Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust - Hedi Fried

This is just a small book and a light read about the heaviest of subjects.  The author Hedi Fried was just 19 when her and her family were sent to Auschwitz.  Left with just her sister, both girls managed to survive, and as she has gotten older she has turned to teaching students about what she went through.  This book sets out many of the questions she is asked about her experience and it is pretty harrowing stuff.  Especially now, as many of the survivors are now elderly and in a few decades there will be no witnesses left - it is important to have such books to read so that we can learn from what went on only 80 years ago. 4/5

Music Monday - Secrets - One Republic

Some songs grow on you over the years.  This one is an oldie but a goodie that I keep hearing on lots of shows and in shops lately. 

Brutally Honest - Melanie B

Mel B is one fifth of the spice girls and  I whenever I see her being interviewed or on any show she comes across as funny and engaging.   From her start as a dancer, and answering an advert to join a girl group, she rapidly became one of the  most famous young women in the world in the 1990s.  Feisty and strong,  Mel was able to shout and sing about girl power, yet in her private life things were not so easy.  To me it came across that she liked a bit of drama in her life, and the men that she chose to be with all seemed a bit over the top and controlling.

She is open about her relationship with Eddie Murphy, which was interesting as I didn't know anything about their time together other than having a daughter together.  Her marriage to Stephen Belafonte had been written about a fair bit in the press, but I wasn't aware of much of it, and was a bit shocked by the level of physical and mental abuse.  The way he treated her daughters and the dog were horrible, and she is pretty blunt and open about what went on and the way it made her feel.  I ended up feeling quite sorry for this girl, and hope that she is able to find her way to have a happy wonderful life with her three daughters. 4/5

The Chaperone

This movie The Chaperone is based on the novel writen by Laura Moriarty that I read several years ago and enjoyed.  The screenplay is written by Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame, and the connection to Downton is high as it is set in the 1920s, and the main character Nora Sinclair is played by Elizabeth McGovern, Lady Cora on Downton.  Agreeing to chaperone the teenage Louise Brooks, a promising dance student to New York, with both women knowing little about each other. 

I did enjoy the costumes and hats in the movie, but felt that it dragged a little in the middle and that it had lost a little of the magic of the book.  When you look at movies and photos of Louise Brooks online, she was amazingly stunning and had a certain something or charisma that makes her just shine, and although the actress playing her was cute, she was not as dazzling as the real Louise.   What I did enjoy was that it was a movie centered around two women and their slightly odd friendship, and that teenagers were still shocking their elders a hundred years ago.  Also I have never seen an apartment with a toilet in the bedroom, and a bath in the kitchen.   Still I have to give it a 4/5 as I'd be happy to watch it again in the future.

Our movie experience was a little marred too by the rambling drunk woman who sat down next to us and continued to try and strike up conversation with my friend.  She reeked of alcohol which was somewhat surprising since she seemed almost seventy years old and it we were seeing the movie at the 12:20 session. 

Music Monday - When I Get My Hands On You - Marcus Mumford

I haven't listened to this one in ages, but it still makes me love it all over again.  What a voice!!

Have a great week!

Music Monday - Running Up That Hill - First Aid Kit

Another of my favourite songs covered by Swedish duo First Aid Kit.   Nice to hear live versions sung without crazy back up tracks.  Have a good week.

Coming Soon

I haven't been to the cinema as much as I would like in the past year.  A series of chest infections left me with almost 6 months of coughing which is tiring, and annoying for other paying customers.  Movies are also still so slow to be released here, that often they are hitting streaming services at the same time, and for a lot less money.  Paying $17 for a seat at the movie theater feels like a treat for me, and I am trying to watch the pennies a bit.  Also I'm lazy and like my couch and being warm and cosy at home.

Judgement - Joseph Finder

Juliana Brody is a Judge in the superior court of Massachusetts, when a indiscretion while away looks to threaten her marriage and derail her career.  Somehow I didn't actually feel much danger or tension in this one, and like a lot of thrillers I just got a bit annoyed at the way the main character seemed to make so many bad decisions and take dumb risks in order to advance the plot.  I sensed there would be a twist to the plot, but wasn't really surprised at how it all ended.

The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz - Jeremy Dronfield

An amazing true story of Gustav  Kleinmann and his teenage son Fritz who are arrested in Vienna in 1939 and sent to Buchenwald.  It is truly astonishing to consider that father and son are able to survive for the duration of the war, even after being sent to Auschwitz they manage to live by helping each other to find important jobs.  It is still a pretty hard book to read, all the horrors and deaths that are witnessed - I find I need to have keep reminding myself that this happened so recently in our history and how the world allowed this to happen.  4/5

Music Monday - Harvest Moon - Angus & Julia Stone

A classic song from these two sweet voices.  Enjoy your week!!

Music Monday - What He Wrote - Laura Marling

No video for this one, just this song.  It seems an old one, I think from 2009, but she has a lovely voice.  I had not heard of this English artist before, but might have to look up other songs from her.