A Sardonic Sense of Humour

The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham, is an early twentieth-century novel about lust, unrequited love and courage, taking place principally in the Chinese countryside.

When Kitty Garstin marries Walter Fane it is not for love. As she says herself, she never loves him, not at any point in the novel, despising his “sardonic” sense of humour and his crooked ways. No, Kitty does not marry for love. Instead, she marries Walter in a panic: her younger sister is already engaged; Kitty herself is nearing the ripe old age of 24 or 25; and this marriage would require her to live in Hong Kong, so she wouldn't have to deal with her sister's wedding or go on any loathsome family holidays ever again. Sorted. Walter on the other hand, adores Kitty. She is beautiful and chatty and funny, and Walter, though regretting that his love is unrequited, is happy enough with the situation to carry on with his life in peace.

In the bustling city of Hong Kong, Kitty meets many new people, old and young, men and women, all from the British Colonial base. One such person is Charlie Townsend, a charming, well-built man with a handsome face and apparently wonderful eyes. He is Kitty's undoing. Married himself, he never really loves Kitty so much as takes the opportunity she throws at him, and when Walter finds out a year later on finding them himself, Charlie has no intention of leaving his wife and saving Kitty from the clutches of Walter's ultimatum.

In short, the ultimatum is either stay with Walter or be divorced by Walter. The latter involves staying in Hong Kong. The former involves moving to the city of Mei tan fu, a bacteriologist, but this is less appealing as the site is ridden with a terrible cholera epidemic of which the citizens are dropping like flies. It is this option she is forced to choose.

This is where we see a journey of self-discovery take place. Kitty barely ever takes in someone's personality when we have a person described to us. It is always how attractive they are; how nice their eyes are or how revolting their nose is. Tired of hanging around the house all day and all night, Kitty decides to work with the French nuns who manage the orphanage, and here we see what was a dislike of “ugly” Chinese children change to a love of children and the development of a maternal instinct, just one example of how this new life changes her.

Simultaneously, Kitty learns to live with Walter, though he never really forgives her for her sinful behaviour and though she never fails to remind the reader that she does not love him and could never love him. She befriends the Customs man, Waddington, a squat man with a good sense of humour and a chatty tongue. It is Waddington who tells her about the Way, which is essentially a path of self-discovery the Chinese have figured out long before us.

Over the course of her stay in Mei tan fu, Kitty realises everything she never had figured out, sees everything she was blind to, and understands everything she felt clueless about previously. Her relationship with Charlie, for example, and Charlie's true self. Her superficiality shines through here again; she satisfies herself by telling herself that he was too fat, his eyebrows were apelike and revolting and his face was ugly, as opposed to thinking that his charm and his flattery were all false.

The Painted Veil really is a good read. The whole self-discovery makes it a great holiday read and it isn't too long at 200 odd pages so do give it a go. The film, starring Naomi Watts as Kitty and the thin one from Fight Club is great too, I must admit, following the story the whole way, though it is dramatised a bit, making us believe that Kitty does love Walter towards the end, but that's Hollywood for you.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Sorry for the infrequent blogging, both of us are taking a slight summer hiatus but I found a word I wish to share.

Erubescent:

Becoming red or reddish; blushing

Sentence Example:

Her erubescent complexion was thanks to too many hours in the sun.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is a word I found whilst looking up the meaning of an entirely different, all together more boring word. So rather than bore you with the dull one I'll just share the fun one.

Hypocorism:

1. A pet name.

2. The practice of using a pet name.

3. The use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk, especially by an adult.

Sentence Example:

Josh found the hypocoristic mannerism his best friend adopted around his girlfriend nauseating.


By Talia

Old Sport

In keeping with the theme of my American literature reading habits I took a successful stab at F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby is the tale of society in Long Island from the point of view of newcomer Nick Carraway. His house, with lawn unpreened and lacking a multitude of servants, is situated next door to the abode of a somewhat local celebrity, named Jay Gatsby.

I assume you all have the heard the phrase 'a friend of everybody is a friend of no one'. That phrase applies perfectly to Jay Gatsby. For all of his inconsistent life stories and all of his booming 1920s house parties, nobody really knows or cares about him as a friend. And anyway, Mr G isn't the goody-two-shoes in many ways. His shady schemes with a Mr Wolfshiem, portrayed rather anti-semitically by Fitzgerald as a conman with bad grammar, never really dominate the plot, but it still means that we readers know Mr G is a bit dodgy.

