The Bookworm

Summer 2012

Enjoy your reading at Swanshurst

Our seriously cool guide to Comics

with Ms Russon & Mr Stock

PLUS: Miss Osgood and Miss Arif fight it out over the Brontes; the Man Booker prize; interview with Ms Hopkins ; the Book Doctor; Rachel Caine in Brum; new releases; AND our new regular feature on films

Editorial Holy moly, Summer is already on the way and we’ve made it to issue 2 of The Bookworm. We hope all your exams have gone well and we promise that we’ve got some great ideas for reading this summer.

Where else could you get a discussion of favourite Booker prize winners along side an introduction to graphic novels or a fight over Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights by two English teachers alongside some of your reviews and recommendations.

We’re going to try different things in The Bookworm until we get things just right—with something for everyone. Hopefully you’ll find enough suggestions to keep you going over the summer.

‘The Team’ ‘Walt Whitman’ Wild

‘Mikhail Lermontov’ Lea

‘Aldous Huxley’ Hopkins

‘Honore de Balzac’ Beniston

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CONTENTS

Contributors 5 News 6 J K Rowling, Wimpy Kid and more Summer Reading 8 New books Prize News 10 The Man Booker Prize is often considered Britain’s most illustrious literary prize. Staff members choose their favourites Dark Romance 20 Rachel Caine recently visited Brum Extreme Reading 22 Check out our interview with our very own Miss Hopkins The Bronte’s 26 Wuthering Heights vs Jane Eyre. Miss Arif and Miss Osgood fight it out Swanshurst Recommends 30 Your recommendations Be inspired 32 Check out our cool guide to graphic novels with Mr Stock and Ms Russon The Ideas Page 44 More ideas from the web Momina at the Movies 46 The Avengers and much, much more Classics Corner 62 Anisa takes on Great Expectations The Book Doctor 64 Author Visits 66 Get in touch 68

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Friends forever? See all the action P26

Sarah Dimia barely escaped with all her blood

when she met vampy author Rachel Caine P22

Mr Stock is seen skiving in the locker room again—reading

comics as usual P34

Halima Neva Mr Stock

Ms Russon

Ms Wild

Mr Beniston Ms Lea

Ms Arif Momina Khan

Anisa Younis

Ms Boughey

Miss Osgood

Ms Hopkins

News

JK Rowling’s new book is released on 27th September but be warned its a “blackly comic” novel aimed at the adult market called The Casual Vacancy. Read more about it in The Guardian. Patrick Ness’ next book will also be aimed at the adult market. It’s called The Crane Wife and will be released next spring.

Hundreds of you have read the Hunger Games trilogy. On the back of it’s success Suzanne Collins has re-released an earlier set of books. Gregor the Overlander is the first title in the Underland Chronicles. Gregor has a normal life in New York until he finds Underland where he meets giant rats, spiders and cockroaches. This is just the first step on a grand adventure to find his destiny. Readers in the library have all given good reports so far. Why not give them a go?

Whatever your age, we know how much you love the Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney. The new book is out in November; not too long to wait. In the mean time there’s a website where you can wimp yourself. Its great fun.

Over at goodreads there’s an up to date list of favourite YA novels in 2012. As you can imagine dark romance and dystopian fiction dominate. Book 5 in The Mortal Instruments—City of Lost Souls (just out in the UK) is at the top. Fans are also excited about book 3 of The Infernal Devices trilogy—Clockwork Princess, due out early in 2013.

Lauren Kate, Cynthia Hand, Veronica Roth, Ally Condie and Richelle Mead all feature in the top ten.

Now Mr B has convinced some of you to read the brilliant Un Lun Dun you can try China Mieville’s new YA novel, Railsea (just out).

Released May 1st

Released June 12th

Released September 1st

NOW in the library

NOW in the library

Released May 1st

Summer Reading

Released May 22nd

Released May 24th

Released June 1st

Released May 3rd

Released June 1st

Released May 24th

Prize News The summer is a little quieter for fiction prizes in YA literature so in this issue we’ll try and persuade you to take an interest in adult fiction prizes too. We do this with a celebration of the Man Booker Prize. Various members of staff have written about previous winners or shortlisted books that we think you might like. There maybe some books here that you’re not ready for - I try to think back and remember my teenage self. There’s no way I would have been able to appreciate Wolf Hall at 14 (too busy playing football), or at 16 (busy being a moody teenager), but at 18 maybe and I know there are some keen readers at Swanshurst who are far more precocious than I ever was. So we hope you try some of these books but if you find some of them too boring or too serious you can always try again later. Some books you grow into with age—some you grow out of and leave behind. Enjoy.

Contents

Ms Wild on Carry me Down (shortlisted 2006)

Ms Lea on Room (shortlisted in 2010)

Ms Boughey on The Life of Pi (winner in 2002)

Ms Hopkins on Pigeon English (shortlisted 2011)

Mr Beniston on The English Patient (winner in

1992)

Plus further suggestions including Wolf Hall,

The Accidental and more.

I was probably 25 when I first read The English Patient, still young enough to get caught up in the romance of writing (and all art—music, painting, dance, etc). I don’t mean romance in terms of love stories -though it is a beautiful love story. Rather I mean I believed wholeheartedly in art’s transformative power - to open up new worlds of experience, change people’s opinions and beliefs, inspire struggle against oppression and conservatism. Rereading it again it still reignites that feeling and like any great book, rereading brings greater and deeper pleasures. So go on, allow yourself a little idealism - fall in love with great writing .

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje was written in 1992 with a film adaption made in 1996. Unusually I saw the film first and loved it - it’s an incredibly emotional film (yes, OK, I cried like a baby, desperately trying to stifle my sobs so the people around me wouldn’t know*) and is one of the rare occasions when the film is almost as good as the book. The novel is set in Italy and North Africa just before and during World War II. The novel begins mysteriously as a young nurse, Hana, tends to a man with horrific burns in a crumbling Italian villa, reading to him, giving him his morphine, feeding him plums. Two men arrive at the villa - first is the enigmatic Caravaggio, another Canadian who knew Hana as a girl. He has been a spy during the war but was caught and tortured. Then Kip arrives, an Indian sapper sent with others to explore the area for unexploded mines and bombs. Meanwhile the English patient, burned beyond recognition, begins to remember his past.

