Cup of Tea

Cup of Tea:

sung by Carly Rae Jepsen, who will celebrate her 30th birthday this coming Saturday.

Lyrics excerpt:

A cup of tea, a cup of tea
I've been driving all night, you won't turn on your light that easily
A neon sign offers some shelter across the street
Guess I'll drink my trouble down with a cup of tea

Please join the weekly gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth over at the Altered Book Lover blog. Share a drink with us. Today Elizabeth is posting a tribute to the French people in light of the recent terror attacks in Paris.

Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips is a 2013 thriller starring Tom Hanks as a commercial cargo ship captain whose ship is highjacked by Somali pirates. Anyone who thinks a life of piracy is a romantic endeavor filled with rich plunder might want to check out this movie before committing. This film was a birthday present from The Younger Son. We all enjoyed it.

trailer:

There is some question as to how accurate this film is. It was based on a true story, but perspective is key. Some of the crew members of the ship found fault. I never assume that being based on a true story means that a film is an accurate re-telling of events. There are stories here, here and elsewhere about people who disagreed with parts of the movie.

Slant Magazine says, "as it progresses, Captain Phillips really never stops getting better." Rolling Stone gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and says regarding Hanks, "This is acting of the highest order in a movie that raises the bar on what a true-life action thriller can do." Empire Online says, "... there is no attempt to crassly crowdplease. Yet it still has all the momentum and clench-strength to do exactly that: please crowds."

Roger Ebert's site says, "What unfolds in the next two hours is gripping enough that more than a few theater armrests will probably require upholstery repair." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 93%.

Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 historical drama about the Crusades. It's directed by Ridley Scott and stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Michael Sheen... That ought to tell you enough to know you should see this film. Between the director and the cast you can't go wrong. Besides that, it's a riveting story.

trailer:

Time Out says, " it’s striking in thought and deed, and you will honestly believe they rebuilt twelfth-century Jerusalem for the occasion." Roger Ebert gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and says, "The movie is above all about the personal codes of its heroes, both Christian and Muslim."

Louisiana Story

Louisiana Story is a 1948 docudrama fiction movie. The score won a Pulitzer Prize for Music.

onscreen before the credits:

Louisiana Story being an account of certain adventures of a cajun (Acadian) boy who lives in the marshlands of Petit Anse Bayou in Louisiana.

FilmReference.com says, "The film is a poetic reflection of [director] Flaherty's youth, in which he explores his own life-long relationship to the wilderness and natural environment, and to the people who live there" and concludes that it "remains an enduring work of art for its sheer visual beauty". DVD Talk says, "If one can surrender to an evocation of the world as a child might see it and understand it – according to Frances, this was the Flaherty's intention – Louisiana Story works well enough."

Senses of Cinema says,

Often considered to be Robert Flaherty’s masterwork, Louisiana Story is the culmination of Flaherty’s poetic method, formally and thematically drawing together the promise that can be seen in Nanook of the North, Man of Aran and The Land, with a mediation between modernity and regionalism. While The Land marks a shift from the pre- modern nostalgia of the early film to an engagement with modernity, Louisiana Story directly addresses the issue of the environmental impact of mechanisation upon the pristine environment of the bayous of Louisiana in a film sponsored by Standard Oil albeit with the approval of the sponsor.

DVD Journal says,

Offensive corporate propaganda aside, Louisiana Story won the Venice Film Festival's International Prize that year for its "lyrical beauty." The 1952 Sight and Sound Critics' Poll dubbed it one of the Top Ten Films of All Time, and in 1994 the Library of Congress dubbed Louisiana Story "culturally significant" and ranked it among the first films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

This film is listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. TCM has information. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 79%.

The Ghoul (1975)

The Ghoul (also known as The Thing in the Attic) is a 1975 horror film starring Peter Cushing and John Hurt. There's an evil thing in the attic, a former priest protecting the secret, exotic weirdness originating in India, cannibalism, insane hired help... Just the thing to put back for next October's horror viewings. Eerie creepiness.

The Ghoul [aka Night of the Ghoul] (1975) by MargaliMorwentari

Moria gives it 2 out of 5 stars and says, "The padding seems obvious at times. However, the atmosphere of strangeness amid the mist-flowing moors is certainly well evoked, and Peter Cushing gives a strong performance as always." Rotten Tomatoes doesn't have a critics score, but the audience score is 40%.

1Q84

1Q84 is a 2009-2010 novel by Haruki Murakami.

from the back of the book:

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's -1Q84 is a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

I like a long book. Honest. I used to seek them out, and -though I don't do that any more- I don't find a book's length particularly intimidating. But this book is long, at 1,157 pages in my edition. Given the choice of re-reading a book this length I wouldn't choose this one. It's not that the pace is slow, even though it is; and it's not that it's confusing, as I've heard some people say. I guess I just find the characters themselves unengaging and unbelieveable. I'm also troubled by the image of the male characters, helpless and unable to move, with large, hard erections, being mounted for the purpose of sex by pre-pubescent girls. I found the assurances that the girls can't get pregnant because they haven't had their first periods bizarre. As yet another teen-aged girl climbs on top of a poor, helpless man, I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking, "Well, I knew it was a fantasy novel when I bought it." I also got tired of reading descriptions of breasts (both from the narrator and from the characters) and pubic hair. I don't tend to be particularly delicate about descriptions of body parts, but -as with Mickey Spillane and his focus on lips- I get tired of the repetition. These issues made continuing to read the book difficult at times.

The book opens with Janacek's Sinfonietta, and the piece recurs throughout the book. I liked that.

favorite quotes:

What did it mean for a person to be free? she would often ask herself. Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren't you just in another, larger one?

....

"Humans see time as a straight line. It's like putting notches on a long, straight stick. The notch here is the future, the one on this side is the past, and the present is the point right here. Do you understand?"

"I think so."