Gatsby has a habit of calling people “old sport”. Is this a way of trying to have people think the two of them are great pals? Because it doesn't work, as we so tragically find out. The only exception to this sentiment of 'I'll come to your party but I wouldn't bother with your funeral' is Nick; this is how we find out the story that makes the novel.

Nick, always the friendly one, is the old chum of another man who lives on the other end of Long Island. This man is named Tom Buchanan, and he has a twisted sort of lifestyle. For he is having a long and drawn-out love affair with a Mrs Wilson. Yes, you read correctly: she is also married, to Tom's friend, Mr Wilson. In the meantime, however, Tom learns of his wife's (yes he has a wife) relation with Mr Gatsby, which is one of harboured love. For Daisy and Mr G were once terribly in love but were separated, and now that they have been reunited, they have started to have an affair. Which is a bit awkward when Tom finds out, especially since it was Nick who was persuaded into inviting them both to his house for tea by a mutual friend named Jordan Baker who Nick sort of fancies anyway. Confused?

And though Tom is in the wrong, he has a point. Daisy isn't very subtle with her affections and Mr G thinks she will leave Tom for him, therefore holds back no smart remarks that may hurt Tom. Which is just really awkward for Nick, who turns out to be pretty fickle with who he supports and whether he loves or hates his new clique.

Fitzgerald's writing is compelling and though the novel is not entirely filled with a turbulent plot, I was left thinking about who was in the wrong and who was in the right, leaving me with the conclusion that everyone was in the wrong. Which was a depressing but satisfying conclusion. Give it a read and let us know what you think / thought (if you have read it already). The movie is coming out in the not too distant future with a star-studded cast: Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby; Carey Mulligan as Daisy; Tobey Maguire as Nick; and Isla Fisher as Mrs Wilson, to name but a few, but you know the book will be better, so do read it before then. Pretty please.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Just a quick Word of the Day today, no background story to this word, I've just always liked it.

Dearth:

An inadequate supply; scarcity; lack

Sentence Example:

During a famine there is a dearth of food.

By Talia

Words of the Day

I picked this word up whilst trying to find synonyms for miserable in my thesaurus. I assume you all know what miserable means therefore I will just provide you with a definition of the synonym I happened across.

Abject:

1. Utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched.
2. Contemptible; despicable

Sentence Example:

The situation seemed completely abject to Lucas; there seemed to be no right answer and he seemed to be facing zugzwang.

This sentence example neatly leads me onto the second word for today, and no it's not a made up word!

Zugzwang:

A situation in which a player is limited to moves that have a damaging effect.

Pronouced: TSOOK-TSVAHNG

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is more of a specific sort of word, but I think it's a suitable one none the less. It's from The Great Gatsby.

Echolalia

The uncontrollable and immediate repetition of what someone else has said.

As this isn't a word you would use in daily conversation, I am including yet another word from The Great Gatsby.

Tumultuous

Chaotic or riotous

Sentence example: The end of Harry Potter was marked by the tumultuous Battle of Hogwarts.

By Jess

Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do

Daisy Miller is the first Henry James novel that I have read, and I loved it. It isn't long at all at only 115 pages (my edition is anyway) so anyone can read it over a weekend.

The overall plot (without giving away anything) is the tale of a Mr Winterbourne, an American in Europe. When we first meet Mr W he is in a town called Vevey having just come from Geneva. Staying with his aunt, Mrs Costello, he meets a little scoundrel of a boy called Randolph Miller, who is in the process of refusing to go to bed, as little boys so enjoy doing. He promptly introduces our friend to his sister named Daisy Miller (no prizes for having guessed her name before you read it). The Miller family is American too, from Schenectady in New York state, and they pride themselves in being awfully sociable people, which doesn't always shed the best light on them.

Daisy is often called a "flirt", and it is easy understand why very early on. Considering the novel was written in 1878, she is a terribly forward sort of girl, even considered quite common by the higher-class members of the novel, such as pompous Mrs Costello. It is pretty evident that Mr W falls for her ditzy yet charming ways, and after just a couple of weeks or so he seems to be head-over-heels.

Daisy, however, leaves for Rome soon after they become friends, and as his aunt is there already, Mr W follows. This is where I find the novel to take a turn for the slightly amusing. You see, Daisy, as always, is being her flirty and amiable self, and in doing so she has made lots of friends. Lots of gentleman friends *cue 'shock horror' faces*. One such 'friend' is called Mr Giovanelli. Mr W first meets Mr G very awkwardly in a sort of third-wheel arrangement whereby he tags along with Daisy when she goes to meet him. Mr G, by Mr W's standards, is very common indeed. For example, he has a whole flower in his button-hole, and as was explained in the notes at the back of the book, the larger a gentleman's button-hole, the more common he is. So a whole flower? Scandalous.

