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Date: 18 July 2007 10:40:47
I'm doing a fair bit of babysitting at the moment for various people. Thankfully I usually get there when the babies are in bed so I am merely required to drink coffee and read/watch DVDs in someone else's house rather than my own. I don't take my own dvds with me, but rely on other people's collections to broaden my mind.
Last week I watched a film I have been wanting to see for years: The Colditz Story. I had the books by Pat Reid and the one by Captain Eggers when I was little and read them over and over again, but I had never seen the film. I did enjoy it, but I can't help feeling that I would have really loved it 20 years ago. It is a bit dated and plodding really.
Yesterday I watched Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah and Dustin Hoffman. I was expecting a pretty rubbish chick-flick/screwball comedy, but I was pleasantly surprised. The film (not wanting to give too much away because Mr F hasn't seen it yet) is fantastic, going into the relationship between narrator and characters, the blurred boundary between fiction and reality, the effect of small things in life. Will Ferrell is surprisingly normal and makes for a sympathetic character. Emma Thompson is amazing as a completely neurotic author, making herself look surprisingly unattractive at times. Her voice, as ever, is beautifully nuanced and lovely to listen to. Watch it. I will happily watch it again.
One of the reasons I enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction so much is that this week I have been reading the new Jasper Fforde: First among Sequels. The latest in the Thursday Next series, it deals as usual with reality, book world, how books are made and policed and various other things. I've just been upgrading my edition to version 1.1 on Jasper's website and reading the special features. The book is never the end with Fforde books - like a DVD it continues beyond the story which seems entirely natural given the universe it is set in.
The ideas he has are amazing both in their variety and ingenuity. They are the sort of books which leave you thinking that you wish you had that idea: Cheese smuggling, cruel and unusual punishment*, multiple personalities. Just too many good ideas.
So why should you read it? If you love books and have read a few of the classics you should read it for the literature references. If you love fantasy, then read it for the alternative universe/time-travel stuff. If you have read and loved the earlier books, then read it for some twists in the rules and some major character development.
Do you need to read the first 4 books in the series (starting with The Eyre Affair)? It won't hurt, but I think there is enough back story given to allow you to jump straight into it.
*big spoiler this one, so I won't say anything more than this is one of the most poignant things about the book