* Miss Hopkins also went to see the film at the cinema. The only thing she can remember is shuffling around in her chair with discomfort. As most of you already suspected—she has no heart or soul.

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas (left) and Juliet Binoche with Naveen Andrews (above).

At the heart of the novel are two love stories that propel the narrative forward - full of yearning and passion, betrayal and misunderstanding. Ondaatje uses a rich, luscious, poetic language that has two effects. Firstly it works to evoke the strange beauty of the desert and the bombed out Tuscan villa. Secondly the language helps to give the characters an amazing vividness and complexity. Characters’ thoughts, memories and observations are then juxtaposed with snippets of myth and history to give further metaphorical resonance. This is a book that rails against the madness of war and nationalism and that inspires a fierce curiosity for other histories and cultures. It helps you to believe there could be a better world worth struggling for without ever forgetting the bittersweet pleasures of the world as it is.

Imagine living in a small windowless room – worse, imagine that you are never allowed outside and never meet anyone other than your mother. This is Jack’s life and is explored by Emma Donoghue in Room. He is five years old, has never had a pair of shoes, never had friends and has never been outside the twelve foot square room he shares with his mother. Ma was abducted when she was 19, and has been a prisoner for 7 years; repeatedly raped and abused; she gave birth to Jack in the room five years ago. This story is narrated by Jack and through his eyes we are drawn into everyday life in the small world he inhabits. Jack has never talked to his father, his mother’s abuser. He does not even know he is his father, but at night when Jack is hidden away in the wardrobe, he can see through the slats in the door, the vague outlines of “Old Nick” as he visits Ma. Room is saved from the fundamental horror of the story, by the loving and caring relationship between Jack and his Ma. Through Jack’s idiosyncratic voice, articulate, intelligent and innocent, we find out how his mother does everything she can to provide him with as normal and full a life as possible. She has devoted her life to him and in doing so she herself has survived. She is imaginative and loving – creating characters for Jack out of their small environment and filling his world with stories, poems and songs. Jack’s interpretation and understanding of his world can be funny but very sad. He knows that he and Ma are real but that his favourite television characters are not; he tries to make friends with a real spider and then a mouse and his ma can see that their life inside the room cannot go on indefinitely. She has days when she is blank-eyed and depressed and Jack is left to amuse himself. However hard Ma tries to provide Jack with love and a structure to his life she realises that he is getting older, asking more questions and eventually she will be unable to contain his curiosity about the outside world. Will Jack and Ma ever make it out of the room?

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman tells the story of an 11 year-old boy, Hari, who along with his mother and sister, move from Ghana to the notorious Dell Farm Estate in South London. The story opens with the death of an older boy who is stabbed outside a chicken shop on the estate. Naïve Hari and his CSI obsessed friend decide to find the perpetrator themselves by conducting their own investigation. The young boys are blissfully unaware of the danger that surrounds them, which ultimately leads to tragedy and heartbreak. Told in Hari’s unique and endearing voice, Pigeon English is essentially a murder-mystery, yet it also covers issues such as immigration, gang violence, coming-of age and first love. The book was shortlisted for the Booker in 2011 amongst some controversy that the award was being ‘dumbed down’. The judges were accused of choosing ‘readability’

over highbrow literature when a former winner and shortlisted author were excluded in favour of debut novelists like Stephen Kelman. It’s a shame that this novel may be seen as ‘less worthy’ of a nomination just because it is highly readable, as Kelman has achieved an authentic portrayal of the harsh realities of life on an inner city estate, told with charm and humour in abundance.

Set in Ireland in the 1970s, Carry Me Down is a taut, powerful novel narrated by John, an 11 year old boy who is convinced that he can detect when people are lying. John yearns to be special and sees this ‘gift’ as an opportunity for him to feature in his favourite book, the Guinness Book of Records. John is tall for his age, and it’s his physicality (his height and his awareness of everything around him) that is central to the novel, affecting both his attempts to make sense of the world and how others perceive him. Reflecting on the tranquil mood of the

opening scene set in the kitchen of his grandmother’s cottage where he lives with his mum, dad, grandma and Crito the cat, he concludes that “These kinds of days are the perfect ones…I don’t want anything different.” But unhappier times lie ahead when his family have to move away from rural Ireland, to Dublin and a flat on the 12th floor of a high rise, far removed from the trees and fields of his grandmother’s cottage – no sun, no light, all barbed wire fences and concrete. As the life of the opening scene slips away, his ‘Gol of Seil’, where he meticulously logs each of the lies he detects, offers reassurance. Hyland’s writing is pared-down; precise rather than simple,

creating a tense atmosphere and sense of foreboding. As his

relationship with his mother changes and she flits between affection

and wariness, John commits a terrible act. It’s testament to the

quality of Hyland’s writing and her portrayal of John that we

continue to empathise with him as he struggles to understand the

changes that surround him and the unfairness of his situation.

Imagine sharing a boat with a zebra. A small lifeboat, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Now add a hyena, a seasick orangutan and a very hungry Bengal tiger. This is the situation 16 year old Pi finds himself in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. For 227 days. Oh, and of course, there are sharks circling the lifeboat. The main character, Piscine Molitor Patel, is named after a French swimming pool. He has shortened his name to Pi – to stop friends mispronouncing it and taking the “piscine” out of him. Pi lives in Pondicherry in India. His faith is very important to him; brought up as Hindu, he also embraces Christianity and Islam because he “just wants to love god”. When his family decides to relocate their zoo to Canada, disaster strikes and he ends up in a highly precarious situation. Life of Pi is a compelling read. It’s the sort of book that’s difficult to classify – it’s a mix of fantasy, adventure, a survival story with moments of horror (think half-eaten zebras, flesh eating algae and trees whose fruit turns out to be human teeth). Martel takes the reader on a fascinating, surreal journey; it’s a story within a story, with another story and the possibility of a whole new story. But as the lifeboat manual says, “yarn spinning is highly recommended”.

