Inspector Lynley - Playing For The Ashes

I literally stumbled upon this Mystery! show by pure chance one night when I had my TV on in my room before bed. It this was before we had cable so I only had five channels. I can't remember which episodes PBS was showing that night, bur within the few minutes I had it one while I was getting changed it sucked me in. I watched the end of that episode and tried in vain to watch it next week, but I didn't understand how Mystery! worked and that it wasn't the same show every weekend. I now know better, but I also own a few on DVD.

All that being said I have recently been informed that this is based off novels and watching the beginning credits, which I must have not before, I see that indeed they are. I must get my hands on one of these to see if I enjoy them as much as the show. Anyway the story follows Detective Inspector Lynley and his partner Detective Sargent Havers as they run down and catch criminals. Simple enough and done on many other programs, but I think the reason I like this so much is the dynamic between Havers and Lynley. There is a partner, slightly romantic, kind of awkward, brother and sister, I don't even know relationship that pulls the story along. I have to say though if you haven't watched any British programming before it might take you a while to warm up to the characters.

This episode centers around the death of a famous cricket player and a radical group stealing dogs that are going to be used in testing. Now I know absolutely nothing about cricket and it makes no sense at all to me, but the episode still made perfect sense. Now I felt no sympathy for the man who died, he was divorcing his wife who had three children, shaking up with his agent, and also living with a wealthy woman. However I really was surprised at who the actual culprit was and though the dogs had nothing to do with the death it was needed to piece everything together. It was a brilliantly woven together crime and solution that was really fun to watch.

The relationship between the wealthy woman and her daughter was really touching and extremely heart breaking in the end. Olivia was so confused and so alone and had no idea what to do. Finally her and her mother are reunited and then everything goes wrong. I felt so bad for Olivia and wished that in the end something would have been done to help her. I also felt for the cricket players wife and son. The wife couldn't admit that he was leaving her and her children while the sixteen year old son was trying to take care of his family the best he could. There was a lot of heart in this episode which you didn't realize until the end. 

Overall I think that it was a wonderful mystery that kept me on my toes. This might be because of my lack of knowledge of the cricket world, but I don't think that could be all. I always love a good mystery as well as crime show and I have always loved British programming so it isn't hard to see why I fell in love with this series. It might also have to do with the fact that if I ever became a cop I would probably be a lot like Havers.

The Shadow Lines

I have finished yet another book for World Literature in English "The Shadow Lines". I enjoyed this book a lot more then I did "The Untouchables" even though the writing style was a bit confusing. The narrator doesn't tell the story in chronological order, which I enjoyed, but he jumped both time and place multiple times within a page if not a paragraph without breaks or warnings.

The narrator relates almost his entire life, and some before his life, mostly focusing on the partition in India as well as the differences in English and Indian culture. We also learn a lot about him life and why he has such a wonderful imagination because of his Uncle Tridib. As the book progresses and we also become introduced to the Price Family,  family friends who live in England, we see just how much two families miles apart can be intertwined. 

The reason I liked this story was because it was written in a more entertaining fashion was well as also having to deal with events that I knew something about, WWII for instance, that it was a lot easier for me to ground myself in what time period it was. I don't really know what else to write about it because if the round about writing style. It was entertaining and I would have never picked it up on my own, but I also don't think I will read it again. I rate it about a 4.5 out of 5.

And Then There Were None

I actually learned about this book through the video game of the same title (which is awesome and I recommend you play it if you like puzzle games), but the book was just as awesome. I have always loved mystery books, I have a huge collection of Nancy Drew book, but this was the first novel I have read by Agatha Christie and I have to say that I love it. The story line is wonderful, I love the twists and turns, and the fact that it is from all the characters point of view really made me love this novel. It is a rather quick read and even though this was my second time reading through the novel, I still found it hard to put down.

Ten people are invited to Indian Island by various friends for a free summer holiday. All accept, yet when they arrive on the island no one is there to great them except a married couple who have been hired to be the butler and the maid. That evening after they all dine it is revealed that all ten of them have committed some act that resulted in a persons death. Soon after this announcement one of the guests dies in the same manner as the nursery rhythm "Ten Little Indians" which is hanging up in all the rooms of the house. A little Indian figurine is also missing from the center piece of the dining room table. Soon more guest dye in the same manner as the poem suggests and it is a race to find out who the murder is before they are all killed.

The ending is absolutely wonderful and I really don't know how she thought of it, but then again she isn't one of the best known mystery writers for nothing. Even though this was my second time reading through the novel I had a hard time picking up on all the clues that were left for the reader to use to figure out who the killer was. However Agatha Christie also used the multiple points of view to hide certain events from the readers to make the novel suspenseful as well as the ending very unpredictable. It is just a wonderfully put together book and I am going to read more of her books in the future for sure since I am a giant fan of mystery novels. 

