Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 264

Trillium Deluxe Edition Review

Finished reading book number 27 for the year – “Trillium” the deluxe edition by Jeff Lemire which came out in 2014.

This mind-bending graphic novel had me confused a few times, although it’s a pretty simple tale involving time-travel and mixing up of two worlds. William and Nika are from different planets, thousands of years apart, but their fates seem linked. Throw in a devastating pandemic, blue aliens, a mysterious temple, time travel… and you get a complex love saga that transcends space & time.

The story starts with Nika going through a tape and talking to her AI machine, the year is 3797, humans are spread over the galaxy and earth is an ancient long-forgotten primitive planet. But while humans might have made progress with technology, their race is on the verge of extinction due to a highly adaptive and deadly virus. Nika is an important officer, tasked with gaining access to a rare plant that could hold key to a vaccine to help stop the spread. These plants grow within the walled premises of an alien community that worships a temple and is hostile to humans. While trying to establish contact with these aliens, Nika takes part in their temple ritual and finds herself transported to earth. The year is 1921, that’s where she meets William.

But William and Nika’s freak first meet lasts for less than a day and that’s when their struggle to find each other again and crack the mystery of the time-travel enabling temple begins. My interest sort of wavered towards the end of the story, it felt a little repetitive & a tad too dramatic for a science-fiction graphic novel. But overall it’s worth a read.

Jeff Lemire has a distinct art style that’s raw, dark and makes the comic panels feel oppressive. It works quite well for serious stories, but also tends to make the mood a little more depressing than needed. Trillium is not the kind of comic/graphic novel that you would want to finish in a day, because it can get quite heavy for the mind.

I really liked the fact that there are many strong women characters in this story apart from Nika. In fact, Lemire very cleverly reverses gender roles in his 1920s America in the second-half, so you have a matriarchal society, where men appear to be the ‘weaker’ gender. So while it’s women who are lead commanders at wars, it’s the men who do the ‘grunt work’.

Well, it’s a 3.5/5 from me for Trillium.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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‘Frustrations of Being Deaf’ Book Review

Finished reading book number 26 for the year – “Frustrations of Being Deaf” by Dave Blackwell. This non-fiction compilation of personal incidents where people are nothing but arrogant assholes to the author who cannot hear. It is a frustrating but entertaining read.

The language is quite simple and it’s super easy to read. The book could’ve benefited from some more editing, but it wasn’t much of a problem for me, because there were few mistakes and thankfully didn’t disrupt one’s reading experience. What works for the book is the personal factor, it’s peppered with amusing and often ridiculous behavior by people who don’t know how to deal with somebody who cannot hear.

“You don’t look deaf” is something Dave Blackwell is often told. “How does one look deaf?” he constantly wonders. One lady takes the cake for assuming deafness is a disease that can be transmitted. Not joking.

While I was appalled at the kind of insensitivity displayed by “regular” folks, it reminded me that maybe having a relative who couldn’t hear or talk had made us more thoughtful than others. As a reader, you might feel second-hand embarrassment over the horrible ways in which people treat those who are deaf.

Blackwell has written a fun book, which ends rather abruptly, but is an essential for anybody who has never met someone who cannot hear.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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Confessions Through Poetry

March 21st is celebrated as ‘World Poetry Day’, so the latest episode of ‘Abstract AF’ the podcast couldn’t have possibly been about anything else.

We have four poets reciting their poems in the episode. It starts off on an fierce note, with an Indian poet who goes by the pen-name ‘Soz’ and has written a poetry collection called ‘Masculinity Digs A Grave Over My Body’. Soz recites one of their most personal and touching pieces; followed by UK poet Lotte Jean Elliot.

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‘The Cornered Mouse Dreams Of Cheese’ Review

It’s hard to review a dark film like the 2020 Japanese film ‘Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese’, which is an adaptation of a Manga by the same name. The two protagonists are flawed, selfish, twisted and do things that you wouldn’t appreciate in a partner at all. It’s the story of Otomo Kyoichi (Okura Tadayoshi), who is being blackmailed by private investigator Imagase (Narita Ryo), hired by Otomo’s wife to see if he is cheating.

Otomo and Imagase were college classmates and the latter confesses that he has been in love with Otomo for seven years. It’s deliciously ironic that Otomo is forced to have an affair with the private investigator, to conceal his affair. What is striking about this film is how it lacks the usual exaggerations that live-action-adaptations of Manga comics tend to have. ‘The Cornered Mouse Dreams Of Cheese’ is raw, real and gritty, with two almost pitiable characters, that somehow fall in love with each other, even if things don’t start in a romantic way.

While Imagase is reclusive, insecure and almost possessive, Otomo on the other hand is like a lost dog, ready to lap up any affection coming his direction. When his wife finally leaves him, Imagase and Otomo start a strange co-habitation and fall into the rhythm of living together, until some complications come their way.

Director Yukisada Isao captures the solitary lives of working Japanese individuals in an engaging way. The cinematography is simple and adds a desolate mood to the entire story, which is quite fitting. There are a lot of little details that serve to enhance the characteristics of the lead pair. For example, Imagase’s flat is a total mess, one can spot some antique items that indicate great taste, but is reflective of his chaotic personality.

