The Night Watch

I found Sarah Waters' The Night Watch rather tedious. I loved Fingersmith and Affinity, and was bored by Tipping the Velvet. This was a bit boring too. Parts were interesting and engaging, but I never felt particularly emotionally connected to the characters. It worked it's way backwards chronologically which annoyed me, and I raced through the last twenty pages, just skimming my eyes over the words, not caring and just wanting to close the book.

The Kite Runner

I watched The Kite Runner tonight. It is a very sad story about a boyhood friendship in Afghanistan (pre-Taliban). One of the friends is masochistically loyal, and the movie really focuses on the other one's guilt. There were some particularly upsetting scenes, and the loyal friend, Hassan, was painfully moving.

It follows the main character, Amir, into his adulthood in America, when he has an opportunity to go back (during the Taliban). This part was scary and interesting.

The Kite Runner made me cry and made me sad, but there was something kind of formulaic and manipulative about it, about the way things worked out. Also, Hassan's stubborn loyalty was too tragic, and the rest of the movie paled in comparison to that.

State & Main

Last week I watched State and Main on the Netflix Watch Instantly feature. I'd seen it before and enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it this time around too.

But there's something kind of forgettable about it. It's witty and breezy and wraps up very neatly. And the second it was over it was out of my head.

Donkey Gospel

I was so disappointed in Tony Hoagland's Donkey Gospel. I had loved What Narcissism Means to Me so, so much. This book seems to have been written by a different person -- someone drab and dreary and literal. No panache. No crackle. No wry humor.

It took me forever to read this slim volume because I maybe read a poem a week. A few a liked more than others. But basically the book is rather blah.

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Philips is about the Olympians now inhabiting contemporary London. Their powers are waning and they are bored to tears cramped together in a dilapidated house. A stupid fight between Apollo (who is hilariously arrogant) and Aphrodite (spoiled slut) inadvertently ensnares a mild-mannered mortal couples into their lives.

It's cute and readable. Actually a little sad and empty. The description of the underworld was my favorite part.

But, ultimately, it's rather forgettable. (Definitely Kindle fare; not something I need on my shelf to impress people...)

The Ex

I just watched a surprisingly entertaining movie. I pretty much expected to dislike it because a) it's a low brow comedy; b) it got 1 and 1/2 starts on Netflix; and c) because my brother recommended it and sometimes his recommendations are iffy. It's kind of fifty-fifty with him.

Anyway, The Ex is fairly funny! Or, more importantly, it isn't particularly annoying. Jason Bateman was terrific in it. I'm not going to do a plot summary now, because, well, who cares?

Cut Copy

I went to a concert at a club last night and felt very hip. We saw Cut Copy, a new band that has a very 80s-Depeche Mode kind of electronic dance thing going. I liked them a lot, it was very exciting.

The people in the club were young and trendy. Kind of a scene I never got into, never fit in with, always feel like a sociological observer.

But I liked Cut Copy a lot and want to get a CD. They put on a great, energetic show.