O que é esse botão novo, ‘proofread’, no painel do WordPress?

Oh, corretor ortográfico. Mas de que adianta, se é em inglês e considera errado tudo o que escrevo em português?

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Com esse baita calorão, fui procurar imagens pro template natalino do PdUBT e me atraíam as que mostravam neve, muita neve.

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Calma, não vou estrear agora. Talvez no domingo do Advento.

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Calor que derrete a barra de manteiga durante a noite, mizifio. Senquisgóde ontem teve Baile do Hawaii em Pedra Lascada: sempre é garantia de chuva e frio.

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Por outro lado, aproveitei que não dava mesmo pra dormir no forno e acabei Mundo Sem Fim do Ken Follett em quatro dias. É bem verdade que depois da página 800 passei a ler meio que na diagonal se era sobre o Ralph, mas as partes do Merthin, da Gwenda e da Caris li tudinho. Deu até torcicolo.

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Por que vocês vivem perguntando se eu conheço o Hugh Laurie?

Nessa imagem até que parece, mas nunca vi muita semelhança entre o Mike Tomlin [coach do Pittsburgh Steelers] e o Omar Epps. Mas tem uma cena que passa nos intervalos das transmissões que eu acho linda, quando Tomlin acompanha um punt com os olhos e a expressão de seu rosto vai mudando de apreensivo para expectante para feliz. Maravilhoso.

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O canal BandSports transmitirá os jogos de quinta-feira da NFL, iei! Ainda bem que eu já estava baixando House.

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“Em Taiwan, um centro de caridade budista transforma garrafas plásticas em cobertores, que depois são doados a vítimas de desastres naturais em todo o mundo.” [BandNews, 05/10/09]

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“O governo da Itália rejeitou uma condenação do Tribunal Europeu de Direitos Humanos, por exibir crucifixos nas escolas. ” [BandNews, 03/10/09]

Mas tem que ver o contexto, né, Luma?

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Essa veio da @marselle: True Blood x Twilight x Vampire Diaries no site Television Without Pity. Eu não posso opinar. Hm, posso. Aquela imagem de divulgação de TrueBlood niqui o Beew abraça a Suckie por trás é tosca.

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Como se dia “saia justa” em inglês? Como traduzir “deputy”? Como se pronuncia “House”? Tecla SAP.

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Orgulho e Preconceito na versão de 1995 da BBC saiu em DVD no Brasil.

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E eu ainda não consegui assistir às versões 2009 de Emma e de Wuthering Heights. SDS.

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Dashiell Hammett: Hammett passou grande parte de sua vida num notório e apaixonado caso de amor com Lillian Hellman. Ambos bebedores contumazes, mantiveram um relacionamento conturbado por quase 30 anos. Certa noite, bêbado e discutindo com Lillian, Hammett pegou o cigarro que fumava e começou a apagá-lo esmagando-o na própria face. “O que está fazendo?”, gritou ela. Resposta de Hammett: “Impedindo-me de fazer isso com você.” [Guia de drinques dos grandes escritores americanos]

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Deixaram folhetos de supermercado na caixa de correio de casa. Eu adoro folheto de supermercado. Um deles era temático, especial para o 15 de novembro [Proclamação da República] e propunha um “Brinde à República com os MENORES preços” [sic]. Na foto dois caras rodeando a churrasqueira e brindando com duas garrafas de cerveja. Os produtos anunciados no folheto? Cervejas Skol, Brahma e Antarctica.

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Por sorte tem três Heineken e uma Petra Premium na geladeira.

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Stephen Fry, luv you, xuxu. Mais até do que o Hugh Laurie.

Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ko2nCk_hE

Now, now, onde será que eu acho um dicionário de termos chulos em inglês?

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EUA mantém bases militares no Japão desde a Segunda Guerra, cê sabe. Agora propõem um pacto para revisar o SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement], especialmente no que diz respeito aos crimes cometidos pelos norte-americanos contra cidadãos japoneses em território ocupado e aos crimes danos abientais cometido pelas forças armadas ianques contra o meio-ambiente nipônico.

A Guerra acabou em 1945.

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Aquele sabonete-lixa de açaí da Natura é mesmo uma lixa! Cotovelos e joelhos ficaram tão lisinhos… Achei que seria como os esfoliantes de castanha ou pitanga, por exemplo, mas nem. E o cheirinho é tão fresco.

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Falando sério agora: Daniel Castro publicou em seu blog que a teledramaturgia brasileira [eita] sofre com a falta de galãs na faixa entre 30 e 40 anos. Dando uma bizoiada rápida no elenco das novelas no ar atualmente, eu achava que a falta de galãs se estende para as faixas de 20-e-pouco aos sessentões.

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Eu adoro o  Cássio de Caras e Bocas, entretanto.

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Cara, há quantos anos eu procurava por essa música!

Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZj7CsKQnks

Um vídeo mais recente, mas não sei de quando [link].

FURIMUKEBA YOKOHAMA (MARCIA)

Yume no tsuzuki wa oshimai desu ka?
Subete hakushi ni kaeru no desu ka?
Moshimo kanau nara kono karada nagedashite
tsuite yukitai

Tojita mabuta ni anata ga utsuru
Wakarebanashi wo uchihasu you ni
Ase ga nijimu hodo mou ichido dakishimete
Eiga no you ni

Koi wa itsumo senaka awase
Oeba ou hodo te no hira kaesu

Furimukeba YOKOHAMA kuchibiru ga sabishii
Furimukeba YOKOHAMA oiteki bori ne

Minato hanareru gaikoku san wo
Hitori miokuru HOTERU no ROBII
Anata koko ni kite omoide wa iranai wa
Kanashisugiru wa

Meguri au wase no itazura nan de
Sore de owari ni shinai de hoshii
Soba ni iru dakede hanayaka na hito toki wo
Ikite yukeru wa

Mado wo tataku ame no shizuku
Tabun anata mo tabibito na no ne

Furimukeba YOKOHAMA anata shika mienai
Furimukeba YOKOHAMA hada ga koishii

Furimukeba YOKOHAMA kuchibiru ga sabishii
Furimukeba YOKOHAMA oiteki bori ne

Em 1986, o destaque foi Márcia Nishie, cantora de Mogi das Cruzes que conquistou o Grande Prêmio da Canção Japonesa no Brasil Gaikokujin Kayo Taisho e obteve o reconhecimento do maestro Inomata Kosho que se tornou o seu principal mestre no Japão (não só lhe deu aulas sobre canto, mas também fez diversas composições). Márcia gravou diversos discos chegando a apresentar-se, em 1991 no Kohaku Utagassen com a música “Furimukeba Yokohama”, ao lado do cantor Hashi Yukio, numa transmissão direta de São Paulo (naquele ano, esse tradicional evento musical de Ano Novo da NHK, além do show em Tokyo teve apresentações do exterior como Nova York, Alemanha e Coréia do Sul além do Brasil). Participou de programas de variedades de diversas emissoras e chegou a participar de uma novela que abordava sobre o mundo futebol e que teve algumas cenas gravadas no Brasil. No final de 1995 casou-se com o ator Otsuro Guitan que era justamente o protagonista dessa novela. [Fundação Japão]

These five Kindle-compatible ebooks should help you outlast the swine flu and the H1N1 virus in style!

by the TFN staff

(reprinted with kind permission from TodaysFinancialNews.com)

Baltimore, MD – TFN: It starts with a mild tickle in your throat. By lunch, you’ve developed a tight, percussive cough. On your commute back home, the lights of cars trigger an oddly sick feeling behind your eyeballs. And by the time you’re home, all you want to do is crawl into bed to nurse that 102-degree fever.

That’s when you realize: You didn’t get the swine flu vaccine. And now the H1N1’s got you.

Here’s the good news:

There’s really nothing you can do about it. And you’ll never have as good an excuse to stay in bed, drop a couple of Mucinex every four to six hours… and do nothing but read!

But this isn’t the time to start War and Peace. Or refresh your memory on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. You want, need, deserve to be entertained by the best writers in the business.

But since you can’t just pop out to the bookstore… remember, right now, you’re Typhoid Mary or Joseph and a threat to public safety!… this is the perfect time to unwrap the Kindle your gizmo-infatuated spouse gave you for your birthday.

So prop up a pillow, log on to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s Kindle site, and check out some books. Our editorial team, no stranger to the vagaries of swine flu or other ailments that require you to remain still for extended periods of time, suggests the following:

* Ken Follett: The Pillars of the Earth $6.39

This medieval mega-epic should outlast the most tenacious virus. The plot is strong, fast-paced and compelling, characters are complex and addictive, and the period detail is magnificent. The only drawback… you may find yourself jonesing for the next volume… another epic tome the size of a curbstone.

* David Grann: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon $9.99

In 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett heads out on his final expedition into the Brazilian Amazon. His aim: The mythical lost city of El Dorado. Of course, he’s never heard of again. Now city slicker Grann is follwoing his lost trail (and those of others) into the thick of the Amazon. Strange how a madman’s vision can, in the end, turn out… right!

* J. Christoph Amberger: The Lazarus Smile $9.99

If you like Dan Brown and Philip Kerr, this is the book for you! It’s got everything: Amberger’s debut novel wraps you in a hunt for an “Unholy Grail” that ties together Nazis and Praetorians, Nero and Himmler, St. Paul and al Qaeda. Based on true events, this is one of the most lively, well- written, and painstakingly researched books of the season!

* Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy $6.39

If you grew up during the 1980’s you’re already familiar with this classic cult title. There’s no time like the present to revisit this quirky futuristic tale of man’s final destiny in the Universe.

* Philip Kerr: Hitler’s Peace $9.99

When the Big Three of WWII — FDR, Roosevelt, Stalin — met in Tehran at the end of 1943, they were dividing the spoils of the yet-to-be-conquered Third Reich, jockeying for position, weighing and discarding moral considerations regarding the Katyn Massacre and secret peace negotiations initiated by the Nazis. A fast-paced narratives built on the question “what if?”

Now go fill up your tea mug and get ready to make the darn swine flu pay!

I think I knew from the moment I started this blog that I need to dedicate this one post to the one book that has left an impression on me as far back as the time when I was still in high school.

I developed a love of reading ever since I was a kid. I started with comic books that ranged from Archie comics, to Beetle Bailey comics, to the Chinese comic sensation Lao Foo Tse. I eventually graduated to every teenage girl’s romantic fantasy of Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams.

It was this book: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, that got me started on bestsellers and adult fiction.

My brother, who is himself an avid reader of fiction as well, got me started to read this book.

By page 1, I was already hooked.

Set in England in the 12th Century, the book’s centerpiece is the building of a cathedral in a little town called Kingsbridge. The story does not teach you how a cathedral is built. It tells the story instead of the journey of a builder in bringing to life the cathedral of his dreams, and the journey of the other people in his life who somehow affect how things in his life unfold, that somehow has an effect on whether his cathedral gets built or not.

His story is not unusual and nothing out-of-the-ordinary — unless you factor in the 12th Century setting. But his life story and life journey is not something unfamiliar to most of us. We all know the dichotomy of a life filled with both joy and pain, and how each one contributes to making each other more potent. And then there’s the story of how sometimes the concept of right and wrong are compromised for the sake of the greater good. And then there’s the tragic stories of how injustice can destroy the lives of the undeserving.

Aside from its authenticity and depth, what I’ve always loved about this book is that it poignantly shows human frailty at its best and worst. It portrays the weaknesses, vulnerabilities and insecurities of people — whether they’re rich and powerful aristocrats; Bishops and Cardinals whose ambitions betray even their own conscience; common everyday people who struggle on a daily basis just to survive; or even humble and forthright builders who only want to create the grandest masterpiece in their lifetime.

It is very well-written, and in the grand tradition of what makes stories fascinating and gripping, it makes for the perfect curled-up-in-your-couch reading afternoon.

Protection

Last week I finished World Without End by Ken Follett. At 1024 pages, it really had to earn its daily 10-lb spot in my purse.

A lot of people have made the very important point that if we all got Kindled, hotties on the bus would have no way of knowing if we were reading Dostoevsky. In my case, I think publicly flaunting a hefty book served an even more practical purpose – it made me look tough. I’d flounce onto the tube and whip out this encyclopedic brick and people would know I meant business. No more stranger-danger! And it’s not the first time I’ve witnessed the awesome self-defense power of a nice, meaty hardcover.

My family once took a little trip down Ukraine-way. It was not exactly a bustling tourist destination at the time (1996), but we managed with my dad’s so-so Ukrainian skills and a local guy with a 9-seater van. One night, dad and Misha the driver went off to look for a hotel and my mom was left alone with the three of us kids. Suddenly a man threw open the side door and jumped in. There was a heated English/Ukrainian exchange, and miraculously, the man finally took off. Five minutes later, more men, more door slamming and yelling. Did I mention the door wouldn’t lock from the inside?

By the time a pair of purple-haired ladies hit the scene, we started to think we might’ve misjudged the situation. We eventually learned that not only was our vacay-van a public transit mini-bus, but we were also parked in the actual mini-bus stop. It was all worth it though, because somewhere between the KGB lookalikes and a group of pale Chernobyl kids, my mom frantically hissed, “Girls, get me my book. Get me my book!” and then sat crouched beside the door, clutching her hardcover.

It was pretty scary for a couple minutes there, but even my six-year-old sister wasn’t about to miss out on the comic potential of my mom actually clocking some unsuspecting Ukrainian dude with a copy of The Stone Diaries or something.

Ken Follett

The Frankfurt Book Fair took place last week, and it’s always a source for major publishing news. One of the early news items has to do with author Ken Follett, whose historical novels and thrillers have been huge hits worldwide.

In a feature in BookPage about his last novel, World Without End, Follett said he wanted to “write another book that gets this kind of enthusiastic reception.” We’re pretty sure rights being sold in six countries, and a worldwide one-day laydown, counts as enthusiasm!

Fall of Giants will go on sale September 28, 2010, just in time for a planned miniseries based on Pillars of the Earth. (Penguin/Dutton got the U.S. rights.) It is the first of three books planned for the “New Century Trilogy,” which will cover most of the 20th century. Fall of Giants follows five families through World War I and the Russian revolution, setting the stage for the next novel, which will cover World War II.