The makers haven’t shied away from showing intimacy on the screen, so there is a decent amount of nudity and sex, deserving the 18+ rating for the film. Overall, it’s a pretty good film for those who are fans of BL manga. If you don’t know what BL means, it’s probably not meant for you.

What Parents Think About “Yes Day”

When I wrote a movie review, pretty much trashing the 2021 Netflix film “Yes Day”, little did I know that the post would get so much engagement.

Used to sharing my links on a Facebook group, where people usually ignore it, the “Yes Day” post had over 200+ people reacting to it withing hours.

While some were like “yeah, it’s trash AF”, a lot of others were like “ooh, I loved it”.

It was inevitable that the latest podcast episode would be centred around “Yes Day” the film and what parents think of the idea.

Listen in & do subscribe to the channel.

‘Garden Of Words’ Review – Ripples Of A Rare Bond

Ripples across a lake, from the drip-drop of a familiar rain, a shower that compels 15-year-old Akizuki to skip school and lounge at a garden instead. It’s on a rainy day when he spots an older woman, drinking beer, while bars of white chocolates lay around the garden bench they are on.

“Have we met before?” Akizuki wonders out loud, intrigued by the woman and her odd love for cold-beer and chocolate in the mornings.

‘No,’ she promptly responds. She goes back to her beer, while Akizuki gets busy doodling on his notebook. However, the two soon strike an unlikely friendship, meeting often in the same garden, whenever there is a downpour. Because Akizuki cuts classes only on rainy days.

Directed and written by Makoto Shinkai, the 2013 film ‘Garden of Words’ is just 46-minutes long and like a soothing dessert for animation enthusiasts. A simple tale of a bond that develops between two lonely souls in a bustling Japanese city. They are united in their solitariness, but divided by an age gap that keeps their world miles apart outside the garden.

It’s thanks to this film that I learnt a new style of Japanese poetry called “Tanka”, which is quite similar to the popular “Haiku” form of poetry. The ‘Tanka’ form originated in the 7th century and has a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable structure. It was apparently very popular among the nobles in the Japanese Imperial court.

In ‘Garden of Words’, the older woman recites a Tanka poem to Akizuki on the first day they meet, as if dropping a hint to who she is. But will Akizuki ever find out her identity? That forms rest of the plot of this gorgeous little film. It’s short and sweet, just like a Tanka poem. The two protagonists rub off on each other, motivating the other to carry on, without realizing that the effect is mutual. Sunny days become dreary for the two, because they don’t get to meet when the clouds are clear.

Director Makoto Shinkai makes the viewer ponder on the fluidity of relationships and how they can transcend the superficial barriers society sets for two people to form a bond with each other. The film is poignant and has a climax which ties the story neatly, bending to a narrative that wouldn’t stir up any controversy, but it’s the conventional ending that makes Akizuki’s story more realistic and believable. It’s a 9/10 from me.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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Bonjour Tristesse Review – Decadent Delight

Convinced by a blurb that said ‘Bonjour Tristesse scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager terrible Cecile’, I swiftly hit the buy button on an online store but was quiet disappointed when the book arrived at my doorstep – it looked too small for the price paid. But the reader in me took solace in the fact that perhaps it could serve as a good travel partner, just the right size to carry around in a small backpack for an upcoming trip.

The guess was quite right, it took about two hours to finish the little novel, perhaps even lesser. It was a bright, sunny, almost silly read, with the story taking you to the shores of France, to a different century, with a protagonist who can no longer shock a world that is used to its teens shunning love and choosing ‘quick flings’ on dating sites. Cecile, the heroine is only 17 and is taken care of by her father Raymond, a ‘libertine’, who changes women as soon he is bored with the last one. But he holds no double-standards when it comes to his young beautiful daughter either, and lets her go on dates with whoever she pleases. They are almost like siblings – immature, materialistic and free-spirited.

Their word changes when Raymond becomes serious about Anne, a woman his age, who unlike the sensualist father-daughter duo, is grounded, intelligent and not an admirer of their frivolous lifestyle. Cecile plots to part the two, so that her life remains unchanged, but is not prepared for the tragic consequences her interference can cause. While there isn’t enough space in the novel for in-depth character development, Anne is perhaps one of the strongest characters written by the author in the tale. At one point it almost felt like a Shakespearean tragic-comedy, but it’s narration, sexual tones and light-hardheartedness sets it apart from a classic Elizabethan play.

‘Bonjouir Tristesse’ reads like a diary of a teenager, with all the confusion and superficial sense of superiority youngsters can have due to their youth. Cecile cannot decide if she wants to grow into a degenerate like her father, or be molded by the almost perfect Anne – who could bring in a solemn stability to their lives. Like most teenagers, our protagonist too indulges in reckless decisions, only to regret them moments later. It has a swift, quite unexpected climax, the kinds you can predict only minutes before it happens. The pace is like a car slowly winding around a beautiful hill, as the passengers take in the lovely view, and then it gathers speed suddenly, crashing into an inevitable end.

