I agree. Angels and Demons has no depth, nothing to chew on the next
morning, never mind a year from now. The good guys are merely
conventionally good. And the bad guys have no real motivation. And the
writing is only adequate. The behind-the-scenes Vatican view is
moderately interesting but there are no real people -- only showy
flim-flam. As such, it will surely be bought by Hollywood -- lots of
visually appalling death, hairpin plot turns, car chases, miles of
cardinal red cloaks (and an ancient dagger) and a doomsday weapon to
boot. To make room for all the special effects, they will slice the
characters even thinner and paint their motivation in primary colours.
Best stay home with a good book.
And what would that good book be? I'd be interested in what people have
been reading this summer. I finally bought Reading Lolita in Tehran at
an airport in April, but still haven't begun it. (I'll have to look up
that long-ago conversation on it.) I also picked up Nuala O'Faolain's
Are you Somebody? The only other one I can now remember reading is
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (also bought at the airport). It's
less sentimental than Angela's Ashes but was vaguely unsatisfying.
Perhaps I'm just (and always was) too far removed from a ten year old
Irish boy to find quite so many hours of his company gratifying. It
won the Booker Prize in the early 90s, but I'd only give it a 7.5.
(Maybe you had to be there...)
Ursula
in North Bay (only 200 miles north of Toronto)
What I have been enjoying this summer is SUN Magazine. I've been a
reader online for a while, but this year actually purchased a print
subscription. Worth every penny.
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