Mr W begins to grow extremely envious of Mr G's position, and as Daisy Miller is such a short book, it doesn't take long for his envy to become full-blown creepy stalking. As he follows Daisy everywhere (he has a peculiar way of showing his affection), she starts to grow tired of his nonsense, and insults him. Does this perturb our protagonist? Oh no! Even when Daisy is shunned by her temporary landlady, and even though Mrs Costello is adamant that she is filthy and whatnot, he continues to adore her from closer than she probably would like him to, at least whenever she is with Mr Giovanelli and his gargantuan button-hole. I highly doubt such stalking was accepted even in 19th century Rome.

What I noticed most, however, about Mr Winterbourne's infatuation, was his frequent commenting on Daisy's beauty. To him, she was "exquisite"and "pretty", but never funny or kind or sweet. Perhaps it is as a modern reader that I notice this, and a contemporary reader wouldn't have thought twice about the blind love. It revisits that idea of love at first sight: essentially it is just lust. Would Mr Winterbourne have loved / stalked Daisy in the same manner if her nose had been larger? Or if she had had bad skin? Or if she didn't have such good dress sense? Probably not, though he was attracted to her because of her terrifying ability to talk non-stop at people and make them think they wanted to listen. However, at the end (I shan't tell you what happens), Mr G comments on her wonderful personality, which makes me think that he was the one for her after all.

Thoughts? Would you be slightly unsettled by bumbling Mr Winterbourne if you were  in Daisy's position?

By Jess

A Special Word of the Day

Well folks today is a special day, it is the day we publish our one hundredth post! I know, you're all just as excited as I am. Who would have thought we'd find one hundred things to blog about in under half a year? So I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that the word of the day is...

Hundred:

1. A cardinal number, ten times ten.

2. A set of this many persons or things: a hundred of the men. .

3. Hundreds, a number between 100 and 999, as in referring to an amount of money.

4. Informal: a hundred-dollar bill. 

5. Formerly is was an administrative division of an English county.

6.Similar to no. 5, division in colonial Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, and in present-day Delaware.

7. Also called hundred's place in mathematics.

I bet none of you knew how many definitions of the word hundred there are, and now for a very obvious sentence example:

This is the one hundredth blog post on The English Review.

Synonyms when hundred pertains to 100:

Centenary, Centennial, Centuplicate, Century, Hundredth.

Synonyms when hundred pertains to a great number:

Army, Cloud, Crowd, Drove, Flock, Host, Legion, Multitude, Myriad, Rout, Swarm, Throng.

By Talia

The Kennedys

For the past five weeks I have been watching 'The Kennedys' mini-series on BBC2. I had heard about the show before it came to England because of the controversy it caused in America. It had been made to air on the History Television, in fact it was the first original scripted series to be commissioned for the channel and had a reported $30 million budget. However, the show was subject to heavy criticism, with critics claiming it was historically inaccurate and presented one of America's most beloved and famous families in a negative and inappropriate light. It is rumoured that the remaining members of the Kennedy family threatened to sue the channel if they aired the show, eventually History Television released a statement saying "this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand," but a channel called ReelzChannel picked it up. I am currently in the process of writing a 5000 word essay about JFK and the show seemed like a more relaxing way to understand the Kennedy family, but I did watch it well aware that there were massive creative liberties taken.

When I reference it in my essay I will comment on the historical inaccuracies but here I will review it simply as a programme. Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine, The Last Song,) took on the lead role of John 'Jack' Kennedy, and he really does look a lot like him. Katie Holmes (Batman Begins, Dawson's Creek, Tom Cruise's wife) plays the long suffering wife and perfect First Lady, Jackie Kennedy. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, True Grit,) as Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy, and Tom Wilkinson (In The Bedroom, Michael Clatyton) and Diana Hardcastle (Midsummer Murders, Silent Witness) as the patriarch and matriarch of the Kennedy family; Joe Sr and Rose.

The first episode opens in 1938 and shows Joe Sr. as the Ambassador in Britain showing his open support to the Munich Agreement, despite the current President FDR opposing it. Each episode has an element of politics to it, however the focus is always very much on the family relationships rather than the current events of the time. The Bay of Pigs disaster, for example, in episode 3 is sidelined by Joe Sr. blaming Bobby for not protecting Jack as both his brother and the Attorney General. Jackie also struggles with Jack's constant infidelities and turns Rose for advice. This is the general format for the series, politics is eclipsed by family drama, even the Cuban Missile crisis is, if not overtaken then definitely equal to, Jackie's humiliation at Jack's affair with Mary Meyer. And it is probably for this reason why the show was deemed not historically accurate enough for a history channel. One has to take both historic and creative licenses when recreating undocumented conversations, and it does make for more interesting television.

