Literature: Eva Luna

Eva Luna is life. 

Not in an all consuming, this book is so damn philosophical it will change you forvever kind of way, 

but in a simple and profound way. 

The prose is interesting. 

There is no plot, and characters flit in and out like fairies. 

We grow attatched to them, then they go away. 

Sometimes they come back. 

Sometimes not. 

It's as if the book breathes, 

each story line shimmers and dances as it is interwoven. 

We breathe along with it. 

The tension mounts; a sharp inhale. 

A denoument. 

We let out a sigh of relief. 

And isn't all this just like life? 

I mean, it's really not that structured. 

It isn't broken up into rigid chapters and predictable events. 

To me, that's why Eva Luna is so beautiful.

The beauty is in the unexpected. 

I see Eva Luna as a collage of cultures, characters and periods. 

Thrown together in a chaos yet ordered by our own interpretations. 

 

This is a collage I created, of images my mind conjures up when I think of this novel. 

I hope you like it, 

and please read this novel so we can talk about it! 

 

Literature: The Quiet American

So, The Quiet American is officially one of my all-time favourite books. 

I didn't think I would like it....

But immediately, I was hooked. 

The main character, Fowler, 

is very intriguing. 

From people I've discussed this book with,

I've heard very mixed opinions about him.

Like, polar opposites.

That in itself is compelling.

I for one would read this book just for Fowler's wry wit alone! 

It's centered around what is to become the 

Vietnam War, 

But that's not the only conflict. 

Fowler also has to compete for his love interest. 

To what lengths will he strive to keep her?  

That's where Pyle,

'A very Quiet American',

comes in...

but he also has a hidden agenda. 

'I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he'd caused.' 

Sound good? 

It is. 

Read it, please. 

x 

Literature: Through the Language Glass- Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages

Through the Looking Glass, Guy Deutscher 



Before I picked up this book, I had a vague idea of linguistics. 'Yeah, that's like the study of language and commas or something' and then I would go and misuse another apostrophe (much to the disdain of my English teacher!) 

...but then I remembered a quote from one of my favourite ever books, The Secret Life Of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd:

 “Did you know there are thirty-two names for love in one of the Eskimo languages?" August said. "And we just have this one. We are so limited, you have to use the same word.” 

I thought about that for a while. 

Does our own language limit us? 
When you are born an English speaker, you don't really think about the mechanics of it; why we have certain words and how they came to be.
What they represent (besides their literal meanings).
When you start to learn another language, it opens your eyes. 
I learn German, and I have learnt super fun words that we don't (but should) have in English.

They have a word for a song being stuck in your head, it's called an 'Ohrwurm', which literally translates to an 'ear worm'. I think that's tops!
 I found out recently that the Japanese have a word for a moment that is so beautiful but fleeting, a concept which I find heartbreaking for it's hybridisation of simplicity and complexity (I don't really know how something can be both but this just is):
 物の哀れ (mononoaware).

Do you ever have that feeling that there are 'simply no words' to describe something?
Other languages are ahead of us there; with words specifically for this purpose.
We just haven't come up with any yet. 

 In Through the Language Glass, Deutscher explores the convolutions of language, posing a question so important yet so avoided in the world of linguistics:
Does our language affect the way we think?

It might sound silly, but just ponder it a moment:
We see Italian as a romantic language... is that how we see Italians? 

In Australia, although we speak English, we often drop parts of the language and tend to be quite lazy with how we speak. 
Universally we are perceived as laid back and relaxed. 

German is ordered and organised. We also portray their language as rather blunt. Another common stereotype? 

You can see why this question is universally dodged: You have to explore the stereotypes, often offensive. 

I won't spoil it;
just be prepared to be fascinated. 
...And to turn into total linguistics nerds. 

Literature: 29/7/14

This is my first Literature segment! 

Such yay! Much books! 

Sorry. Excitement. 

So, for a while it was so hard to choose a book that is my favourite. I'd  have like, a top three... but then I'd read a new one and it would just send my life off into a whole new orbit and disturb the order of the universe. I am still unable to get through all my favourites counting on fingers and toes... but I do have a top of the tree book that I always come back to. 

it deserves a BIG picture because of its brilliance and allure and magnitude and other fab adjectives. 

I have two copies of this edition,

about five others and I NEED

one of these in my life:

                                        

So yeah, I'm obsessed. But there's a reason. I read this gem at least every three months in order to feel

whole. It's makes you grounded. 

I know right; deep. But hear me out: 

Every single woman should read this book.

It's packed with feminism; but that's not what it's just all about. 

In fact, Miss Eyre was way ahead of her time; the first wave of feminism hadn't even happened yet.