A few more suggestions. Various Asian writers have had success with the Man Booker Prize. Arvind Aviga won in 2008 with The White Tiger. Kiran Desai (right) won in 2006 with The Inheritance of Loss and Arundhati Roy in 1997 with The God of Small Things - both of these are highly recommended. Rohinton Mistry has been shortlisted but has never won; Salman Rushdie has - both novelists deserve your attention. Many of you will have seen the film Schindler’s List. It is based on a novel by Thomas Keneally (Schindler’s Ark) that won the Booker in 1982. It beat Timothy Mo’s Sour Sweet. They are both great novels. Writers like Kazuo Ishiguro, Penelope Fitzgerald and William Trevor have all been shortlisted numerous times. They write with a subtlety and depth which is often astonishing. If you want to be challenged you could give these a try? People like David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), Sarah Waters (Fingersmith, The Night Watch), Monica Ali (Brick Lane), Lloyd Jones (Mister Pip), Amitov Ghosh (Sea of Poppies) and Kate Grenville (The Secret River) are much more accessible and I wholeheartedly recommend their books. Finally, I’ve just reread Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (winner in 2009) and The Accidental (shortlisted in 2005) by Ali Smith so here goes . . .

How did Henry VIII come to have six wives? It’s almost a cliché isn’t it? Just some weird little slice of history that you can make into a rhyme:

‘Divorced beheaded died

Divorced beheaded survived’ Was it all about Henry’s personality or much more to do with the great changes taking place in society at large? Wolf Hall is set between 1500 - 1535 and allows you to imagine one of the most intriguing periods of British history. Mantel’s novel does what the best of Shakespeare’s plays do half a century later - give a rich sense of a society on the verge of dramatic change - where ideas about religion, trade, kingship, women and much more are all up for grabs. All the action is filtered through the consciousness of the Machiavellian Thomas Cromwell who rises to become Henry’s most trusted advisor. What’s more, you start to wish you knew Hilary Mantel - have personal access to her wit, wisdom and style: hoping that some of it might rub off on you. Her writing is that good. Not enough space to do justice to The Accidental. Know that if I need a top up of exuberance and mischief or just need cheering up, I’ll read something by Ali Smith (all her short stories are fantastic too). She has an amazing gift of communicating the magic and passion of life with freshness, urgency and originality. Give her a go.

Rachel Caine visited Birmingham in May and Swanshurst were lucky to be invited to the event at Peters Book Store. Around 100 students from various schools in Birmingham attended the Q&A. Rachel is from the United States and lives in Texas. She and her husband (an artist and illustrator) are on a European promotional tour that is lasting over two months! Rachel spoke for twenty minutes about her life as a writer and then answered questions for the rest of the hour. She has been writing for over twenty years and has written 35 books. She stressed how difficult it is to make a career out of writing - she was only able to give up her day job and become a full time writer two years ago when the Morgainville series started to become really popular. She now writes four novels a year (!) - that’s more like a writer for TV. In one sense that goes against the romantic notion of literature as art. Most authors take at least a year to write a book and some many years. However you came away admiring Rachel Caine for working so hard over two decades, to follow her dream, and to carve out a niche for herself. She is, in a sense, in the entertainment business and she does that brilliantly well. Book 12 in the Morgainville Vampires series is out now with 13 on the way in the autumn. She has a new series planned for next year.

Dark Romance

There’s a brilliant

suggestion here for the

best ten vampires.

What would your top ten

be?

Over at goodreads Hush Hush has usurped Twilight as the most popular Dark Romance title. I know that will make many regular library users ridiculously happy. All your favourites are there—Maggie Stiefvater, P C Cast, Lauren Kate, Richelle Mead, Alyson Noel, L J Smith and Becca Fitzpatrick—in the top 20. However here at The Bookworm we can be cruel as well as kind so we’re instituting the Swanshurst Dark Romance Silly Names Contest. Hush, Hush has Patch as the main ‘cool’ male character—HOW can you be cool with a name like that? Joss Stirling’s Finding Sky however is well in the lead with a whole family of brothers—Trace, Uriel, Victor, Will, Xavier, Yves and Zed. Silly names galore! If any book can beat THAT please let us know. [NOTE by Mr Beniston—I’m SO sorry that Ms Wild, Ms Hopkins and Ms Lea feel it’s appropriate to tease you like this. Know that I would never do it!]

This issue we’re talking to our very own Ginger Demon, Ms Hopkins. Some of you may be fooled by her apparent kindness and good humour. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES! She’s evil! TBW: Do you remember the first book you fell in love with? Ms H:The first book I remember falling in love with was The Tiger who can to Tea by Judith Kerr. I adored the illustrations, especially the one where the tiger is drinking tea straight from the teapot! I also have very fond memories of my Ladybird Books, so much so that a couple of years ago I started collecting my old favourites. TBW: What else were you reading when you were even smaller than you are now? Ms H: I remember enjoying stories like Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (which I collected with

my pocket money), some Enid Blyton (The Magic Faraway Tree and The Wishing-Chair, NOT the Famous Five and their ginger beer nonsense), The Demon Headmaster by Gillian Cross (my headmaster looked just like him) and The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. My all time favourite though has to be The Twits by Roald Dahl. It’s hard to choose just one of his books because they’re all fab but I thought the mean tricks Mr & Mrs Twit played on each other were brilliant. I loved this book so much that I stole my sisters’ copy, crossed her name out and put mine in it instead!

