Words of Wisdom

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Review - Meet Franklin Bean by Emmy Swain

My review of this book on Goodreads

"At this time of year we are all considering which Christmas gifts to buy. Look no further than Emmy Swain's magical children's book.. The tale is intended for children but it's a universal story about how weird it can be to move to a new place and meet new people, yet this weirdness can be coped with and make you stronger when you meet a special and amazing dog like Franklin Bean. Emmy has written a captivating and enlightening story, which is beautifully illustrated by Levi Whitworth. Looking forward to hearing more about John's adventures with Franklin Bean. “Cool frijoles”

Plus my personal note to Emmy ""My dear you are a word magician. What an enchanting and uplifting story." Want to know more, I would highly recommend visting Franklin Bean.com

Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I adore Dawn French. She is one of the funniest and most original ladies on television, which is why I bought her book, A Tiny Bit Marvellous. The book is written in 3 voices in a diary style; Mo, the Mum, Dora the daughter and Oscar (whose actual character name is Peter). It is a very entertaining book (with a couple of disturbing moments) and as I read it I could hear Dawn's voice through the text. Apart from the entertaining diary/story, another lovely surprise was the cake recipes and the interview at the back of the book. A bit like those DVDs you get with Bonus Material. I would highly recommend reading this book, especially if you have teenage children. In fact I would highly recommend that teenage children read this book too.



View all my reviews

Wrinkled Rebellion

Whilst the "ok" and "hello" crowd were getting nipped and tucked. People of substance were preparing to make a quantum shift in the "accepted" status quo.

Russell Brands enlightening article

m.guardian.co.uk

The Phoenix Group - Rising by Colin Andrews

I have shared Twitter timelines with Colin for some months now. Trying not to sound like a stalker, but after following links from his Twitter profile to his website and being an avid reader, the urge to read Colin's stories became irresistible. The Kindle edition is available here. It is a captivating story and a review follows below.

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After a motorcycle accident had left him in a wheelchair for four months, the author, Colin Andrews, started writing the Phoenix Group stories nine years ago, when his wife was expecting their first son. The story was originally written for his unborn son to read and was never intended to be published. But Colin's son, now 9 years old, has badgered his Dad to finish the story and the story has grown, as children and stories tend to do.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Colin's son. Rising is a thrilling, edge of the seat story, from start to finish. The reader is transported from newly discovered temples in the Amazon, to the Pentagon, the Peak District, London, the Brown Mountains and places Unknown.

A puzzle must to be solved, the solution will save the world but at what cost? What are the plans of the Phoenix Group?

Rising is only the first part of this four part story and introduces us to the archaeologist, Dr Mark Gillian and his team who include his nephew Pacey, Samantha (Sam), Tom and the dashing Captain Reynolds; the mysterious Jack Collins and Oz and Cook (who are so much more than soldiers).

Great characters and fast paced action/adventure/mystery that would transfer brilliantly to the screen. Can't wait to read Ascension, part two of the Phoenix Group stories, planned for release in 2012.

Find out more about the author - Colin Andrew's Website:

Empire Avenue (e) TATUM

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Have been playing a very addictive social networking game on Empire Avenue

I am (e)TATUM and I am hoping to add the ticker to this blog today.

Think I'm getting the hang of this game but will reveal more about my own personal experiences on this site as I find out.

New interviews

TaTUM research and writing services

Please leave a comment if you would like to be interviewed.

Analysis - Shawshank Redemption

Analysis of Hope Springs Eternal - Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

StephenKing's Different Seasons - a collection of four novellas.

Is there a link to this story and the Brer Rabbit stories by Joe Chandler Harris?

I don't know if Stephen King has ever experienced life in a prison or if the story was re-told to him. The narrator of the story is a character called Red. Towards the end of story Red refers to someone called "Jack" - that is - he has written the story as a series of letters to Jack. Perhaps this is where King got the inspiration from but it would be wonderful to know the source of his inspiration for this story.

This "novella" - King is uncomfortable with the term - is only 101 A5 pages; approximately 35,000 words but it paints a picture of a man and his life that is full and rich. It covers a time period from 1938 to 1977 and the story moves back and forth through time seamlessly, like a rich conversation with a good friend.

