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I just finished reading Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier, and I loved it! (I’m pretty sure there will be no spoilers in this lil’ review.)
Daphne Du Maurier
Daphne Du Maurier (1907- 1989) was a big inspiration to Alfred Hitchcock, and he made a movie based on this story as well as on The Birds, which she also wrote. That alone should let you know what kind of beautiful dark mind Daphne Du Maurier had in her writing. I put the movie on order from Netflix, and I’m waiting for it with much anticipation!
I discovered the book under suggestions for Gothic Romances similar to Jane Eyre, by Charolette Bronte, which is one of my all-time favorite books, and Dracula, by Bram Stoker, which I also love! This book was a delightful read on every page, and I adored the way she described the setting and gardens in such detail. I could almost smell the flowers, hear the sea, and feel the air as she saw it in her mind’s eye!
I didn’t realize how haunting and very creepy the story is until about half way through the book. I almost became comfortable that I was reading a safe, normal romantic story, which allowed the eeriness of it all to get to me much deeper when it did pop up from time to time, and near the end I was completely shocked with the turn of events. It made the sobbing I went through for the poor heroine totally worth it and much easier to swallow. I had been afraid that she might be another author willing to leave the audience unfulfilled like has become common lately in a lazy way to avoid making a story predictable, but I was so glad to be wrong about it. I can’t really say if I thought the ending happy or sad, really, and I supposed you’ll just have to read it for yourself to make a decision.
It truly is a Gothic Horror type of experience as everyone was claiming on listopia. If you’re a fan of those, then it is worth it to browse the list I went by to pick my next reads in the genre.
Next I’m going to be reading another book from that list: The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis, and then I’ll go to Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. I’ve had luck with this Gothic Horror list so far, so perhaps these will become new favorites to me as well!
Hey ghoulz! (That’s what I call my fanz. It starts from my Craftyghoul crochet blog and Facebook page, but also includes all of my fans here on my Starling blog and such. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re one of my ghoulz!) I have finally done it! I published one of my children’s books! Yaaaay! I’m thinking it’s for around preschool/kindergarten age, but I think even adults should be able to enjoy the artwork and the message of compassion and empathy. It’s the kind of book you can read to a child up until they’re able to read it themselves and understand the message more and more fully as time goes by. I was looking to make a story that is both simplistic and complex at the same time so that hearts of all ages will thump with endearment at the pages. I think the more times I read through it, the deeper the meaning becomes to me as well, so I hope all my ghoulz and baby ghoulz out there will enjoy every page!
My heart is a Compass is an endearing story that encourages children to listen to their conscience, developing empathy and realizing the fulfillment that comes with following your heart.
I would like to get serious for a moment, ghoulz. I have a lot of limitations because I am sick, and one of the only ways I can effect the world around me is with my Facebook pages and blogs here online. Publishing this book is a really big deal to me, and it takes me a pretty long while to accomplish things like this. I would like to thank all my followers, all my ghoulz, for all your laughs, likes, comments and attention. An artist can be as crafty as their heart can muster, but if there is no one to see the artist, it all falls short of fulfilling. The old riddle goes, “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” My answer to this has always been, “Does it matter if it makes a sound if there is no one there to hear it?” Thanks for hangin’ around with me, ghoulz! Thank you very much!
~ Starling
P.S.
Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52)
Confession: I used to avoid Wonder Woman comics because I was afraid it would be filled with sexist-against-guys femi-nazi hatefulness. If that’s the way it used to be, (I don’t know), then it sure isn’t now! I would not be ashamed for a man to read this comic at all! The story of Wonder Woman’s plight, the vicious, back stabbing nature of the gods, and the strength and loyalty of the Amazons makes a story worth getting lost in whether you’ve been a previous comic book fan or not! It is one of the greatest examples of the DC Comics New 52 reboot at it’s finest! I have been impressed with the fresh perspective and beginning feel of so many DC titles so far, but Wonder Woman really takes the cake! (Make your own Wonder Woman cake here.)
It really feels like a lot of research and thought went into creating the gods for this story. They are deliciously selfish and make very hateful, unique, and powerful villains. (Not to mention there seems to be some god for every type of fan to relate to! Take your pick for your favorite!) I am excited to turn the page just to find out what god may be introduced next and what awesome way they’ve chosen to portray them! The way they interact with one another seems natural and very psychologically deep. As a writer with interests in mythology, ethics, and morals it is very intriguing to study this particular spin on the world of the gods and their role in man’s world. They’ve taken the already existent mythological stories and blended them into a very nice ongoing soap opera for us to enjoy!