TBW: Anything other than fiction books? Ms H: I was totally in love with The Usborne Book of World History (yes that’s the cover I had on the left). I think this book may have had something to do with my life-long love of history. I also loved baking books (only baking…I can’t cook ‘real’ food). My favourite was Cadbury's Creative Chocolate Cookbook [Ed - why doesn’t she make us cakes then??]. I also used to read my brother’s Beano comics. My favourite character was Minnie the Minx (because of the red hair!). TBW: What about your teenage years? Ms H: I’m like Mr Beniston - most of what I read then wasn’t very profound though of course novels like The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend, which I loved, are now regarded as popular classics. She’s still writing funny, thought-provoking books today. I really enjoyed Shakespeare though, especially Othello and

Romeo and Juliet. One of my lovely English teachers used to take us to the theatre to see loads of different performances. My favourite was Othello at Ludlow Castle, despite the fact that it was very cold and windy!

TBW: I believe you studied Ancient History and Archeology at University. That sounds amazing. Did you enjoy it? Ms H: Yes I really enjoyed it – though it did involve A LOT of hard work. I can highly recommend it to any history fans out there as it’s a bit more ‘hands on’ than a standard history course. I also got to travel to some wonderful places, Brittany in France (to study standing stones), Lake Garda in Italy (cleaning Neolithic pigs’ teeth) and err…Shrewsbury (geophysical survey of an Iron Age hill fort)! TBW: What about fiction during your university years? Ms H: I discovered the greatest book of all time! TBW: Really, what was it? No, let me guess…War and Peace? Ulysses? Ms H: Much better… Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by the mighty J. K. Rowling. I love everything about the Harry Potter books; the places, the creatures, the spells, the chocolate frogs, and the idea that this wonderful wizarding world could exists right under our muggle noses! Most of all I love the characters, especially Ron and Dumbledore. When Dumbledore died in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince it was the first time I ever remember crying when reading a book. It still brings a tear to my eye… [NOTE: as we all know Ms Hopkins is as hard-hearted as a stone golem so if you don’t believe in miracles it’s time to start]

TBW: Enough! Are there any other favourite books or authors that you’d like to talk about? Ms H: OK, OK! Well, I read some of my favourite books in my early twenties that I wish I’d read earlier like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1984 by George Orwell and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Choosing a favourite author is tough when you’re fickle like me, but my exceptions would probably be Ira Levin, Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Philip Pullman. I love The Stepford Wives and Rosemary’s Baby but my favourite Ira Levin novel has to be his first: A Kiss before Dying. Stephen King is a fan, describing Levin as “the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel”. I would highly recommend all of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s books, but The Shadow of the Wind is his best IMHO! The sequel, The Prisoner of the Wind, is out in just over a month and I can’t wait. Finally, anything I’ve ever read by Philip Pullman I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed, especially the His Dark Materials trilogy. The only other time I’ve cried reading a book was at the end of The Amber Spyglass! TBW: It’s quite rare for a book to make you cry then… Ms H: Yep! I’ve had a lump in my throat for a couple of

others like The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness but not proper tears. So, if any of your readers would like to challenge me to read a book that would make me cry I’ll give it a go! [Ed—Don’t bet with her! You’ll lose all your money!]

As promised we’re going to discuss the relative merits of two seminal texts of English literature - Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . . .

Merits . . . Shmerits!

No, two giants of the English Department (metaphorically speaking, though they are both quite tall come to think of it), Miss Arif and Miss Osgood, fight it out to the death.

There can be only one (winner, that is).

The

Brontes

Why I love Jane Eyre. And why it is so much better than Wuthering Heights

Why do I love Jane Eyre? Put simply, Jane. She is the perfect example of how you can rise above your circumstances and become the person you want to be, not the person others expect you to become. Despite an abusive aunt, being sent to the indescribably awful Lowood School, losing her one and only friend, she rises above all of this to become a strong, independent woman. At a time when women’s options were few and far between, she chooses to take a job as a governess at the mysterious Thornfield rather than choosing the ‘safe’ option of staying on as a teacher at Lowood. The complete opposite of Cathy who takes the ‘safe’ option of marrying Edgar rather than defy her family and marry Heathcliff. Mr Rochester, the hero of the novel, beats Heathcliff hands down. Within a few pages of meeting Heathcliff words could not describe my disappointment. Why did Kathy love him? He was detestable in every sense of the word. He doesn’t even treat the woman he’s supposed to love right. Cathy is simply his obsession.

However, Mr Rochester’s appeal is clear. He’s dark and brooding, intelligent and love’s Jane with an unwavering passion. For me, their love epitomises Shakespeare’s line ‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds’; it endures all kinds of trials because it is based on a true and honest understanding and appreciation of each other. Jane and Rochester don’t fall in love with each other because of their looks (both are described as being rather plain). Rochester loves Jane because of her honesty and unwavering adherence to her own beliefs. Jane Eyre explores the ideas of sexuality and even proto-feminism at a time when these subjects were rarely broached by female writers. Wuthering Heights on the other hand does nothing for the feminist course, giving us a simpering, spoilt brat of a heroine. The choice is simple, progressive heroine or spoilt child. You decide! [Miss Osgood]

Miss Osgood packs a mean right hook—Miss Arif barely escapes with her life.

Reaching for the Heights…… Why Miss Osgood is tragically wrong

A dusty, warm, sunlit classroom was the scene for my introduction into the dark and seductive world of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights; a passionate tale of love and revenge set against the Yorkshire moors. It fairly imploded my eighteen year old mind, a murky and fertile ground for all things gothic. Can you imagine the absolute horror I felt when I subsequently read Jane Eyre? Instead of experiencing the same otherworldly emotional intensity of Wuthering Heights, I encountered a milquetoast imposter of a book. Instead of the purity of the love between Heathcliff and Cathy, we have Rochester; a misogynistic forty something who attempts to marry an eighteen year old governess, failing to mention he’s imprisoned his poor first wife in the attic. What a keeper! We also have Jane, who for all her protestations of female independence undermines this in the final chapter with that whole ‘reader I married him’, Mills and Boon drivel. Somehow, I can’t imagine this inspiring Kate Bush to warble a rendition of, ‘its me, I’m Rochester, I’m blind now, come hooooome!’

