Book #3 of 2005
Do all lovers feel helpless and valiant in the presence of the beloved? Helpless because the need to roll over like a pet dog is never far away. Valiant because you know you would slay a dragon with a pocket knife if you had to.
This mystical little book is set in a fantasy Venice during a fantasy Napoleonic war. Henri the goatherd enlists and finds himself working in the battlefield kitchens. He believes himself to be passionate about Napoleon himself, until he meets Villanelle, a cross-dressing croupier whose husband has sold her to the officers, and the only person Henri will ever kill for. But Villanelle’s heart is in an enamel box in the back of another woman’s closet.
It is a long time since I have read anything by Jeanette Winterson, but I instantly remembered her androgynous, erotic prose style and her deep belief in the hopelessness of love. This is another winding story with an intertwining dual narrative, and the city is as important a character as the eagle-eyed defrocked priest and the dwarf who looks after the horses.
I’m telling you stories. Trust me.
4/5

Here are three more reviews of Closer. The first review is from Karen, in which she focuses on the acting. Which I think is rather kind, as focusing on anything else would probably be unfavourable to the film
Closer reminded me very much of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, not least because of Natalie Portman’s resemblance to the young Juliette Binoche, but also because of the contrast where the older woman is portrayed as stronger but turns out to be weaker, and vice versa.
The film’s origin as a stageplay was obvious from its stark, witty dialogue, and the minimal amount of physical action; it would almost work as a radio play, but then you would miss out on Julia Roberts’ big guilty cowlike eyes.

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This review was sent by Lori. Can’t disagree with anything here.
On coming out of a screening of Garden State with the night still young, we looked at the board to see if there was anything else on to fill a couple of hours. The decision was unanimous… more Natalie Portman! As was to be expected, she didn’t disappoint in the part of Alice, and neither did the other lead actors fall short (even Julia Roberts was reasonable), but there was still something about this film that I didn’t like. Portman was great as the quirky but loveable Alice; Jude Law endearing as the sweet yet dull Dan; Clive Owen smoldered as the filthy Larry; and Roberts coped well with all but her character’s camera, making Anna an interesting woman but a less believable photographer. If the performances were enjoyable then it really only comes down to one thing: a bad screenplay.

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I like to come out of films feeling like I have learned something about you crazy humans that I didn’t know before. Unfortunately, I came out of Closer with no new information, just confirmation of what I was already aware. In this world there are selfish people, there are manipulative people, there are paranoid people, there are people who keep on making really really bad decisions and call it instinct. I’m sure you knew this already. They all stamp on eachother in the pursuit of their own gratification, and the cycle just never ends. Everyone ends up unhappy, and I have no sympathy for them.

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Book #2 of 2005: Lucky by Alice Sebold
I read this on the strength of The Lovely Bones, and was rather disappointed to realise that it was actually her own memoir, the story of a rape.
It starts when she is raped at 18; details the trauma for herself and her family; the way the experience made her feel isolated from “normal” society; and – the best bit – describes the trial of her rapist.
I can’t disagree that she went through a devastating personal experience, but the narrative makes it clear that the rape defines her life and her personality, even while she is objecting to being seen as nothing more than The Victim. She feels that she is an anomoly, as a middle class white girl who has been brutally exposed to the seediest side of life; yet uses everything that is bred into her as a middle class white girl to get her rapist jailed.
It is a brave book, but not one that I would recommend for entertainment purposes. Sebold’s fictional work on the same subject flows much more smoothly – obviously – because it is less raw.
I can relate to it on one particular personal note, having recently realised the extent to which my own response to random violence is purely administrative.
3/5

via Counting Sheep
1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
34.2 GB at time of writing.
2. The cd you last bought is:
Who Killed The Zutons – acquired by Pete in Bristol. Possibly the best new CD we have picked up so far this year.
3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Pinned Together, Falling Apart by The Dears – a christmas present from Pete’s sister, that we have not listened to enough yet.
4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
* Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen: still my favourite song.
* Something Changed by Pulp: from my favourite album.
* Oh My Lover by PJ Harvey: raw and nostalgic.
* Take It All Away by Cake: a band I started to enjoy last year.
* Our House by Pete: if you don’t know why I love this song, you haven’t been paying attention.
5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
Vaughan, Sue, and Lyle, because I think they’re the only people reading Uborka! these days. and all the other lovely, lovely Uborka! readers, whose feelings I would never wish to hurt.