A Ginger reads... Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post! Reasons to live is a book recommended by my friend and nominated by our book club as this months book. I really wanted to write about it as I've really enjoyed it and taken a lot from it. It is a refreshing book that is small but packs a punch!

A Ginger reads... Reasons to live

This book is a non-fiction (almost) self help book, but I don't feel that's the right term for it. It is more a self expression of the writers experiences and his own reflections of what has helped him through depression. He doesn't promise all the answers or that everything that worked or didn't work for him is the best way of dealing with it, but he just offers some great ideas.

This book is refreshingly honest about how it feels to suffer from depression in a time when there is still so much stigma behind mental health. He doesn't hold back but this book isn't just about his own feelings. It's also about the small things that got him through the days like feeling the sun, reading, running, writing etc. 

I think this book is great for everyone, whether you have suffered from both depression and anxiety or even if you haven't. I think it faces and talks about a lot of the issues that all humans face; the stress of balancing work and home life, constantly worrying about the past and future and not living in the moment. 

I keep using the word refreshing, but I think that is the perfect word for this book! I love the way it's written, its chapters are short and to the point; a mix of lists, story and a conversation between his past and future self. This book is refreshing, like a hot fragranced bath for your mind. It reminds you to breath and enjoy the small things and that life is a hell of a lot of stress but that doesn't mean you can't make it. 

I applaud the amount of strength this must of taken to write and bring back those memories of the bad times but in this book you can tell the love that he is pouring out for his fellow man, you can feel his hope; that his words of comfort and advice will encourage and support people all over the world.

I really enjoyed this book and know that this is a book that I will read over and over again.

A Ginger Compares... Red Dragon

Hello everyone!

So I've recently listened to the audiobook of Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, the first story in the series of books mainly starring Hannibal Lecter (the most famous, of course being The Silence of the Lambs). Just to warn you there will be spoilers throughout, so please read or watch the Red Dragon before reading this, if you don't want to ruin the surprises, it really is great!

So... 

A ginger compares Red dragon, book to film. 

The Red Dragon follows the story of a retired detective called Will Graham. He is an expert at catching psychopaths as he can put himself in their situations and figure out what drives them to do the horrible acts they do. Which is what usually leads to their identity and capture. He is famous for capturing the infamous Hannibal Lecter, or as dubbed by The Tattler. 'Hannibal the Cannibal.' He is called out of retirement by Frank Crawford to catch 'The Tooth Fairy.' A murderer of 11 people who murders a family every full moon and bites the mother of the family, giving him the nickname. The Tooth Fairy is a disfigured man called Francis Dolarhyde. We learn is driven to his madness through a traumatic childhood with an abusive Grandmother. Inspired by the painting of 'The Great Red Dragon and the Women Clothed in the Sun' he knew he was the Red Dragon and he would become the Red Dragon and only find peace when he showed others. 

The plot of the Red Dragon, like the other films in this series is very close to the plot of the book. I wondered whether they would put in extra scenes of Hannibal that weren't in the book for those audiences who had only watched the films. However I was pleasantly surprised to see they had followed the book closely with both the stories and the characters.

The Characters

Anthony Hopkins of course was Hannibal again, now after reading a few of the books (I've just started Hannibal) I am convinced no actor could have done a better job of conveying Hannibal's calm, intelligence and ruthlessness. 

Ralph Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde, an actor I know specifically from Harry Potter as Lord Voldermort (always strange to see him with his nose.) I thought this was a great choice as an actor as I really feel he does the quietly powerful role well, which is required with this character. Francis is not just a messed up axe murderer running around screaming. He's calculating, intelligent and if he grew up in a different world, he could have actually been a really nice person.  

Edward Norton played Will Graham, the retired cop. I think he picked up the character well but I also felt it could have been done better, instead of seeming brooding and in conflict with the idea of "I can put myself into the mind of psychopaths, does that make me one?" He just seemed to be very nervous and worried the whole time, making him look a bit weak. I understand for a film you don't want a character that is so brooding and disconnected that the audience doesn't care for him but he just seemed a bit too panicky the whole time.

