THE MT VOID
09/13/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 11, Whole Number 2345
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper,
mleeper@optonline.netCo-Editor: Evelyn Leeper,
eleeper@optonline.netSending Address:
evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.comAll material is the opinion of the author and is copyrighted by
the author unless otherwise noted.
All comments sent or posted will be assumed authorized for
inclusion unless otherwise noted.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to
eleeper@optonline.netThe latest issue is at <
http://www.leepers.us/mtvoid/latest.htm>.
An index with links to the issues of the MT VOID since 1986 is at
<
http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm>.
Topics:
Mini Reviews, Part 5 (SMOKE, BLUE IN THE FACE,
DATING THE ENEMY) (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper
and Evelyn C. Leeper)
JOE VS. THE VOLCANO (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI by Shannon Chakraborty
(audio book review by Joe Karpierz)
Edgar Rice Burroughs (letters of comment by Tim Merrigan
and Peter Trei)
This Week's Reading (recent purchases) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 5 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)
This is the fifth batch of mini-reviews:
SMOKE (1995) and BLUE IN THE FACE (1995): SMOKE is a
slice-of-life film about the characters who work in and come to a
cigar shop in Brooklyn. BLUE IN THE FACE is the sequel, and both
star Harvey Keitel as the manager of the shop (though not the
owner). Both are variously written and directed by Wayne Wang and
Paul Auster. There is a certain "My Dinner with Andre" feel about
them, as much time is spent with characters just talking to each
other about life, philosophy, smoking, and everything else, and
this is utterly engrossing. SMOKE and BLUE IN THE FACE both have
amazing casts. SMOKE has Giancarlo Esposito, William Hurt, Forest
Whitaker, Stockard Channing, and Ashley Judd. BLUE IN THE FACE
has an unrecognizable Michael J. Fox, an equally unrecognizable
Lily Tomlin, Lou Reed, Jim Jarmusch, Mira Sorvino, and Madonna.
There is also a scene with Jackie Robinson's ghost, shown only
from the back (sort of like Jesus was in many early films). (Is
"42" in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" a reference to
Robinson?) [-ecl]
SMOKE:
Released theatrically 9 June 1995. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4), or
8/10.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114478/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1062983-smoke>
BLUE IN THE FACE:
Released theatrically 13 October 1995. Rating: high +2 (-4 to
+4), or 8/10.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112541/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blue_in_the_face>
DATING THE ENEMY (1996): We just saw DATING THE ENEMY. It is
similar to PRELUDE TO A KISS (1992) (which we watched right after
it), but with the difference that the body-switch is between a
couple. One thing I've noticed is that in this sort of movie that
came out before same-sex relationships became okay in movies, it
seems to be okay to have romantic contact with a body of the
opposite sex, even if it is inhabited by a person of the same sex.
(GHOST (1990) is another one, though not precisely a switch.)
In PRELUDE TO A KISS, Peter has sex with Rita's body, even though
it's inhabited by the old man, and the audience doesn't seem fazed
by this. In GHOST, Molly won't even kiss Oda Mae, even though Oda
Mae's body is inhabited by Sam. Heck, in SPLASH (1983) Tom Hanks
goes off with a member of another *species* and the viewing public
didn't seem to bat an eye. DATING THE ENEMY dodges this problem
by having both members of the couple switch, but other films say
something about how we perceive other people (or how Hollywood
thinks we do), more as their bodies than their minds. It
definitely connects to the gender issues of today--what *really*
defines us? Is it our bodies, or our minds? Then again, maybe
I'm reading more into this than is there, and Hollywood (at least
when these movies were made) didn't want to show apparent romantic
contact between two people of the same sex. (This is not unlike
BIRTH OF A NATION, where the filmmakers were very clear in saying
that the blacks in the film were played by whites in blackface,
because otherwise the audiences would have been outraged by the
scenes with the black men and white women. The actual actors were
the important people here, not the characters.)
Then again, one of the best quotes in SPLASH is about ignoring
these differences:
Freddie: People fall in love every day, huh? Is that what you
said?
Allen: Yeah.
Freddie: Yeah? Well, that's a crock. It doesn't work that way.
Look, do you realize how happy you were with her? That
is, of course, when you weren't driving yourself crazy.
Every day? Come on. Some people will never *be* that
happy. *I'll* never be that happy. What am I talking
to you for? You don't know anything.
[-ecl]
Released theatrically 19 September 1996 (Australia). Rating: +1
(-4 to +4), or 6/10.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116036/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dating-the-enemy>
===================================================================
TOPIC: JOE VS. THE VOLCANO (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Was JOE VS. THE VOLCANO inspired by the "Twilight Zone" episode
"Mr. Bevis"? [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI by Shannon Chakraborty
(copyright 2023, HarperAudio, 16 hours and 59 minutes, ASIN:
B0B4BQ9G2P, narrated by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal) (audio
book review by Joe Karpierz)
Most of us dream of the day we retire, getting to walk away from
our job, career, and work colleagues for the last time. If we're
lucky, we've spent a very long time doing what we (hopefully) love
doing for a living. A very small (and dwindling number) of people
work for one company their entire career. Others stay in the same
field, but change employers any number of times before they call
it a day. But we do, eventually, get off the train, and hopefully
spend the rest of our days in peace.
Unless, of course, something calls us back.
Amina al-Sirafi was a pirate, a famous and notorious one at that.
She had fallen away from her religion for a life of crime. She
had multiple husbands, one of which was a demon. Her life was
both dangerous and exciting, but she finally decided that enough
was enough. She turned away from that life, instead living with
her family, which included her mother and daughter, and returned
to a life of faith, piety, religion, and peace.