LOS PILARES DE LA TIERRA

Tenía grandes dudas sobre la capacidad de este libro para engarcharme pero he de decir que ha sido una grata experiencia. Si bien es cierto que las primeras 200 páginas se me hicieron un tanto aburridas debido a las diferentes historias que se cuentan la cosa empezó a cambiar, y mucho, al unirse entre sí. La vida de Aliena, hija de conde, el maestro constructor Tom y su descendencia, y la de un monje llamado Philip nos adentra en un mundo fascinante, ambientado en la Inglaterra de la Edad Media en la que reyes, obispos, caballeros y la idea de construir una gran catedal en la ciudad de Kingsbridge nos enganchar hasta el punto de llegar a pensar que te encuentras en medio de la historia. Fue publicada en1989, y se convirtió en el mayor best seller del autor británico  Ken Follett.

Os voy a dejar un breve resumen del libro, no obstante os aconsejo que lo leáis porque merece y mucho la pena.

“ Los pilares de la tierra es una nóvela histórica ambientada en Inglaterra en la Edad Media, en concreto en el siglo XII, durante un periodo de guerra civil conocido como la Anarquí Inglesa, entre el hundimiento del White Ship y el asesinato del arzobispo Thomas Becket. Sin embargo, también se recrea un viaje de peregrinación a Santiago de Compostela a través de Francia y España. La novela describe el desarrollo de la arquitectura gótica a partir de su precursora, la arquitectura románica  y las vicisitudes del priorato de Kingsbridge en contraste con el telón de fondo de acontecimientos históricos que se estaban produciendo en ese momento. A pesar de que Kingsbridge es el nombre de una localidad inglesa real, el Kingsbridge al que se hace referencia en la novela es, en realidad, un emplazamiento ficticio representativo del típico pueblo inglés en el que se establecían mercados en la época.

La novela fueincluida en el puesto 33 de la encuesta realizada por la BBC en 2003, cuyo objetivo era encontrar las obras más apreciadas de la literatura británica. Además, fue elegida en 2007 por el club literario Oprah’s Book Club. Consta de unas 1300 páginas, dependiéndo de la edición. La segunda parte, Un mundo sin fin, salió a la venta en español el 28 de diciembre de 2007.”

Fuente: Wikipedia

Salam

Imprescindible*****

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: New Emmy-owner Justin Timberlake has joined the cast of The Social Network, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin’s take on the invention of Facebook …

TIMBERLAKE: Facebook friend

Heather Locklear, one of the stars of the original Melrose Place, will reprise her role on the current re-invented series … stage and screen favourite Eric Peterson, already slated to pick up an Earle Grey Award later this month at the Geminis, will receive the 2009 Gordon Pinsent Award Of Excellence this week when The Company Theatre fetes him Thursday night at the Windsor Arms. Seamus O’Regan and Allan Hawco will co-host the gala evening … and speaking of excellence, award namesake Pinsent plays the Archbishop in The Pillars of the Earth, the epic drama based on Ken Follett’s bestseller, currently shooting in Hungary and Austria. Also appearing

PETERSON: getting Gordon & Earle

in key roles are Ian McShane and Donald Sutherland.

FOOTLIGHTS: Mimi, or A Poisoner’s Comedy, the controversial new Allen Cole-Melody A. Johnson-Rick Roberts musical, continues its ribald run at the Tarragon Theatre … Bob Martin’s Tony-winning hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone tap-dances into Ottawa next week for a two-week run at the National Arts Centre … Carrie Fisher opened her one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, at Studio 54 last night. Sez Fisher: “Basically, I talk about myself behind my back.”
 Her Broadway stint will run ‘til January … and Monty Python alumni Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and John Cleese are set to appear in a rare reunion at the Ziegfeld Theater next week. Did you know that the Pythons have

FISHER: on stage

their own YouTube channel? Seriously! … and tickets are now on sale for the new National Ballet Of Canada season, which kicks off next month with the perennially lavish Sleeping Beauty. To check out the new NBOC season, just click here.

OUR TOWN: The 14th edition of Eat to the Beat, benefitting Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada, takes over Roy Thomson Hall tomorrow night with culinary creations from more than 60 chefs,  including the Food Network chef Anna Olson, Fiona Lim of George and Dufflet Rosenberg of Dufflet Pastries. And you can still buy a ticket! For more info, click here … also tomorrow night: Royson James moderates a Toronto Star panel discussion on what it takes to create a workable city, with Susan Eng, Kevin Stolarick, Sudz Sutherland and Rahul Bhardwaj, at the new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library … Jack Rabinovitch and jurors Russell Banks, Victoria Glendinning and Alistair MacLeod will announce this year’s Giller Prize finalists tomorrow morning at the Four Seasons … and yes, those still-sensational Jersey Boys are still winning standing O’s every night at the Toronto Centre For The Arts.

