There has been a ton of news and controversy recently about the saga surrounding the child actors of Slumdog Millionaire. My question: Has anyone read this book?? If so, you shouldn't be surprised. If you read Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance you shouldn't be surprised. Appalled yes, surprised no.
India is a strange place. I have been a couple of times, for business - both times being overwhelming and heartbreaking. People can tell you about the poverty, you can read books about it, you can even see pictures or television coverage. But nothing prepares you for the drive from the airport to the hotel in Mumbai and seeing it with your own eyes. I cried quietly for pretty much the entire taxi ride. It is extremely difficult to reconcile this reality with the historical beauty, mystery and spirituality of India. But it's a fact.
I am beginning to develop quite an affinity for stories about India. I love how Vikas Swarup and Mistry weave these intricate stories that balance the reality of the world their characters live in with hope, humour, humanity without demeaning them or losing the element of despair. The compassion with which Swarup writes this story is even more compelling given that he comes from a priviledged family.
Slumdog Millionaire (or Q & A as it was originally titled) is not all fun and humour and to label it as that kind of story does it a huge injustice. This story deals with serious issues: racism, corruption and of course, the ubiquitous caste system. The main character (and narrator) is completely warm and charming but at the end of the day, he is driven by revenge. This only serves to make him more human and the story much more impactful.
It was a beautiful read and I think this is one time where I won't spoil my regard for the book by seeing the movie.
Slumdog Millionaire
Vikas Swarup
Harper Collins
The reading habits of a road warrior business traveler
Showing posts with label Oscar Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar Books. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The Oscar Pledge: Part 1
Remember in one of my last posts I mentioned that I was going to read this year's Oscar nominated films (largely because I wasn't going to be able to see them)? Well, the pledge has begun. I decided to tackle The Reader, the film for which Kate Winslet won best actress.
First off, everyone went on about how this was a Holocaust movie/book. I typically stay way clear of this subject matter. Call me weak but since reading Sophie's Choice when I was a teenager, I can't handle the Holocaust theme. It just gives me so much emotional pain and it seems so inconceivable that human beings could exercise that level of atrocity towards other human beings.
In all honesty, I was attracted to The Reader not only because it received raves as a novel but I am a huge Kate Winslet fan and this seemed so far removed from other characters she has played in the past.
In The Reader, The Holocaust is like a secondary character - it lingers in the background and then makes its appearance in the second half of the story but it is by no means dominant. There are so many other things going on. Funnily enough, I found myself rather unsympathetic towards either Michael or Hanna, the main characters, but still found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.
The Reader is many things: a story of a passion between an older woman and young man; a coming of age story; a courtroom drama. However to categorize it only as a Holocaust book, doesn't do it justice.
The Reader
Bernhard Schlink
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
First off, everyone went on about how this was a Holocaust movie/book. I typically stay way clear of this subject matter. Call me weak but since reading Sophie's Choice when I was a teenager, I can't handle the Holocaust theme. It just gives me so much emotional pain and it seems so inconceivable that human beings could exercise that level of atrocity towards other human beings.
In all honesty, I was attracted to The Reader not only because it received raves as a novel but I am a huge Kate Winslet fan and this seemed so far removed from other characters she has played in the past.
In The Reader, The Holocaust is like a secondary character - it lingers in the background and then makes its appearance in the second half of the story but it is by no means dominant. There are so many other things going on. Funnily enough, I found myself rather unsympathetic towards either Michael or Hanna, the main characters, but still found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.
The Reader is many things: a story of a passion between an older woman and young man; a coming of age story; a courtroom drama. However to categorize it only as a Holocaust book, doesn't do it justice.
The Reader
Bernhard Schlink
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Oscar Flashback
Seeing Clint Eastwood get passed over in the Oscar nominations for Gran Torino and watching Sean Penn take Best Actor this year, made me start thinking about Mystic River. I’ve never been a crime drama fan but I was in Greece on holiday this summer and had already read everything I brought and still had 4 or 5 days left in the holiday. Doug brought Mystic River with him and so I picked it up.
Doug is a huge Clint Eastwood fan – he has seen pretty much every Clint touched movie whether he was in it or only behind the camera, and some of that has rubbed off on me over the last 17 years. I had never seen Mystic River but I am a Sean Penn and Tim Robbins fan. I didn’t know what characters they played before I started reading, but since I knew they were in the movie, it helped me visualize the characters.
This is not a fun, uplifting story. It is very dark, sad, horrifying and it’s a great crime, mystery, drama. It didn’t take me long to get hooked, I was in it for the duration, I was fooled by quite a few of the red herrings and honestly surprised as the ending unfolded.
Speaking of Oscars...I didn’t see any of the Best Picture nominated films. So I decided I would read the books (where possible) instead: The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon (the play), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (the short story). Maybe I can finish those before next year’s Oscars.
Mystic River
Dennis Lehane
Harper Collins
Doug is a huge Clint Eastwood fan – he has seen pretty much every Clint touched movie whether he was in it or only behind the camera, and some of that has rubbed off on me over the last 17 years. I had never seen Mystic River but I am a Sean Penn and Tim Robbins fan. I didn’t know what characters they played before I started reading, but since I knew they were in the movie, it helped me visualize the characters.
This is not a fun, uplifting story. It is very dark, sad, horrifying and it’s a great crime, mystery, drama. It didn’t take me long to get hooked, I was in it for the duration, I was fooled by quite a few of the red herrings and honestly surprised as the ending unfolded.
Speaking of Oscars...I didn’t see any of the Best Picture nominated films. So I decided I would read the books (where possible) instead: The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon (the play), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (the short story). Maybe I can finish those before next year’s Oscars.
Mystic River
Dennis Lehane
Harper Collins
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)