Book review: Wild day at the zoo

A wild day at the zoo, by Victor D. O. Santos

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a wonderful book to read with children who would like to learn any language!The author gives a great example of how raising children in a bilingual (or in this case, multilingual) environment enriches their mind and gives them a great advantage in life. The heroes of this story display excellent problem-solving skills and resilience; they are well-behaved and curious; they have no problem communicating with people and making friends. I love that Mr Santos chose a variety of languages to showcase in this story: our heroes, Isabella and Dylan, speak Portuguese and Ukrainian, and the people they encounter speak Spanish, Turkish and, judging by the illustrations, there are speakers of other languages as well.The illustrations are lovely! People and animals alike are so charming, they radiate happiness and warmth. I loved the color palette and the detailing of each illustration.We get to meet a lot of animals at the zoo, but the main star is Kiki, Dylan and Isabelle’s pet chicken. She gets an adventure of her own when a friendly giraffe chooses her for his new companion. This is the situation where Isabelle uses her wonderful imagination to come up with a creative solution and set Kiki free.I would love to read more books in this series, and share them with my young students who will be inspired to continue their studies of various languages!

Book review: Just act normal

Just act normal, by John McNamee

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Oni Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a wonderful collection of comic strips that grows on you as you keep reading. John McNamee has his own outlook on life, and many might find similar ideas to their own in this collection of musings. I would describe John as a hopeful pessimist, who sees life for the epic fail that it mostly is, but still marches on, with a vague hope for a slightly brighter future.John’s insights on life, relationships, work and hobbies are hilarious and relatable. His illustrations are minimalist, bordering on primitive, and that was the one drawback for me at first. I couldn’t relate to the stick figures as well I should have. But then towards the middle of the book, the author gave an explanation to the nature of his style, and that warmed my heart. True, not all people are blessed with natural artistic talents, but anyone who would like to create art has the right to do so, and should be given the chance to succeed in their own way.All in all, this is an an enjoyable book, perhaps not on par with the most brilliant examples of this genre, but still a great collection worthy of your time.

Eurovision song contest: review

What even is this movie? Is it supposed to be a parody? But a parody of what, Eurovision? Eurovision already is a parody. Is it supposed to be a comedy? It’s not funny. Unless you can laugh at basic prat-fall comedy. And why is this movie so freakin’ long? Why do I have to sit through two hours of this crap?

The story is quite basic. Childhood friends, Lars and Sigrit, spend their ordinary lives in a small town in Iceland dreaming about participating in the Eurovision song contest. All of a sudden they get a chance to perform in the Icelandic song contest, where they fail miserably (I guess their performance is supposed to be funny). After a freak accident involving all of Iceland’s top song talent, Lars and Sigrit are literally the only singers left in Iceland. So the Ministry of Culture (just a guess, I have no idea who these people are) have no choice but to submit this duo for Eurovision. We follow Lars and Sigrit through the whole prep process to the grand finale.

I have so many questions for the movie, some of which I’ve already asked, but there are plenty more left.

Who is this movie made for? Obviously, it’s made for Will Ferrell, it’s his longtime passion project. Apart from him, who in the States knows or cares about Eurovision? And if it’s not meant for Americans, then for who? Europeans? But Europeans actually know and care about Eurovision, so they would have no reason to watch this crap. Over here in Mother Russia we care a lot about Eurovision, and lemme tell you, the actual Eurovision contest is a much better comedy than this snooze-fest. Seriously, how could you turn a movie about a fun, colorful, ridiculous song contest into such a boring, empty experience? It looks like very little effort was put into making it, starting from the cardboard characters, to the generic dialogue, to mild intrigue and backstabbing, to the songs which are much better during the actual contest. The only stand-out song is the final one, but it’s not worth it sitting through two hours of this movie in order to get to the song.

