Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 270

Slip & Slide Book Review – Quick Fun Read

The GoodReads book challenge for 2021 is going great for some of us. So far at least. I finished reading book number 7 for the year – titled ‘Slip & Slide’, the novella by G B Ralph is a sequel to his debut book ‘Duck & Dive’, a cute romantic comedy.

‘Duck & Dive’ was told from the perspective of the closeted Arthur, who tries to come out to his friends, but keeps fumbling from revealing the truth. ‘Slip & Slide’ is narrated by Gabriel, a struggling student who develops a crush on Arthur, but is wondering if dating someone new to the pride parade is worth the effort.

I really enjoyed the easy colloquial manner of story-telling by author Ralph, it’s relatable, like you are in a room having a conversation with a bunch of your own friends. A few new characters are introduced, including Gabriel’s flatmates who are younger and infuse some youthful energy to the story. Although Gabriel’s ‘intermittent flatmates’ Betty & Basil are way more likable. They are cats, and all of their mentions in the story might make you want to adopt cats.

What really makes ‘Slip & Slide’ fun to read is the fact that it’s sprinkled with romantic moments and ‘action’ *wink wink* throughout and you don’t have to wait till the climax for things to get exciting. Sure, some books are more fun when they save all the poking for the end, like desserts, but sometimes a few spoons of dessert in between the course of your meal is fun too. Like sipping a coke-float while having a burger. You know what I mean.

There is a lot of cooking going on in this book and the description are very point on. As an Indian, it was interesting to read about all the ingredients that go with making a meal worthy of a steamy date. Those who aren’t very fond of food might not find those bits as engrossing.

Gabriel and Arthur are quite adorable as two individuals who are just trying to figure out where their encounters might be heading. It’s nice to see the protagonists being honest about their feelings and not keeping their potential love interest guessing in circles about what is going on their mind. That trope is just annoying and author Ralph steers clear from it, giving readers a straightforward romantic tale.

I was able to finish the entire novella in almost one sitting and that’s the best part about ‘Slip & Slide’ – it’s engaging & breezy. It’s a 4/5 from me.

Strawberries & Ice-cream

Here is an Abstract as F post – how to make easy home-made strawberry ice-cream.

We had a “vegan haul” arrive at our place – vegan butter, vegan milk (cashew & oats milk), vegan mayo. I had also ordered three boxes of strawberries, which weren’t as sweet as I expected them to be. So I decided to make vegan strawberry ice-cream.

And it actually turned out to be pretty good. How did I make it?

+ Diced 400 grams of strawberries

+ Dumped it in the blender with 4 spoons sugar + two spoons vegan butter + 200 ml vegan milk

Mixed it all in the blender until it was one thick mixture. Left the mix in the fridge overnight. Broke it into chunks with a fork and blended them again. Froze it for the second time for 5 hours.

The result was this –

It was yum! You can replace the vegan ingredients with regular milk & butter. And I would suggest you use 8 spoons of sugar & 4 spoons melted butter. I prefer little sugar, so the ice-cream wasn’t as sweet as store brought ice-creams.

Letters To Jupiter – Poetry Book Review

Who doesn’t love simple poetry that reminds you of things the mind often ponders over when it finds the time to breathe alone?

“Letters To Jupiter” by Lotte Jean is a collection of poetry that descends into the internal turmoils of both the heart and body. It’s easy to read and doesn’t leave you scratching your head over cryptic lines that some poets take pleasure in penning down. That doesn’t mean Jean does not indulge in witticism and hidden meanings in this collection. A few things might be lost on readers who aren’t familiar with classics. For example, there is a poem that is inspired by a wildly popular Oscar Wilde story. If you haven’t read Wilde, you won’t get it.