The Story

I'm not going to go through the whole story itself, but I'm just going to pick the bits I felt the film could have done better, if it actually did do some bits better than the books and just general thoughts.

I think the hardest things with translating books to film is the detail that goes into books, the thoughts and feelings of the characters, the back stories and the details. I thought they did Dolarhyde's story very well in the film. You really get a feel for his childhood, with the nursing home background and I'm really glad they included the quote from his grandmother of her threatening him with the scissors when he wets the bed. They really understood well that they need to establish this person correctly for us to connect with him, either to hate, to love or just feel sympathy for him. 

One thing that really frustrated me about the book (spoilers coming up and will continue to!) was that I felt the author revealed far too early that Dolarhyde was picking his women through the home movies. I feel like spent half the book shouting at Will Graham "THEY BOTH HAVE HOME MOVIES!!" Until he finally figured it out. I think the film was a lot better at hinting that it could have been the videos but not actually revealing fully until the crucial moment. 

However, as I said before, the problem with the medium of a film is you lose details and I felt a lot of Dolarhyde's intensity was lost. In the book there was a lot of inner conflict about whether to kill Reb, dealing with his emotions when he found he was attached to Reb and his general inner conflict with the Red Dragon inside him. He just seemed like a guy that was really quiet and peaceful but very violent!

I think as well Reb was weirdly introduced. The film never really said "look she's blind" as it clearly shows in the book until the last minute. In the book she picks up her stick the first time we are introduced to her and you know instantly. In the film its hinted at, with her handing him something but completely in the other direction from him, her vacant stare and her feeling her way along as she walks. It may seem obvious if you've read the book but if you haven't and you are mainly focused on Dolarhyde the whole time it could be missed and it seems like for no good reason? Maybe they didn't want to stereotype her as 'blind person with stick' but it just seems a bit over complicated. 

I thought the scenes with Hannibal were great of course, I don't really remember the exercise room for him in the book but I may have not been listening properly (I listen to these while at work). But I do get why they included it, I think it's a really cool shot for the film and it makes sense, they would need to exercise him at some point!

I was rather disappointed with the ending, as Molly, Will's wife basically ends up killing Dolarhyde by herself when Will gets stabbed in the face, where as in the film Will and Dolarhyde just shoot at each other and Molly does the final killing shots. Again, from a character writing point of view, I understand because he's the main character it has to end with him and Dolarhyde battling it out, but I think again it loses the intensty of the Dragon.

I thought the pace was really good and the story interesting, but with both the book and the film I felt the transitions left the audience rather lost as it jumped from place to place a bit messily. But as I continue the books in this series, I do notice that the transitions are definitely improving. There's no doubt Thomas Harris is an amazing writer with great pace, he always manages to keep the energy and suspense flowing throughout the book and all the scenes translate really well to films. 

I imagine doing a prequel film is very hard, very few sequels can really hit it off after the original, but this film does not disappoint for those who haven't read the books but just want more of Anthony Hopkins and Hannibal. The ending is beautifully written, connecting to the next film wonderfully!

So I thoroughly recommend Red Dragon to you, if you enjoyed Silence of the Lambs as a film, watch the film, if you want even more detail and suspense, read all the books as well! They are really excellent.

Thank you for reading, if you have any recommendations or want to give my opinion on any books or films, please write me a comment. 

Cheers!

H. 

(Just joking)

Cx

A Ginger Compares...

This is a new segment I am starting as well as my normal blogs, as so many films I have watched have been based on books that I've never read. I will compare the film that I know to the book it was based on. I will comment on what's obviously different, why the director/writers have maybe chosen this side of the book to show, what I prefer in the book and what I prefer in the film and anything else I notice! I hope this will be interesting for you as it will be for me!

A Ginger Reads... Jaws

Hello everyone!
So I have just finished Jaws by Peter Benchley and wow.
I haven't ever seen the film myself and if you don't know what Jaws is, it's basically a book about a great white shark that attacks a summer town. But of course there is so much more to tell!