Let’s talk about the acting, maybe? Do we have to? Will Ferrell continues his decline, both in terms of choosing projects and in terms of acting in them. He is way too old to be playing this character, and he looks and acts like an utter idiot. Maybe he could have pulled off this character 10-20 years ago, but not now. I suppose he did his own singing, not that it’s an accomplishment, really… But at least it’s something. Dan Stevens was quite good in the caricature Russian role. In fact, his character is the only semi-interesting character of the film, but I might be reading too much into him, especially his line “I’m not gay, I’m Russian. There are no gays in Russia”. And his accent work is really good, not over-the-top, like most fake Russian accents in movies.Finally, Rachel McAdams is the only saving grace of this garbage can fire of a movie. She is such an angel that I could watch her in almost anything. She infuses her character with so much heart, passion and warmth that it’s impossible to resist her charm. If only she didn’t look 20 years younger than Will Ferrell so that we could believe their relationship even a little bit.

I suppose what should have saved this movie are the songs, and the people who sing them. And that’s another problem. It’s so painfully obvious that Rachel is not doing her own singing that even when I want to believe her acting, I can’t because the dissonance between her actual voice and her singing voice is too great. The singing voice they used for Dan Stevens also didn’t work, but it didn’t matter as much. Too bad they wasted Demi Lovato on, essentially, a cameo.

All in all, this is not worth your time and energy, but at least it’s a Netflix movie so you don’t have to spend additional funds in order to watch it. Your time would be much better spent watching Blades of glory, an actual comedy about another ridiculous event – figure skating and a great Will Ferrell performance.

Modern Family, Nostalgia Reviews

The finale of Modern Family aired last Wednesday and… I have feelings. Many feelings, most of which are Cam hysterically sobbing. Why Cam? If you have to ask then you’re not a true ModFam fan. And if you’re not – perhaps my reviews will convince you to give this wonderful show a go?
Although I must warn you – all the reviews will contain SPOILERS. For all the seasons. So, non-fans, just take my word for it – go binge all 11 seasons – what else are you gonna do in quarantine? Learn Japanese? Oh please – and then get back here and discuss them with me.
This is a preliminary post, an explanation of the whole Nostalgia Review situation.
Why am I already nostalgic for the show that just finished? Because right before I watched the final episodes I watched the pilot and oh my God… everyone was so young and smol! Well, the kids were smol and the adults were young, Lily was an infant and Joe wasn’t even born yet, and neither were Poppy and George, and Dylan just started dating Haley, and Gloria and Jay were newlyweds, and Manny had a crush on Haley, and Phil had a crush on Gloria, and Luke kept getting stuck in furniture…
It’s weird to watch the passing of time in a fictional story, but at the same time you can trace how the actors have changed over the years, how their own lives have changed, how much they’ve been influenced by the show, how much we all have changed and grown, and had the show to fall back on for moral support in times of crisis.
Take my life, for instance. In the past 11 years I have become an orphan, so now more than ever I crave the comfort of a big, loving family. And that’s what I get from Modern Family. As well as a sitcom with no laugh track – bless you, show! I mean, I love FRIENDS as much as the next guy, but I can’t binge it – the laugh track gives me a headache. But Modern Family can just play in the background during those times when I can’t be in an empty quiet apartment.
Anyway, this long, rambling pre-review (must all my reviews – even pre-reviews – be rambling?) is my way of saying that I’ll be re-watching all 11 seasons of Modern Family and reviewing them based on the knowledge of how the show ends. I’m not going to compare what was and what turned out to be every single episode, but I will be going back and forth on the timeline, so there will be spoilers for random episodes with no logic or reason.
So once again, if you’re not caught up with the show in its entirety, don’t read these reviews! But if you are – welcome! Pour yourself some scotch, grab an empanada, put on your best poncho or unicorn onesie – and let’s revisit one of the greatest sitcoms ever made!

Book review: Worry says What?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41552108-worry-says-what?ac=1&from_search=true

Worry says What? by Allison Edwards

I received a complimentary copy of this book from National Center for Youth Issues through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I feel like the mark of a truly great children’s story (be it a book or a movie) is how well it works for adults. Ideally, you want the story that you read as a kid to stay with you through your life, and not just to stay, but to have you coming back to it, discovering new meanings where you haven’t seen them before. More frequently (and all of us, adults, who’ve had to read too many children’s books or watch too many cartoons, will agree) you want a story that’s at least not so simplistic that it makes your brain slip into a coma.
Or sometimes you could get that special kind of story that speaks so well to kids, but also resonates with adults on every level. There is no secret hidden meaning – the meaning is usually right there in the title – and that’s exactly what we, as adults, lack sometimes: having a complicated problem laid out for us and not having to dig through layers of sub-plot and character development for the solution.