The dominant theme through the book is self-love, although the Jean does delve into other issues, like existentialism, toxic relationships & broken families. I really enjoyed the ones that seemed more personal and had elements of the nature interspersed with the individual’s growth. The one titled ‘The Day I Lost The Sun & Saw The Moon’ was short but beautiful to read. Here are some of the first few lines –

take me to the river’s edge
let my soul
merge with the stream
and taste a reality
far different from my own
an ether of merging thoughts
of clarity
and
madness
moulding together.

Lotte Jean

Most of the poetry is free-style and there is no fixed metre or pattern to them. Some of them are very short, just one sentence spaced into a poem, the kinds that I like to label ‘insta poetry’, which I am not very fond of. But I’ve mentioned in an older poetry book review about how I am starkly aware of the popularity of such poems. So I think a lot of modern readers would enjoy them. Also, few of the poems are slightly repetitive and you’ll keep spotting the words ‘acid’, ‘fire’, ‘burn’ a lot.

Overall, ‘Letter to Jupiter’ is a lovely collection and is all about youth, despair, love and self-discovery. Read them a few times and you’ll get finding newer/deeper meanings to some of them.

Northern Lights – Graphic Novel Review

Finished reading book number 5 this year – Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. I read this magical graphic novel version adapted by Stephane Melchior, with some stunning artwork by Clement Oubrerie.

It follows the journey of the unruly but brave Lyra to the north to rescue children who’ve been abducted by ‘gobblers’. It’s a fascinating world of witches, shape-shifting animals & beer chugging armored bears. It felt like a mix of a lot of books. Lyra was projected as an orphan-child at the beginning and the arc reminded me of the works of Dickens. However far from the bleak world of Dickens’ classic novels, Northern Lights is bright, shiny and filled with colours.

In Pullman’s world, every human has a ‘daemon’, a creature that is perpetually with them, like a soul-animal. If the daemon is attacked, its human feels the pain too and vice-versa. Lyra is always up to some mischief or the other with her daemon and the two go on a journey to the end of the earth to find the evil ‘gobblers’ and free the innocent children kidnapped by them. She is gifted a golden compass that can answer any question, but very few can interpret the answers. Our protagonist however manages to crack the mystery of the compass and thus gets a lot of help in her perilous journey.

The most likable character in the book for me was the ‘drunkard’ bear called Lorek Byrnison, who is banished from his kingdom, despite being the heir to the throne. Despite being a giant animal, Byrnison’s character is almost human and very lovable. He in some ways in the true hero of the book, despite having a terrifying introduction.  

Just one thing kept bothering me, and that was the motivations of the antagonist. All we know is that the villain is doing evil things, but what exactly spurs them on is never clear. I wish there was some more back-story or more space for us to understand the antagonist. There is quite some violence in the book and I think some of the themes are slightly dark for children. However it’s perfect for comic loving adults!

Tribhanga Movie Review – About The Moms We Don’t Talk About

Most mainstream Indian movies lead viewers to believe that mothers are symbols strength, solicitude and sacrifice – ready to give up everything, if it means keeping the family together. But the moms in the 2021 film ‘Tribhanga’ don’t exactly fit in the ‘Mother India’ mold. The film starts off with a writer (who has a married grand-daughter) day-drinking whiskey and recalling her life, which includes abandoning her husband to pursue her passion. Her kids hate her and prefer to call her by her first name.

A few seconds later, we see a resplendent Anu (Kajol), her daughter, draped in a beautiful blue saree, all ready to perform the classical Odishi dance, but not before she can take a few puffs to ease her nerves. It’s a clever juxtaposition of traditional mores and modern mannerisms. Kajol’s Anu is a famous actor and dancer, with an even more accomplished writer mom Nayan (Tanvi Azmi) and a rather docile daughter Masha (Mithila Palkar).

Anu leaves her dance midway to rush to the hospital, where her mother has been hospitalized. Nayan suffers a stroke while interacting with Milan (Kunaal Roy Kapur), a writer who is helping pen her biography. The story then flits between the present and past to explain the strained/stormy relationship between Nayan and Anu and how it unwittingly affects her daughter Masha too.

