What Janine is Reading and Seeing at the Theater in Late Summer 2017
Jesse’s Girl by Suleikha Snyder
This contest-winning, song-inspired short story feels fresh on more than one level. Written entirely in second person (“It takes you three weeks to work up the nerve,” is the killer opening line) and steeped in details that make it lifelike, from cow-shaped salt and pepper shakers to bright red toenail polish, it’s a story in which the narrator confronts the other woman, the one with whom her husband cheated.
There’s more here than surface appearances suggest, though, including a twist that I won’t spoil because I loved the way it took me by surprise. Snyder’s small town isn’t your typical idealized small town, either. Can the heroine find her way back to her love, even after the cheating? You’ll have to read it to find out. I wished that Jesse’s Girl were longer, so that I could know the main characters better, but I loved it. A-.
Twelfth Night by Pamela Sherwood
This is an extended epilogue for Devices & Desires, which I reviewed last year. Even though I loved Devices & Desires, I feel that Twelfth Night is mostly superfluous. It deals with tying up minor loose ends, such as a resolution to the hurt feelings and ruffled feathers between protagonists Gervase and Margaret’s siblings, what kind of engagement ring Gervase will present Margaret with and what she’ll think of it, and a minor romance between their servants. Gervase’s parents’ relationship is also referenced in the background.
It’s been long enough since I read Devices & Desires that I didn’t remember the servants from that book. We see very little of them here, and that little through their employers’ POVs, so it is hard to feel invested in their courtship. Additionally, I still hadn’t forgiven Gervase’s father for his actions in Devices & Desires and didn’t care about his happiness, so I found myself mentally checking out at the 82% mark after the engagement ring question was settled. Sherwood has a clear, elegant prose style I appreciate, but I wouldn’t recommend this novella to any but the most diehard fans of Devices & Desires, at best. DNF.
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I also saw a couple of movies in the theater this summer which are out on DVD now.
The Big Sick
The Big Sick stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Anupam Kher, all of whom do an excellent job. There are important criticisms to make of its take on dating while brown, but I don’t feel qualified to make them. Still, it’s got good acting, funny dialogue, heart, and even something to say about the value of honesty. I enjoyed it a lot, though the cinematography could have been better. B+.
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Baby Driver
Baby Driver, starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Eiza Gonzalez, and Kevin Spacey wasn’t all that effective. Baby’s (Ansel Elgort, the movie’s hero) romantic relationship with Deborah (Lily James), which motivates him to a great degree, felt flimsy and really needed more development so that I could buy into all he sacrifices for it. Jamie Foxx, a terrific actor, isn’t given nearly enough to do here. Late in the movie, Doc (Kevin Spacey’s smarmy crime boss character) does an about-face that is important to the plot but which I found completely unconvincing. Finally, the last scene felt tacked on, like it was there to satisfy audiences rather than because it made sense. The movie was stylish and had plenty of fast-paced action, but for me that wasn’t enough. C.
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Thanks for sharing your list, Janine. FYI: your first link is to earauthor.com which could be an interesting site were it to exist!
@Kareni: LOL, and thank you, Kareni! The link is now fixed.
Jesse’s Girl looks interesting, but I can’t find it anywhere on Amazon. :-(
@Susan: It’s a free and short (very short) story which you can find linked in the title of my review. If you want to read it on your kindle, just use Amazon’s send to kindle feature to send it to yourself.
ETA: I have removed the purchase links since it isn’t sold anywhere.
Jesse’s Girl was excellent. So much packed into such a small space.
@JessP: Yes, I agree.
Thank you so much for the link to “Jessie’s Girl”. Hadn’t heard of it before, and it is a gem of a short story. (‘Sides, this way I knew nothing of th story and could enjoy it throughly.)
@Maite: You’re welcome!
@Janine: Haha. Great story, fabulous ending. Thanks for the heads up and link.