According to his "afterword" in this book he wrote this story after finishing "The Dead Zone". King mentions many ideas about the process of writing in the afterword but he doesn't discuss the origin of this story or what inspired him to write it. Perhaps the "magician" doesn't want to give away too many secrets.

The back cover blurb is:

"In the Shawshank Redemption a man convicted of a bloody murder lives in a prison brutally ruled by a sadistic warden and secretly run by a con who knows all the ropes and pulls all the strings. He has more brains than anyone else in this sinister slammer and a diabolically cunning plan of revenge that no-one can guess until it's far too late."

Although this blurb is fairly accurate in it's synopsis, it does leave out the fact that not only does Andy have brains, he also has hope. It's a story of hope; brains and survival set in an American prison of the worse kind.

The core thought stream of hope is stated clearly and strongly reinforced by Red's words in the last paragraph of the book.

"I hope Andy is down there.

I hope I can make it across the border.

I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.

I hope the Pacific is as blue as it had been in my dreams.

I hope."

A page before that Andy had written a letter to Red and he wrote

"Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

The story starts with a brief introduction from Red about who he is and his position as the "guy who can get it for you" and quickly moves to the structure of prison life and society to the arrival of Andy Dufresne.

Andy is a quiet banker who's been convicted for killing his wife and her lover.

Andy is the main character of the story.

Red is the "structure" of the story - he sets the scenes and tells the tales. Overtime he becomes Andy confidante.

Shawshank also atmospherically describes the effect of prison life on the human psyche. Extract below

"Because you do get institutionalized. When you take away a man's freedom and teach him to live in a cell, he seems to lose his ability to think in dimensions. He's like that jackrabbit I mentioned, frozen in the oncoming lights of the truck that is bound to kill it."

When Andy finally executes his brilliantly planned and thoughtfully detailed escape - Red has the following comment in response to Warden Norton's fury:

"And by God, it almost seemed to me that somewhere I could hear Andy Dufresne laughing."

By keeping his sense of self, his sense of humanity and keeping hope alive in his soul Andy had outwitted the system that had made him a victim of circumstances - this jackrabbit had the last laugh

It's the tale-telling nature of the story and how it's central character has a folklore quality - which reminds me of the Brer Rabbit stories. Link here, just in case you haven't heard of Brer Rabbit.

There is a nursery book of Brer Rabbit where the stories are re-told by Stephanie Laslett. She writes:

"Every evening, as the sun set behind the persimmon trees and the shadows lengthened across the dusty yard, Uncle Remus would sit in his creaky old rocking chair on the cool veranda, light his pipe and tell his tales to anyone who would care to listen."

These stories would have been the possibility of "mental-escape" and "outwitting their masters" that would have helped Negro slaves to get through their days.

I see the connection between the Uncle Remus character/Brer Rabbit and Red/Shawshank Redemption on four levels.

1. Red is the "narrator" of the Shawshank story. The character's story-telling style is similar to that of the Uncle Remus character - in that he is telling the story of Andy Dufresne to "anyone who would care to listen."
2. The relationship between prison guards and prisoners is similar to that between slaves and their masters. For prisoners, like Andy, who are "victims of circumstances" - the relationship between slave and master becomes even closer. The need for "mental-escape" is the only way to stay sane.
3. Brer Rabbit lives on his wits to outwit the stronger Brer Fox, Brer Bear, etc. Andy lives on his wits to outwit the "system" that keeps him a prisoner.
4. Andy's journey through prison life and his hard trials with prisoners, guards and wardens show the measure of an intelligent, quiet, loner of a man who uses his wits to survive. Andy becomes the "stuff of legend" and a metaphor for hope. In the same way that Brer Rabbit was a metaphor for hope for slaves.

I don't know if King was a fan of Joe Chandler Harris but the following extract, from the same nursery book, does make me wonder if these stories may have inspired him as a child.

"Joe Chandler Harris (1848-1908) insisted that he did no more than simply retell the stories, but in fact he showed great storytelling skill in padding out what was often little more than a folk saying. He also retained the wonderfully rich dialect of the Southern Negro slaves, writing the words just as they would have been said."

King has this same skill - "writing words just as they would have been said" - it's a skill many a writer wishes to emulate.

© Maggie Baldry 2000-2005