This story is based in the town of Amity in America. The town heavily depends on the summer tourism to keep businesses and jobs going throughout the winter months. So when a shark attacks in June, before the beginning of the summer holidays, it is questioned whether it is worth the risk of keeping the beaches open to encourage tourists and holiday rents to come to the town, even though there is the threat of attack.

I'm going to dive straight in and just say it really interest me that throughout this book, the great white was not referenced by the characters as 'the shark' or 'the great white' or even 'the beast', but simply as 'the fish.' Very rarely did they call it the great white shark. You get this feeling that it is just a fish, as the author describes the sharks point of view in the book, all the details are very simple. There is no evil intent or internal conversation, there are no thoughts at all. We are just seeing it simply from the shark's eyes and the shark's simple mind of how he tracks down food. I also noticed that in every attack by the shark, at one point or another, jaws were mentioned, never just simply called its mouth, but it's jaws. I wonder if that was on purpose or whether I just happen to notice it.

I have a great interest in sharks, and I wouldn't say I am particularly scared by the thought of them (I'm sure I would be terrified if one actually attacked me) but this book was terrifying because of the pure simplicity of the attacks. The author didn't describe it in every detail possible, but he described it subtlety enough to really turn your stomach and let your imagination take over.

Now about the people within the story, we have the community of the town itself, which always plays a part in this story, as it is the fate of the community that depends on this shark being killed, we also have Brody and his wife.

His wife was a 'summer person' as they call them (the townsfolk of Amity are the 'winter people') and there is great snobbery in both parties, the summer people who find the winter people part of the background and 'quaint' and the winter people who know the summer people have a lot more money then them, as they can afford to come on holiday there.

I think a great remark is when the author is talking about how Brody always felt contempt for those people who had the little alligator sown into their t-shirts, which meant wealth. I feel that if you have come from a less well-off background, you can relate to that irrational jealously of the branded products you see people wear.

His wife longs for summers gone past, when she was young and had rich parents, she wonders for the life she could of had with a rich lawyer. Its very interesting that, of course this is a book about a shark, but you also feel that half the book belongs to her.

You can not talk about this story without mentioning the great character of Quint, the professional shark hunter. He enjoys playing around with people and swears constantly at the shark and at everyone else. The swearing feels very appropriate and so much more real as a character, you can't help but like Quint.

What's interesting in this book is that there is no real 'bad guy' apart from maybe the shark. None of the characters are either good or bad people, you just feel that they are real, that every character has their strengths and flaws. That when you learn of each characters stories and their part in the overall story, there is no outright evil person. Even the shark, is he the bad guy? Is 'the fish' working against this small town for a reason or is it just pure instinct that pushes him along?

In conclusion, I really thought that this story was great in every aspect, it had drama, horror, gore, real people and real reactions. I often make myself think for this blog, how has a story changed me? While I don't think there are huge deep messages in it, there could be a few taken from this book. Maybe to accept your past and that thinking of a past that never happened is a waste of the present, maybe the message was to not let the pressure of others make you decide on something that you can not agree to. I think for personally for me, it made me bloody terrified of going into the water any time soon...

Quick Note 2

Hello everyone!
I hope you are enjoying my blog so far, just to say, sorry you haven't heard any more from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, the YouTube at work isn't working so for now I can only do books I'm reading on my kindle, not audiobooks.

Also, after doing two blogs now I think I will talk about books once I have finished them as I'm better at giving an overall view then explaining stories. You may notice I'm not really explaining any of the books in huge detail, because mainly I want you guys to read them for yourself if you haven't already, or if you have, then I don't really need to explain the book! (Plus I'm not very good at explaining stories, I leave that to the authors!)

Also, If you would also like to request or recommend a book you think I would enjoy or you would like to know my opinion on, please feel free to send me the book title and author to @ClairBear42 (my Twitter account.)

The next book I'm reading is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick so keep an eye out for that sometime next week! Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good weekend.