That’s exactly how “Worry says What” works for me.
And I say “works” and not “worked” because I’ve read this book over a dozen times. (that’s another mark of a great children’s book – if you, an adult, can read it over and over again and not start hating it) And every time it works for me; every time it reminds me that – long story short – it’s all in the head.

The hero of this story, a Girl, has been living with a monster named Worry. He torments her all day, every day – telling her she’s not worthy of success, she’ll never have friends, she should just give up and not try anything. Will the Girl really give up, or will she learn to stand up to the monster and fight?
Allison Edwards has really found a way to reach kids on their level without simplifying the hardships of anxiety. I’ve read this book to a few kids in the library, and they all saw how easy it would have been to succumb to Worry and how brave the girl was for fighting him. And they all came to the conclusion that the next time they see a kid who looks uncertain or worried, they will reach out to them without waiting for an invitation. Because kids and adults alike know how hard it can be to ask for help when you’re dealing with anxiety.
We can’t forget to mention the illustrations that are expressive and colorful. I think it was a wonderful idea to keep changing the look of the monster as the story progressed. The fact that Worry becomes diminutive and scared when the Girl finds her strength and fights him, really shows how a lot of our worries come from within, therefore we can battle them and win.

This book can serve as a wonderful introduction to living with anxiety for kids who aren’t sure what anxiety really is. It can help kids identify the symptoms not only within themselves, but in their friends.
And for adults like me, who have never had to deal with anxiety, but were suddenly, brutally faced with it, “Worry says What” is a great reminder that it’s all in the head.

Book review: Baby teeth

BABY TEETH, BY ZOJE STAGE

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I finished this book at the end of October, but then the worst period of my life happened, and there was no place for books or reviews. Such a big break offers an interesting perspective on several books that were read, but never reviewed.

“Baby teeth” obviously made a big impact on me, since it’s still fresh in my mind. And my memory is BAD, like catastrophically bad, especially when it comes to books, for some reason. I have a theory that my brain knows how much I love books, so it wants to make reading extra special for me. Like, do you have a favorite book, especially one with some twists and turns; and you wish you could read this book again and be surprised by it like the first time? I actually CAN do that!

Yet it appears there are some books that are too good to be forgotten.

“Baby teeth” contains not one, but two alternating POVs that paint a devastating picture of a terrible mother-daughter relationship. I mean, most of us have mommy and daddy issues, but this is some next-level shirt!

Hanna is the seemingly sweet, smart, precocious daughter of Alex from Sweden and his wife Suzette. Hanna loves Alex so much that she wants to marry him one day (she’s seven, so marrying her dad is… sweet? Nope, still creepy AF). Too bad that stupid Mommy is in the way.

Meanwhile, Suzette was raised by an absentee mother whose neglect bordered on abuse. Which makes Suzette all the more eager to be the perfect mother and to raise a perfect daughter. She gives up her career to raise her daughter, she’s pouring all her love and energy into Hanna – and Hanna can’t even talk.

Obviously, as things unfold, we see that the relationship is fraught by more problems from both sides, and it wouldn’t be out of place to use the phrase, Well that escalated quickly.

I was debating whether to write a spoiler-free review – but even discussing the book’s many achievements can be considered a spoiler. So let me just say that I loved “Baby teeth” and this is one of those rare occasions where I would love to get a sequel! The writing of debut author Zoje Stage is engaging and intriguing. She’s dealing with a very sensitive subject and she doesn’t shy away from exploring it, but she’s also not making it too over-the-top. This is the story that seems completely realistic.

Five real stars for Baby Teeth!

AND NOW FOR THE SPOILERS!

From the beginning of Hanna’s narrative I was getting strong Omen vibes, which was both positive and disappointing. Positive because I’m a sick weirdo who loves me some creepy, murderous children. And disappointing because it’s been done before and there aren’t too many ways to go with this character arc.

Or so I thought! It turns out that a masterful author like Zoje Stage can bring the Omen type story down to earth, making it completely believable. What? You don’t know what your kid is thinking, and don’t pretend like you do! In fact, that’s one of the most hypnotizing and scary notions of the novel – you never know what your kid is thinking, so how can you be sure that he’s not plotting your violent death? Yeah, marinate on that thought for a while and you won’t be able to sleep without locking your bedroom door.