Jane Eyre was published in 1847 under the pen name Currier Bell. Charlotte Bronte was 31. Wuthering Heights was published months later in December 1847. Emily, two years younger than Charlotte, used the pseudonym Ellis Bell . Tragically, she would die of tuberculosis just a year later, a few months after the death of her brother Branwell and a few months before sister Anne would die of the same disease. Charlotte would write two further novels, Shirley & Villette, before she died in 1855.

Comparing Rochester to Heathcliff is like trying to compare ASDA own brand Coke to Coca-Cola; its just not the real thing. Heathcliff is the original bad boy Byronic hero, unrepentantly intense in both love and hate. Yes, he does come across as slightly deranged. Yes, we may not understand his need for revenge on the second generation of Lintons. But the wonderful thing is you don’t have to like him to love this book. The redeeming feature of both Cathy and Heathcliff’s characters is this insane bond they share unto death. I defy anyone not to be moved by his screaming, ‘I cannot live without my soul!’ when Cathy dies. The emotional intensity of their bond is summed by Cathy herself who cries, ‘I am Heathcliff!’ Wuthering Heights dares to be different. We have the reality of a harsh life and times, which is not wrapped up in a pretty pink bow of romanticism. Read the book, Cathy and Heathcliff will linger like an eerie call across the Yorkshire Moors, echoing through eternity . [Miss Arif]

Are you looking at me? ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME? Miss Osgood knows when to step back!

Swanshurst Recommends

Recommended by Amina (Year 10)

Recommended by Sameyah (Year 8)

Recommended by Ikra (Year 9)

Recommended by Youssra (Year 7 )

Recommended by Sarah (Year 9)

Recommended by Aalia (Year 9)

Recommended by Tasnim (Year 8)

Recommended by Sarah (Year 10)

Recommended by Idil (Year 8)

Recommended by Sana (Year 8)

Recommended by Yusrah (Year 9)

Recommended by Momina (Year 10)

STOCK

On Maus, Watchman and

From Hell

RUSSON

Picks some of her favourite

graphic novels

BENISTON

Celebrates Bryan Talbot &

Alan Moore

NEVA

6th formers know best!

CALLING ALL MANGA FANS BTW, we’re not ignoring Manga, it’s just that we produced a guide and a big display earlier in the year. You can still check out our guide to Manga. It’s already looking a little unsophisticated now but if anyone wants to help out we could update and improve it next year. Let us know if you want to help and be involved.

We know you love Manga so in this issue of The Bookworm we want to give you some more ideas and inspiration. The world of comics and graphic novels doesn’t revolve around Japan! Nor is it all about superheroes like the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder. Graphic novels like Alan Moore’s Watchman are already filtering into all-time best novel lists as more and more people appreciate the unique and intricate interplay of word and image and how it can stimulate different ways of perceiving and imagining the world. Readers realise fairly early on these days that there are so many novels around, you couldn’t hope to read them all in a hundred lifetimes, let alone one. The same is true for comics, manga and graphic novels. We hope you enjoy some of recommendations.

The Graphic Novel Lots of people distrust comics. Maybe it’s down to the idea that people who read comics are fat, greasy nerds, sitting on their sofa reading The Amazing Spiderman in between intervals of World of Warcraft and munching a bag of Wotsits. I’m sure there are plenty of people like this, but I am not one of them, I hope. And I love comics. What could be better? It is the perfect combination of art and literature, placed together to tell all kinds of stories —sometimes of fantastical beings whose lives are far more fascinating than ours; sometimes of mundane lives made fantastical. The graphic novel, however, is

not quite a comic: it’s often a hardback and it costs more. Here is a short strip from Alan Moore’s From Hell a twisted retelling of Jack the Ripper’s killings in Victorian Britain. The drawings use of fine sketching is outstanding, I’m sure you’ll agree, but it is also matched by a scintillating story and realistic dialogue. And that is the key: story and dialogue.

Despite their popularity at the cinema, it’s superhero comics that are most often unbelievable or too simplistic. A lot of people struggle to buy into the story of a mad scientist gaining powers from being exposed to radiation, but Alan Moore seems to have beaten this comic book demon. In his most popular work Watchmen (don’t watch the film, it’s rubbish), he has placed the ‘mad scientist exposed to radiation’ in a Cold War America where the issue actually seems real. He also takes a group of not-so-super heroes and puts them in the real world too, where people begin to fear, doubt and eventually hate the people who strive to protect them. It shows how people would really

react if they had to place their faith in a group of anti-establishment, violent characters in masks. It has the soundings of a great American novel, because that’s what it is. There are even occasions where the graphics fall by the wayside a little. Maus by Art Spiegelman is a great example for all you interested in WW2. The drawings are a little sketchy and again it’s all in black and white, but the pictorial presentation of Jews in the Second World War as mice being chased by the Nazi cats is something that simply wouldn’t have worked in a book. You wouldn’t have bought it. But with a picture alongside the whimsical story, it seems like a brilliant idea. So, next time you walk past a comic book shop, remember it could me in there, or Ms Russon or Mr Beniston. Try going in and browse through the graphic novels. (Gently) thumb through the beautiful pictures, take on board the captivating dialogue and eventually buy one to start your collection. [Mr Stock]

Get into comics and bring out your inner geek…

I’m not sure about the whole graphic novel label as it’s almost there to try to make comics see more respectable and these fantastic blends of art and literature (where never a word is wasted) exist as they are and need no justification. Anyway, whether you call them comic books or graphic novels, here are five you really must read!

The Arrival by Sean Tan. I’m not sure this can even count as a

comic book. It’s actually a picture book with no words at all, but it tells a story that will move you and make you think. It’s a strange and beautiful thing.

The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. A huge, even epic tale of the

sandman, the lord of dreams. Wearing a long, black coat and musing on the meaning of life has never looked so cool.