"But actually time isn't a straight line. It doesn't have a shape. In all senses of the term, it doesn't have any form. But since we can't picture something without form in our minds, for the sake of convenience we understand it as a straight line. At this point humans are the only ones who can make that sort of conceptual substitution."

"But maybe we are the ones who are wrong."

....

"When you prick a person with a needle, red blood comes out -that's the real world."

....

The lawyer had said so. So it must be true -or, at least, a fact, in a legal sense. But it felt like the more facts that were revealed, the more the truth receded. Why would that be?

....
The NYT calls it "stupefying" -and not in a good way- and says, "“1Q84” has even his most ardent fans doing back flips as they try to justify this book’s glaring troubles." The Atlantic asks, "What is the sound of one book flopping?"

Slate Magazine says, "It is tempting to explain these weaknesses in terms of what is lost in translation, just as it is tempting to dismiss Murakami as an artless writer. Neither judgment is fair. Unbelievable characters, forced exposition, and rambling dialogue are unlikely to read any less awkwardly in Murakami’s native tongue." The LRB says it's "a bit like watching a Hollywood-influenced Japanese movie in a version that’s been dubbed by American actors."

The LA Review of Books shares my distaste of the breast focus, saying,

Nevertheless, one passing reference likely would have sufficed, and somewhere in the fourth or fifth or sixth such passage, there is the distinct whiff of perviness. Pervy because of the repetition, but also because, while these descriptions are offered from the POV of a female character (usually Aomame), commenting on either her own body or someone else's, they don't sound like a woman speaking. Rather, they sound like a man (or a teenage boy) describing a woman's breasts, or more specifically, like a teenage boy's fantasy of a woman describing another woman's breasts.

NPR calls it "a gorgeous festival of words". Salon and The Daily Beast have positive reviews. The Wall Street Journal says, "if you can soldier through the prose and some rather tremendous longueurs, you'll find genuine wisdom and emotional depth in "1Q84."" Kirkus Reviews calls it a "dreamlike, strange and wholly unforgettable epic."

io9 says, "1Q84 is definitely not Murakami's best novel, but I still enjoyed bits and pieces of it."

The Westerner

The Westerner is a 1940 William Wyler-directed Western starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan (who got an unprecedented 3rd Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for this), Forrest Tucker (always good, in my opinion), Chill Wills, Paul Hurst (who was in Gone with the Wind and The Ox Bow Incident), Dana Andrews in his first film (he was also in The Best Years of Our Lives, Laura and The Ox Bow Incident), Charles Halton (who was a character actor whose face is well-known by lovers of old movies) and Tom Tyler (who played The Phantom in the 1940s serial).

I enjoyed this. The acting and characters are wonderful. Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan work great together!

written on-screen after the credits:

After the Civil War, America, in the throes of rebirth, set its face West where the land was free.

First came the cattlemen and with them "Judge" Roy Bean, who took the law into his own hands, administering justice according to his lights. That he left his impress on the history of Texas is tribute to his greatness. Then into his stronghold moved another army, the homesteaders, who ploughed the soil, fenced the fields, to bring security to their wives and children.

War was inevitable, a war out of which grew the Texas of today.

1940 - The Westerner - Gary Cooper; Walter Brennan by cldickjr

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.

Dahlias in the Sun

Dahlias in the Sun:

is a 1920 painting by Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin, a French Impressionist painter who was born on August 5, 1860, and died on November 12, 1943.

You can see more of his work online at WikiArt.

I love yellow flowers in the Autumn. I have a wild sunflower that blooms this time of year, and I enjoy them, and chrysanthemums, and whatever else yellow and flowering I can find. It cheers me.

Here are my little wild sunflowers on the patio:

The Daughter also loves sunflowers, and you can see one in this lovely bouquet, which [shown a bit disarranged here] was the cake topper at her wedding this past week-end:

It was intended to serve as the bouquet to toss, but the photographer changed things up a little. It worked fine her way. I've found if I leave decisions like that to the professionals on the scene things go more smoothly than if I try to micromanage everything.

And here's my sunflower cup with coffee:

Share your drink at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's Tea Tuesday party at their blog. Elizabeth is observing Remembrance Day.

Dredd

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen Dredd, but I don't see that I've ever blogged it. Dredd is actually a fun movie and quite re-watchable, though I'd never have suspected that before seeing it the first time. A science fiction/action/cop film, it came out in 2012 and stars Karl Urban. Don't confuse it with Judge Dredd, which came out in 1995 and starred Sylvester Stallone.

trailer:

Moria complains that it's more action film and not much science fiction. NPR says, "Not only is Dredd a smart bit of September counterprogramming, it's a gleefully audacious, visceral, near-perfect action movie." Forbes says the main character is "played to perfection by Karl Urban" and says, "I liked Dredd a lot, because there were so many aspects to like."

King Pig 42

Perfect for Memphis, where Bar-b-que rules!

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The Man Who Laughs is a 1928 silent horror/melodrama. This is a tragic story in the classic sense of that word. It's directed by Paul Leni, who died at age 44 just a year after this film's release. It stars Conrad Veidt, who died of a heart attack at age 50. Oh, to think of what might have been if these men had lived longer!

Mary Philbin also stars. She died of pneumonia in 1993 at age 90. Her last film appearance had been in 1929, just a year after The Man Who Laughs. She never married, and after her retirement lived as a virtual recluse in her father's home. She stayed there even after her father, step-mother and mother had died. Rediscovered in the 1960s she made a few public appearances until she retired permanently, suffering from Alzheimer's.

Moria gives it 4 out of 5 stars. DVD Talk calls it "an excellent example of the artistic silent cinema that was wiped out by the coming of sound" and says, "Direction, design and acting are superb. Conrad Veidt's performance is the equal of Lon Chaney and the film as a whole much more satisfying than Universal's earlier Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera."

It's on Roger Ebert's Great Movies list. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a critics score of 100%.

Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural is a 1975 horror film. This is a creepy little piece, with vampires and a little blond, blue-eyed 13-year-old picture of innocence who is lured to their camp. I liked the weirdness of this one. It's definitely worth re-watching.

DVD Talk says, "The production masterstroke was the casting of seventeen year-old Cheryl Smith as the virginal innocent Lila Lee, a daughter of scandal lured to her doom by the matriarchal vampiress Lemora" and declares: "An imaginative script, a fine central performance and a willingness to venture into taboo subject matter." DVD Verdict calls it "one of the best vampire films ever made". Weird Wild Realm says,

A notorious film in its day, the Catholic Film Board had it on their list of condemned movies for two decades. Today it seems not so daring but is nevertheless a powerful low-budget film with the intimations of the preacher having molested the child Lila, & the lesbianism between Lemora (Leslie Gilb) & Lila is discomfiting to say the least, since Lila is only thirteen years old.

It has a critics rating of 86% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Acceptance

Acceptance is the 3rd book in Jeff VanderMeer's 2014 Southern Reach trilogy, though I honestly think the division of this work into separate books is arbitrary and that it would be better approached as a single book. The entire work is mind-expanding, and I'm pleased it seems to be getting attention and appreciation in the larger literary world.

from the back of the book:

In the conclusion to the /new York Times best-selling Southern Reach trilogy, questions are answered, true natures revealed, terrors deepened.

It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it —the Southern Reach— has collapsed in on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they’ve been seeking. If they fail, the outer world is in peril.

Meanwhile, Acceptance tunnels ever deeper into the circumstances surrounding the creation of Area X —what initiated this unnatural upheaval? Among the many who have tried, who has gotten close to understanding Area X —and who may have been corrupted by it?

In this last installment of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, the mysteries of Area X may be solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound —or terrifying.

favorite quote:

"Sometimes you need to know when to go on to the next thing -for the sake of other people."

NPR says it

is at different times the best haunted lighthouse story ever written, a deeply unsettling tale of first contact, a book about death, a book about obsession and loss, a book about the horrifying experience of confronting an intelligence far greater and far stranger than our own, and a book about sea monsters.

Slate says, "This amazing trilogy is like Lost, except you won't be enraged when you finish reading it." Strange Horizons has a positive review of the trilogy. Kirkus Reviews concludes, "We leave knowing more about Area X than we started; we may not understand it any better, but we leave transformed, as do all travelers to that uncanny place."

The Book of Life

The Book of Life is a 2014 animated film. The Younger Son bought me the DVD for an occasion, and we've just now gotten around to watching it. It's wonderful! We all enjoyed it.

trailer:

The Guardian gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "It’s refreshingly sparky fare, boasting eye-catching design (wooden toys inspire CG magic), musical weirdness (Radiohead will never sound the same again) and proper laugh-out-loud jokes for young and old alike."

Roger Ebert's site gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars, calls it a "Mexican fiesta of animated splendor" and says,

“The Book of Life” personifies the philosophy that drives The Day of the Dead and encourages a healthy way to celebrate those who are gone. As he [the director] puts it, “As long as you remember those who came before you, and as long as you tell their stories, cook their dishes, and sing their songs … they’re with you. They live inside your heart.”

Time Out gives it 4 out of 5 stars and calls it "brightly detailed, exuberant and simply bursting with winning cultural pride." It has a critics rating of 82% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Leonard's Pit Barbecue

Leonard's Pit Barbecue is a Memphis institution. The first one opened in 1922, and although that location is no longer open, the tradition is alive and well in its current home. Here are photos of part of the interior:

I had the small bbq plate, which comes with beans and fries:

The Husband had a large bbq sandwich with a side order of shoestring fries, and The Younger Son had a large bbq sandwich with a side order of wedge fries. I had Coke, The Husband had iced tea, and The Younger Son had water. You can read the menu here. Our total was around $25 before tip, so this is quite reasonable. The service was fast and pleasant. It had been years since we had been here, but the bbq was so good! We'll start going there more often now that we've remembered it. It says a lot about Memphis that there is so much good barbecue here that great restaurants fall off our radar.

Please join the weekly T Tuesday party hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth. Today our hostess is sharing homemade pumpkin bread and jasmine tea. Yummmm...

Harvey (1950)

Harvey is an old favorite in our house. It's got some of the elements of horror (insane asylum, people who see a huge creature that's not really there, but the creature may actually really be there), but it's a fantasy/comedy. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the 1950 movie stars James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, and Cecil Kellaway. This is a gentle, priceless film, and if you haven't seen it you should rush right out as soon as possible and get this movie.

trailer:

Moria calls it " one of the genuine American feelgood classics". Bright Lights Film Journal has a lengthy critique.

DVD Talk says, "Filled with memorable performances, great characters, sharp one-liners and tons of heart, it's a true charmer for viewers of all ages. It's also held up well during the last 60+ years". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 84% and an audience rating of 93%.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2014 science fiction film based on the Marvel Comics super hero team. Such great fun! Definitely re-watchable, and I've seen it 3 times so far.

trailer:

I still don't have one of these solar-powered dancing baby Groots:

but I will, oh yes, I will!

Moria gives it 4 out of 5 stars and has a positive review. BFI Sight and Sound also has a positive review. SF Signal concludes, "Guardians of the Galaxy hardly breaks new ground, but honestly, where else are you going to find starship escapes played to the music of Rupert Holmes’s “Escape?”"

Rolling Stone says it "hits you like an exhilarating blast of fun-fun-fun". Empire Online calls it "Colourful, tongue-in-cheek fun". Entertainment Weekly gives it an A- and says it "feels excitingly unpredictable".

Roger Ebert's site calls it "a fun and relatively fresh space Western". Rotten Tomatoes has a 91% critics score.