Piedra que se convierte en arte, arte que se convierte en vida. Todas las penalidades que se pueden imaginar de una vida que se desarrolla en plena edad media y que gira en torno a la construcción de iglesias. Eso es lo que podemos encontrar en Los pilares de la Tierra producto de la imaginación y de la pluma de Ken Follett.

No se trata de una novedad editorial pero hemos tenido que estar a finales del primer decenio del siglo XXI para que un ejemplar de este libro llegue a mis manos. En un primer momento bien es cierto que tuve bastante reparo en empezar a leerlo ya que al autor lo conocía vagamente por su prolífica labor como autor de novelas de espías.

Es un libro, más que libro mamotreto, ya que son más de 1.000 páginas cuya lectura no se hace pesada en ningún momento. No se trata de una trama, parece, largamente meditada y llena de recovecos y meandros. Simplemente narra la vida de un grupo de personas, unidas por el destino común de la abadía de Kngsbrigde y cuya acción se desenvuelve de un modo cronológico.

Sobre un argumento muy endeble el autor crea todo un universo poblado de canteros, monjes y miembros de la pequeña nobleza. Todo gira alrededor de la construcción de una iglesia. Esta iglesia se convierte en la semilla a partir de la cual se generará toda la acción, el devenir de los personajes e incluso el nacimiento de una verdadera ciudad a partir de lo que no era más que un poblachón próximo a un cenobio.

Según confiesa el propio autor en el prefacio de la obra nunca pensó que dejaría las novelas de espías para adentrarse en el género histórico, pero una vez tomada la decisión lo que en un primer momento simplemente iba a ser una modesta incursión en el género histórico adquirió vida propia y fue desarrollándose de una manera próxima al gigantismo. De hecho Ken Follett tuvo que tomar la determinación de tasar el número de páginas que tendría el manuscrito evitando así que el mismo se compusiese de varios volúmenes.

El tratamiento de los personajes es sumamente ligero, echándose de menos, en una obra tan extensa, algo de diálogo interior de los mismos que nos permitiese saber algo más de sus honduras. Estos personajes se definen más por lo que hacen que por lo que piensan o sienten. De cualquiera de las maneras tal ligereza de los personajes ayuda, y mucho, a mantener la acción viva en un libro con muchas páginas.

Leyendo esta obra se aprende mucho de construcción religiosa del Medioevo lo cual habla mucho de la labor de documentación que hizo, o le hicieron, Ken Follett para la creación de la misma. Literatura de poco fuste para una obra que no pretende más que intentar ser un fresco de la vida medieval en Europa.

Fuente: Elaboración Propia  |  Imagen: ell brown

The Pillars of the Earth

TYPE: Medieval – Periodic

RATING: 9/10

REVIEW:

This is a brilliantly written masterpiece of a novel I think this is one book which compares with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in giving reality to a period that may never have existed. This book brings you to the world of twelfth century England and the areas around it. It takes you through the course of one person, Tom, who sets out to build a beautiful cathedral for his wife who he lost while she was giving birth to his third child.

Considering the unfortunate circumstances that Tom was in, he conducts a decent burial, in those circumstances, in the forest and leaves the just-born child in the forest on the grave. However, guilt makes him come back to the grave but the child is no more to be seen. During the course of the story, he realizes that the kid is being well cared for in a monastery which is run by a monk, Philip.

As the story progresses, Philip comes to hire Tom Builder for making a new cathedral for Kingsbridge and the story continues from thereon with all the unexpected twists and turns and with even more expected twists.

The story is well crafted and there is no dull moment when you are reading. Other than a few places where the author seems to have stretched the emotional bit quite some more than necessary, the book is something that you just can’t put down. It is impossible not to get into those periodic times and getting involved with the characters as if they were right in front of you. The author makes you smile when they are happy, sad when something goes wrong and angry when injustice prevails.

A must read for anyone.

DESCRIPTION:

Selected by BBC viewers as one of Britain’s best loved books in the UK’s biggest ever celebration of reading, the Big Read.

Set in the turbulent times of twelfth-century England when civil war, famine, religious strife and battles over royal succession tore lives and families apart, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the building of a magnificent cathedral.

Against this richly imagined backdrop, filled with intrigue and treachery, Ken Follett draws the reader irresistibly into a wonderful epic of family drama, violent conflict and unswerving ambition. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, the dreams, labours and loves of his characters come vividly to life. The Pillars of the Earth is, without doubt, a masterpiece – and has proved to be one of the most pouplar books of our time.