Watchmen by Alan Moore – I could recommend any Alan Moore book as he’s the godfather of comics; but having said that, he can be a little difficult and wilfully obscure. Watchmen is a good place to start – it’s a narrative that undercuts all ideas about what a superhero is. It’s odd, complex and in places very funny. Watch as the clock hand ticks ever closer to midnight.

The Hellboy series by Mike Mignola. Dark genius writing about a big, red demon who struggles with his destiny as the bringer of the end of the world and who incidentally loves nachos.

Mr Punch by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

Possibly one of the saddest and most frightening texts about childhood and growing up you’ll come across – particularly if you’re scared of puppets.

So, bring out your inner geek, get rid of any prejudice you have about comics being easy to read (they’re not) and discover comics. They’ll challenge you, make you think and you’ll never see the world in quite the same way again. [Ms Russon]

I discovered the work of Bryan Talbot in 1983 or 1984 when he started drawing Nemesis the Warlock in 2000AD. He’d taken over from Kevin O’Neill (who went on to draw The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). Unknown to me then, he had already started publishing the hugely influential The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. He has gone on to win awards for The Tales of One Bad Rat, a story about childhood abuse and the awesome Alice in Sunderland.

Bryan Talbot has called his Grandville series "a detective steampunk thriller". Detective? Yes, LeBrock and Ratzi of Scotland Yard are the detectives. Think of a brutal Holmes and Watson. Oh, and they’re a badger and a rat. Talbot brilliantly riffs on the anthropomorphic tradition that runs throughout British and French storytelling. Steampunk? Yes, the tales are set in an alternative Victorian era where Napoleon’s armies conquered Britain in the early 1800s. Grandville’s weird technologies conjure both the 19th and 20th century. It is set a few years after Britain has achieved independence - though still in fear of France’s huge Empire. This gives you a clue to its allegorical significance - the fight against terrorism, oil, conspiracies, rabid nationalism and a French right wing leader, Lapin ( Le Pen) all feature. Thriller? You betcha. Grandville is fast paced, funny and exciting and you’ll want to go back and reread to linger over the awesome art work and wonder at Talbot’s skill and imagination. Perfect? No - Le Brock’s violent steak is never questioned and the plot needed to be more subtle to be politically convincing. [Mr B]

If you want to get into graphic novels, comics and manga there are some great guides out there. Paul Gravett has a hand in two of the best - Graphic Novels: Stories to change your life and 1001 Comics you must read before you die.

If you want to write your own comics or develop a greater understanding of how they are shaped, try books by Will Eisner - Comics and Sequential Art; Matt Madden - 99 Ways to Tell a Story or the brilliant Scott Mcloud - Making Comics and Understanding Comics.

Good Websites

Great Graphic Novels for girls Wandering Librarians Who next? Paul Gravett The Guardian - comics and graphic novels Comic Book Movies Marvel DC Vertigo Comic Book Resources

I’ve nicked this list from the Guardian—it’s Malorie Blackman’s top ten graphic novels for teenagers. Some of these titles are for readers of 16+ only. If you click on the link Malorie gives descriptions of each comic.

V for Vendetta Watchmen Sin City Chronicles of Wormwood Hellblazer Black Hole Troubled Souls Gemma Bovary Persepolis Maus

A word of caution We’re going to give the same advice that we gave in our Manga guide. Comics, especially those aimed at boys and men have always had sexist images and representations of women. Manga is no different and certain titles are criticised for a particularly nasty strain of misogyny and sexism. Some of the comics we recommend in this issue of The Bookworm are far from perfect on this score. Like any other book, film or piece of popular culture, readers need to think critically about the ideas they confront and what they are willing to accept.

There is enough sexism in the world without it being in our comics too.

Still not convinced? Then maybe Halima can persuade you

Comics, graphic novels whatever you want to call them, they’re awesome! Not only do you get lost and drawn into the story but the art and illustrations are brilliant too. You almost feel like a fly on the wall when you’re reading it because the images in concert with the descriptions are just so vivid. What I love about reading graphic novels is that my imagination sees the story one way in my head, yet the graphics in front of you are showing you the way the author wants you to visualise the plot. Then you realise the artist is putting their own spin on it too, so if you’re at all imaginative comics are tailored for you! There are so many comics to choose from, I’m talking genre wise. People tend to associate comics with heroes and villains, and yes that’s what they are most successful for. But there really is a whole lot more to comics than good guys vs. bad guys. There’s anything from romance, tragedy, sci-fi, vampires (not like the rubbishy Twilight Saga) and many more. Personally I’m a DC girl AND a huge fan of Marvel. My favourite comic character is called Rorschach; pronounced Rorschach. He’s from the graphic novel called Watchmen. I love Rorschach because of his bluntness (he’s a badass!) and he stands up for what he thinks is right and he really inspires me to do the same. But be warned some graphic novels have age ratings, DON’T ignore them!! They are there for a reason! I started to get into graphic novels when my favourite musician (Gerard

Way) at the time, wrote his own comic called The Umbrella Academy, and

I’ve loved them ever since. If you too want to start reading graphic novels

then you can borrow them from your public library. If you want to buy a

graphic novel then there are two great comic shops in town. [HN]

OK, if you’ve been taking notes you’ll see that Alan Moore is a big name in the world of comics. He started writing comics in the 1970s and achieved success on British comics like 2000AD and Warrior. Moore wrote several memorable strips for 2000AD including Tharg’s

Future Shocks and the influential The Ballad of Halo Jones. Around this time V for Vendetta was being published in Warrior. We could have easily mentioned V for Vendetta in the last issue of The Bookworm when we wrote about dystopias. It’s set in the near future where much of the world has been devastated by nuclear war. V is an anarchist revolutionary who takes on Britain’s totalitarian government. At that time (and it’s still the case) you had to get a deal with DC or Marvel in the USA to make serious money. He was signed up by DC in 1983 and worked on Batman, Superman and famously, Swamp Thing. Moore has also gone on to write some of the most influential comics ever, sometimes with the big companies, sometimes independently. His work on Captain Britain, and then of course Watchman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell are all worth checking out. We hope you enjoy discovering Moore’s work but much more than that, we hope you discover comics and let your imaginations take you wherever they will. This is the geek club signing off. For now…. [Mr B]

Ideas

“To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.”