Director Renuka Shahane, who has also written the story, tells a gripping, emotional tale of three women, two of whom are fiercely independent and how their life choices haunt them to the end. ‘Tribhanga’ is a dance pose and literally means ‘three parts break’ (Wikipedia says so) and refers to three bends in the body – so as a viewer we are led to believe that the three protagonists will perhaps have equal share in the story. However, Kajol gets the most screen-time.

The much-loved actor turns out to be the only weak link in the film as far as the acting is concerned. While all the other actors slip pretty effortlessly into their roles, Kajol’s delivery is too exaggerated in some scenes. Her performance swings between over-dramatic to just right. It’s probably because the character seems a lot like the actor herself – bubbly, loud, spunky & outspoken. A lot of actors have often mused about how it’s much easier to play someone completely different than roles that are closer to their own traits. Kajol’s emotional scenes are poignant & spot on, but she overdoes the lighter fun scenes. Tanvi Azmi on the other hand looked every bit the troubled old writer she plays. Kunaal Roy Kapur’s role as the ‘shuddhh Hindi speaking’ biographer was a little caricature-like, yet fun to watch.

The cinematography captures all the changing moods of the film vividly, be it the somber hospital scenes or soirees from the past. There are a lot of fleeting little family scenes, both silly and serious, that would be relatable to a lot of people. And it was absolutely refreshing to see the spotlight on the internal struggles of women who choose a different life for themselves. The theme of sexual abuse is handled sensitively, yet done in a way to convey the heinous nature of the crime and the devastating impact it can have on the victim’s life. Not sure about other viewers, but I was delighted to see the protagonist Anu cuss away to glory, like a regular woman; she doesn’t hold back the ‘f’ bombs, or the even more explosive expletives that are available to us in the Hindi language.

Since the story is set in Mumbai, some dialogues are in Marathi and it adds to the authenticity of the tale. The only problem I had with the script was the unfair villainization of school teachers. It might seem like a trivial complaint, and despite a very brief scene, odious bullying by teachers actually plays a big part in pushing the plot forward. Which brings us to the pace of the film – with a 95 minute runtime, Tribhanga is cut well and flows smoothly. The climax ends in a bitter-sweet closure. It could’ve done with more story and screen-space for other actors. Also, the ending shot was very funny/silly/unnecessary. If you watch the film you’ll know what I mean.

It’s a 7/10 for me.

Paint Day

We have a little transparent window in the kitchen of our new house and if people walk past from outside, they can see everything happening inside. Here’s the problem – it’s too small to cover it up with a curtain. A lot of people in the building have just plastered old newspapers over it. That just won’t do for us.

So we came up with the next best/economical solution – to paint something that fits in the space and looks like kitchen art. Kitchen art is a thing okay. Do not laugh. Since I am a huge manga/comics/cartoon fan, my first urge was to do a collage of cartoon network characters from the 90s. But I finally settled for doing something that would be more calming and decided to have a huge tree with some birds on it.

While I was looking for ideas online, I spotted a very cute mug with a fox on a mug and decided it would look good on a quick art-work. So I drew the fox on a smaller sheet, just in case it didn’t come out well and decided to plaster it on the bigger painting whenever it would be done.

Anyway, this is what it looks like – (before & after)

The Archer – Book Review

The first few pages of “The Archer” by Paulo Coelho constantly reminded me of Dronacharya, the master of advanced military arts from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. But the shadow of an epic didn’t plague my mind for too long. From what starts of as an intriguing story of a mysterious ace archer, the book soon descends into a collection of motivational quotes.

The Archer is more of a self-help book than the “literary fiction” genre it’s categorised in. Tetsuya the protagonist, who is supposedly the best archer in the world, shares his wisdom on how to be great with the bow. His advice can be applicable to day-to-day life. The very little action that takes place in this book unfolds only in the 7-8 pages of the prologue, the meat of the book is just filled with inspirational advice that you’ve probably already heard or read from here and there.