Enormous and brilliant … this mammoth tale seems to touch all human emotion – love and hate, loyalty and treachery, hope and despair. This is truly a novel to get lost in. — Cosmopolitan

A highly enjoyable tale … this book evokes its period brilliantly. — Sunday Times

A tale of human courage and perseverance. — Evening Times

A historical saga of such breadth and density … Follett succeeds brilliantly in combining hugeness and detail to create a novel imbued with the rawness, violence and blind faith of the era. — Sunday Express

Jeg er allerede i gang med efterfølgeren…

På min lange vej gennem bøger, jeg ikke har fået læst i de år, jeg i stedet har læst kirkebøger, indtastet gravsten og Nygårds Sedler mv. kom jeg endelig til “Jordens søjler” af Ken Follet. De første 325  sider overvejede jeg, om den virkelig fængede, eller om jeg bare læste den, fordi “man skal gøre det færdigt, man er begyndt på” – men pludselig skete der et eller andet.

Pludselig var jeg midt i universet med riddere, jarler, fredløse, hele det gejstlige cirkus, afhuggede hoveder, sult og ufattelige lidelser – og så kunne jeg ikke lægge den fra mig igen. Tom Bygmester dør ca. side 600 og det føltes næsten trist inde  mig.

Næste gang jeg besøger en katedral (ikke en knejpe), vil jeg lægge nakken tilbage og tænke på, hvordan pokker de har lavet den, og jeg vil kigge efter revner i loftet og overveje om de understøttede loftet med buer i byggeprocessen.

Mennesker kan være “piller” i hinandens liv, og fjerner man en af disse piller, er der et vist mål af lidelse, der må gennemgås. Fjerner man en af jordens søjler falder katedralen sammen og de fintmaskede magtstrukturer må genopbygges. Begge dele sker i bogen, der rummer mængder af intriger, intrigante mennesker, der hellere bygger knejper end katedraler og som hellere ser næstens hoved på et fad.

Til tider kan det forekomme en smule stereotypt, at de gode er virkelig gode og de onde er virkelig onde. På den anden side: så ved man da, hvad man står med, der er intet bedrag og det levner overskud til at nyde de samlet set 1.000 sider. Når man lukker bogen er der kun én vej og det er til boghandleren efter fortsættelsen “Uendelige verden”.

I read an essay once about becoming willing to not finish a book and ceasing to be one of those people who absolutely must finish a book no matter how much he/she is hating it. Indeed, sometimes there is more will-power involved in not finishing a book than in actually doing so. Since January 2008 (or possibly before), I have been not reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and it is really starting to wear on me!

The Pillars of the Earth is an undeniably well-thought-of book. Such varied entities as my mother, the New York Times, and Oprah all recommended this book, which I think should give you an idea of just how widely renowned this book is. It tells the story of a few different medieval people (a prior, a high-born lady, a mason, etc.) all operating in the same geographic area and contending with various, interlocking life issues. In addition to being widely admired, the book is also remarkably historically accurate, vividly written, and very interesting. But I have not been reading it, after getting more than half-way through, for over a year and a half. Why?

There are a few reasons which aren’t really very explicable, but the main reason is that I was extremely put-off and a little scarred by the violent raping and pillaging that goes on throughout the book and is written down in terrible detail. Some of you may have been comparing Pillars to something by Edward Rutherfurd or Philippa Gregory because of its scope and time frame, but there is something pleasantly gentle about both Rutherfurd and Gregory that is lacking in Pillars. And not just lacking. Brutally absent, would be more accurate. Pillars may well be the more historically accurate for its rape and pillage, but the way in which it is written was just horrifying to me. I like to think I’m not that prudish, but I still almost literally shutter to think about the sexual relations portrayed in this book (mostly limited to various men forcing themselves on wholly terrified, powerless women and loving it).

That was what literally stopped me. I could not take another page of this particular character forcing himself upon another poor woman. But there it sits. On my shelf with a little book dart holding my place, as if I would remember what had happened plot-wise in the first 457 pages if I cared to return to it. Despite my utter revulsion towards the book, I still feel distinctly guilty for not finishing it.

There is definitely something (and I don’t know if this is societal or just an individual thing) that says to us that we should always finish our books, no matter what, and that to not do so is somehow shameful or perhaps lazy. My mom claims that one of the more important life lessons she has gathered over the course of her life is that “it’s okay to not finish a book.” She wisely tried to instill this in me early as I rather angstily battled my way through things like The Two Towers or basically anything by Melville. I’m still trying to learn that lesson, but I also still wonder why it is such a hard one. Ostensibly, nothing should be easier than putting a book down and not picking it up again. Why then is it so hard?

It’s a fairly widely known fact that Oprah is well-read and appreciates the power and knowledge that a book can convey. Today I’m curious about how many of you out there follow her monthly book club picks and to what extent your reading habits are influenced by her, so I’ve made a little poll. Feel free to post a comment below too and let me know your thoughts!