Suzette’s horror is amplified by Hanna’s stubborn refusal to speak, and when someone finds a way to communicate with Hanna, Suzette really wishes that she could remain oblivious to what was happening in her daughter’s mind.

Speaking of which, my only issue with the novel was the choice of Hanna’s imaginary (or was she?) confidant, the French Witch. I was so not on board with this narrative choice, and that is what was giving me the Omen vibes, but the way that this particular thread unraveled was, once again, quite believable.

And I loved that the parents followed through with taking Hanna to little kids’ loony bin, cause I was afraid that poor clueless daddy would rather ship off mommy than part with his precious squirrelly girl. But no, common sense prevailed, and that also set this book apart from the others of a similar nature. Too often do the kids go unpunished for the terrible things they do, because grown-ups feel the need to believe in a child’s innocence above all.

Which is why I want the sequel! Preferably when Hanna tricks the loony bin into thinking that she’s been cured and goes on a revenge spree against mommy and possibly daddy – I wonder how strong her love would remain after daddy sent her away…

Book review: Mia&Co, vol.1

by Vanyda and Nicolas Hitori De

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Europe Comics through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Mia&Co is the first in (hopefully) a series of graphic novels about the life of Mia and her best friends. She’s just an ordinary teenage girl who gets along better with boys than with girls. The friend group loves hanging out together, playing video games and listening to music. This story doesn’t have any wild adventures, or magic, or vampires – and that is what’s so appealing about it. “Mia&Co” is a slice of life, a look at how us, regular folk, live our lives. And who would have thought that our lives could look so charming?

Mia is the only girl in her friend group, which instantly made me relate to her – I used to get along better with boys than with girls when I was younger. In fact, this whole friend group feels so relateable, the whole book made me nostalgic for my teenage years. I also used to play video games and listen to music with my friends; go to concerts; explore the city; try to venture outside the friend group, but always ended up going back.
The author does such a great job of making the characters feel real with just a few words, and of course the illustrations help tremendously. The color palette is very cozy, it makes the reading experience so relaxing.
Mia&Co is like a very chill episode of a teenage TV show, without any major drama, just some kids hanging out, enjoying life and each other’s company.
I really hope there will be more books in this series!

Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Here we go, The Last Jedi! I was surprised to find it on Netflix – this is the only Star Wars movie they have on there. I wonder why? Maybe because it’s gotten so many negative reviews, that not many people want to pay to see it.
I am here mainly because the current Captain Marvel controversy is being compared to the uproar that was created by the Last Jedi. So I am very curious.
I’ll preface this by saying that I am not a huge Star Wars fan. In fact, I prefer the prequels to the original trilogy. A lot of it has to do with the prequels premiering during my time – they were the cinematic Star Wars experience for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching those three movies in the cinema. In fact, I’ve seen each of the prequels twice in the cinema, and then several more times over the years on DVD.
So when Star Wars Episode VII came out, I even went to see it in the cinema (which is a rarity for me) to remember the good ol’ days. And I was entertained while I was watching the movie, but it didn’t have a huge impact on me. In fact, it was so bland that I didn’t feel the need to watch Episode VIII, and I’m only watching it now because it’s on Netflix and I wanna see if it’s really as bad as people say it is.