Akira Kurosawa

There are loads of interesting review sites on the web these days. Try:

Booktrust Serendipity Reviews Book Angel Booktopia Badass Bookie Chicklish

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could have been all killed -- or worse, expelled”

Hermione Granger

There are lots of brilliant authors who don’t get quite so much publicity as some of the ‘bigger’ names. Why not check out these authors at their websites:

Mary Hoffman Andy Mulligan Ally Kennan Mary Hooper

Look away girls - this bit is for your parents.

Adam Roberts is a professor of nineteenth-century fiction at the University of London, science fiction author and all-round clever chap. He’s recently posted this excellent piece about encouraging your kids to read. Perhaps most importantly he writes: “Never mock a child for what they love reading (as it might be: ‘how can you enjoy that Twilight rubbish? You should be reading Dickens and Henry James!’)—not because you won’t be able to ‘guilt’ kids into reading other sorts of things, but precisely because you may be able to. A kid wholly absorbed in reading Twilight is learning that reading is one of the greatest pleasures available to the mind and imagination. Pressuring them into picking up a worthier book will tend only to teach them that, sometimes, reading can be a chore”. So, please encourage your children - by all means leave a copy of Jane Eyre on the bookshelf where it might be found (that’s what we like to think we’re doing in The Bookworm ) - but please don’t ever take away their pleasure in reading.

Various sites exist to help you choose your next book—not as comprehensive as The Book Doctor at Sw3anshurst of course—but who is?

What should I read next? Your next read Whichbook The Book Seer

One of the most useful book

sites of all, if you haven’t already discovered it, is

Fantastic Fiction

Avengers Assemble needs no introduction! The film was released on 26th April 2012 and made £622m in just 19 days. It’s the first film to make more than $100m (£62.2m) in its second week of release. When so many blockbusters disappoint Avengers delivers on all fronts—action, comedy, characters and excitement. It’s brilliantly written and directed by Joss Whedon. And what a cast—Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. For once all the hype is bang on. Don’t miss it!

Films reviewed this month

Avengers Assemble 12A Jane Eyre PG Let the Right One In 15 The Terminator I & II 15 Wuthering Heights 15 Plus: Cinema Club, News and Wes Anderson feature

Here at The Bookworm we celebrate geeks in all their glory.

“I’m a geek and I’m proud” Come on, I know you all want to say it. No? Oh well. Well at least now I’m not the only one saying it - thankfully Momina has signed up to organise our film section so we can all wallow in her film geekery (is that even a word?). We hope to provide you with some reviews, thoughts and critical discussion. As with everything we do here we don’t want to stop you enjoying the latest Disney film or the Harry Potter series. Instead we want to introduce you to a wider world of movies and encourage you to think more critically about the films you watch.

IMPORTANT Please be advised that some of the films reviewed and recommended are certificate 15 and therefore not suitable for all readers.

Avengers—Assemble your facts Thinking about doing an Avengers marathon—watching the other five movies before seeing Avengers? That will take you 10 hours and 1 minute. Avengers had the biggest ever opening weekend in the US — a whopping $207 million (£128 million) - and did it by beating the previous holder of that title, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' by almost $40 million. Ask anyone what their favourite moment from 'Avengers Assemble' is, and the chances are they will mention something involving The Hulk. Mark Ruffalo and his motion-capture alter ego steal the show. The first Avengers comic was published in September 1963 and the lineup consisted of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp. Captain America joined the team in Issue #4, after being revived from being trapped in a block of ice. Production on Avengers commenced on April 25, 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the production shot onstage at Albuquerque Studios and various locations in and around the city until Thursday, July 28th. Other filming locations included Wilmington, Ohio; Worthington, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio and New York City. The shoot lasted a total of 93 shooting days on 1st unit and 47 shooting days on 2nd unit.

In the very first issue of the comic book The Avengers, almost 50 years ago, it was Loki, Thor’s brother, who was causing the trouble that brought all the Avengers together for the first time to defeat him. In the making of the movie, Marvel stayed true to that setup. Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, is a much stronger villain on Earth than he is in his own world of Asgard and wreaks havoc in the film. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) felt that being on location was like summer camp, where no one really knows each other but everyone hangs out together and has a great time. However, Hemsworth did know Tom Hiddleston (Loki) from Thor and developed a great relationship with him on that film that carried over to Avengers Assemble. To play expert archer Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner received training from Olympic archers on how to use a bow properly.

[MK]

News

OK I admit it, we do go on a bit about Patrick Ness but its only because we’re right—his books are completely brilliant. Anyway, the good news is that the film rights to his Chaos Walking Trilogy have been bought and none other than Charlie Kaufman is going to adapt the first book. Who’s Charlie Kaufman you may be asking … Well he’s the screenwriter of four highly original, often brilliant, films: Being John Malkovich(1999), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Adaptation (2002) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). It could be a long wait of course but the Ness/Kaufman combo is an exciting prospect for all film enthusiasts.

Woke up today wondering why I’m not in the south of France with all the other movie moguls but then realised I’m not a movie mogul—just a geek! Ho-hum. Check out The Guardian’s coverage for all the gossip, news and reviews at the Cannes film festival.

Only whisper it, but 2012 could be a good year for summer blockbusters. There’s no sign of a Transformers film to smash our brain cells and bore us into our graves. Instead the latest Pixar film Brave looks like a return to form for all you fans of Wall-E, Up, Toy Story and The Incredibles. Superhero fans should be pleased with the new Spider-man movie and I know lots of you love the Bourne films—BUT, without Matt Damon can The Bourne Legacy match our expectations? Here’s hoping you have a great summer at the movies!