The idea that guilt is such a powerful emotion that it can drive people mad is a rather interesting idea that is lightly touched on this novel in the form of Vera Claythorne. She did not directly kill anyone yet the death cost her everything and in the end it is what causes her demise. How does a person live with the knowledge that they killed someone? It is probably a very hard burden to bear no matter how the death came about. I really don't understand how people can go around killing people everyday in the form of crime, gang wars, and other instances. It is hard to imagine what someone with the type of guilt feels, thinks, and does everyday.

          

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

This is the live action Japanese adaptation of the manga and anime Wallflower (You honestly thought I would type that name out again XD)

Now this is a relatively short drama, only 10 episodes, but it is highly entertaining. If you have read the manga or seen the anime you know that the plot line is very simple, four drop dead gorgeous males live at a boarding house run by a rich woman who flies around the world looking for a rich man to marry. In order to stay in the boarding house rent free the boys need to change the landladies niece into a lady. Sunako Nakahara however loves horror movies, can't stand beautiful people, and only wants to hang out with her medical doll Hiroshi-kun. Of course the plot had to be a bit condensed for the drama so everything moves faster, and I am kind of happy it does. Sometimes the other two got a bit repetitive.

Sunako is usually hidden behind her bangs and cape, Oomasa Aya, is extremely pretty. She isn't drop dead gorgeous, but the fact that she isn't fake looking or too beautiful makes her all the more appealing. However the character of Sunako herself was much, much more annoying then she had been in the other adaptions of this story. In the manga and anime she is a hermit yes, but she is also a complete badass without Kyohei calling her ugly, but I think it sent a wonderful message. Now this was of course overly fantastical, but it was meant to show that no matter looks everyone has something that they are uncomfortable with and need to overcome and Sunako was a good example of this. 

I love Yuya Tegoshi, but oddly enough he was not my favorite character in this drama. I liked him don't get me wrong, but I will never be the loli type. Although in the Valentine's episode he totally came close to stealing my heart as yet again for his love for his girlfriend as well as how protective he was to Sunako. I also loved that he was the driving force near the end to get Sunako and Kyohei together. I found myself wishing the drama was longer so I had more time to get to know the characters. 

I have always had a thing for the bad boy type and I do enjoy Kyohei, not to mention that Kamenashi Kazuya is extremely good looking, but he is not my favorite boarder either. Which is extremely surprising since he was always in plaid and I totally have a thing for guys in plaid. Then in episode seven he is wearing glasses which is another thing I love on guys, but even that didn't win me over completely. You get to see a lot more of what being beautiful has done to Kyohei then with the other boys as well as how he is a lot like Sunako. When he finally broke down and cried it broke my heart and I realized just how much I was attached to these characters. 

However Oda Takenaga was my favorite house mate, played by Uchi Hiroki. It might be because he was my favorite in the manga and anime as well, but I also have a thing for the quite smart type. Takenaga always seems to know what is going on as well as being the first one that was nice to Sunako. I can't exactly place why I like him so much, well besides the obvious good looks, but he is my favorite character. In the last episode when he is fighting to save Noi and Sunako, that was just extremely hot. The fact that he had problems confessing also struck close to home since I have issues conveying my feelings as well. I loved his character so much. 

The only character that I don't think was cast well was Morii Ranmaru, played by Miyao Shuntaro. It is nothing against him as an actor I was just expecting the hot red-head that was in the anime and manga and he was neither. He didn't really play as big of a role in the drama as the other characters so I feel like his character was forgotten a bit, but he wasn't a major character in the manga either. Near the end however they expanded his character enough to make him as lovable as the other.


So some final notes... Episode six where they are all fighting shirtless and wet, let me just say UNF. I mean the whole episode was good, but I was memorized with that scene, though I was sad Kyohei cut his hair (I like guys with longer hair for some odd reason) Also the real kiss between Sunako and Kyohei was adorable and I loved it to pieces. It was prefect. Overall it was a fun and kind of light hearted drama with a wonderful message and a lot of fun along the way. I give it a 4.5 out of 5

Battle Royale - The Movie

So I finally got to see the movie of this epic book and I have to say that even though the movie was good, I prefer the book. Though that is usually how it works out is it? As what usually happens with movies made out of books the plot line needs to be simplified so it is more linear and shorter. However I missed the suspense of knowing what is going on all over the island and yelling at characters not to trust people you know are killers. The movie was great because you saw all the action acted out, but I missed the mind games. A part of me wants this to be made in the U.S. with Quentin Tarantino as the director because I think he would be able to make it epic. Oddly enough on of the characters, Takako Chigusa, was played by Chiaki Kuriyama who was in the first Kill Bill as Gogo Yubari. In both movies she plays a total badass. 

