December 2, 2020 I’m so close to finishing Jane Austen’s six main novels that I figured, why not finish. So I rewatched Ang Lee’s 1995 movie of “Sense and Sensibility” and started the novel, while watching for the first time the Andrew Davies movie from 2008. Nothing more needs to be said about Lee’s movie; … Continue reading Sense and Sensibility
November 16, 2020 I’ve just seen the 2007 version of “Northanger Abbey”, and maybe my expectations were too high, but it was disappointing. Everything is too broad and obvious. We know, for example, who are the bad apples because they are clearly, ominously bad as soon as we see them. All mystery, ambiguity, and uncertainty … Continue reading Northanger Abbey movie (2007)
November 9, 2020 The 1971 BBC version of “Persuasion” is not a bad adaptation, even if it feels more like a play than a movie. It’s faithful to the original story and it gets many things right, including Mrs. Smith’s role. But I think Anne in ‘95 was a better characterization. This Anne doesn’t seem … Continue reading BBC Persuasion (1971)
November 2, 2020 I’ve seen again the ‘95 movie and it’s very faithful to the novel. But the last scenes suffer now in comparison to the novel. That tense chapter that unfolded Mrs. Smith’s revelations to Anne, is a mere nothing in the movie; and Mrs. Smith knows much about Mr. Elliot but has never … Continue reading Persuasion movie (1995)
October 28, 2020 Pride and Prejudice has many great chapters, including of course Darcy’s first proposal to Lizzie, but for my money the best chapter is the next one, when Lizzie receives his explanatory letter and her mind is sent into full-on turbulence, as she struggles with new information. How she goes back and forth, … Continue reading Finishing Pride and Prejudice
October 19, 2020 Last night sat down with my wife Dess to watch “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” I have no desire to see any of the straight retellings of the novel, because none of them appear to be very good. This one is not a straight retelling; I think of it actually as … Continue reading The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
October 18, 2020 There’s a 1979 animated version of “Don Quixote,” parts of which I showed the kids yesterday, translating for them as we watched. They actually liked it, despite the pace, which is glacial compared to anything today. But it felt just right, just like the book. And in Spanish, in the clips uploaded … Continue reading El Quijote, animated
October 17, 2020 I’ve finished Mark van Doren’s slim volume, “Don Quixote’s Profession.” Someday I must read “Don Quixote” again with van Doren’s idea that DQ was acting, and with Nabokov’s idea that DQ had many victories. These were not things that I appreciated in my own reading. The idea that DQ was acting barely … Continue reading Don Quixote’s Profession
October 14, 2020 In the 1885 edition of "Don Quixote" there is this, in the introduction (penned presumably by Ormsby): But it would be idle to deny that the ingredient which, more than its humour, or its wisdom, or the fertility of invention or knowledge of human nature it displays, has insured its success with … Continue reading Cervantes’ pulp fiction
October 4, 2020 My son thinks I’m reading “Donkey Hotee”. The book has never been funnier than in the first 7 chapters of Vol. II. As always, it’s the dialogue that gets me the most, especially Sancho’s talks with his wife and with Don Quijote. Cervantes is getting more creative and trying new things, and … Continue reading 62 chapters into Don Quixote