The Entity

The Entity is a 1981 (released in 1983) horror film, supposedly based on true events, about a woman terrorized and repeatedly sexually assaulted by a poltergeist. Barbara Hershey stars.

trailer:

Moria says, "The Entity becomes an absorbing film, in large part due to Frank De Felitta’s strong script.... There is a fine performance from Barbara Hershey, who reacts to the situation with a high degree of conviction." Empire Online gives it 3 out of 5 stars and calls it "A lengthy, sometimes painful film that manages to find a few shocks left unplucked by The Exorcist, turning the special effects from the usually-tame invisibility sub-genre to it's own nefarious ends."

Time Out says it "doesn't emerge quite as one-dimensionally nasty as its synopsis suggests." Horror News says, "The Entity remains a highly entertaining bit of widescreen eighties hokum that delivers some genuine jolts, an over-earnest performance from Barbara Hershey, and a premise that’s so outrageously unbelievable it must be true!"

Bloody Good Horror closes with this: "Even at the ripe age of 29 “The Entity” has few equals in anxiety and creep factor." Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 60% but no critics rating.

Frankenstein Movies, Worst to Best

Total Film has a list of Frankenstein films, ranked from worst to best, and explains the badness and/or greatness of each on the list:

Dracula Vs Frankenstein (1971)
Blackenstein (1973)
Monster Mash: The Movie (1995)
I Was A Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
The Horror Of Frankenstein (1970)
House Of Dracula (1945)
Van Helsing (2004)
Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein (1974)
The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)
House Of Frankenstein (1944)
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
The Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
Frankenweenie (2012)
The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
Son Of Frankenstein (1939)
The Monster Squad (1987)
Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Frankenstein (1931)

I've seen the ones in bold print and will look for the others next October.

Fledgling

Fledgling is a 2005 vampire novel by Octavia E. Butler. This was her last novel. She died in 2006 at the age of 58, having had a stroke which caused a fall resulting in fatal head injuries.

from the back of the book:

Shori is a mystery. Found alone in the woods, she appears to be a little black girl with traumatic amnesia and near-fatal wounds. But Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire with a ravenous hunger for blood, the lost child of an ancient species of near-immortals who live in dark symbiosis with humanity. Genetically modified to be able to walk in daylight, Shori now becomes the target of a vast plot to destroy her and her kind. And in the final apocalyptic battle, her survival will depend on whether all humans are bigots -or all bigots are human...

I'm troubled by the idea that sex with a child is ok under certain circumstances. In this case the body is a child's but the child is an older vampire. So we have a scene early in the book that unfolds like this, told from the child's point of view:

I sat on the bed. He started to pull the t-shirt over my head.

"No," I said, and he stopped and stood looking at me, waiting. "Let me see you." I pulled at his shirt and unbuttoned one of his buttons. "You've seen me."

He nodded, finished unbuttoning his shirt, and pulled his undershirt over his head.

His broad chest was covered with a mat of brown hair so thick that it was almost like fur, and I stroked it and felt him shiver.

He kicked off his shoes and stripped off his pants and underwear. There was a great deal more fur on him everywhere, and he was already erect and eager.

I had seen a man this way before. I could not remember who he had been, could not recall the specific face or body, but all of this was familiar and good to me. And I felt my own eagerness and growing excitement. I pulled the t-shirt over my head and let him push me back onto the bed, let him touch me while I petted and played with his fur and explored his body until, gasping, he caught my hands and held them. He covered me with his huge furry blanket of a body. He was so tall that he took care to hold himself up on his elbows so that my face was not crushed into his chest.

He was very careful at first, afraid of hurting me, still afraid that I might be too young for this, too small. Then, when it was clear that I was not being hurt at all, when I had wrapped my arms and legs around him, he forgot his fears, forgot everything. I forgot myself, too. I bit him again, just beneath his left nipple, and took a little more blood. He shouted and squeezed the breath from me. Then he collapsed on me. Empty, spent.[p. 22]

This is a man in his mid-20s, and the girl has been described as looking about ten or eleven and having no body hair at all. It turns out that she's actually 53 years old, but still a child in vampire years as she won't be of child-bearing age until she's 70. So, she's a child in every meaningful sense of the word. A little girl.

That the man is white, the child is black, and the child initiates the sexual activity does turn the power dynamic on its head, but still... I'm uncomfortable with anything that normalizes adults having sexual relationships with children. I'm sure this book makes for great discussion in groups exploring feminist issues, power structures, and racism; but I had to get past what I felt was a definite ick factor to move through it.

Strange Horizons explores some flaws but concludes, "it's a fine example of Butler's work, full of thoughtful studies of different social structures, human dynamics, and our own biases and expectations." Infinity Plus says, "As a stand-alone novel, it would be a good introduction to her other work for those who have not read her already."

BoingBoing says, "Butler's novels earned her the MacArthur "genius" award, and it was well-deserved. Few writers in our field are so good at blending potato-chip page-turners with nutritious philosophical questions so seamlessly." Kirkus Reviews closes by calling it "A finely crafted character study, a parable about race and an exciting family saga. Exquisitely moving fiction."

Living Dead in Dallas

Living Dead in Dallas is #2 (of 13) in the Sookie Stackhouse vampire/mystery series by Charlaine Harris, who was born in Tunica, MS, which is not far south of Memphis. I read the first one a while back, and I have several others on my TBR shelf. This is a quick, easy, fun read. I'd say you could read this one without having read the first in the series but that the first one provides details on the characters' backgrounds that aren't belabored here. I like the series even better now that I've finished this entry, and I'll look forward to more.

FWIW, there's plenty of enthusiastically described sex in these books.

Read chapter 1 online here.

from the back of the book:

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of bad luck. First, her coworker is murdered and no one seems to care. Then she's face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it).

Point is, they saved her life. So when one of the bloodsuckers asks for a favor, she complies. And soon, Sookie's in Dallas using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She's supposed to interview certain humans involved. There's just one condition: The vampires must promise to behave -and let the humans go unharmed. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly....