Which means that here is a girl who has figured out her whole feminism philosophy before it even existed.

ARE YOU GETTING GOOSE BUMPS YET. 

It's all about Jane's values, and how important it is to stay true to herself and to be able to 

accept who she is; without men. 

Oh yeah, there's romance. There's temptation. 

This book is juicier than a watermelon. 

I'm not going to spoil it, but lets just say the ending is WAY better that My Brilliant Career's; which is often compared with Jane Eyre. Also a really, really good book. 

But to just see how Jane handles herself and her circumstances just makes you feel so INSPIRED.  

When I read Jane Eyre I want to run for the hills and go all Maria Von Trapp with  barely contained glee: 

Yes, GIRL POWER! THE HILLS ARE ALIVE! Seriously, there should be a Spice Girls song about this book. 

But there is also eeriness and secrets and deception. 

So many questions! 

What is the mysterious Mr Rochester hiding? 

What are the noises in the big ol' Thornfield manor?

I don't know, YOU'LL HAVE TO READ IT!

(I do know, I just really want you to read it) 

Why am I still talking? 

Go and get a copy of this book in your hot little literary hands. 

Some introductory words

...It is a truth universally acknowledged that every blogger in possession of a blog must be in want of followers.

And I do!

My name is Miranda, like from Picnic At Hanging Rock:




 Have you seen it? Read it? Both are beautifully eerie. The film, though, is multi-layered in 1970's dreaminess. Peter Weir shot many scenes with a veil over the lens to create that smoky fog sort of vibe. How cool is that!

Speaking of the 70's, I was born in the wrong era. Some say this is tragic. I really am a tragic. But I think this is actually a good thing because I can spread a little of the glimmer that is from a former time into the grey today.
I recently saw an article 'the golden age is now', I can't remember where it was... but it made me think about how everyone has a different golden age, and maybe we just have to make now ours. Like in that film Midnight in Paris, where Owen Wilson discovers this like, time vortex or something when he gets transported to his favourite time, 1920's Paris. But he meets a girl from this time who wishes SHE was born in a different time. And he's just like, 'seriously? Look around you!'  Mostly I was interested in it because VAN GOGH and PARIS, (yes, I judged the cover... vanity, not love, has been my folly... haha. Enough Jane Austen references.)




So this blog is just going to feature STUFF I like, because I don't know anyone except my dad who likes the same STUFF I like. I hope that I find people here who like my STUFF, and maybe other who aren't familiar with it can appreciate it and be like, 'hey. That is some pretty ace STUFF. And then consequently spread the word. Hee!

Okay, Miranda. Breeeeeeathe. Cool your jets.

So, this is how this is gonna go down:
I think I shall like to have a structure to this. I like organised chaos. Like my bedroom. Haha. I'd like to do weekly posts at least, in one of the following 'areas'. And then I'll just have some random posts too :)

1. My current top 10: 
Just a compilation of stuff that I am currently obsessed with... it changes often! Feel free to comment your own :) It will be fun, I promise!

2. Flashback Friday 
I LOVE music, especially the oldies. My local radio station does a 'Flashback Friday' so I thought I'd do my own!

3. What the What! 
In honor of the ever wise Liz Lemon (Tina Fey). Wise like an owl. I mean, what kind of GENIUS writes Mean Girls and 30 Rock!! This section will be something I find cool beans/weird/wonderful/ all of these things all at once. I am an avid finder-outerer-  I like finding out interesting facts. You know the random page finder on Wikipedia? Yeah, I use that all the time just for fun. I know.

4. Arty Farty 
Art is cool. Art is your friend. No? Oh, well it's time I introduce you. Here I'll post my own creations (I said that in a French-ish accent) and also other people's art, new and old, which I have taken a fancy too.

5. Kleidung 
This is German for clothes. I learn German at school, and I just like the sound of this word. Kl-eye-doong. It's fun and rather satisfying to say. Go on, try it. I won't judge. Anyway, I like fashion. I may post some of my own outfits and clothes that I find to be savvy or funky. 

6. Literature 
I like books. I like to find out about other books. So I'll share mine and you can share yours!
We'll have our own little book club!

That's all I can come up with for now, but if I want to add anymore I'll let you know :)

P.S. You may be wondering what 'She'll be apples' means... *in a mystical voice* whatever you want it to mean.  Haha. Not really. It's a good ol' Aussie saying, basically meaning 'it will all be ok.' I say it all the time. Trust me, it grows on you. And apples are ace. Keeping the doctor away and all that. Oh, you need further proof? Here:


 Geoffrey Rush endorses apples. Kay?

Happy Reading!

-Miranda