I’m not sure if it’s just laziness, or the desire to celebrate all the holidays at once, but this just cracked me up. And luckily, I had our new digital camera with us. Talk about a drive by shooting. *yuk yuk* Anyway, if you can think of a funny caption, please be sure to share it with me as I’ve nearly reached my quota of sarcastic comments for the year and need a little help…
With Saddam dead, you’d think things wouldn’t get any better for a while. You’d be wrong…
Who wrote this book and when?
Alan Moore wrote it and Kevin O’Neill illustrated it.
Has there been a film version?
Yes, although it is completely different from the graphic novel series.
Who are the important characters?
Wilhelmina Murray – from “Dracula,” has some vampiric powers
Allan Quatermain – from “King Solomon’s Mines,” a hunter and excellent shot
Captain Nemo – from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” an Indian submarine captain who dislikes the British
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde – from the novel of the same title, a man who can turn into a vicious beast when provoked
Hawley Griffin – the invisible man from H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man,” somewhat lax in his morals
Campion Bond – the group’s liason to their director, “M”, supposedly an ancestor of James Bond
What’s it about?
The lovely and intelligent Wilhelmina Murray is sent to collect several people from around the world to form a group of individuals with singular powers known as “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” The group is directed by the mysterious M, whom everyone believes to be Mycroft Holmes, the brother of Sherlock. Their liason to M is a Mr. Campion Bond, whom nobody seriously trusts. The group is sent to recover the extra terrestrial element Cavorite, which has the ability to make things float, hover, or fly (a startling concept in the Victorian age).
Why is this book a classic/bestseller?
I’m not exactly sure.
Do you recommend I read this book?
If you like graphic novels, this is pretty much a “must-read.” If you’re a literary buff like I am, this might be a good first venture into the graphic novel realm.
How did this book make your list?
My husband recommended it.
Has it won any awards?
I don’t think so.
Favorite quotes:
That’d be kind of hard with a graphic novel, sorry.
Anything else?
Alan Moore has promised to write more volumes with different leagues, and has hinted that these leagues will be in different eras; from Shakespearean days to the 1950’s. He’s also stated that there will be rival leagues from other countries, Germany in particular. Also, – EVERY – character in this book is taken from another Victorian era real life novel. The villains, the named other characters, everyone.
Personal thoughts:
For my second foray into the world of graphic novel-dom, this was surprisingly more enjoyable than the first. Maybe because it was a little more action oriented than “Watchmen” with less of the obvious underlying meanings and storylines. And it could also be because I enjoyed the literary allusions that populated every page. And as far as the storyline, it was fairly engrosssing but kind of short. And I understand that since this is the first volume, they were required to have some backstory which took away from time they could have devoted to the main plot.
Normally about this time I’m begging my mother to let us keep the Christmas tree and holiday decorations up a little longer.
Not so this year.
I just finished packing up the last of our Christmas lights (after scaring our cats half to death by dropping lights from the balcony) and putting them away in nice labeled boxes. We’ll see how long that organization lasts. This also marks the beginning of New Year’s Resolution fulfilling. Or attempts at it. We hauled our tree out the backdoor so it could carpet with needles outside instead of on our white carpet and I’m trying to convince my father to pick it up and haul it to a tree disposal service since it won’t fit in our car. I have never been so ready to be finished with Christmas. And I’m fairly certain my husband feels the same way. We experience not one or two or three, but FOUR Christmas celebrations in a week’s period of time. And although he seems convinced it was his family that did me in on Christmas celebrations, it was not. I had fun on the western side of the state, as usual.
We celebrated our own little Christmas together last Wednesday night – opening stockings and having a fire in our 70’s era fireplace. Our mutual gift to each other for Christmas was the Wii. And it is a gift which just keeps on giving. Thursday morning, we headed over the pass to Spanaway to celebrate with his family. We spent two days relaxing and watching his brother try to catch up to us in Guitar Hero. Friday night we went out to dinner and to see “The Nativity Story.” The movie wasn’t as horrific as I thought it could be, although I don’t really care for Keisha Castle-Hughes as an actress. She’s not expressive enough. Saturday we celebrated Christmas with the Meaden family and Sunday after church we headed to Battle Ground to celebrate with his grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins on Monday. I have never in my life, ever, spent four and a half hours opening presents. Or witnessed such a hilarious visit by Santa Claus. If I ever figure out how to transfer pictures from my phone to my laptop I will definitely post them. Finally, Tuesday morning, we drove back home to celebrate one last Christmas with my family. It was fairly quiet, although with the new flat screen plasma tv and surround sound, as soon as we were done opening gifts, it became fairly not quiet. All in all – I’m exhausted. Mostly from the traveling, however, and not really from the family mayhem.
So now I’m desperately trying to pick up where I left off in the middle of apartment cleaning. I will probably post my New Years’ Resolution list sometime in the next few days – as I am currently constructing it. And I have been conned into writing my Top Ten Films of 2006 list along with my husband; so, starting the first of the year, be sure to check his blog for my top 10.
By the way, if you’d like to receive updates when I blog, leave me a comment and I’ll see about putting you on the “nice” list….
A Happy Death (La Mort Heureuse)
December 30, 2006 — sarahintheskywithWho wrote this book and when?
Albert Camus wrote this between 1936 and 1938 as his first work, but disliked it. It wasn’t published until 1972, after his death.
Has there been a film version?
I don’t believe so.
Who are the important characters?
Patrice Mersault – a man searching for true happiness
Roland Zagreus – a quadreplegic man who teaches Mersault about the will to happiness
What’s it about?
Mersault is a man who is bored with his life. His girlfriend bores him, his job bores him, and he can’t seem to find happiness anywhere. One day while following up on one of his girlfriend’s ex boyfriends, he meets Roland Zagreus. Zagreus is content and happy despite the fact he is a quadreplegic. He tells Mersault of the will to happiness. He explains that it takes lots of time, lots of money, and lots of willpower to find true happiness and contentedness in the world. Zagreus also shows Mersault his stockpile of money and an undated suicide note for when Zagreus gets tired of living. Mersault ends up shooting Zagreus, stealing the money, and traveling around Europe in search of happiness.
Why is this book a classic/bestseller?
Because of it’s exquisite existential examination of life, happiness, and death.
Do you recommend I read this book?
Hmmm, I’d say some of Camus’ other works are better.
How did this book make your list?
I saw it on the library shelf.
Has it won any awards?
No.
Favorite quotes:
“In this neighborhood, the cafes were particularly lively. They gave off that herd warmth which is the last refuge against the terrors of solitude and its vague aspirations.” – p 51
“He marveled at the strange blindness by which men, though they are so alert to what changes in themselves, impose on their friends an image chosen for them once and for all. He was being judged by what he had been. Just as dogs don’t change character, men are dogs for one another.” – p 115
“At noon the wind dropped, the day split open like ripe fruit and trickled down the face of the world, a warm and choking juice in a sudden concert of cicadas.” – p 150
Anything else?
This is somewhat an autobiography and somewhat a precursor to the book “The Stranger” by Camus.
Personal thoughts:
Okay. Weird book. I should have expected something a bit on the existential side when I picked up a Camus work. And as usual, despite it’s odd factor, I really enjoyed it. It is a little bit of a tough read – so descriptive in nature that it’s kind of like reading very poetic poetry. (redundant, I know). And similar to other Camus books I’ve read, it took till the last third of the novel for me to grow to appreciate and love the main character. I’m not exactly sure why Camus didn’t care for this novel, but I certainly enjoyed it.