Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
American Gods is a story of fable and of magic within the world around us. Neil Gaiman takes the reader on a fabulous journey of discovery, passing through international cultures, historic anecdotes and folk stories in search of what it means to live, what it is to be living. After three years in prison, Shadow is looking forward to returning home to his wife Laura and getting his life back in order. But when Laura suddenly dies in a car accident, he meets the mysterious Mr Wednesday. Together, the two embark on a road trip across America where Shadow encounters strange and wonderful characters in circumstances that appear to defy reality. Following the notion of cultures and gods, Gaiman has pursued the idea of America being populated by gods originating from...
The Art of Writing: New Discoveries
As I have avidly mentioned before, writing is a skill. From popular TV, I find myself rediscovering wonderful modern writing in short stories, novels and blogs. There is the idle joy of the internet, overturning new pages and devouring directions, opinions and recommendations. And this brings me to Tor.com. I have been a fan of fantasy novels since I was very young, taking trips to the library every week with my sisters. Tor.com and their wonderfully knowledgeable staff of bloggers give me heaps of fantasy reading, and I have an ever increasing list of new stories and worlds to dive into. They have reignited my faith in the fantasy genre and the offerings for readers in for the long haul, those who love falling head first into another world. Jonathan Strange...
Ballet branching out
Scottish Ballet really have out done themselves with their current production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The original Tennessee Williams play is a far-cry from the usual fairytale stories or magical tales that ballet tells – Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker. The story of two sisters in the city of New Orleans, A Streetcar Named Desire is beautifully performed with real grit. Music is used to powerful effect from the beginning. The southern belle violin melody is a wonderful device, used to cloud Blanche’s mind with visions of her late husband. In time the melody creates a tension that clashes with the smooth jazz of New Orleans as much as Blanche clashes with Stanley, her sister’s husband. Marking the 65th anniversary year of the playwright’s...
The Art of Writing: Moffat
With the second instalment of BBC’s Sherlock almost upon us, there has been much discussion about the return of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to the Sunday night schedule. ‘A Scandel in Belgravia’ kicked off the three-part series very well, inspiring a range of critical opinion from the extremely enthusiastic Chris Harvey in The Telegraph to the entertained and grammatically sensitive Sam Wollaston with The Guardian to a begrudgingly convinced Paul Whitelaw of Scotland on Sunday. Anyone who looks back in this blog knows that I fully appreciate the screen-writing skills of Steve Moffat and very much enjoyed the dialogue between Sherlock and Watson in Season 1. ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ continues this trend wonderfully and has the added dynamic of Irene...
Rediscovering the Theatre
It was snowing in Festival Theatre in Edinburgh this week! On the rare occasion when I go to the theatre, I wonder if I’ll enjoy it and find myself walking away, thinking why I don’t go more regularly. What with choosing between TV shows, films and books, it’s not surprising that theatre does not always get a look-in. This week though, having seen the wonderfully choreographed Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker, I can certainly say I enjoyed it immensely. My first meeting with the ballet was close to eight years ago and then it was the more traditional setting of Clara and the Nutcracker journeying through her dreams when she is all the while asleep under a grand Christmas tree in her comfortable family home. Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker is known for being a little...
