T. George

So Big It's Hard to Wrap Your Arms Around..., Jun 29 2004

Well, I guess I would say that this film is one small step for Burton but one large step for post-modernism in film. (By post-modernism I refer to the reaction against the rationality, supremacy of facts, and simplified thinking of scientific modernist thinking.)

It is true that the storyline was a bit choppy and that some characters were so flat I thought the breeze would knock them over. HOWEVER, I was so enraptured by the film that I think that such criticisms (which are usually important to me) fall by the wayside. What Burton has done with this film is visionary and new. And, while it does have problems, I think that's maybe due to the fact that he's simply one of the first in a… Read more

My Least Favorite MacDonald Book So Far, Jun 14 2004

George MacDonald is one of those writers who seems to have had a great impact in the literary world and yet who is little read today. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, among others, held MacDonald in very high regard. His innovative method of reviving fairy tales and using them for adults greatly influenced their fertile minds. And yet, while his works are imaginative and hopeful, they probably aren't the best pure writing you will come across.

In this book, MacDonald explores a tricky romance beset with obstacles between Belorba (your narrator) and John. MacDonald first gives you all the background on Belorba's idyllic upbringing with her loving uncle. He then sprinkles details of John's… Read more

Radiant Hope in the Midst of the Desert, Jun 14 2004

A Catholic friend of mine recommended this book as a quick but wonderful weekend read. Although the book is clearly titled "The End of the Affair," I little anticipated what I was getting into. Indeed, this book explores the winding down of a passionate affair between Bendrix (your main narrator) and Mrs. Sarah Miles. As much as I favor modern British literature, reading a tormented, neurotic man's twisted thoughts was not exactly my idea of a great weekend read. For the first half of the book, I greatly doubted my friend's reading recommendations.

However, like in "Till We Have Faces," I found the second half of the book more than justified the first half's wanderings. Greene uses… Read more