MY REVIEW (contains SPOILERS)
To sum it up: this movie is terrible. You can find plenty of reasons why in the ramblings section down below, and note that I stopped writing things down because it got to be too much. The level of incompetence of these filmmakers is startling. But not as startling as the disrespect that these filmmakers have shown all the Star Wars fans by making this abominable movie. As I already said, I only like the prequels, and even I am personally offended by the way that this movie ruined all the already existing characters and introduced new, insufferable characters.
I don’t want to spend much more time on this, as this dumpster fire of a movie doesn’t deserve to have so much of my energy invested in it, so let me just say EVERYTHING apart from the visuals IS TERRIBLE. Disney clearly doesn’t care about its own legacy, as it keeps churning out terrible live-action versions of our beloved animated movies; and it gives even less forks about other iconic films, so we should have known that the Disney Star Wars would be bad.
Yet they could have been less terrible if anyone bothered to apply sense to making this trilogy. They could have at least hired the same writer to work on this entire trilogy, maybe then some of these characters would have made sense. But I guess no one cares about characters, or story, or legacy, when you have IMPORTANT AGENDA to push. Again, I don’t wanna go into details, because the SJWs deserve even less of my time and effort than Disney does, so I will only say this once – a feature film needs to have a plot and characters, not just blatant political and social agenda. The best films have always had an underlying agenda, but it was not just plastered onto the screen, it was subtly visible among compelling stories and fully-developed characters.
This abomination is so badly written that even when the scenes are supposed to be epic they’re boring as hell. The pacing is off, there’s no tension. In fact, I stopped caring about anyone or anything when Leia turned into Space Jesus. Meanwhile Luke Skywalker apparently died at the end of Episode VI, because the person we have here is his body double, who has nothing in common with the original Luke. Not that Leia is any better, but her character is so perfunctory that it might as well not exist. Finn, who was a promising character in Episode VII, has to suffer through a boring and useless subplot and doesn’t even get his big heroic moment at the end. Po Dameron is a white man, so he has no right to exist in the Brave SJW World. Speaking of which, Strong Purple-haired Lady is a terrible leader, who inspires no confidence in her subordinates, has secret plans that she doesn’t share with anyone, and lets so many Good Guys get blown to pieces before she decides to execute her heroic effort in destroying the Bad Guys’ ships. The effort that makes no sense, just like nothing else makes sense in this movie. As for Rey, I can’t even with that Mary Sue…
Please proceed to my ramblings to see more of my bewilderment and grievances.