La adaptación del best-seller de Ken Follett ha arrancado ya y tiene prevista su estreno para finales de 2010. En principio consistirá en una miniserie de 8 horas de duración, su producción corre a cargo de nada más y nada menos que los hermanos Ridley y Tony Scott (el primero no necesita presentación y el segundo es conocido por Amor a Quemarropa) y será dirigida por Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Héroes, Prison Break).

También está confirmado la mayor parte del reparto que dará vida a los míticos personajes de la novela: los ganadores del globo de oro Ian McShane (en el papel de  Waleran Bigod) y Donald Sutherland (como Bartholomew), Rufus Sewell como Tom Builder, Matthew Macfayden como el Prior Philip, Hayley Atwell como Aliena, Eddie Redmayne como Jack y David Oakes en el papel de Sir William Hamleigh.

Tony y Ridley Scott en pleno curro

Según palabras de Ridley Scott “La maestría de Ken Follett para contar historias presenta una riqueza y una brillantez que todos soñamos cuando buscamos crear un fenómeno televisivo. El alcance, el poder de la historia y la riqueza de los personajes nos han inspirado para crear una producción que traiga a la vida la brillante maestría del libro”.

Y es que si el resultado es bueno la serie puede ser un bombazo, ya que además los fans de la obra como yo darán gracias al cielo de que se haya adaptado para la pequeña pantalla como miniserie y no para llorar de pena en las salas de cine…

Ken Follett y su obsesión por las catedrales...

También Ken Follett está encantadísimo de la vida: “Escribí Los Pilares de la Tierra hace 20 años y estoy muy satisfecho de poder ver finalmente mi novela adaptada a la pantalla, con el respaldo de Ridley Scott y Tony Scott. Tengo la plena certeza de que su aproximación creativa a mi novela conseguirá llevar a la vida una historia que abarca toda una generación. Además estoy encantado con el guión de John Pielmeier así como con el estupendo elenco de actores que van a interpretar a los personajes. Este proyecto llega en el mejor momento, justo después de que se haya publicado la secuela, Un Mundo Sin Fin”. (Supongo que también le gustará la millonada que le puede reportar la serie…)

Resumiendo, la cosa promete y mucho. Recordad que Los Pilares de la Tierra ha sido traducida a treinta idiomas en todo el mundo con más de 14 millones de ejemplares vendidos y en España es el libro de ficción que más ha vendido de todos los tiempos.

Esperemos que en nuestro país la compre una cadena que cuide la retransmisión de las series como Cuatro o similares y podamos disfrutarla de ella pronto…

Delighted was I when I found Pillars of the Earth, my book club’s next selection, at a church yard sale.

If only the church ladies had read it—honestly, I would have appreciated some well-intentioned censoring on this one.

Yesterday, I stopped reading Pillars of the Earth; I was on page three fifty something, in the middle of the scene where (spoiler alert!!!) the former earl’s daughter is unwittingly applying for a position as a prostitute. She does this because she’s anxious to earn the one penny that the jailer demands as a bribe for her to see her father, who is in prison after his plot to overthrow the dubiously appointed king is discovered by an otherwise lovely priest (one of the book’s few bright spots) and foiled by the girl’s very bitter, violent, and misogynistic former suitor.

The earl’s home is brought to ruins, and the girl hides out in the ruins until she is raped by not one, but two men. After she escapes from them, and then escapes one more time from some thug in the forest, she finally finds the jail where her dad is imprisoned and sadly is turned away, but not before she finds out that he’s dying.

Oh, and did I mention the other sunny plotlines about the abandoned newborn, his mother’s death in childbirth, the pig stealing, child clubbing, rampant unemployment, and the woman so ugly that she looks like someone in a painting about the tortures of hell?

If I wanted all that, I would have re-watched Pulp Fiction—at least it’s got some dancing.

What also needled me about Pillars of the Earth was all the profanity. Believe me, I’m under no illusion about the moral standards of the 12^th century. Besides the raping, pillaging, drinking, and general thievery and deception, I’m sure there was plenty of bad language. But was it the same bad language that people use today? Was it the kind of the thing that you’d hear streaming out of Joe Pesci’s mouth in Goodfellas? I haven’t done extensive research on this, but I’ll tell you, there’s nothing that will shake me back to the 21^st century faster than the careless placement of an overused modern-sounding expletive. And if the profanity in the book was authentic to the period, then all I can say is shame on you 12th century-ers: your mouths need a good washing out.

I closed the book for all of those reasons, and, thinking about it now, I abandoned the story because it was so very hopeless. In this book, you don’t just lose your job. You lose your home, your pig, your wife, your baby, your forest-acquired lover, your clothes, your dignity, and all your tools besides. If you score two horses, then you’d better know that they’ll be stolen away by the next chapter. It was like a fortunately/unfortunately record that skipped eternally on the unfortunately part, until it was so lopsided that it was downright demoralizing.

