FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE

This book contains eight short stories written by different English speaking writers, such as Hector Hugh Munro (known as Saki), Evelyn Waugh, Somerset Maugham, Roald Dahl, Frank Sargeson, Raymond Carver, H,E. Bates and Susan Hill. All of them are masters of the short-story genre.

The stories deal with the trials of life in different stages of human development such as youth, family, madness, marriage, morality, sincerity, love, children, submission, fears, death, routines, vulnerability, loneliness, rules, tyranny, domination, chances,... To sum up, some of the most relevant aspects of human existence. They are all narrated in a straightforward and clear manner and are not hard to understand.

I really enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. To begin with, it doesn’t take much time to read the stories because they are rather short and they are independent one of each other. Therefore, you can read at different times without losing the storyline. Moreover, the texts are not very difficult to understand, despite the richness of vocabulary. And finally, I like human stories and all of them deal with matters related to human existence.

I liked all the stories, but if I had to choose one of them, maybe I would choose the third one: “The Colonel’s Lady” by Somerset Maugham. This story deals with the ignorance between people who share their lives. For example, in this story the Colonel’s wife wins an award for her writing, but he wasn’t even aware of the fact that she was a writer. In my opinion, it is a very powerful story that comes up with many controversial issues such us truth, sincerity, attraction, complicity, trust, sexuality, partner roles, success, marriage, beauty, youth, etc.

To finish, I would like to say that all the stories are very appropriate to maintain subsequent discussion. In fact, at the end of each story there is some vocabulary, some activities and some questions to discuss.

I would recommend this book to everyone who likes stories that are short but powerful at the same time.

Stupid Wars

Ed Strosser and Michael Prince are co-authors of this nice book that seems to have been written to tell the unknown stories behind the most stupid wars happened in the history of the world; actually the book is “A citizen’s guide to botched putsches, failed coups, inane invasions and ridiculous revolutions”.

The book was first published in 2008 and the authors dedicate it to all the people who have suffered the horror of the war.

According to the authors, degrees of stupidity are identified in the book, which enumerates the following degrees.

1. Max Blowbacks.
2. Good Plan, Stupid Goal.
3. Bad Planning.
4. Number of Casualties.

Examples of these degrees are:

The one waged by Roman Emperor Valens against the Goths in the eastern part of the empire, who eventually paid with his life his lack of determination.

The controversial role of Romania during WWII fighting in both fronts, a role that became Romania one of the countries behind the Iron Curtain with the consequences expected.

The ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion, which has been probably the worst operation planned in the history of armed conflicts.

The Chaco War, a huge loss of human beings for a worthless piece of land in the middle of South America’s desert.

Other examples of stupid conflicts are the The War of the Pacific in 1879, well known as the Poop War; The Winter war between Russia and Finland in 1939 when the finns lost the war because the strength of Russian troops in spite of they had killed three times the number of their troops; The U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983 when the eccentric dictator of this tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean started to flirt with Castro, using to achieve the goal two full equipped Marine Divisions.

Master and Commander

This two Oscar winner film for best photography and best sound was directed in 2003 by Peter Weir. Two prizes out of ten nominations were fairly won. The cast is led by Russell Crowe as Cpt. Jack “Lucky” Aubrey and his counterpart is played by Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin.

The film is based on the books by Patrick O’Brian and is set on the early 19th Century during Napoleon’s Wars in the oceans which surround South America; the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It was the first film ever shot on location in Galapagos Islands.

Jack Aubrey has clear orders about the Acheron, a French Privateer which he and his crew have to capture, sink or take her a prize. After realize that the Acheron is out of Aubrey’s Frigate class after their first encounter due to the damages suffered, Cpt. Aubrey decides to follow the orders once his vessel, the Surprise, is repaired. That meant an epic journey from the North-East coast of Brazil to the Galapagos Island rounding Cape Horn. The Acheron’s goal is to take the war to those oceans capturing as well British whalers sailing on her way or even pursuing the Surprise. Aubrey plans a stratagem to take the Acheron over while Dr. Maturin and a young midshipman show him an insect they captured which seems to be a stick. The future of England and the rest of the world might depend on the victory of “Lucky” Jack.

This stunning movie is a must-see-film that can make you even smell the guns after firing and taste the salted water of the sea, while enjoying a beautiful soundtrack. It gets you back the excitement from the old epic adventure movies in which the friendship and the duties are not good fellows sometimes.

As Good As It Gets

This fantastic movie is one of the public’s favourite romantic comedies as its two Oscar prizes won for best actor and best actress in a leading role could certify.

Directed by James L. Brooks in 1997 and starred by Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear, this film shows how such different characters are mixed in New York City story.