RAMBLINGS

I hope this is going to be somewhat coherent, given that I don’t remember any actual details of the previous movie. The iconic introduction is being vague about the state of affairs. At least the main idea, as always, is that the Resistance is fighting the Bad Guys.
How do they make Domhnall Gleeson look so unlikable? He’s such a charming fellow, but here he’s just repulsive. He’s being a bit too dramatic, no? Again, I’m a fan of the prequels where Palpatine was a more subtle baddie.
Oh look, Aunt Lysa fell through the Moon Door and right into the First Order attack ship.
Did they just make a “yo mama” joke on Star Wars? I gotta say, this prank call would have been fine in the Star Wars parody, but in an actual movie it doesn’t work.
Why is Leia dissing C3PO? Is that an inside joke that I don’t get?
These bomber ships are such easy targets. They’re giant and un-maneuverable, of course they’re all gonna get destroyed. And how are the bombs supposed to work anyway? There’s no gravity in space, so you can’t drop a bunch of bombs down the shoot and expect them to land in the same spot down below without gravity. I would buy it if the bomber ships were kamikaze – they crash into the target, exploding all the bombs in the process. But to have the bombs dropped down like that – I don’t buy it. I also don’t buy that the girl was able to catch that remote. She watched it fall past her, and didn’t make a move for it. Unless she has four-feet-long arms, she cannot catch it.
Am I supposed to remember why Finn woke up in a jacuzzi bag? Cause I sure don’t.
I wish that at least one movie would skip this whole “Battle-scarred hero refuses to go back and save everyone, spends half a movie being persuaded to help, adamantly refuses to help, but then changes his mind at the last hour” routine. It’s only implemented to pad the movie’s running time, and I would rather have a 90-minute coherent film than two-and-a-half hours of pointless rhetoric and will-he-won’t-he fake suspicion.
THAT IS SNOKE?! This shriveled old thing?! Hell no! Why couldn’t they keep him as a giant hologram? He was an enigma in the previous movie, and a real threat. But this thing… nope, not working for me. Palpatine was played by an actual human actor and was much scarier than this thing.
Adam Driver does look like a child! What a difference the absence of facial hair makes.
Luke has a point. Why do they need him so badly? He’s just one man, even if he is a Jedi. They had many Jedi in the prequels, and they all got slaughtered by the Bad Guys. So what’s one man gonna do? I guess the answer is in the original trilogy, but I don’t really like it, and I don’t wanna see it again to get the answers.
So, Luke knows that Rey has seen this Jedi Temple before, yet he has to keep asking her who she is?…
I know it’s not supposed to be funny, but I laughed when the Bad Guys appeared next to the Good Guys’ ships. I kept waiting for a giant Snoke hologram to beam into Leia’s ship and go, SURPRISE, BITCH.
I’ve seen too many episodes of Cinema Sins, to the point where I can’t watch movies normally anymore. Like in this scene where Kylo Ren blows up the Good Guys’ ship and Dameron gets caught in the explosion and thrown across the room, I’m like “He survives this”.
“Burning fuel”? What is this, Fast & Space Furious? I don’t know that much about Star Wars, but I’m pretty sure they never had a problem with fuel before.
IS PRINCESS LEIA SPACE JESUS NOW?!
Subtle vegan messaging is subtle.
It IS a cheap move, R2D2. Made even cheaper by the fact that, apparently, Princess Leia can’t be killed.
I’m sensing the SJW agenda radiating off Laura Dern. Again, I don’t remember the previous movie at all, as it turns out, but I’m pretty sure that Poe Dameron was the good character then. And now he’s a problem?
Fuel, space trackers, other stuff… what a bunch of nonsense. I kind of miss the Senate hearings from Episode I and those giant pod conferences from Episodes II and III. At least there were all kinds of different characters there, and so much pathos. Now there’s a casino? What?! I’m so confused… Are they doing a cross-over with the Matrix? The master code-breaker sounds like the master key-maker.
What the actual duck is happening with Rey and Kylo?! Since when can people Face-time through the Force?!
Ah, the old “I was cleaning my gun and it went off” defense. I had no idea it worked with blasters.
Wait… “Reach out with your feelings”?! I thought the Jedi aren’t supposed to have feelings. That was the whole problem with Anakin in the prequels. Was that all a lie? Is this a lie? Why is this movie so confusing?!
No one will be seated during the “Casino Royale” portion of this movie. And now there’s weird horse racing? Why the hell do we need that?! I feel like I’m watching an actual Star Wars movie and a Star Wars parody cut together into one long, idiotic movie.
How is there still an hour-and-a-half left?! I feel like I’ve been watching this for about five hours, and there’s still over half a movie left…
Oh so this is a Star Wars and Marvel cross-over. Hello, Benicio Del Toro!
I can’t with this Finn subplot. Why is this important?! I know they’re supposed to disable some tracker device, but what does Space Horse Casino Royale have to do with it? No wonder this movie is so long.
Adam Driver is a much better actor than Daisy Ridley. He conveys more emotions through subtlety than she does with all her shouting and being over-dramatic. It’s like watching the early Harry Potter movies where the over-acting kid actors were obliterated by the adult actors who barely had to move a facial muscle.
Are Rey and Kylo friends now? What the fork just happened?! Kylo is the last hope now? And Yoda is back, this time to be an anarchist. Burning books like a child delinquent. Because of course the perfect Rey already knows all the sacred Jedi texts. She was born with the knowledge, as she is perfect. Ugh. Pass my barf bag.
Wow, Oscar Isaac looks like he really doesn’t want to be there. I feel you, man, I don’t want to be watching this either.
How are Rey and Kylo “seeing the future” now?! This plus Face-timing makes them either the most powerful couple in all the Galaxy, or it makes this movie stupid as fork. I’m gonna go with the second option.
This is so boring! And there’s 50 more minutes left, how?!?!
I guess the fight between Rey and Kylo and Snoke and those red guards was supposed to be epic and stuff. But it was so boring. And Daisy is such a bad actress that I can’t take anything seriously. Ugh. And people were complaining about Hayden’s acting, yet he was never this bad.
This is stupid and pointless. I don’t care enough to comment anymore.
Oh for fork’s sake! They can’t even let Finn sacrifice himself?! Because she loves him all of a sudden?! What the actual fork!?
I knew that Luke wasn’t really there, and the whole fight with Kylo was fake, but why the fork did he actually die?! And how strong is Rey, who comes from nothing, that she is able to move entire huge piles of rocks with no training?! Didn’t Luke spend years training with Obi-Wan and Yoda? THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

After Life, Season 1

This is a very personal review. I can’t believe I’m even posting it, but here it is.