Let's return to our lives, the lives of non-fiction. We've spent
40+ years in the workforce and finally settled down to a life with
no deadlines, no stress (hopefully), no responsibilities. Then
maybe an old friend calls, offering a chance to work on one last
important project, a project that is worthwhile and above all,
lucrative. That extra money could make the rest of our retirement
more comfortable than we ever expected it would be. So we take
the job.
One day, Amina is visited by a woman named Salima, whose daughter
Dunya has been kidnapped by a mercenary named Falco. It turns out
that Dunya is the daughter of one of Amina's former crewmen who
died while in her employ. Salima is offering Amina an absolutely
huge some of money to find and rescue Dunya. How many of us would
be able to resist a huge sum of money that would keep us set for
the rest of our lives. Amina sure couldn't. With a heavy heart,
Amina leaves her daughter who didn't want her to leave, and her
mother who told her it was a very bad idea and told her not to
leave. She recruits her old crewmates: Dalila, an expert with
potions and poisons; Tinbu, her first mate; and Majed, her
navigator. Together, along with a makeshift crew, they sail on
Amina's old ship, the Marawati. And thus begin the adventures
alluded to in the title of the novel.
It turns out that Falco and Dunya are attempting to locate the
Moon of Saba, a pearl which supposedly has magical powers. Along
the way, they encounter Amina's demon husband Raksh, who is a)
still bound to Amina by the wedding contract, and who Amina locked
away in a trunk and was hoping never to see again, and b) is the
father of Amina's daughter, a secret which Amina keeps from him in
order to prevent him from using that fact against her. Yeah, it's
complicated.
This book is the first of a planned trilogy, which makes me want
to say it should be entitled "One of the Adventures of...." It's
a well-written novel, but unlike WITCH KING, tells its story in a
very linear, straightforward fashion, something I was looking
forward to after the twisty-turny WITCH KING. The story is
actually being told by the scribe Jamal, who is in the employ of
Amina and who knows the story very well.
Why are there going to be multiple adventures? It seems that
Amina fell afoul (and you have no idea how much of a pun that is)
of some magical creatures who, in exchange for sparing her life,
coerced her into entering into a contract which will have Amina
continuing to search for magical relics.
What I can't comment on, because I really know nothing of it, is
that the novel is set in a Muslim culture and country. The
setting is integral to the story, of course, but I don't think the
reader needs to know anything about Muslim culture to appreciate
the novel.
While I think this is a good novel, a fun adventure, and an
excellent story--which I highly recommend to readers of fantasy
and those interested in Muslim culture--I have a hard time seeing
this as a Hugo finalist. We've seen many books with this kind of
story over the years, so it is really nothing new. Still, it's a
worthwhile read. [-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Edgar Rice Burroughs (letters of comment by Tim Merrigan
and Peter Trei)
In response to Joyce Beeson's comments on Edgar Rice Burroughs in
the 09/06/24 issue of the MT VOID, Tim Merrigan writes:
[Joy Beeson wrote,] "And his time, it was a-changing. I don't
know how many stories told of nobly marrying a girl of common
birth, only to discover that she was a mislaid princess." [-jb]
Wasn't that about the time destitute British nobles marrying the
children (daughters mostly) of wealthy Americans started? [-tm]
Peter Trei answers:
There were a lot of "Dollar Princesses" during the Gilded Age.
One prominent example of the progeny of such a marriage is Winston
Churchill. [-pt]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
This week is more a "what's coming up" article than what I've just
read. Every once in a while Better World Books has a really good
sale (25% or even 30% off their already low prices on a lot of
books), and I buy a half dozen or so books from my want list that
all end up costing less than $5 each.
This time it was four Sherlock Holmes pastiches from Titan Books;
I liked the first three I got from them.
There was also THE TIME TRAVELER'S ALMANAC by Ann and Jeff
VanderMeer, I've already read and reviewed it in 2016. At the
time, I was unhappy that I had checked it out of the library and
had to read it faster than I would have preferred. Now I can read
it a story at a time.
Another one I had already read was BROKEN STARS: CONTEMPORARY
SCIENCE FICTION IN TRANSLATION edited by Ken Liu, the "sequel" to
INVISIBLE PLANETS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE FICTION IN
TRANSLATION. I've already reviewed both of them, but I may just
read both of them again..
Then there is THE DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS: COMPANION, volume ten of
the University of California edition of Pepys's diary. The first
eight volumes are the diary itself. I have this on my Kindle
(thank you Project Gutenberg!) Volume nine is the index (not
really needed when one has a searchable copy). The "Companion" is
basically an encyclopedia of everyone and everything in the diary,
or if you prefer, a set of annotations. Some entries are very
short (e.g., one line identifying someone as a local greengrocer),
while others are more extensive (e.g., four pages explaining the
Admiralty).
And the one truly new book: CHINA DREAMS: GROWING UP JEWISH IN
TIENTSIN by Isabelle Maynard. Born in Tientsin in 1929 of Russian
Jewish parents who fled the Communists, she lived through the
Japanese occupation and eventually emigrated to the United States.
So that's what coming up, along with the two volumes of W.
Somerset Maugham's "lost" stories I mentioned a couple of weeks
ago. Not everything will get reviewed, of course. On the other
hand, my near-future plans include our annual trip to Second Time
Books, and I'm pretty sure I won't leave there empty-handed. :-)
[-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net I cannot walk through the suburbs in the solitude of the
night without thinking that the night pleases us because
it suppresses idle details, just as our memory does.
--Jorge Luis Borges
MT VOID, 09/13/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 11, Whole Number 2345