SF Site says, "This is the kind of book you read all day and night because you are unable to put it down." Infinity Plus closes with this: "I had a lot of fun with the first two Sookie Stackhouse novels, and I'm sure I'll return for Club Dead before too long. Highly recommended."

The Lower Depths (1936)

screenshot from Hulu

"A little tea in a family setting now and then is just the thing."

The Lower Depths is a 1936 award-winning Jean Renoir film, the 2nd of many adaptations of the Gorky play. This stars Jean Gabin, an actor I love. The film explores class differences, with Gabin as a thief who lives in a flophouse. In the scene above, the landlords (at far left and far right) are using the wife's innocent sister as a bribe to get the inspector to call off a search that will expose their operation as a fence for stolen goods. The inspector is smitten by the young woman and hopes to build a happy home life with her as wife. Tea eases business transactions at times, but the sister is none too happy at being used this way. She has dreams for the future, but what hope is there that her life will be anything but drudgery at these lower depths.

I watched it via Hulu (with commercials) when it was one of their free offerings. At this point you need a paid subscription to watch it there. I can't even find a trailer or a clip online now.

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 88%. TCM links to some reviews.

Please check out the other T Tuesday offerings over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's weekly gathering. Our host is celebrating Halloween early with treats.

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps is a 2000 werewolf/coming-of-age movie. This is a powerful film, whether or not you look at it from a feminist perspective, if you can get past the violence and gore. And that's a big "if". Plenty of gore to be had here.

via Youtube:

Moria gives it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars and says, "Ginger Snaps is a film that brims with ideas, good characterisation and perverse humour..." 1000 Misspent Hours gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "through it all, Ginger Snaps is also the best damn werewolf movie since I don’t know when."

Slant Magazine gives it 4 out of 5 stars and calls it "One of the great teenage horror films". Empire Online concludes, "A monster movie with real guts, this may be an educationally uneasy watch for the teenage boy genre fanbase. Grrls, however, will love it." HorrorNews.net calls it "a “must see” horror film with plenty of Gothic overtones and werewolf flash."

DVD Talk calls it "One of only a small handful of good werewolf horror films" and the "rare werewolf horror film that actually works" and praises the lead actors. Weird Wild Realm says, "Nothing about the theme of Ginger Snaps (Teenage Girl Werewolf) promised a great movie, yet somehow this works far, far better than the subject matter could ever have lead one to expect" and concludes, "Anyone who overlooked this one because thematically it was just too, too Buffy -you should risk it after all; it won't be a disappointment."

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a critics score of 89%.

The Hands of Orlac (1924)

The Hands of Orlac is a 1924 silent Austrian horror film. Or it's known as a horror film, but actually it's a murder mystery with some horror trappings. I think this is well done, and I like it much better than the 1935 re-make Mad Love, even though Mad Love stars Peter Lorre and Colin Clive. I haven't seen the 1960 remake, which stars Christopher Lee. The Hands of Orlac is directed by Robert Wiene (better known for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) and stars Conrad Veidt.

Moria gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "Veidt makes the part sing with his utmost". 1000 Misspent Hours has a positive review. Slant Magazine gives it 3 out of 4 stars and says, "it lingers as a unique waking nightmare both in the viewer's mind and in film history".

Letter from an Unknown Woman

Letter from an Unknown Woman is a 1948 Max Ophüls film starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan. It is told in a single extended flashback as the titular letter is read. I have little sympathy with women who pine away, devoting their lives to men who don't know they exist, so I find this plot annoying. Watching Louis Jourdan and Joan Fontaine, though, that's worth the simpering plot. But "All I wanted was to throw myself at your feet"? It's a bit much.

via Youtube:

Senses of Cinema closes with this: "The power of melodrama, and certainly of this melodrama, resides precisely in luring us to these realisations through the banal, the sugar-coated, and perhaps the even laughable desire of a certain unknown woman." Slant Magazine calls it "a melodramatic perfect storm." Time Out gives it 5 out of 5 stars and calls it a "grand, heartbreaking masterpiece".

FilmReference.com calls it "an icon of cinema scholarship" and "an exceptionally fine film". Empire Online says it, "Does the job of the perfect melodrama and moves the audience to tears." DVD Talk says it is "A genuine classic's classic, and a 'women's film' that completely transcends that pigeonhole category".

The New Yorker compares this director to Wes Anderson. This film is listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. TCM has an overview. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.

ABE

ABE is a science fiction/horror short film written and directed by Rob McLellan.

Somebody needs to have a word with that robot about what love is.

MGM will reportedly turn the story into a feature length film.

The Green Man

The Green Man is a 1969 novel by Kingsley Amis. It's a ghost story/comic novel that was adapted in 1990 as a BBC 3-part series starring Albert Finney.

from Wikipedia:

The novel is set in and around The Green Man, an inn between London and Cambridge owned by Maurice Allington, a 53-year-old man with a second wife, a teenage daughter and an 80-year-old father living with him in the inn's upstairs apartment. The inn and its name date back to the 14th century, and the inn's charm is further embellished by a history of haunting related to a 17th-century owner, Thomas Underhill, a Cambridge scholar who dabbled in the occult. Underhill was associated with two unsolved murders, including that of his wife, which could not be traced back to him.

As the novel unfolds, Allington is beset by a number of difficulties

New York Review Books says, "The Green Man is a ghost story that hits a live nerve, a very black comedy with an uncannily happy ending: in other words, Kingsley Amis at his best." LA Review of Books closes their review with this: "A ghost story about the incapacity of realism or modernism to address death, The Green Man deploys the resources of science fiction to disclose, however fleetingly, the precariousness and destructibility of existence. Now that’s a ghost story."

Strange Horizons says, "This is a masterpiece of speculative fiction at the highest level, with little in the English ghost story canon to to rival it, at least at novel length, until the appearance of Nicola Barker's Darkmans (2007) almost forty years later."

