Reviewed All Things Great And Small - James Herriot
Apr 01, 2016 10:41 PM
1445 Views
It is rare to find an author who can subtly bridge from one subject to another, I .e. from veterinarian stories to human, without the audience realizing it.
Whether or not Herriot, himself, realized he was doing so-at the time-is known to no one but he, and yet it matters not.
As a young t...Read more
Commented on MouthShut_Official
Gold for MouthShut.com
Apr 14, 2010 10:47 PM
Hip Hip Huzzah An honor worthy of the effort exuded by folks here. Heartfelt congratulations be thine.
Commented on own review
Apr 02, 2010 02:55 AM
Crusoe’s quasi-idyllic world changes considerably the day he discovers a human footprint in the sand while returning from a long expedition. Panic descends, but no so gripping a one as first befalls him when he was shipwrecked. The wisdom gained all those years proves itself useful and Robinson fort...ifies himself and stalks quietly about the island, trying to locate the perpetrators. Harkening the rumors about some of the tribal activities in the area, Robinson correctly guesses that his island is but a ceremonial one, uninhabited accept for season ritual purposes, involving human sacrifice. Eventually Robinson stumbles upon one such ceremony and disrupts it, saving an unfortunate ‘savage’ in the process. The man is so grateful to avoid being consumed by his former comrades that he pledges undying friendship and servitude to the strange hairy man that rescued him, and he remains loyal. Robinson patiently teaches the man called Friday to speak English and read, as well as shoot rifles and help out with the farming duties. Together they are able to repel a few more cannibal landing parties and even assist a merchant ship captain taken prison by a martially mutinous crew. This last adventure proves to be the end of Robinson Island Adventure, and he sails finally back home to England, though not without a strange and wonderful mixture of emotions and reflection on the past 20 years of being a castaway.
If there were a 6-star rating this book would have it, and then some. The sad part about this piece is that despite the fantastic array of director and movie-making technology, there are but poor examples of this work being made into film; the screenwriters always deviate severely from the book with a cavalier hand, one that frankly insults the literary realm as whole. The best film adaptation is yet 'ye aulde' black and white version, which lucky fans can view for free on YouTube; here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_pt0P9iAQM&feature=relatedRead More
Commented on own review
Apr 02, 2010 02:51 AM
(Updated Apr 02, 2010 02:51 AM)
The discovery of ink on board the ship switches the prose from memoir-style to daily journal entries, which are no less riveting; we follow Crusoe during his building of shelters on various parts of the island, his expeditions, his hunting trips, his many attempts to build a boat, his bouts with sic...kness, his farming successes and failures and his various naturalist discoveries. One of the highlights of this portion of the story comes early on, in a very moving scene where Crusoe at last finds faith and comfort. Through much toil and blunders, Robinson soon has an overabundance of food of various types, and is clever enough t keep both his mind and body active in order to stave off madness. Years pass by and eventually the castaway losses interest in the outside world, or rather accepts that God has decreed that he live on the island for awhile. The amount of included useful survival knowledge--for that climate and part of the world--makes this book quite a necessary read, if only to prepare the reader for such a situation themselves.
Continued...Read More
Commented on own review
Apr 02, 2010 02:51 AM
The storm that brews shortly thereafter proves to be the pivotal action climax of the story, where the main character finally learns that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush… but oh, what a cost he pays to acquire this bit of wisdom. Abandoning the ship, the crew is tossed hither and yon and fin...ally capsized, where all perish in waves… that is, all but one. Crusoe wakes up with his face in sand on an unknown shore. At first grateful to be alive, panic soon seizes him and then horror; some of his lifeless mates wash ashore and he is forced to bury them with what prayers he can remember from his childhood. A period of despondent anger begins to overtake Crusoe as he gathers bits and pieces of the items that wash ashore over the next few days, along with justified fears for his personal safety. The audience is never left in doubt what the narrator sees, feels, hears or smells at any one moment, and yet these various explanations are so well crafted that they never once appear redundant.
Robinson soon figures out that he is on island and that it is in a location far out of the reach of the usual shipping lanes. In the last throes of despair, Robinson is ‘saved’ by a freak storm, which unearths part of his ship. The hulking structure politely embeds itself in the reef within swimming distance and the castaway suddenly finds himself blesses with an all-consuming mission: to get as many useful things off the ship as possible before another storm carries it off forever. Of the many goods he finds, some are casks of hard ‘ships biscuit’, shotguns and powder, a dog, books and Bibles, cut timbers, sailcloth, clothes and iron tools. One of my favorite scenes in the book is of Robinson’s discovery of the gold, silver and paper money; he scoffs at its complete uselessness in his current situation, yet he squirrels it away to his hideout nonetheless… proving quite well that some things in life cannot be unlearned.
Continued...Read More
Reviewed Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Apr 02, 2010 02:47 AM
7393 Views
(Updated Apr 02, 2010 02:49 AM)
This book--bar none--is one of the finest examples of well-written first-person perspective novels that I have ever read; held up against these pages, many a modern book of the same perspective pales and shrivels itself up into a ball of shame.
With Robinson Crusoe , Defoe proved himself to t...Read more
Commented on own article
Top-Ten Tips for Writing Fiction - Five
Jan 18, 2010 03:33 AM
Continued.... 6. Bear in mind that the writer’s attitude will invariably sink more noticeably into an action scene than in the ‘normal’ parts of the narrative, for when humans are angered, excited or high on adrenaline they tend to be more honest than when exuding a reserved, more ‘political’ facade.... While it is good for a writer to pour their literary blood into a piece, there is a danger of giving away ‘too much’; this can be avoided by re-reading your action scene aloud a day or two later, when you in a relaxed state. The opinions of those close to you may help also in this matter, as they are most often emotionally invested in your well-being and will likely point out if you’ve opened up your soul a bit too widely to scrutiny.
7. Enjoy the writing; this is your book and these are your characters. Try hard to adhere to reality and the laws of physics, but this is after all ‘fiction’ and even in classic books of the great writers past, one knows that here and there the authors deviated a bit from the logical realm, if just for a unique flavor for the tongue, an intriguing perfume for the nose or an unusual hue for the eye.Read More
Commented on own article
Top-Ten Tips for Writing Fiction - Five
Jan 18, 2010 03:33 AM
Continued.... 5. Not all action need to be ‘big’; some everyday scenes can be enhanced with just a touch of seasoning to provide the variance needed, and invoke the ‘lesson learned’ phenomena. As proportion is important in painting and sculpture and photography, it is similarly vital in writing. In ...one of my book, for instance, the most pivotal action therein was a rather small scene between the heroine and her fiance’s ex-girlfriend, in which the rather timid main character finds that she has a bit of backbone after all, as well as the brains to wield it. She continued to utilize this lesson and her ensuing marriage was the better for it.Read More