Part of me wants to finish the book because I want to be able to discuss it at my book club meeting next month. Part of me wants to burn it because I don’t want anyone else to consider prescription medication to chase away her intense reading-induced blues. With 600 pages to go, I guess somebody might suggest that I just hang in there.

Um, no.

Wären wir jetzt bei einem Schützenfestumzug würde es mit Sicherheit jetzt folgende Durchsage geben: “Meine Damen und Herren, kommen wir jetzt zur historischen Abteilung!”

Allen voran marschiert Andrea Schacht dicht gefolgt von den wundervollen Büchern der Charlotte Thomas, deren Taschenbuch “Die Lagune des Löwen” ab 17.10.2009 meine Rezension zieren wird. Ja ich bin ein klitzekleines Stückchen stolz und freu mich sehr.:D:D:D

An Ken Follett sieht man wunderbar was ich eigentlich zu vermeiden versuche: Serie eines Schriftstellers gemischt aus HC und TB.

Hier seht ihr meine Iny Lorentzsammlung auf die ich sehr stolz bin. Iny Lorentz´”Die Wanderhure” hat mich seinerzeit erst zu den historischen Romanen geführt – neben Rebecca Gable´s Warringham – Saga.

Discretion is the better part of valour. On some subjects, the less said the better. Beware the curse of TMI. Ah, such wise and admirable sentiments in our overexposed and undermoderated world – and ones so opposed to the relentlessly banal and diuretic spirit of the blogosphere that I feel it my duty to resist. So: food poisoning.

This week, I was planning on writing about Stella Feehily’s new play I’d booked to see at the Soho, but come Tuesday evening I wasn’t watching Dreams of Violence but rather starring in my own technicolour, surround sound production Streams of Violence. Wow. I’ve always been fairly laissez-faire about stomach flu – before I got it. In my subsequent 36-hour Dantean odyssey towards the grail of gastric peace,  I glimpsed the full gamut of spiritual experience and boy, was it not so comic. Inferno: the emergency toilets at Bank tube station, hidden in a warren of clanking metal corridors, echoing with the announcement of delays and stinking of bleach. Purgatorio: a fuggy room with a blue plastic bowl, a litre of Lucozade and a blue-lipped, shrimp-soup-loving sinner spasming under a stained duvet. Paradiso: a lake of exhaustion-and-Immodium-induced lassitude ‘pon which the blessed float like drowned kittens, occasionally rocked by cheeky breezes that bring nirvanic though noxious relief.

At least I finished my book, Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife, which so irritated me with its clumsy, patronising didacticism, faux-coy, self-satisfied narrator and clichéd ‘insights’ into a century of small-minded Middle-American domesticity, that twitching ire transported me to a cozy nook of grump. And the week’s looking up. My bowels have stabilised, I’m hitting Art in Action over the weekend, and I’ve retreated into the soggy medieval comforts of Ken Follett’s World Without End: utterly predictable, utterly unputdownable, and full of really relatable bits about peasant putrescence, poor plumbing and plague.

…

“Davvero sai recitare le canzoni?”

Jack non riusciva a credere che Aliena s’interessasse a lui e gli facesse domande sul suo conto. Era ancora più bella, con il volto animato dalla curiosità. “Me l’ha insegnato mia madre” disse. “Vivevamo soli nella foresta, e mi raccontava spesso quelle storie.”

“Ma come riesci a ricordarle? Certune sono così lunghe che occorrono intere giornate per raccontarle!”

“ Non lo so. E’ un po’ come saper trovare la strada in una foresta: non la tieni tutta in mente, ma in qualunque posto ti trovi sai dove andare.”

…

“The Pillars of the Earth” – Ken Follett

Every now and then you just can’t find the right thing to read and this has been my problem in the last couple of weeks. I picked up Nicola Krauss’s The Invention of Love on a strong recommendation from a friend, and found the tale-within-a-tale-within-a-tale irritating. Then it was Binnie Kirshenbaum’s The Scenic Route, which started feeling like a less intellectual version of the Krauss book; nominally about a a love affair but it kept cutting away from the affair to the narrator’s family history. I liked the tone and if my own writing hadn’t hitten a rough patch I might have had the stamina to keep going with the Kirshenbaum.

Instead I read Ken Follett. He does what he does very well and I don’t think I had read this before (wouldn’t I have remembered Rommel in the desert, muttering about Tobruk?). The writing is literate enough to be inoffensive and the plotting is conventional but solid. Cairo during WW2, a German spy and an English intelligence officer locked in a struggle, etc. etc. Pyramids, a belly dancer with corrupt sexual practices, a beautiful young girl, naturally, caught between the two men.

The good guy won. My mind wandered during the denouement so I can’t remember exactly how. I’m still on the prowl for total distraction. Maybe Dick Francis is up next.