The three actors perform the characters of Melvin Udall, a misogynist romantic novel writer, Carol Connelly, a waitress and single mother, and Simon Bishop, a gay artist. All of them are forced in a certain way to have a relationship that they’re no likely to have.

Melvin is the obsessive-compulsive hated neighbour in a building in Manhattan. Simon also lives and works in this building, and Carol is the waitress who works in a restaurant where Melvin goes everyday to have lunch and the only one who serves him due to his behaviour.

After having been attacked, Simon’s art dealer entrust Simon’s dog to Melvin while Simon is in the hospital. Melvin has a very bad temper and that makes things more difficult for him, even after having helped Carol’s ill son.

During a trip to the coast things get worse for Melvin but not for Simon, whose stuff had been moved to Melvin’s apartment. Finally Simon will give Melvin the final push to do what he had to…”Go and get the girl!”.

The script as well as the fantastic performance of all the cast could have been recognized besides the two Oscars and the two Golden Globes awarded but it’s well known that few movies like this can conquer the big ones of the Academy.

GONE WITH THE WIND

Gone with the wind is an American film from 1939. It was directed by Victor Fleming and produced by David O. Selznick. It is based on the book from Margaret Mitchell, which won a Pulitzer Award in 1936. It is set in the American State of Georgia just before, during and after the U.S. Civil War. The film received 10 Academy Awards.

It stars Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, and Clark Gable, who plays the part of her third husband, Rhett Butler. The film tells the story of a whimsical and manipulative woman (Scarlett) and a roguish man (Rhett) who have a turbulent love affair. She loves another man, Ashley but Ashley loves Scarlet´s cousin, Melanie. Scarlett is the most beatiful girl in the area and she marries twice. First, because she is jealous of her cousin and when her first husband dies during the war she marries her sister´s beau to ensure she will never be poor and hungry again. After becoming a widow for the second time, she finally marries the dashing Rhett Butler but she is also in love with Ashley.

My favourite scene is the final one when she asked what will happen to her if he leaves for good and Rhett replies “Frankly, my dear, I don´t give a damn” and leaves the house into the fog. Then Scarlett remembers the other great love of her life, her homestead of Tara and she decides to return to Tara to make a new start, and to try to get Rhett back, eventually she thinks “Tomorrow is another day”. In the final shot, we see Scarlett in Tara with a reddish sunset behind her while playing the unforgettable soundtrack.

I recommend this film, which is considered one of the best films, because it tells a big love story and at the same time it speaks about universal topics like pride, ambition, poverty, war, hungry, heroism, courage, envy, jealousy, slavery, etc; the best and the worst of the Human Condition.

Film: The Nanny Diaries

The Nanny Diaries is a mainstream film, based on a novel. It stars: Scarlet Johansson (the nanny), Alicia Keys (her friend), Paul Giamatti (her admirer) and Laura Linney (Mrs. X). The 21 year old Annie, Scarlett Johansson, has just graduated from University and has no idea what to do next. Eager to start a new life, she moves to New York City, where she feels like a fish out of water and while sitting in the park, Annie saves a five year old child from being run over and then the boy's mother, an insecure and neurotic woman, Mrs. Alexandra X, Laura Linney, offers her a job as a nanny.

For no obvious reason, Annie takes the job and decides to lie to her mum about it and tells her she is working at a bank. She moves with the X's to become Grayer´s nanny. Life with the apparently privileged X's is not as satisfactory as she thought it would be. Mr X is portrayed as a chauvinistic egoist and Mrs reveals herself to have no interest at all in her own child. She is a neurotic and a control freak. Annie becomes a perfect wallflower and the X´s personal punching bag.

What I really did not understand about the film, or better what really got on my nerves, was the way Annie keeps on suffering the family´s insecurities and becomes a martyr, trapped between dysfunctional parents and a spoilt child. But as I mentioned before, the film is mainstream and surprise, surprise, a rich good looking young man falls in love with her.

Film: Real Women have Curves

This is the story of Ana, a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the East of LA and has recently graduated from high school. Her teacher encourages her to ask for a scholarship in one of the best universities in the country because she is an outstanding student. She knows her parents wouldn´t aprove it and she is torn between the traditional world she has been born into and her own wish to receive further education. Finally, she receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. However, her very traditional, conservative parents, especially her mother, feel that it is now the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. Her mother´s aspiration to get her married annoy her. 

Torn between her own ambitions and her cultural heritage she agrees to work with her mother at her sister's downtown sewing factory during the summer. There, she learns to admire the hardworking team of women who teach her solidarity and teamwork. At the same she teaches them to accept the way they look like. Meanwhile, she finds her first love, who deeply loves her exactly the way she is. Still at odds with what her mother expects of her, Ana realizes that leaving home to continue her education is essential for her to find her place proudly in the world as an intelligent and self-confident woman.