Elephants are Dying for Your Sins

Stumbled upon this article today and could not stay indifferent.

My love for the elephants is proportionate to the hatred I feel towards religions and their followers.

Elephants are Dying for Your Sins

I am too angry and heartbroken to comment; read the article and share it with anyone who may care.

Silas Marner

Silas Marner by George Eliot
(spoliers below)

A story of a wrongly accused man who loses his fortune and on the same day finds a child at his door. A child that will be his comfort and salvation through the mischief. A rather short novel it still left an impact on me. George Eliot masterfully showed the burden of false accusations, the disdain after being robbed, and the hope that came with the shining hair of an innocent child.

This was a story of love, faith, hope, and redemption. The father who had abandoned his child because he was a coward and a liar regrets his deed after 16 years, but despite receiving forgiveness he still does not receive the love of his child who was taken care by a mere stranger and who acknowledges that stranger as not only her father but as the dearest person in the whole world. And despite all the fortune and "nice things" offered to the young girl she still chooses her beloved father over the gold and fortune.

Lovely story, especially when I think of the time it was taking place.

And I was so happy to find out that the robber never even had the chance to enjoy the stolen gold.

The movie:

And yet another beautiful score during the opening.Absolutely love the music.
A fine BBC adaptation, quite true to the book. An atmospheric movie that immediately gave me the feeling of the era, of the 19th-century England, the people and their lives. I love those movies which seem to take me back in time and show me what it was to live back then.

Witch Hollow at Smashwords

Witch Hollow and the Wrong Spell (Book 1) 

is now available at Smashwords (what a great website!).

 

Witch Hollow and the Fountain Riddle (Book 2)

To my dear readers:

The second book in the "Witch Hollow" series has been published.

Witch Hollow and the Fountain Riddle

 


 Witch Hollow and the Fountain Riddle (Book 2 of the 'Witch Hollow' series)

When Eric learns that the weather in Hollow has been acting strangely, he returns to the magical town to help his friends with the danger they might face soon. Eric reads an old diary and learns gruesome details about the witch-hunt which may happen again.

Eric and his friends have to understand what is wrong with the weather and why the boys are getting paler day by day. Could the truth be hidden in the dark depths of the cave? And what is hidden inside the Fountain on the square?

To solve the Fountain Riddle Eric and his friends will have to fight the Pied Piper and his rats, visit a 19th century ball, and catch the boy in the painting.

During his stay in Hollow, Eric will also try the role of a knight at a tournament, will enjoy a flight on the broom, and will receive an unexpected prediction of a death in his family.


URLs of the songs and music pieces from youtube:

“La Follia” by A. Vivaldi

“Waltz of the Flowers” by P.I. Tchaikovsky

“Hungarian Dance No. 5” by J. Brahms

“Symphony No. 40” by W.A. Mozart

“Romanza Andaluza” by P. de Sarasate

“Blacksmith” performed by Loreena McKennit

“Searching for Lambs” 

“Battle of Harlaw”

“Twa Corbies”
performed by Bard Michael Kelly
performed by Steeleye Span

“If I Were a Blackbird”
performed by Silly Wizard
performed by Bard Michael Kelly

“William Tell Overture” by G.A. Rossini


Thank you for buying my books, reviewing them, and sending me all those nice emails.
I appreciate your support very much.

MOLL FLANDERS

THE FORTUNES & MISFORTUNES OF THE FAMOUS MOLL FLANDERS

This book started rather slow, but the more I read the better the story became. After some time I already couldn’t put it down. I know this type of writing is not considered popular, for it consists of narrative and is mostly deprived of dialogues, but I loved the writing style (I began writing The Billion-Dollar Girl soon after I had read this book; apparently I was heavily influenced by the narrative style).

It was also interesting to find out about the lifestyle, habits, and customs of 17th-century England, and how people survived back then. Just imagine, you could change your name, and no one would even know who you really were, whether you were married, or had children, etc.