The programme jumps about in time, showing the Kennedy clan before, after and during Jack's presidency. In the earlier times, primarily before Jack becomes President, Joe Sr. is painted as a cruel and ruthless man who expected his children to live out his unfulfilled dreams. From my research, I have ascertained that this is probably an accurate portrayal of a man who would stop at nothing to have one of his sons inside the White House. Joe suffers a severe stroke and we are left with a shell of a man, who dribbles rather pathetically and is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. We end up pitying Joe Kennedy. 

Over the first six episodes, without realising it, I had become quite attached to the characters, especially Jack and Bobby, therefore I found the penultimate episode quite emotional. Not to spoil the show for you, but Jack does get shot dead (I know, I know, I bet none of you saw that coming.) In the same episode, they lose their newborn son, Patrick and you see Jack telling Jackie that he's going to change, that he's done with his philandering ways. It is a clear romanticism of Jack's death, adding to the tragedy of his death by leaving the unfulfilled promise of a happy family behind as well as the Presidency. But it worked, I couldn't help but shed a tear.

The final episode aired last night, and I wasn't sure what to expect, given the fact that the protagonist was dead, but this episode focused on Bobby Kennedy. It showed his changed attitude following his brothers death, his constant support of Jackie and her children, and his new political drive. We see how he is motivated to run for office himself, to continue Jack's legacy and dreams for America. We watch as he becomes the senator of New York and then employs the same tactics that won Jack the election in his own Presidential campaign. In the scene where Jackie phones him up and tells him she is going to marry Aristotle Onassis, it felt as though the Kennedy dynasty really was coming to an end. A feeling confirmed in the following scene when Bobby Kennedy is shot dead in the Ambassador Hotel in California. The final poignant, scene of the eight episode mini series was a flashback to Jack's inauguration night, with each character making a toast to the future, a future that never quite came to fruition.

Large historical licence taken? Yes. Slightly dodgy accent from Katie Holmes at times? Oh yes. Emotional, intriguing and worth watching? Definitely.

By Talia

Word of the Day

I cannot remember where I read this word, but I do remember questioning it's meaning. Upon discovering the answer I am now sharing it with you lovely readers.

Bivouac:

Noun: 
1. A military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

2. The place used for the above mentioned military encampment.

Verb:

To rest or assemble in such an area; encamp.

Sentence Example:

The 1st Battalion was now bivouacked in a field in the middle of nowhere.


By Talia

Word of the Day

This is one I learnt whilst reading 'A People's History of the United States.' Whilst I have not found the book entirely engaging I have learnt new words and one of those is:

Nadir:

The lowest point; the point of greatest adversity or despair

Sentence Example:
Leo had suffered through a monotonous day at work but the nadir came when the tube broke down on the way home, and he was stuck in a hot tube carriage, underground, during rush hour.

By Talia

Word of the Day

I am currently reading Robert Dallek's 'John. F. Kennedy. An Unfinished Life.' It is the very interesting biography of JFK and it is teaching me many new words, one of which I would like to share with you.

Sacrosanct:

1. Extremely sacred or inviolable.
2. Not to be entered or trespassed upon.
3. Above and beyond criticism, change or interference.

Sentence Example:
Victoria considered her room to be sacrosanct, and therefore was furious when she found her little sister in it, playing with her things.

By Talia

It All Ends Here

Last night I had the great privilege of attending the 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' premiere. It was a huge event and the red carpet stretched all the way from Trafalgar Square down to Leicester Square, they had also turned half the carpet into Diagon Alley. I had been so excited about seeing the film I hadn't really thought about the fact that this was the end, despite the words 'It All Ends Here' being superimposed over every poster in the world.

I have been reading Harry Potter since I was six, therefore as Harry has grown over the past seven books and eight films so have I. I couldn't tell you precisely what it is about the books that makes them the all time best books in my opinion, yes there's the fantastic names (Neville Longbottom, Severus Snape etc.) and the magical world being set in England, in places that we all recognise (Kings Cross Station, Surrey, Tottenham Court Rd) but it's more than that. It has to be, there's a reason these books are the second most widely read novels in the world, second only to the Bible. There's a reason why we all (myself included) queued up at midnight to get a copy of the books, why next week everyone will be at the Odeon at midnight to see the first screenings of the final film installment. It's because we all love Harry, not in the same sort of way we love an action hero, but we love him as a best friend and care about what happens to him and Ron and Hermione.

