is a book I have read more than once and Cat's Eye is a book I had to replace as my copy fell apart.

This one was just long and turgid and I didn't like any of the characters particularly. Also I dislike this book because it made me feel bad - it should have been just my sort of book, but it wasn't, thus there was something wrong with me not the book. Irrational I know.

I did think about giving the book another go, just to see if I read it at the wrong time before but as it was less than 8 months since I read it and because the 5th of March is coming every closer I decided to skip it. It would take event me a long time to read 656 pages and there are still 5 books I've not read before to get through.

World Book Night Challenge 15/25

Beloved - Toni Morrison

I have to admit my first failure in the challenge with this title.
This isn't the first time I've tried and failed with the book. Back last autumn this was one of the 10 books we featured at the library's Banned Book event. I got to about page 60 that time.

I've had a copy out of the library now for the maximum time possible (3 renewals or 9 weeks) and this time I've made it to page 200. I
'm just not enjoying the book at all. I can't follow the plot and what I am following I'm not really understanding or taking in. I've tried reading it during the day and in bed at night but it makes no difference I just can't get on with the book.

As I am on a tight schedule for trying to read all of the books by World Book Night I am going to admit defeat on this one and the moment and return it to the library so someone else can enjoy it. I don't like being defeated by a book so I will go back to it after the challenge and try again, or I might do the unthinkable and just watch the film.