As for the other characters they all basically looked how I pictured them expect for Shogo Kawada, who was a lot hotter then I pictured him, and the program director who in the movie was named Kitano-sensei. Since Shogo was very close to being my favorite male character in the book I was pleasantly surprised to see that he was so good looking and the same was true with Hiroki Sugimura who was my favorite.  

*It was hard to find a good picture of Shogo, but watch the movie he is sexy*



The only thing that really annoyed me was how freaking whiny Shuya was. It seemed like every three seconds he was crying about one thing or another, which wasn't how he was in the book. Also they really played down how horrible the government was as well as how important Rock and Roll was to Shuya so I was a little disappointing about that. However Noriko was just as awesome in both, calm, quiet, and strong.

 

Overall the movie is extremly entertaining and though it differs from the book it is still close enough to capture the book lovers as well as have a storyline of its own. I didn't know how I felt about not having the program director be a complete and utter bastard, but in the end I liked it because it added something new to the story line. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Battle Royale

This book was recommendation from a friend of mine (she is also the friend that recommended Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac) and once again I am a fan of her pick. I have only read the novel, but there is also a manga as well as a movie made that I plan on watching and reading very soon. The whole premise of the story is a little bizarre, but easy enough to understand, a class of 42 students are left on an island and have to kill each other until only one survives. This is a program that is run by the government that is said to help national defenses, but it is just a way for the government to exert it's power over the people and keep them from rebelling. The book is set in Japan, which is called the Republic of Eastern Asia and is a totalitarian government. You follow mostly the struggle of Shogo Kawada, Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa to survive in the game, but you also gets glimpse into other characters head and there are a few other subplots going on. This was probably my favorite aspect of the book because I love books that let you see the same event through different perspectives.

Koushun Takami however didn't just makes this a blood and guts book, though there is more then enough of that to go around, but he also dives into so many back stories that it makes each chapter interesting and it helps the reader connect with characters even if it is only for a few pages. You get to see all the different spectrum of the game through these different characters and I am really impressed with how the situation is seen in all these lights. You have the totally scared and terrified students, the ones trying to save everyone, and then those that are participating in the game because they have already given up on others and the world. As someone who plans on majoring in fiction writing it was really interesting for me to see him effectively write so many different personalities.

Oddly enough I didn't feel overly connected to a lot of the characters as I have in some of the other novels I have read. You feel for all of them, but maybe because you are always switching from person to person I didn't connect instantly with one person. I did however come up with a few favorites. My two favorite guy characters had to be Hiroki Sugimura and Shogo Kawada. Hiroki was very true to his thoughts and personality throughout the whole novel and thought I was very sad when he died, I was happy that he finally accomplished what he had been trying to do the whole game, which was finding Kayoko Kotohiki. Though I was sad he died, I found his death oddly peaceful in a way. Shogo Kawada was just a badass and a good guy which is what made him my favorite over Kazuo Kiriyama who was just a badass. The fact that Shogo takes care of Shuya and Noriko. He was smart and talented and at the end of the novel I realized just how much I loved him as a character. My two favorite female characters had to be Noriko Nakagawa and Yukie Utsumi. Noriko is such a strong character through out the novel even though she isn't as fierce as a lot of the other female characters. She is the rock of the little group and is always usually the voice of reason for the boys. She is observant and smart though she is quite. She also killed Kazuo which instantly made her my favorite. Yukie is my second favorite because I related to her a lot more then the other characters in the novel. She is smart and loyal and tries, even though it backfires, to save her friends. She also saves the man she loves even if it is against her friends wishes. I really wish she was in novel more because she is so interesting and likable.

Now you can't read this book, or at least I couldn't, without thinking about what I would do if I was in this situation. I came to the scary conclusion that I would probably kill one of my classmates in order to survive. I wouldn't go out of my way to find them and kill them, but if it was between me and them I would pick me. My whole attitude would also depend on what weapon I received. If I had a gun then I would find somewhere to sit and pray that everyone else just killed each other off, though if I had a close friend or boyfriend this might change. The character I think I would act most like is probably either Yukie or Kayoko. If I had a group of good friends that I could trust I would find a few of them and hide out, though that backfired I would try to run things or I would hide by myself for the entire game in complete and utter fear by myself.

The fact that I think I would take someones life is really kind of scary, but this is the kind of questions that the novel wants to bring up. Under the entertaining and thrilling story of these kids killing one another it is also dealing with so many deep issues like the power of the government and human nature. I highly recommend