A Film Review! Bookworms trip to see The Book Thief Film - reviewed by Joy

Having read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak a few months ago, the Nantwich Bookworms went to see the screen adaptation to see if the film measured up to a book that was enjoyed so much by the group. Although met with criticism and mixed reviews by many, we all left the cinema wet-cheeked and teary-eyed as we were captivated by the emotional story once again.

Despite being set during WW2 Nazi Germany, it was beautifully shot as the world was opened up to us through the eyes of the young, illiterate, Liesel. As her journey into young womanhood and literacy develops and the relationships she has along the way explored, the harsh and unforgiving setting of the war, does not overpower the beauty of the story. 

We thought it was well cast, with Geoffrey Rush giving a heartwarming portrayal of Hans Hubermann, Liesel's foster father, and the other characters offering a close match to what Markus Zusak had conjured up for us through his words. 

As with many adaptations, much of the story was lost in the film, which although inevitable was still a shame. Our only criticism was, given that language and words were the main crux of the story; Liesel learning to read, describe and narrate, using stolen and abolished books, it was a little distracting that the dialogue was mainly in heavily accentuated English, with a few German words thrown in (mainly by the Nazi's), rather than in subtitled German which would have perhaps smoothed the flow and increased a sense of authenticity.

Joy Cassidy

Happy New Year Bookworms!

Happy new year to all our followers! We hope that 2014 will be a year of many new reads and like 2013 a year where we will all discover new authors and new favourite reads.

Our meeting last weekend was short but sweet (we would like to say that December's read was the same but although it was short, it would take a far stretch of the imagination to describe it as sweet!) See Joy's review of 'Coraline' on a post to follow shortly.

Our read for this month is Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg and as always we will be meeting at 8pm on the first Sunday of the month (Sunday Feb 2nd) at the Black Lion, Nantwich.

At our next meeting we will also be planning a bookclub trip for early February to see the film of the 'Book Thief' which was our group's unanimous favourite read last year.

Remember to keep following us on twitter @booknantwich and for any enquiries or questions email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com

Happy reading

Kate

Joy's Review of Coraline

Neil Gaimon's Coraline is a dark and quirky tale of a young girl whose boredom and loneliness takes her on an adventure to a fantastical world, much like her own, but with some very absurd and freakish differences. In fact the scare -factor is at times so apparent that it is easy to forget that Coraline is a children's book, with Tim Burton's adaptation a successful children's film. With a mutilated hand that claws it's way back into Coraline's world, to her 'other' father being an imprisoned slug in the basement who tries to attack her, this is truly the stuff of nightmares whether you are 8 or 48! 

The Nantwich Bookworms enjoyed the quirkiness of the novel and the 'through the looking glass' feel that it had, evoking the memories of boring school holidays, the despair at busy parents and the over-active imaginations that often encapsulate our childhoods. The shortness of the novel meant that it was concise, exciting and fast-paced. The imagery used was vivid and powerful, leaving our more sensitive readers slightly unnerved! 

At Nantwich Bookworms we try and choose books that cover a wide range of genres to appeal to all members of the group and to challenge ourselves by reading novels we wouldn't necessarily choose ourselves. Over the past year we have discovered books that have become firm favorites and become excited by authors that we had never heard of before. We are always looking for new members so if you would like to join us, please come along on the first Sunday of the month at the Black Lion in Nantwich at 8pm. 

February's read is Peter Hoeg's Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. You can contact us through Twitter @booknantwich, email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com, or see the blog for further detailswww.nantwichbookworms.blogspot.co.uk

December's novel and upcoming reads.

Hi Bookworms!

Thanks to all those that attended for lovely Christmas meal on Sunday at Chopstix, it was nice to enjoy a glass of wine and some yummy food with our discussion - we will have to do it more often!

There will be an upcoming cinema trip to see the film of the 'Book Thief' at some point in January - watch this space for details.

As for this month's read, it's a fantasy one for December in the form of Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline'. This is a short but spellbinding read so hopefully we will be able to fit it in alongside all the festivities. We will be meeting on Sunday January 5th at 8pm in the Black Lion to discuss this one.

Upcoming reads for 2014 will be:

January        Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg        (Meet on Sun Feb 2nd)
February      Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal                                   (Meet on Sun Mar 2nd)
March         Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee    (Meet on Sun Apr 6th)
April            Mort by Terry Pratchett                                        (Meet on Sun May 4th)

As always remember to follow us on twitter @booknantwich and any questions please email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com

Thanks, Kate

Bookworms Christmas Meeting!

Hi Bookworms.

I hope that you're all well and keeping warm on this cold November day.

Is everyone enjoying 'The Kite Runner'? I am looking forward to discussing it!

This month, we are going to have a Christmas meal on Sunday December 1st as well as our usual bookclub discussion, new members are obviously still welcome along. For details please drop me an email at nantwichbookworms@gmail.com

Thanks

Kate

November 2013

Hi Bookworms,

Thanks to those that attended on Sunday to talk about Ian Banks' 'The Crow Road'.
This coming of age tale has a bit of everything - sibling rivalry, death, unrequited love, a murder mystery, religion and lots of alcohol!

Some of our members loved this book, empathising with the transition of a young Prentice McHoan through his early twenties against a backdrop of a beautifully described Scotland. Other bookworms felt that the novel dragged pace-wise but as Banks virgins, perhaps we need to read another of his novels before making a proper judgement.
In summary, it was a fairly well-received read although would always struggle to top last month's 'The Book Thief' which we all adored (and still can't stop talking about!)

Coming up we have Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner' and our meeting to discuss it on December 1st will be combined with a Christmas meal - details to follow!

As always, any questions please email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com and remember to follow us on twitter @booknantwich

Kate :)

Are you ready for a discussion about 'The Book Thief'?

Good afternoon Bookworms!

Just a quick reminder that Bookclub is this Sunday October 6th at 8pm in the Black Lion pub on Welsh Row, Nantwich.

I'm looking forward to discussing 'The Book Thief' with you all and finding out what everyone thought.

As always, follow us on twitter @booknantwich and any questions or comments then please email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com

See you Sunday

Kate :)