Getting Used to Washington DC, Posts on Anderson Cooper and some books comming up soon
Posts Mentioning RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
eschapp
-
eschapp
Allah Is Not Obliged – Ahmadou Kourouma
Twain’s Huckleberry Finn meets Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment interlaced with a sailor’s reputation for swearing; that’s how I could best describe the action, tone and themes of Allah Is Not Obliged written by Ahmadou
Kourouma. The basic plot summery is provided by the publisher:“When ten-year-old Birahima’s mother dies, he leaves his native village in the Ivory Coast, accompanied by the sorcerer and cook Yacouba, to search for his aunt Mahan. Crossing the border into Liberia, they are seized by rebels and forced into military service. Birahima is given a Kalashnikov, minimal rations of food, a small supply of dope, and a tiny wage. Fighting in a chaotic civil war alongside many other boys, Birahima sees death, torture, dismemberment, and madness but somehow manages to retain his own sanity. Raw and unforgettable, despairing yet filled with laughter, All Is Not Obliged reveals the ways in which children’s innocence and youth are compromised by war.”
I picked this book up on peer impulse. I saw the bright yellow cover from across the book store, and even though I had several books that I had been meaning to read, I couldn’t resist. Although I got quite a few strange looks, reading a bright yellow book, with a blood red title on both the DC Metro and a couple of airline flights.
On one of the flights I was asked by the person sitting next to me if I was Muslim, which I am not. Turns out she was from Sierra Leon: the exact area of Africa where this book takes place. We talked about some of the situations in Africa including the child-soldiers, and sure enough the atmosphere of the flight became increasingly uncomfortable. People’s candor about their experiences and my naiveté surrounding those same events, always strikes me as odd during the conversation. Of course it tends to make sense later: Other people have had experiences that I will never have. While I can try to imagine myself in other people’s situations, that is nowhere near the understanding gained through actually experiencing the same situations.
-
eschapp
Flix – The Number 23
I just recently watched The Number 23 starring Jim Carrey. At first I was a little
worried about how well a suspense thriller could be with Carrey as the lead actor, but I guess I’ve already seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I thought that Carrey did a good job in that film. So if you don’t know anything about this film I’ll give a quick summery.Carrey plays a man, who is generally down on his luck. He is socially awkward, and has great difficulty saying the “right things” to the people he knows. He is an animal control officer, who spends his days bored wondering what happened to his life. The first day in the movie, his birthday February 3rd, he is bitten by a dog that he is trying to capture. This bite is a wake up call, and leads Carrey down a very dangerous and intriguing path including a strange book and a couple of murders.
I thought this film was worth seeing. The suspense builds up quickly from the relatively innocent beginning and bursts over about half way through the movie. I think Carrey does a great job acting and his supporting cast is also believable. The action consistently builds, and every time you think you’ve got the plot pinned down, the storyline shifts. I was really pleased with the ending of the movie, which of course I won’t spoil, but suffice it to say that it was unexpected. The movie questions what people are capable of, and asks you to ask yourself what you might do in various situations. As suspense thrillers go, this one is better than most, and I would definitely encourage people to rent it. Everything is a choice, it is up to you to make the correct decision (as Carrey learns during the film).