Les Mis – A Christmas Jewel

/ still a dreamer

There are some movies that, once you see the trailer, you already know you will see more than once. This is undoubtedly the case for me with Les Mis, to be released this Christmas.

Among the movie previews a friend and I were seeing was an extended view of how the new Les Mis was made and it’s unlike any other film musical to date; it’s filmed completely live with each actor actually singing their part rather than syncing to the voices pre-recorded. We were both blown away. I’ve known Hugh Jackman could sing … but Anne Hathaway? Amanda Seyfried? Russell Crowe? And the visuals … simply breathtaking. The trailer below and the piece on how the film was made moved me to tears. This Les Mis is already incomparable.

Take a look at the trailer here, or on the official web site, but while there, be sure to watch The Extended First Look.

 

Body Surfing – Anita Shreve

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

One of the hallmarks of a good novel is that you cannot put it down; and for me, that was the case with Body Surfing by Anita Shreve.

In this novel, Shreve writes in current day with the New Hampshire shore as the backdrop. She studies the lives of her characters falling in love, in treacherous family rivalries, in kindness and resentment, in being lost.  Shreve’s writing is to the point. Nothing is wasted, and her pacing is flawless. She gives you exactly the details that are needed, but the depiction of her characters and their interrelation are what drives the story forward. She’s a writer that many of us could learn from.

In brief, this is the story of a young woman, Sydney, once married, once widowed, who takes on the summer job of tutoring Julie, the daughter of a fairly wealthy couple with a cottage at the shore. She hopes the experience will offer her some healing from her recent loss. Family gatherings soon introduce the couple’s sons, Jeff and Ben, both of whom seem to take an interest in Sydney. The mother, Mrs. Edwards, is immediately resentful; Mr. Edwards, eminently kind and caring, always wants what’s best for everyone. It doesn’t take long before events start to spiral out of control, and Sydney is caught in the intricacies of family relationships which are both hidden and destructive.

I really enjoyed the rapid pace of Body Surfing and how easily I was pulled in to the characters and their complicity. And I appreciated that while Shreve had me emotionally invested in Sydney, Ben, Jeff, Julie and the family, she did so without ripping my heart out. A perfect read for me right now.

from “The Lookout”

/ still a dreamer

“Imperial Self beyond self that I call my soul,
Climb up into the crow’s nest:
Look out over the changing ocean of my life
And shout down to me whither to change my course.”

 – Sarah Cleghorn
from “The Lookout”
 Portraits and Protests

J. K. Rowling – Her First Novel for Adults

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Did you know that J. K. Rowling has written her first novel for adults? The Casual Vacancy, published by Little Brown and Co. is making it’s debut tomorrow, September 27.

A member of the town council of Pagford, Barry Fairbrother, dies unexpectedly in his early forties. The competition for his seat is fierce, and further exemplifies that the quaint town with cobbled streets is not at all what it seems. In fact, everyone is at war with one another and nothing is as it seems.

Want to read more? Here’s J. K. Rowling’s web site with more detail.

Coming Around

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Coming around to myself, that is. I almost remember me!

As I’m sure any of you reading this can avow, there are periods in our lives which are especially challenging, (and that is a euphemism for what I’d really like to say, but we’ll leave it at that.) These periods may be short and intense, blowing in and shaking us hard like a sudden squall and just as soon blowing out, leaving us crumpled in their wake. They may be prolonged periods of seemingly endless things to cope with, large and small, which pick at us until we seem a mass of tiny scabs.

This is life. We accept it in all its glory and beauty and also in its times of travail. And when we are in the latter, there inevitably comes a day, only a moment perhaps, when something feels a little different, as if there’s been a barely noticeable turn in the universe somewhere and we know we have paralleled it and turned some corner ourselves. It may be ever so tiny; it may not grow overnight; but it happened.

The weather is now getting cooler, the days getting shorter, and the warming sun flows inside earlier and earlier. I have worked all day, and that western sun was drawing me, drawing me, to it and I succumbed. I brought my just-delivered copy of the SCBWI Bulletin, enamored of the cover illustration by Eliza Wheeler, to the back porch. I sat in a chair, my feet up on another, and indulged myself in some reading with the sun full on my face. The cats next door came to be petted and then sprawled on the porch, taking advantage of both the sun and the company. I read till my cheeks burned hot, loving every second of it.

There are times when we put everyone and everything else ahead of ourselves. Sometimes by necessity, sometimes by natural inclination. And there are times that we are called to come around to ourselves. It may be but a whisper, but listening is always exactly what we need.