What a brilliant show! I just finished the last episode – there’s only six half-hour ones, thank you, British television! So I’m full of the feels, and this is not going to be very coherent. Which, I figure, is perfect for a show like this.
Ricky Gervais continues to surprise me. I know that he’s very funny, with his own brand of humor that many people find offensive, but I like most of his stuff. And I think of him as a comedian – both as an actor and a writer/director. So every time he does something serious and thoughtful, I am amazed at the level of depth, humility and kindness he brings to his creations.
“After Life” is the story of a man who just lost his beloved wife, and with her, the will to live. He probably would have killed himself immediately, if he didn’t have a dog to take care of. So he manages to get out of bed every day, and lead an existence devoid of any shred of happiness or hope. He titters on the brink of death, yet doesn’t cross the line; he manages to anger, but not completely alienate those closest to him. People annoy him, probably because they go on living despite the fact that his world has ended. Worst of all, he claims to not care about his own life to the point where he deliberately puts himself in harm’s way, yet the only people that he’s hurting by his behavior are the people who still care about him.

I recently lost the person that I loved most in this world, and who loved me the most, and this show displayed so precisely all the feelings that I’ve been going through. All the terrible feelings and thoughts that you don’t share with anyone, because they are too dark to put into words. I can safely say that I’ve gone through the lows that Tony has gone through, and I didn’t even have a dog or a cat to pull me from the threshold. I have my best friend of almost 30 years, who lives on the other side of the world, and talks to me everyday through the wonders of modern technology. And the thought of something bad happening to me and her not knowing about it, is really the only thing that kept me from doing something terrible.

I can’t believe I just wrote that. And I can’t believe that I’m going to post it, but what good is a personal blog if you can’t share personal feelings on it? And what good are those feelings if you can’t share them, in the hope that, if nothing else, sharing those feelings can let someone else know that they’re not the only ones going through something so awful.
That’s exactly what Gervais did with this show – he not only showed those who grieve that they’re not alone, but that it’s okay to feel like you’re already dead. Because you’re not really, it’s only a feeling, and that feeling will fade away over time.

“After Life” has many precise quotes about life, death and the impact that people have on the world and the people around them. My favorite one has got to be this exchange between Tony and a widow that he talks to at the cemetery:

Tony: When you’re a good person, doing things you want to do is the same as doing good.
Widow: And you’re a good person, and I’d really rather you didn’t kill yourself. Because that would be a waste. You may not like living much, but you made the world a better place. And don’t give up because then they’ve won.
After Life, season 1

Death March Escape, by Jack J. Hersch

The full title reads – Death March Escape: The remarkable story of a man who twice escaped the Nazi Holocaust.
I would say “remarkable” is an understatement in this context. There have only been a handful of recorded cases of prisoners escaping from concentration camps during WWII and not all of those who managed to escape, ever made it to freedom. Many were hunted down, found and killed; many perished on their own, without food and shelter.
Which is why the story of David Hersch, a man who escaped a death march – got captured but somehow not killed – then escaped again – was taken in by kind and courageous people – and lived to tell his tale… is unbelievable!
And yet that is the story we are fortunate to read in this amazing book. I was going to say “wonderful”, but I’m always hesitant to use such words when talking about horrific events. Yet Jack Hersch, David’s son, wrote a truly wonderful book, in the way that it tells the full story without skipping details or minimizing the horror, yet it’s almost a light read. In other words, you can read this book and still sleep well at night, compared to reading some other books on the subject that leave you with nightmares for days and nights to come.
I loved the way that the book was framed as both the story of David’s life and time in the camps, but also as Jack reconnecting with his father. In fact, the idea of writing the book came to Jack after he happened upon a photograph of his father on the memorial website for the Mauthausen concentration camp. A photograph that Jack had never seen before, of a man who used to be his father before the horrors of WWII. This discovery prompted Jack on a quest to find out as much as he could about David Hersch, and in a way to find out more about himself.
I highly recommend this book to a variety of people! If you’re interested in WWII – this book is for you. If you’re interested in the Holocaust but are afraid of the more harrowing stories – this book is for you. If you’re interested in stories about the strength of the human spirit – this book is for you. If you’re interested in stories of survival against unimaginable odds – this book is for you.
Finally, if you’ve ever wondered if your family has any secrets or fascinating tales to tell – this book is definitely for you, as it will spark curiosity in you to find out more about your own family.