Clair.

A Ginger Reads... The Snow Goose.

So I had a request from my father after reading my blog to read The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico and give my opinion on this. Please be warned that there will be spoilers as I talk about the book but they will be at the end and I will make it very obvious when they begin!

The Snow Goose is just a short story about a man, Philip Rhayader,  girl Firth and of course, a Snow Goose in The Great Marsh in Essex. This man is deformed from birth, he loves all nature and he loves to paint.

This story is a very short one, it is like a fine wine or coffee, you really have to read it slowly and savour every mouthful. It is a very beautiful story about love, the beauty of nature, rejection, loneliness, age and few other things (but I don't want to give them away!) I really recommend this book, it is only about half an hour long and it is just such a good short story that is so moving. Please buy, read and then come back to my overview of the story itself!

The next paragraph contains huge spoilers, please only read once you have read the book :)

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snow-Goose-Small-Miracle-ANDThe-ebook/dp/B00BWF59PS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411206905&sr=1-1&keywords=the+snow+goose)






So this book as I said is about rejection and loneliness. As Philip has chosen to live away from people in this marsh land because he understands why people act the way they do around him and rather then getting angry he just chooses to separate himself. This in itself is such an amazing point, that he doesn't hate humanity for how they treat him, that he just feels pity that they can't understand past their own prejudices. We learn his great love for nature and birds, which clearly comes from the author as he uses such great language to describe the area around him and the birds that fly there.

Then a girl arrives with an injured Snow Goose, she has to get over her own fear and prejudice of "the ugly man" that has been passed on to her from adults and the hunters that hunt the birds he loves. As the story goes on we learn that every year, the goose flies away for winter and comes back at Spring, so does Firth and she grows older every time becoming a young woman. (just warning again, super spoilers now.)

Then the year is 1940, the war has begun but the author gives it from the birds point of view, which I found really interesting
"In the spring of 1940 the birds migrated early from the Great Marsh. The world was on fire. The whine and roar of the bombers and the thudding explosions frightened them."
This is so telling of how the author and Philip are really similar, that they look upon the world as how it will affect the birds, because that is all that Philip holds dear.

Philip finds out he can volunteer to save men from Dunkirk on his boat seven at a time and he goes out, the Snow Goose escorting him along. (Super, super spoilers!) we learn from a soldiers account he saved a lot of men and from an officers account they had heard of the legend of the goose from the men, and they described how they found a man in a small boat, face down in the water.

That took a few moments to hit me. Of all the places this story was going, that was one I wasn't expecting. It says so much for the writer that in the space of 15 minutes of storytelling, you feel for this character so much and you just want him to prevail in everything he does.

The men try to get close but the goose is there, hissing at them to protect him. Firth sees the goose fly back and knows Philip is not coming back. She still comes back to the lighthouse feeding the geese but one day a German bomber comes and mistakes it for a military base and destroys everything, letting the sea take it over.

This was another shocking and upsetting turn, that not only he died, but every trace, every painting that he kept was also destroyed.

This is now when I can talk about the few other things I mentioned earlier that I didn't want to talk about until this moment. That the book is about love, the beauty of nature, rejection, loneliness and age. But it's also about sacrifice, loss, death and the fleetness of life. That this lonely man who was feared by other people felt it his duty to help the men at Dunkirk as he would help a bird in a trap, only to for his death to be be mentioned briefly in passing, as I'm sure so many others would have also done that day on the beaches.

The pure shortness of the story, how it doesn't go into great length, I feel really shows so well how fleeting life is. That his man we only just met and understood is already gone, which reflects all death in the wars, that if you watch and read anything about wars, you will see nearly 90% of the time there is no dramatic long death for men at war. Life is there, then taken, in the space of a few seconds.

I was given some feedback that in my blogs I could say how a book has changed me or changed my way of thinking. I think this book really teaches me the beauty in life, that hatred and fear does not have to be a one way road. That life is fleeting but you make the best situation for yourself and live in the moment, as Philip did by understanding he would not get on in normal society so he made a place for himself in an environment he loved. And all this detail and emotion is in a story that will take 30 minutes to an hour to read.