As soon as I finished reading the novel, I decided I would give it a 5/5, because as a reader it’s hard to complain about anything in this flawed tale. It’s a quick, engaging book and what impressed me further was that the author Francoise Sagan was only 18 when she wrote the book.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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‘Yes Day’ Review – How To Crap On A Fun Concept

If you are a big Hollywood buff, you probably already know about the 2008 Jim Carrey comedy ‘Yes Man’, where the protagonist joins a self-help program that requires him to say ‘yes’ to everything for a year. The 2021 film ‘Yes Day’ pretty much borrows that same idea, except that the lead pair has to say ‘yes’ to everything their three kids tell them for just a day. Also, there are some ground rules.

Never have I seen a movie with so much fake acting. Each scene is so cosmetic that it feels like you are watching a badly written school play. The whole time I had an unimpressed furrow on my forehead as one predictable scene after another played on screen. The original plan was to watch the film with some company, but nobody in the family was free, which was great, because otherwise there might have been a lot of cursing directed at me for suggesting we watch this film. Anyway…

Directed by Miguel Arteta, the film stars Jennifer Garner in the lead role as strict mom Allison, who is constantly saying ‘no’ to her kids for everything, so much so that they equate her with Hitler. So when somebody suggests she try a ‘Yes Day’ with the kids, she snorts and laughs it off, until her eldest kid Katie (Jenna Ortega) scoffs about how she could never go through an entire day saying ‘yes’. A bet is born – if mom says yes to everything for a day, Katie cannot go to a music concert unchaperoned.

Just thinking about this film is making me feel sleepy, it’s how boring it was. Boring. Boring. Boring. Jennifer Garner can be adorable, but in this film, she was just an annoying mom, who gets only more annoying by the minute. There’s a lot of usual parents versus teen drama in the script that felt super awkward and contrived. Doesn’t help that the actor who plays the eldest kid has absolutely no charm whatsoever.

This movie is a lesson on ‘How to crap on a fun concept’, because while the premise sound super exciting – imagine the possibilities of having three naughty kids getting a whole day of having their parents say ‘yes’ to all their demands. The makers don’t do anything really fun out of it, except for a nice little ‘nerd party’ towards the end, which comes too late to be appreciated. There is just no chemistry between the family members, they feel like they have been picked at random and pushed together on a stage to play their parts due to some last minute emergency.

Okay, I don’t even feel like going on and on about this movie. It’s a 3/10 from me.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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Sula Book Review – Too Fleeting

I finished reading book number 23 for the year – a small novel called ‘Sula’ by Toni Morrison. It’s about two young black girlfriends, who are like one soul split into two bodies, that is until one of them marries. Sula, the single one, takes off to the world, away from ‘The Bottom’, the place where she grew up in. But as the goes through cities, she finds all places just as shallow & empty as ‘The Bottom’. So she goes back, to be reunited with her friend, but things don’t go as planned.

The book is a swift, almost superficial study of a young black woman who is ostracized in her hometown because she is sexually liberated and doesn’t care much for monogamy. Sula is almost 30 when she comes back to her black neighborhood and is looked down upon for not bending to the rules of society (code for not marrying). While author Morrison jolts the viewer with some extreme incidents to acquaint us with just how harsh poverty can be, the incidents aren’t connected enough to bring about a catharsis in the reader. What’s even more disappointing is how some characters are introduced with much pomp, only to never make an appearance in the story again. It’s like Morrison keeps initiating a sub-plot and then just forgets about it.

For me, this book just didn’t have enough of Sula. And even the little that there is… is not applause worthy. It felt like the author puts the protagonist on a pedestal for no damn reason. Sula does nothing to earn a living, we are vaguely informed that she may have gone to college, and had a slightly rough childhood. She is reduced to some sort of a sexual Madonna, perhaps not even that, because we are informed she is not very beautiful to look at. So what’s so unique about her? Nothing, except for the fact that she has one-night-stands and never gets possessive of the men she sleeps with, making her even more appealing to all the married men of ‘the bottom’. Maybe this 1973 book was ground-breaking for the year it came out in, but it’s quite unimpressive for 2021. It doesn’t have an enduring appeal.

Even the writing wasn’t very impressive. For a non-American reader, I had a hard time with some paragraphs and would have to read them twice over to understand what’s happening. Maybe the colloquial language adds authenticity to the narration, but for an international reader, it made for uncomfortable reading. Also, Morrison spends too much time describing what happens, instead of just showing us the incidents. It feels like someone has written a summary of a larger book. You know what I mean?

Sigh.

It’s a 3/5 for me. And I feel like I am being generous with the rating.

Do check out our new Podcast show by the same name on YouTube.

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Reading Banned/Censored Graphic Novels

Have you ever bought a book, finished reading it, and found out days/months/years later that it’s controversial to the extent that people wanted it banned in libraries?

Happened to me a bunch of times. So in the latest episode of Abstract AF (the podcast), we discuss six graphic novels that people wanted banned, burnt or brushed off from our reading memories.

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