Now to speak of villains! Though Hades, Strife, Poseidon, War, etc…are very thrilling, wicked bad guys to contend with, the one that makes me shudder the most is Hera! When she is against someone she is everything dangerous to fear from a woman scorned, and the Wonder Woman comics are the perfect place to have such a strong, beautiful enemy. I find myself empathizing with the jaded queen of the gods, desperate to find a way to make Zeus love her the way his man-slut-self seems to spread his love out to everyone else. With Zeus’ disappearance she has the weight of the world, (and more), on her shoulders. I can really appreciate and respect her as a villain even though I can understand that Wonder Woman is in the right with her duty to her own conscious and her own self respect.
Hermes is my favorite so far! He is super cool with his talon feet!! I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll say that one of my favorite lines is after he asks a girl what shape Zeus disguised himself as to get her to want to have sex with him. (That’s a thing Zeus does. He’s always shape shifting to woo chicks.) The girl lists off several different men because she gets around and isn’t quite sure which one Zeus might have been. The look on Hermes’ face is priceless!!! The girl then says, “I like men, Hermes, and I’m not gonna apologize for that.” Hermes says, “As you shouldn’t.” Such a great guy! No judgement from him!
Wonder Woman is drawn much more feminine that I expected, though she is in no way dainty or meek like a Victorian lady. I love how being a woman, being a girl, is not frowned upon here! Wonder Woman and the Amazons are women with purpose and are very much people to admire. They are not jaded and living their lives the way they do out of fear or anger toward men, but rather that they are embracing what it is to be a woman. I have seen Amazon-type stories completely ruined by making the women all victims acting out of vengeance or fear, but Wonder Woman is no wallowing victim! She is a woman to be respected and she shows this by the way she values herself and treats others with respect as well. (When it is due them, of course. If they don’t deserve respect she lays the painful smack down on them! Yes!)
Starling doodled as Wonder Woman.
The artwork is very pleasantly colorful, shifting from light settings to creepy dark settings as needed to very efficiently set the mood. It seems like all the characters are very, very flawless and beautiful for the most part, which is understandable sense they are all gods, mix breed gods, or people the gods are coveting/consorting with. I very much appreciate how the sad/crying/anger faces in this are also decent to look at and beautiful in their own pitiful way, unlike some comics which make their heroine a snotty pinch-faced ugly mess when they’re upset. *Cough* Catwoman New 52 Vol 1: The Game. *Cough*
The drawings are not super detailed on every page, meaning that the light and shadow are sometimes simply outlines rather than catering to every muscular curve and crevice of a body, but I like the affect it has, so it’s a good thing! The background in places also looks like it was hurriedly added in at the last minute as filler, but it wasn’t distracting. What WAS distracting was the way Strife was drawn. Maybe she’s supposed to look unnatural and like she just doesn’t belong, because she’s strife, after all, but that’s just what it looks like. Her character seems to float on the pages as if she was drawn by a completely different artist and just penciled in on top of the story. The way she stands sometimes, it’s clear in real life she should just tip over. There’re several panels of her walking through the forest at one point, and her arms and legs do NOT remind me of something walking, but rather she seems to be a manikin posed to pretend she’s moving. It’s a consistent thing throughout the comic that the way Strife is drawn is a tic distracting.
Something I really don’t like, though, is the way I see feet drawn in here from time to time. They do it nicely all the time, so I know the artist(s) know how to do it! Then out of nowhere they revert back to High School concept are and have these triangular cartoon feet that give the limbs a swollen allergy appearance. It’s just a pet peeve of mine, and I bet most people don’t even notice. I, on the other hand, am looking at this powerful image of Hera standing over a shamed worshiper, looking down at her disapprovingly in all her naked, confident queen-of-the-gods glory, and I scan down her lovely frame and cringe when I see those doofy feet they added at the end! *Miff* It doesn’t match the detail of the rest of the body art.
This New 52 comic has really wet my appetite to read much more Wonder Woman! I’ll be getting the next volumes as they come out, and at some point I may even start back tracking to the older comics to compare. I highly recommend it! I give Wonder Woman Vol 1: Blood five hearts! You can click on the picture of Vol 1 up there and it will take you to the amazon link where you can buy your own copy! (Or you can just click here.)
Five out of Five Hearts!!!