The new film is in 3D, a move which I wasn't thrilled about, I think 3D is quite gimmicky and Harry Potter doesn't need it. However, soon I was so engrossed in the movie I'd forgotten all about the clunky glasses on my face. The movie begins exactly where the last one finished, with our three protagonists at Shell Cottage trying to decide whether to go after the Hallows or Horcruxes.  I promise this review won't have any major spoilers (although let's be honest it's not like you haven't all read the book a dozen times,) so I will focus on my personal highlights and I've narrowed it down to three scenes.
Scene one: The 3D came into its own during the break in scene at Gringotts Bank. It felt like we were on a roller coaster as the cart twisted and turned through the underground vaults.
Scene two: All the teachers and the remaining members of the Order come together to defend Hogwarts against the imminent attack from Voldemort and his followers. As well as some very witty lines from McGonagall (Maggie Smith) there is a fantastic shot of the protective enchantments coming together and forming a bubble around Hogwarts.
Scene three: The most obvious one, the Battle of Hogwarts. I don't want to spoil it so I will just summarise it in one word- epic. It was quite simply very, very epic.

For those of you worrying about too many changes to the book in this film don't be, obviously there are changes, there always have to be. But J.K Rowling was one of the producers on this film, and if she was happy with the changes then so am I. The splitting of the final novel allowed for far fewer details to be skipped over, unlike in the sixth movie. The only thing missing from this film was the promise of another one to come. During the premiere J.K Rowling cried, Emma Watson cried, Daniel Radcliffe cried, Rupert Grint cried and I bawled. These movies and books mean so much to so many and as Daniel said last night; "I don't think the end of the story happens tonight because each and every person who will see this film will carry the story with them through the rest of their lives." And he's right because in the words of Seamus Finnigan; "there's only one Harry Potter," and I for one miss him already.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This word is one that I found written on a post-it note attached to the bottom of my desk, so clearly I meant to post it at some point, and there's no time like the present is there?

Objurgate:

To express strong disapproval, to criticise severely

Sentence Example:

Sarah was objurgated by her mother when she came home four hours after curfew, consequently she was grounded for two weeks.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is a very early Word of the Day as I currently cannot sleep, although depending on where you are in the world this might just be a normal timed Word of the Day.

Doyenne:

A women who is the most respected or prominent in any particular field

Sentence Example:

Oprah Winfrey is the doyenne of talk shows and has millions of viewers for every show.

By Talia

Quotation, Quotation, Quotation

When people remember great authors, orators, Presidents, Prime Ministers or just great people, they tend to associate them with a specific phrase, a quote if you will. When people think of Shakespeare most will instantly go to the old classic; “Romeo, Romeo where fore art thou Romeo?” Quotations are brilliant: you can slip them into conversation and instantly sound more intelligent. They can also be used to inspire you and I thought that I would share some of my favourite and most memorable quotations with you.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

I think this is my favourite quote of all time; it is certainly the one I’ve yelled at my parents the most after yet another disappointing science report, because if Einstein thought having an imagination was more important than knowing which was the x and which was they y axis then who am I to disagree?

“Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it anyway.” ­– Mahatma Gandhi

Before you jump to conclusions: no, I did not learn this quote from an R-Patz movie. I have always liked it because it gives you a little perspective on life. Just because the majority of us will not lead life leaving legacies behind when we die does not mean we shouldn’t strive to achieve better for ourselves.

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men”
- Joseph Conrad

Although spoken by a man, a truer quote about women was never spoken. It is now scientifically proven that girl’s brains develop faster; we are more emotionally mature than boys; and we are definitely more rational. Miniature feminist rant over, this quote is a keeper, plus I always loved Heart of Darkness.

And I shall conclude with a quote that does not have much bearing on my life but makes me chuckle, spoken by a notorious philanderer:

“A man who marries his mistress creates a vacancy.” – Jimmy Goldsmith


By Talia

Words of the Day

Since I have not done any posts for a couple of days I shall give you two today to compensate. Both are from The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson. The first is wonderfully weird (note the alliteration) and the second just just sounds very intelligent.

Today's Word No.1:

Flibbertigibbet

1. A gossip
2. A chattering and flighty sort of person

Sentence example: She was a flibbertigibbet of a girl, always chattering away when she was meant to be concentrating.

Today's Word No. 2:

Sublunary

1. Terrestrial
2. Underneath the moon
3. Mundane or worldly

Sentence example: His playing chess was a sublunary pleasure he liked to have after a hard day at work.

By Jess