A Ginger Reads... Blind Faith

Hello all!
So a few days ago I finished the book Blind Faith by Ben Elton.

This book is set in England in the future when privacy is a perversion and children barely make it to the age of four because of the 'Plagues' The 'Love' (God) sends. The main character is a man called Trafford who delights in keeping small secrets to himself, going against the social norm.

In this alternative future sharing every moment of your life is crucial, not just the every day things on their Face Space but you are expected to post videos on their TubeSpace. For example of the time they lost their virginity, them giving birth (the birthing video), whenever they have sex with their wives or husbands etc. 
You are expected to eat as much as possible because if the 'Love' has granted us delicious food, why not have more of it? Furthermore, why not celebrate that joy even more by putting chocolate sprinkles on it?
Nudity is expected. The Love made you beautiful and sexy so why not show it. So in a cramped hot city where obesity is normal and praised, you are expected to go around in crop tops, short shorts or for very special occasions, G-strings. Women are expected to get breast implants as The Love made them so beautiful why not be bigger?
Science, the thought of evolution, reason and privacy are all evil. Vaccinations are poisoned needles injected into babies skin that defy The Love.

So that's an overview of the world the book lives in. I'm sure a lot of people will say the easy conclusion of "This is meant to be a negative view on sharing things to everyone, over the internet all the time" but actually, I disagree. I do not feel that Ben Elton is having a go at the world we live in now, or warning us to change our ways. I do not think that he is against Facebook, YouTube and blogging. I just feel he is saying with this book that this is how the world could be, it is a world flipped on its side for the purpose of this story. What Ben Elton and Trafford in this story are striving for is reason an intelligent thought. Trafford wants to get his child vaccinated based on evidence that he is shown and when it works, he wants to show what he has learnt with the world, and in the end (spoilers)
It turned out that everyone else wanted reason too, just because of the oppressive world they are living with they were not able to express this need.

Religion is clearly the main influence of this book but again, this is Ben Elton's way of say this is how it might be in a world flipped on its side. In the book they don't describe themselves as Atheists or even Agnostics, just Humanists, people that are devoted to human wellfare! I don't think Ben Elton is attacking religion, I think he's attacking what religion can do, how it can control people and how people of power within religion can have great influence over the masses and the people they have control of.
He's of course attacking blind faith, considering that's the book title. This idea that if  they do not  worship The Love as loudly as possible throughout the day they will get socially attacked and eventually really attacked. Trafford clearly says this in the book:
 "I mean wouldn't faith itself be more valuable if it was arrived at through question and doubt? Seriously, it's not difficult saying you have faith if the alternative is being burned alive. But does that mean you really have faith?"
 So what he is saying there, I think is that it's okay to have faith, but that faith means nothing if it is pressed upon you by threats.

This is a very good book if you want to read a story that has some really shocking and interesting ideas (I know I was shocked a few times!) of how the future could be. I think it's far too easy for people who comment on this book to go down the route that Ben Elton is just attacking Social Media. I think that this idea just clouds people's thoughts of the real issues shown in the book. Trafford never says that "We need to get all the network and the live sites down" all he wants is just a bit of privacy. I've also seen people say it's a warning about global warming, but I really disagree with that, I think the global warming is just the backdrop for this story, that global warming is what causes this future the be made, so this story can happen within this future, but it's not what the story is about.

In conclusion, I think most people are wary of the growing power of the internet, the need for people to feel like they have to constantly share everything, but right now we have a choice not to share. Our privacy is not treated as perverse and that are trying to hide something. I feel that as long as within our social circles we do not expect each other to share to with everyone, that we respect privacy, then there can be a balance of privacy and sharing in our lives. I feel that Ben Elton is trying to make sure that as a community we don't turn into this world described by the book, that reason, learning and questioning is very important to how we grow as a society, and that faith is an good thing, just not blind faith.