Prometheus

Prometheus is the 2012 prequel to Alien. I'm not the biggest fan of the Alien franchise, but that's because I saw the 1st one in the theater when it was released, in a period of my life before I had any appreciation for horror films, thinking it was a science fiction movie. It took me a while to get over that experience, and it still holds bad memories for me. This movie is more science fiction in my opinion than the original Alien was. This is not a direct prequel, but does fill in some of the history nicely. It is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron.

trailer:

Moria says, "There are a good many aspects to it –great production design, top drawer effects, fine casting," but they ended up disappointed. 1,000 Misspent Hours says, "... about all I can say in defense of Prometheus is that it mostly looks nice, and that the cast would have been terrific if they’d had anything worthwhile to work with."

Roger Ebert has a positive review that opens with this:

Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" is a magnificent science-fiction film, all the more intriguing because it raises questions about the origin of human life and doesn't have the answers. It's in the classic tradition of golden age sci-fi, ... it's a seamless blend of story, special effects and pitch-perfect casting, filmed in sane, effective 3-D that doesn't distract.

Slant Magazine and Slate complain that it doesn't answer the questions it raises. Rotten Tomatoes has a 73% critics score.

Everything Stops for Tea

Everything Stops for Tea:

by Jack Buchanan, who died on this date in 1957. He's perhaps best known from the 1953 movie The Band Wagon. Wikipedia says, "He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town". "Everything stops for tea" does sound like a very civilized attitude.

Lyrics excerpt:

It's a very good English custom
And a stimulant for the brain
When you feel a little weary, a cup'll make you cheery
And it's cheaper than champagne

Now I know just why Franz Schubert
Didn't finish his unfinished symphony
He might have written more but the clock struck four
And everything stops for tea

Please join the T Party over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog where we share our drink-related fun.

The Woman in Black (1989)

The Woman in Black is a 1983 book written by Susan Hill that has been adapted for the screen twice. The second, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is from 2012 and is better known. This is the first, the 1989 British adaptation directed by Herbert Wise with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale. It stars Adrian Rawlins (who played James Potter in the Harry Potter films); David Daker (who was in some of the 70s-era Doctor Who shows, and in Time Bandits); and Pauline Moran (who played Miss Lemon in the David Suchet Poirot series) as the woman in black. This is a wonderful movie -good character development and plotting, evocative atmosphere. If you ask me, this is a better effort than the Radcliffe movie, though I liked that one, too. This one just seems to have more, somehow. This version is reported to be more faithful to the novel, but -not having read it- I'll have to take others' word for that.

trailer:

BFI Screen Online gives it a positive review and says Pauline Moran "proves utterly mesmerising as the grimacing and malevolent ghost" Ferdy on Film calls it "one of the few truly successful examples of pure mood-piece horror made in the past quarter century, all the more admirable for being a telemovie, made with the no-nonsense sense of functional craft that distinguished British television for so many years" and says it's "genuinely chilling". Horrorpedia says, "It is deliberately subtle and aims to be creepy rather than terrifying and explicit" and "anyone who enjoyed the newer film –or admires the novel– would certainly find worth their while."

Messiah of Evil

Messiah of Evil is a 1973 horror film. Also known as Dead People, it's a surreal experience with not much in the way of hero/heroine or plot development and no clear idea of exactly what's happened once it's over. A woman goes to a small town on the beach looking for her artist Father. She cannot find him. The town is plagued with zombie-type vampire creatures who are waiting for the return of the dark stranger at the time of the blood red moon. The dark stranger last appeared as a member of the Donner Party. If you like atmosphere, you'll find it here.

It stars Marianna Hill (from Star Trek: The Original Series), Royal Dano (The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao) and Elisha Cook, Jr. (Star Trek: TOS)

DVD Talk recommends it saying, "With its odd approach Messiah of Evil collects a gallery of creepy moments. It's simply more interesting than most genre efforts of the early 70's, when Hammer films had lost their way and Hollywood horrors were wasting our time with two-headed transplants and campy vampire tales." Weird Wild Realm isn't as fond of it but does call it "almost stylish in its awfulness rather than merely awful."

Gilda

Gilda is a 1946 Charles Vido film noir starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It's a fine example of the genre.

trailer:

Here's the Put the Blame on Mame scene with the guitar:

The Telegraph begins its review with this: "Examples of film noir don’t come much headier or more perverse than Charles Vidor’s sultry little number". The Guardian calls it "a wonderfully perverse noir classic that comes over as a cross between Casablanca (an intentional influence) and Hitchcock's Notorious (which appeared just weeks after Gilda)." DVD Talk says, "Gilda is an established classic that should find a welcome home in the collection of any film fan."

It's in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. TCM has some information. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 96%.

Masters of Horror: Homecoming

Masters of Horror was a TV series from 2005-2007. Homecoming was an episode from the first season. It was directed by Joe Dante and has a role played by Robert Picardo (who was the holographic doctor on the Enterprise in Star Trek: Voyager).

The story here is simple: The president says he wishes the war dead would come back to life so they could tell us how important the current war is. They come back, all right, but they want to vote so they can vote for anybody who'll end the war.

trailer:

Slate says,

Homecoming is on another level of guilty pleasures, a junk-food adrenaline rush that debunks the myth of glorious war, presenting every ugly wound in gory latex detail, while having nothing but compassion for the lonely, lurching, living-dead soldiers.

Dread Central says it's less horror and more political satire. DVD Talk says it "carries a very strong political message about the current state of affairs in the United States and abroad. It's a message about military action, war, and foreign policy."

Mrs. God

Mrs. God is a 1990 horror novel by Peter Straub. This is an expanded version of an earlier novella by the same name. There isn't much to this, and I wonder if I wouldn't have liked it better as a novella -or even a short story. It was a short, easy read, but that's all the good I can find to say.

from the back of the book:

Esswood House. Home and estate of the Seneschal family, aristocratic patrons of the literary arts for well over a hundred years. D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James were privileged to call themselves guests and Esswood Fellows. Even minor poets such as Isobel Standish found Esswood’s refined atmosphere an inspiration for her work. There was always talk of a hidden secret in Esswood’s past, and the Seneschal children were often so pale and sickly, but don’t all English manor houses have a few ghost stories to call their own?

