Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell

If you have read the couple of posts on this blog of mine, you would have realised that I had ditched Catch-22 to pick this book up, since I really wanted to read something light and breezy. Catch is definitely more cerebral and requires keeping track of characters. 

So getting on with it, I have not seen any of the Sex and the City episodes although I have see the movie, which was pretty trite so to say, the book on the other hand is considerably better infact after the first 20 odd pages you start connecting with the various anecdotes. Although the narratives revolve more around women pretty older to me, but it is pretty similar to situations I or any girl my a little older would face. Infact women in India are soon heading that way. Themes like a woman having sex like a man, homosexuality, the apocryphal nature of high life and how ephemeral it all was. Who am I kidding it wasn't that philosophical. What made me like the book was the relationship of Carrie with Mr. Big, which made me realise that my launda and me were actually a normal couple, that sometimes people do get vicious at each other. And more than that I could see so well myself in Carrie, the need sometimes to be taken care of to be talked to without being told that one has to grow up and not be dependent emotionally. And I just saw so much of my launda in Mr. Big, anyway I hope our relationship does not end on the same note as there's though. 

I liked the part where, Carrie talks about she being able to have sex like a man, being able to enjoy the sex without getting any feelings or emotions involved. Although I don't know how women can actually distinguish between making love and sex, in India- by the very fact that a woman New York, who is in her late thirties feels so liberalised at being able to do that. And also there are these anecdotes where in, marriage in late thirties wherein a woman has achieved most of the things she had set out for, had serious of broken relationships, become almost a cynic - how for her, marriage becomes only a means to bear children. 

Yes of course there is a lot of philandering, cocaine snorting, champagnes, getting sloshed, spending weekends at South Hampton etc. etc. All in all a good read, which does give you bits and pieces to chew on. But I think, one needs to really read the book in one go, because one does loose track of the characters. 

Godfather 1

First up I admit I am a Hollywood movie ignorant, I haven't seen most of the top 100 movies to be watched and other such lists and more importantly I forget story lines very easily. Therefore, this attempt to review movies and books, more as a way of remembering plots and protagonists and of throwing in my bit of info in conversations or atleast to save myself the disgrace and avoiding meeting people's eye when they gap at me.

Frankly I don't even need to review this movie, for most of us have seen and read it all. But for the 1% of the population that hasn't watched it, I vouch for this movie hands down. It's a wonderfully made movie, a really come of age movie in those times (1972, Can you believe it?). Absolutely staggeringly sound acting on part of all the characters and boy oh boy am I in love with Al Pacino, the way he transforms from somebody who did not want to have anything to do with his family business and later becomes the evil Don, under his Dad's aegis. And Marlon Brando, he has just the right amount of reticence, control and the rationality that was asked of the character. I love this movie, and someday I hope to pick the book up too.

Next watch Godfather 2. Three hours and some 15 mins and you are completely hooked to the movie, crisp editing and wonderful cinematography. I realise I am not so much of a faint heart after all.

My friends have told me I should really take up a hobby, although it's little too late into my four month vacation. Better late then never. This is my attempt to really dissect and review the books I read, for they make me pull through this life and also it's only when I write do I get to explore other facets that you miss out once you move on to another book. Let us hope something good comes out of this initiative.

Happy reading and for now I am booked by Catch 22. So I hope it will end up being the first book I review on this blog.
Ciao till then.