Of course, finding out the truth was not impossible. One only needed to make inquiries, but people back then were not overly suspicious as we are now. 

So Moll Flanders had 5 husbands (she was guilty in bigamy), and one of her husbands appeared to be her brother, 7 children (if I recollect correctly) whom she abandoned in the searches of better life, then became a whore, a thief, was sent to Newgate prison, and in the end reached the New World.

It was a long journey of a woman who was trying to survive in a hard world where women do not have much choice. 

I loved this book. I loved the character of Moll Flanders. Though immoral and wicked, she was strong, determined, and was a survivor. 

One of the best adaptations of a novel I have seen. Great sets, correct mood, and fine actors.

Alex Kingston gives an incredible performance.

Basil by Wilkie Collins

Basil by Wilkie Collins

http://www.amazon.com/Basil-ebook/dp/B004TR2990

It had been a while since I had read a book as gripping as Basil. I couldn't and didn't want to stop reading even for a second and longed to know how it all ended.
I had to know.
Wilkie Collins's characters were so alive, so real, that I couldn't help fearing for Basil, thinking what would happen when his father learnt about Basil's horrible disobedience.
It was a story of a young man and his first love, and how he gives up everything for that love, and loses everything.
From the first pages it was obvious that something was amiss with Basil's beautiful fiancé, but the revelation was worse I could have thought.
Basil was probably one of the most naive characters I had ever come across to. His decisions were mostly silly and impulsive, but his naivety was due to his young age, and so the reader can only sympathize with him and his pangs.
Basil falls in love with a girl he sees for the first time in his life, and blinded by the burning affection, he easily becomes a puppet in the hands of the villain of the book, who has his reasons for hating Basil and his family, and who will not stop at anything to destroy them.
Even death would not stop that man. He was described so well, that his presence, his words, his face gave me chills.
Though this was a short read, still each character had personality and was developed fully:
the father was merciless,
the brother was somehow eccentric,
the sister was an angel, and I loved Basil's tenderness towards her,

Basil’s dear Margaret’s parents were quite interesting, too: the father was greedy yet pathetic; the mother was an unhappy, ignored woman.

Margaret was cunning, but she was nothing compared to Robert Mannion and his scheming mind.

And Basil, ah, poor, poor Basil. How in love he was. How naïve he was.

I loved this book. Every page of it. It’s been a month since I have read it, but I still can’t forget it.

The movie:

Yet another movie with a beautiful score. Absolutely loved it.

But the story was changed a lot. I could never understand the reasons for such changes. Surely the movie cannot be a copy of the book, but still I think the story was already so interesting that there was no need to change the reason behind Robert Mannion’s revenge, or make him Basil’s friend when in the book he hated the man from the first time they met, or change the sister’s character and turn her into a love interest for Basil.

Jared Leto stars as Basil. This actor has such an innocent look that for me he was Basil from the very beginning.

Overall, I liked the movie. Not as much as the book, but being a fan of the era helped a lot.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker's Dracula

www.amazon.com/Dracula-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B006CRC98G/

Probably one of the best horror novels I have ever read.

Might not seem so scary for a modern reader, but my, oh my, I can imagine how much dread it might have caused a Victorian Era reader.

This is one of the most famous novels in the world with one of the most famous characters. Dracula started the Vampire Fiction, and though the vampires have changed immensely throughout the years, the character of Dracula has not lost its appeal.

This novel has been discussed for many years, and I don’t know if I can say something new about it. Written more then a hundred years ago, it still gives chills and freezes the blood. At least that’s hat happened in my case.

The movie made in 1992 is considered to be the most faithful adaptation, and if this is the most faithful, I wonder how messed up the rest are.
The story had undergone many changes. Too many. But nevertheless, I still love this movie. And not just because of amazing Gary Oldman, but because of the way the movie was made: it is almost deprived of special effects, and the atmosphere is enchanting.