When Professor William Standish receives the rare honor of an Esswood Fellowship, and the chance to study Isobel’s private manuscripts at close hand, he is thrilled beyond his wildest ambitions. But upon arriving, something seems slightly strange at Esswood House. He hears faint laughter in the halls, the pitter-pattering of small feet in the night; strange faces appear in the windows of the library, and of course, there are those giant dollhouses in the basement...

favorite quote:

Nothing is known once only, nothing is known the first time. A thing must be told over and over to be really told.

Slant Magazine says, "Mrs. God is a tedious, hackneyed novel by a writer who's capable of impressing within his chosen genre. It's horrific, but not in the way Straub intended." Kirkus Reviews calls it "An intriguing artifact for hardcore fans but an unremarkable entry point for new readers." Publishers Weekly seems to like it. The Examiner says, "Straub is a better writer than he is a storyteller and that is apparent in this book." Fright compares it favorably to the original novella but says, "it’s far from perfect"

Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter is a 1945 film directed by David Lean. It stars Celia Johnson (also in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie); Trevor Howard (an actor from 1934-1988 and who was in a wide variety of films including Superman and Gandhi); Stanley Holloway (an actor from 1910- 1980); Joyce Carey (active from the age of 18 until into her 90s); Alfie Bass (who was in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and who played Mr. Goldberg in the TV series Are You Being Served?); and Irene Handl (who was also in Spellbound and who authored 2 novels).

A man and a woman happily married to other people meet by chance at a railway station, and then they meet again.

via Daily Motion:

Brief Encounter by FilmGorillas

The Guardian calls it "the best romantic film of all time" and says, "it is so well made, because Laura's voiceover narration is truly anguished and dreamy, because the music suckers all of us, and because Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are perfect." FilmReference.com calls it "the most characteristic and perfect British film of all time" and says, "Life is not simple and the greatness of the film lies in its awareness of this complexity".

The reviewer at Roger Ebert's site says, "It's refreshing to find a classic romance without meet-cutes and pathetic attempts to be clever". TCM has information. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 88%.

One Wonderful Sunday

One Wonderful Sunday is a 1947 Akira Kurosawa film. I always enjoy Kurosawa's movies, and this one is no exception. This story is of one day in the lives of a young engaged couple in post-war Japan. They have one day each week to spend together. He lives in a room in the apartment of a friend, and she lives with her sister and her extended family. They cannot afford to marry. Their dream is to someday open a coffee shop, which they plan to name the Hyacinth Cafe, and serve good coffee and pastries at reasonable prices. Theirs is a beautiful, if sometimes sad, story. I enjoyed sharing their day.

The picture at the top of the post is of our young couple in shock over how they have been over-charged at this cafe.

I liked the use of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony throughout the film. It comes into the plot several times, and brings a lot to the emotional impact the movie has.

I guarantee if you watch this film you will genuinely care about this young couple. You will cry with them in their despair at ever having the resources to marry, and you will feel their joy as they share their hopes and dreams for their future. I did.

Here's a short clip with subtitles:

The New York Times calls it "an essential work in a great career." Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear says it "stands as a testament of hope for those who must bear the full brunt of the transition. The times may be harsh, but the flowers and music will always be there for those who try and look." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 86%.

Please join in the weekly gathering at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog where we share drink-related posts and vist with each other.

Graceland, the song

Graceland:

by Paul Simon, posted in celebration of his 74th birthday tomorrow.

lyrics excerpt:

The Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a national guitar.
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the Civil War.
I'm going to Graceland, Graceland
In Memphis, Tennessee.
I'm going to Graceland.

Bad Taste

Bad Taste is Peter Jackson's first feature film. A 1987 low-budget splatter/horror/scifi/comedy, it got a decent reception at its release and is a cult classic now. The plot involves aliens who want our brains for fast food. I found this one truly disgusting.

trailer:

Moria gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "It is certainly hard to believe from watching such a gungy, seat of the pants splatter film like Bad Taste that you were watching the work of someone who would later rank in the lists of the most powerful directors in Hollywood." HorrorNews.net says, "If you’ve ever watched a film and thought “What this needs is more exploding sheep” then this is the film for you." Horror Express closes its review with this: "It's a splatter comedy with random grab-bags of other genre elements (sci-fi, slasher, Arnie movie), topped off with Antipodean cool. Bad Taste should theoretically be utter shite, but in fact it's unmissable." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 68%.

The Damned

The Damned (aka These Are the Damned) is a horror film about a secret government plot to prepare for the inevitable nuclear holocaust. It stars Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Oliver Reed, Alexander Knox, and Viveca Lindfors. A Hammer film directed by Joseph Losey, it was produced in 1961; but the British release didn't come until 1963 and the American cut had to wait 'til 1965. The production controversy was, in part, because of an incest subplot. The music is great fun.

1000 Misspent Hours gives it 4 stars and a positive review. Moria has a 4-star review and says, "The Damned is a realistic character-driven drama much more than any other Hammer film." DVD Talk calls it "one of the best and most profound science fiction films ever made."

Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan

Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan is a 1959 Japanese horror/revenge film about a ruthless ronin and what fruit his lifestyle bears. I like Japanese films in general, and I was glad to come across this one. It's a riveting story and well done.

I watched it at Hulu with commercials, where it was available without subscription. Hulu no longer offers anything for free.

trailer:

This video of the film has both Spanish subtitles and English, but I didn't have any trouble reading the English:

TCM has some information.