The hardback edition I own had some really simple and nice paintings interspersed with Coelho’s words of wisdom. I just wish there was more story to it. As a reader, you are misled into believing this is ficion. It’s a 3 on 5 from me.

‘Gone Girl’ Pike Preys On Older Folks in ‘I Care A Lot’

Netflix just dropped the trailer for the film “I Care A Lot” starring Rosamand Pike (the bad-ass wife from Gone Girl), Peter Dinklage and Dianne Wiest, and it looks pretty damn interesting.

Pike plays Marla Grayson, a suited up con who scams old people into moving to her ‘care home’ and sells off their property to swim in all the money that comes off it. Life is sweet for Grayson until she decides to scam the wrong old woman.

The trailer is cut really well, with pacy music and sharp editing. Rosamand Pike looks cunning and reminded me of Cruella de Vil, the disney villain from 101 dalmatians, though Pike is way more good-looking. Peter Dinklage gets very few seconds in the trailer, but seems to have an interesting gangster sort of role. All in all, “I Care A Lot” looks like an entertaining film in the offing.

It’s been a while since a trailer has gotten me this excited, so I am looking forward to the Netflix release date – February 19, 2021. Meanwhile, you can watch the trailer right here –

Bliss First Look – Bizarre Comeback for Owen Wilson

Do you remember watching the fun combination of Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan in action movies as kids? I really loved those films. Wilson however has become a pale shadow of what he used to be and it cannot be clearer in his upcoming film trailer “Bliss”, co-starring Salma Hayek.

Owen Wilson who did not have any film come out in the year 2020, looks completely haggard in what looks like a Matrix meets Adjustment Bureau mash-up. Salma Hayek flits between a hippie looking witch to a sophisticated scientist in this sci-fi flick where the protagonists keep switching between two parallel worlds – one is a bleak looking world straight out of a depressing Dickens’ novel and the other looks like a fancy/futuristic Mills & Boons universe.

Hayek claims they are living in a ‘stimulated reality’ and things begin to get ugly when things from the two alternate universes begin to collide. It was slightly confusing to watch the trailer, although you are able to make out what it really is about by the end of it. It just feels like the makers have squeezed in too many themes – stimulated reality/time bending/magic (yes, Hayek and Owen are able to move and crash things by magic)/love/relationship problems/family problems/social disparities among other things. Too much of a muddle.

“I feel a little disoriented” Wilson says towards the end of this trailer. The viewer might feel the same.

To All The Boys Always & Forever Trailer

The much anticipated trailer of the third installment of the Netflix film ‘To All The Boys…” is out. Titled “To All The Boys Always & Forever”, it starts with a montage of protagonist Lara Jean (Lana Condor) holidaying with her family in Seoul. She is still dating her first boyfriend Peter (Noah Centineo) and the film seems to be about how their life and relationship status might change if they do not land in the same college together.

The whole “going long distance versus breaking up” has been done in so many movies that the plot does not seem interesting at all. Throughout the trailer, I had a straight un-amused face, which isn’t necessarily bad, because some trailers make me cringe/sigh/regret hitting the play button. It’s just that this trailer didn’t really have anything new from what we’ve already seen from the franchise. There weren’t any cute or witty little scenes either. I did not break into a laugh or even a small smile throughout the course of the 3 minute trailer.

Everything seems to be a little stale in this upcoming new film. There is the usual prom trope, where there are elaborate “will you go to prom with me” proposals. Lara and Peter happily dance at prom, while an uncertain future stares at them. And then Lara doesn’t get into the college she wants to attend. Even that little twist is given away in the trailer. I felt like they pretty much gave away everything in the trailer, although, I hope that’s not the case. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t read the books. But after the fun first two parts, the third one doesn’t seem very promising.

You can watch the trailer here –