The Red Badge of Courage

I read the great illustrated classics version of this when I was about seven or so; the only reason I remember that is because it absolutely haunted me, with its stories of death. This time around, Crane doesn't haunt me. Crane doesn't even affect me. He has created such an unlikeable protagonist, a coward who takes all of the credit and none of the blame, a man who looks the injured in the eyes and sees himself as equal, that I could barely get through this. It doesn't help that it's downright boring a lot of the time.

2/5

The Hurt Locker

Hurt Locker is rendered in a world of beige, taupe and tan, a world that seems washed out, which works wonderfully with its narrative. In this bleached world, slow moving and then frenetic with motion, every action has extreme importance, except when it doesn't. My favourite moment, a moment in a grocery store washed in brilliant colours, shows how out of place soldiers are in that world, busy with nothing meaningful, and this moment serves as an allegory for what is an extremely rich study of monotony and danger, often at the same time.

4/5

Sexing the Cherry

I was excited by this, as I'd love Winterson's previous outing, however, there were serious issues in this narrative. The first, and most irritating, was the use of two point-of-views, a choice that would not bother me had Winterson differentiated the voices used. As it is, however, it is impossible to immerse yourself in a story when every time the point of view alters, you spend several pages trying to decide who is speaking.

3/5

Oranges are not the Only Fruit

For its tiny size, Oranges packs a lot of delight. Winterson's cutting humour about her life, her masterful inclusion of fairy-tale like fragments, and her sheer ability make this one of the biggest pleasures I've read all year.

5/5

Obasan

Obasan was read in a straight rush before class, a three hour drag at the library. I actually don't remember much of it, but I can't think I was missing much, as the lectures rang of making something out of nothing, pulling posttraumatic stress and histiographic metafiction out of a very simple narrative of the mistreated. Yes, Kogawa was the first to address the treatment of Japanese Canadians during World War II, and Obasan wrought change in policy, which is impressive, but as a novel, as a piece of artwork, Obasan adds little to the genre it has fallen into.

2/5

The Far Side of the Moon

This was a joy to watch, written by, directed by, and starring Robert Lepage, who I am now in love with, unfortunately, since it seems like it’s going to be difficult to get my hands on his works. It’s a fairly typical story of failure and fraught family relations, but Lepage imbues it with such humour and such a deft hand that there is something in it that always strikes the viewer as absolutely original.

5/5

The Eye in the Door

The only reason I kept reading in a series that generally didn’t impress me was that I was hoping against hope that Barker would suck it up and let Rivers and Sassoon kiss. They didn’t. Instead Sassoon, possibly one of the only interesting aspects of this series, is neglected for Billy Prior, who is not a particularly gripping character. So I think I am just going to have to stop here, since it’s not worth reading the third if I don’t get my kiss. They want to kiss! Why are you holding me in suspense for no reason, Barker, why?!

2.5/5