The Hellbound Heart

The Hellbound Heart is a Clive Barker horror novella, originally published in 1986. It is the basis for the 1987 Hellraiser movie, and the movie is a faithful adaptation. This is a remarkable book, a quick read, and an extraordinary exploration of pain and pleasure and despair.

from the back of the book:

Frank Cotton's insatiable appetite for the dark pleasures of pain led him to the puzzle of Lemarchand's box, and from there, to a death only a sick-minded soul could invent. But his brother's love-crazed wife, Julia, has discovered a way to bring Frank back -though the price will be bloody and terrible ... and there will certainly be hell to pay.

The beginning of the 3rd chapter:

The seasons long for each other, like men and women, in order that may be cured of their excesses.

Spring, if it lingers more than a week beyond its span, starts to hunger for summer to end the days of perpetual promise. Summer in its turn soon begins to sweat for something to quench its heat, and the mellowest of autumns will tire of gentility at last, and ache for a quick sharp frost to kill its fruitfulness.

Even Winter -the hardest season, the most implacable- dreams, as February creeps on, of the flame that will presently melt it away. Everything tires with time, and starts to seek some opposition, to save it from itself.

So August gave way to September and there were few complaints.

The Hellraiser Wiki has a spoiler-filled plot summary. Fantasy Book Review calls is "simple yet elegant" and says, "the concepts explored and the manner they are portrayed make for a captivating read". Horror Novel Reviews closes its review with this:

The Hellbound Heart is among the greatest literary achievements of Clive Barker’s career. It is a reminder of why he is a true master of horror. Read as a stand-alone or as a compendium to the Hellraiser films, The Hellbound Heart is essential literature for all fans of the genre.

The Examiner calls it "engaging" and says, "If you enjoyed the original Hellraiser film, you will not be displeased with the novella." Scream says, "The Hellbound Heart for horror fans is not a million miles away from being the perfect read, the concept of access to another plain of existence is a well-used one and Clive Barker handles it with vivid poise. ... Characters are well rounded and there’s enough horror to disturb most."

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla is the 2014 remake (reboot?) of the original. If you like monster movies (and I do), you'll like this.

trailer:

Roger Ebert's site gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and says,

"Godzilla" represents some sort of high water mark (pun intended) in Hollywood's nearly forty year crusade to turn once-disreputable genre films into pop art that demands our contemplation, if only because of the wit and skill that its army of technicians lavished on each frame.

Empire Online says, "Edwards’ film boasts great filmmaking, noble intentions and cracking monster action." EW has a round up of mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 74%.

Tea Hour

Tea Hour:

is a 1908 painting by Hans von Bartels, a German painter, who was born on Christmas Day in 1856 and died on October 5, 1913. He was part of the Düsseldorf school of painting He painted in both oil and water color and is mainly known for his pictures of fishing life. I find this a homey scene, a cozy family gathering at a sunny window. I'm sure the life was hard, but they seem to appreciate their blessings.

Please join the T for Tuesday party that happens every week at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog. She's got a cheering photo of the fire in her chiminea.

Opening Statement

Opening Statement (1960):

by the Booker Little quartet. Booker Little was a Memphis-born trumpeter, who died on this date in 1961 at 23 years of age from complications from a blood disorder.

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul is a 1964 Brazilian horror film -Brazil's first- directed by and starring José Mojica Marins in the first of several Coffin Joe movies. Broadly played, and seems more like a moral tale than horror to me.

Via Youtube:

Moria gives it 3 out of 5 stars. 1000 Misspent Hours says, "What we see here is very nearly a reinvention of the horror film, almost totally independent of what had gone on elsewhere in the world during the preceding 60 years." Gore Girl's Dungeon calls it "wicked fun". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 60% and an audience score of 68%.

Cure (1997)

Cure is a 1997 Japanese horror/thriller directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (who also directed Pulse). A series of identical murders are committed, each by a different person who is found nearby afterwards remembering killing and mutilating the victim but not why. The chief investigator has a wife who is mentally unstable, and he (in concert with a psychologist) uses what he has learned about mental illness to try to figure out the murders. The most interesting part takes place after he figures it out and a subject of interest is committed to a psychiatric hospital for observation. This one sneaks up on you.

trailer:

Images Journal calls it a "minor masterpiece" and says,

Much of the film's subtle power and resonance is predicated on its serpentine narrative ambiguities, unanswerable character motivations, and dramatic incidents. This would be understandably maddening in lesser hands, but Kurosawa's direction is always assured and the film's deviousness is always sufficiently grounded by its purposeful storyline and magnificent performances. Although the film will nevertheless drive viewers bonkers who demand straight lines where they don't exist, Cure will be a welcome reward for those adventurous souls who like their lines on the squiggly side.

Moria finds it confusing. HorrorNews.net says it " manages to be equal parts detective story, horror film and psychological thriller with an evenhandedness rarely seen." Combustible Celluloid gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and calls it "a mesmerizing film." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 91%.

The Vampire and the Ballerina

The Vampire and the Ballerina is a 1960 horror film. With dancin' girls. It's really not bad, considering, and there's something to be said for a vampire movie that's a bit different.

Online reviews are scarce. TCM has an overview.

The Horla

The Horla is a supernatural/horror short story by Guy de Maupassant. Horror author H.P. Lovecraft said this of it: "this tense narrative is perhaps without peer in its particular department", and it's considered an influence on Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories.

You can read it here. It begins,

May 8. What a lovely day! I have spent all the morning lying on the grass in front of my house, under the enormous plantain tree which covers and shades and shelters the whole of it. I like this part of the country; I am fond of living here because I am attached to it by deep roots, the profound and delicate roots which attach a man to the soil on which his ancestors were born and died, to their traditions, their usages, their food, the local expressions, the peculiar language of the peasants, the smell of the soil, the hamlets, and to the atmosphere itself.

You can have it read to you:

The story was written in 1887. About 4 years later the author was committed to a private asylum after a suicide attempt. He died there the following year at age 42.