Book Review: Gone Girl

Having recently finished the Gone Girl book, I did really enjoy it. The book plays around with the unreliable narrator by making both the husband and wife that the book is set around unreliable. Just when you thought that you were getting a handle on what was happening, it then proceeds to pull the rug out from underneath the reader with a major twist.

Gone Girl had no set hero or villain. In some ways, it was just 2 bad people and one just happened to be much worse when provoked. With no reliable narration happening from either viewpoint, it is always difficult to know what is going on. 

It is also quite well paced. The story keeps moving along and, just when you think a lull might start or you might start spinning wheels, it throws another spanner into the works. Switching perspectives and throwing away established points with unreliable narrators tends to do that.

The only downside is that, every so often, you swear that the characters took the stupid pill. Some of the twists and turns seem to only exist there to be a twist rather than what a sensible person would do. However, despite this, I would definitely recommend this as a good read to pass a couple of days and a book that you want to talk about.

4 out of 5 Waffles Gone.

MOVIE REVIEW: BIRDBOX (2018)

Birdbox is a psychological thriller along the same lines as movies such as Blindness. In this movie, the premise is that there is something causing everyone to go mad and commit suicide. However, you avoid this by not seeing them. 

The movie isn't set in a linear time narrative. Instead, it tends to jump back and forth between the time periods. I am not sure what they meant to achieve by this, but it clearly doesn't work. You know how things are roughly going to end up and who needs to die to achieve this, so it tends to undercut allot of the tension it attempts to build up.

It is a shame because the rest of the movie is quite good. The premise is sufficiently mysterious and terrifying, seeing people around you go insane. The force causing this is treated more like a force of nature rather than an explainable phenomenon. And the acting and character progression tends to be very good.

The overall story is definitely where this shines. There are quite a few idiotic choices by the main cast just to keep the story going, but the pace of the movie (with a couple of exceptions) tends to make these not too noticeable. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and forgive some (but not all) of the short-cuts that are taken. 

So overall the movie is okay. The premise is good but the main detraction is how they decided to direct it jumping back and forward in time. It doesn't work for what should be a slow-burn thriller.

2.5 out of 5 blind waffles. 

BOOK REVIEW- MARSH KINGS DAUGHTER BY KAREN DIONNE

The Marsh Kings Daughter is a book based on a slight retelling of an old story. The story is based on a swan princess who gets stolen away, and this book is about an abduction. 

The main story arc is based around the daughter of a man. The man abducted her mother when she was a teenager and kept her captive for 10-15 odd years until they escaped. The father has now escaped.  

The book isn’t written in a linear story. Instead, it jumps back and forward in time from modern day of the daughter and father hunting each other and the past where the daughter is raised in captivity, thinking everything is normal. 

The book falls apart because the story is inconsistent and convoluted with this narrative device. Revelations late in the book make parts of the beginning of the book make little sense. For example, the daughter figures out the dad is bad at the end, but other parts of the book after this still have her idolising her dad. 

Writing the book in a linear fashion would’ve definitely been better to sort out the narrative inconsistencies. The other main issue is just how unlikeable and uninteresting the main character is. She does horrible things, refuses to admit her mistakes, and puts everyone in danger with her dumbe decisions.

Unfortunately these two problems make the book very grating. Add to this that the plot requires contrivances to actually progress that break any sense of immersion, this book becomes a chore to read. 

1.5 out 5 marsh waffles. 

UTOPIA

 Wow? Where did this come from? And why aren't more people watching it?

Utopia it's one of those series that lodges itself into the dark corner of your mind, and it sits there gnawing away at you to watch another episode. Before long its 3am and you have watched the whole thing. Now all you can think about is telling everyone you know about the show so you can debate and converse on the moral ideas and consequence the show brings up.

Utopia centers around a  group of Internet geeks, who are heavily invested in a cult graphic novel called The Utopia Experiments. This novel has gained notoriety for having predicted past global disasters and possible future ones. Beyond the internet forums, a hunt for the cult manuscript is transpiring. Five of its fans then meet in real life to read the fabled, unreleased sequel, and this seamlessly casual meeting puts them in grave danger from a shadowy organization called The Network. 

 The Network operatives are a pair of hit men, overweight Arby and sharp-dressed Lee, who are leaving a trail of dead people in their wake in the pursuit of a  signature question: "Where's Jessica Hyde?" No one seems able to answer this question, but it isn’t like it would save their lives if they did. From there you’re lead down a rabbit hole of Machiavellian plot twists with dire worldwide implications. 

Utopia has such a unique visual style using slightly over saturated colours and many different views, vantage points, colors and contrasts. Almost Kubrick-esque with one-point perspective shots, that give this bleak yet sharp tone its unsettling nature. The series has this constant feeling of menace, isolation and paranoia. It is almost uncomfortable to watch but for the way the plot is revealed in a steady flow.

The characters are wonderfully portrayed and utterly believable. Special credit has to be given to Neil Maskell's portrayal of the overweight 'Arby.’ He plays this darkly comical sad sack and  brings hidden depth to this character that makes you actually start to sympathise with him even though he does some of the worst things you will ever see on screen.

The plot is revealed throughout the six episodes, in true 'Lost' style, with more and more is revealed each time building on what has gone before. Without having to drag you through several season of backstory. Utopia is an amazing show that hit all the right button: Dodgy looking hitman, a secret organisation, political conspiracy theories, some flu outbreak, and a mad scientist to boot.

The 'plot' is revealed in episode 5 and it is as shocking as it is thought provoking. You will find yourself having debates as to its merits with friends and family. I'll say no more about it, but it is brilliant !

5 out of 5 secret cult waffles.