What better way is there to spend a cold Bank Holiday than watching films? So I settled down with plentiful supplies of chocolate and pressed PLAY. In truth I wasn’t expecting much. I’ve never seen a film or TV version of a classic novel that I preferred to rereading the novel and doubly so for the Brontes. But . . . Wuthering Heights is directed by Andrea Arnold who has previously collected praise and controversy for Red Road (2006) & Fish Tank (2009). It’s an art-house film - definitely NOT a costume drama. There’s little in the way of dialogue; the cast is relatively unknown and much of the novel is left out. Yet, Arnold’s film manages to capture the passion, rawness of emotion and desperate sense of loss to be found in Emily Bronte’s original. Filmed on location in the Yorkshire Dales, the landscape is beautifully captured in all its stark but hallucinatory glory. It’s grim realism is shot through with symbolism - you feel the otherness of a different century and a different way of living. I don’t think it’s for everyone - when I saw it first at the cinema quite a few people left before the end - but I loved it.

The battle for hearts and minds re Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights is played out elsewhere in this issue of The Bookworm and I’m certainly not getting involved*. Too scared to mess with Miss Arif and Miss Osgood? You betcha. Luckily though two new films of these classics were made last year and they’re now available on DVD.

Shannon Beer as the young Cathy is astonishing.

*See page 26

Imagine my surprise when Jane Eyre turned out to be really good too. First however let me say that I don’t believe any film (or TV adaption) can capture the complexity, subtlety or weirdness of Charlotte Bronte’s novel (remember it’s well over 500 pages long). Or do justice to Jane’s spirit and individuality. However the film succeeds for several reasons. Mia Wasikowska (Jane) and Michael Fassbender (Rochester) are excellent and have real chemistry in key scenes. The film is beautifully shot - the cinematography lends the film a deep, mysterious sense of place and time. The score by Dario Marianelli is gorgeous, and unlike so many soundtracks, doesn’t batter you into submission with what to think and feel. The film manages to be passionate, romantic and slightly spooky without ever being affected or obvious. And no I didn’t cry. Much. Philip French in the Observer prefers the black and white film versions from 1939 and 1943 and Miss Osgood loves the last BBC adaption (2006) with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. Why not check them out too. Best of all, read the book - you wont regret it. [Mr B]

CINEMA

C L U B Have you ever been to the cinema and, astonished by the sheer mind blowing excellence of the film you’ve just seen, dreamily sat through the closing credits. No? Well just once you should do it, to see how many people it takes to make a film. On a film like Avatar over 1700 people are credited. That in itself is amazing but in reality there are hundreds more - assistants, apprentices, plus all the people who supply raw materials and equipment or who make the equipment in the first place. Remember then how only a handful of these people get all the credit come Oscar night - the cinematographer, the writers, the composer and then especially the actors and actresses, the director and the producer. You might start to wonder if this is entirely fair. Then imagine how much this all costs—all this talent, all this hard work, all this closely planned cooperation. For Avatar you’ll discover it cost around $300 million to produce and $150 million to promote. At the Cinema Club the film business will be our business in all its glory and with all its hidden secrets.

As a kid I was drawn to the spectacle and the romance of the cinema– I’m sure you all know what I mean. As a six year old I was awed by the thrill of Star Wars (1977) and Watership Down (1978) and then seduced by the glamour of older films like Some Like It Hot (1959), Singing in the Rain (1952) and The Magnificent Seven (196O). As a teenager I became much more aware of the actors and actresses - lets face it, hormones kick in - and so you want to be cool like that guy and isn’t she completely gorgeous! But as you become a film fan you start to become more aware of all the other elements - techniques, music, the script, the acting, the direction - all that huge effort and skill that goes into making the film. One of the first elements you become aware of is the director. This is because one of the dominant ways of thinking about films in our culture is to believe that a film reflects the director’s creative vision. This is called auteur theory. Auteur is the French word for author so as you can see, in this way of viewing films the director is the author of his or her film, far more important than any other element—including the actors and actresses. Directors who have very distinctive styles are also called auteurs. On one level this is completely fair. Overleaf we look at the films of Wes Anderson whose films are instantly recognisable because they share a range of techniques and subject matter common to them all. On the other hand it’s very contradictory and problematic. I know some of you have been shown parts of Blade Runner in your English class. Get your hands on a copy of the DVD and watch the extras. You’ll see the obsessive, dictatorial control that director Ridley Scott exerted over the whole production but you’ll also see the massive range of expertise, by all manner of people, that made the film possible and such a masterpiece. [Mr B]

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is an undoubtedly an auteur. By watching his films you get a very clear sense of a distinctive style and mood. He always uses a focused colour palette –usually very bright. There is a foregrounding of the soundtrack often combined with slow motion shots. Camera movements are precise and make the action feel very staged and artificial rather than naturalistic. He often uses the same cast . His films are all whimsical comedies about family dysfunction, loss and dissatisfaction but end hopefully with reconciliation and renewal.

(Left) Some of the cast of Moonrise Kingdom (2012)—Bill Murray, Francis McDormand, Ed Norton and Bruce Willis. (Above) Wes Anderson’s breathrough movie—Rushmore (1998)

I suspect that quite a few of you will have already seen Fantastic Mr Fox (2009), Anderson’s adaption of Roald Dahl’s classic. All of his films are worth watching but I’ll single out the stupendous Rushmore (1998) to recommend. It’s a kind of a bizarre love triangle between a teenager (Jason Shwartzman), his friend - a businessman (Bill Murray) and one of the female teachers (Olivia Williams). It’s laugh out loud funny, quietly moving and often just plain silly. His new film is Moonrise Kingdom (out 25th May). It’s one of his best. [Mr B]

Filmography Bottle Rocket (1996) (15) Rushmore (1998) (15) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (15) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) (15) Hotel Chevalier(2007) (15) The Darjeeling Limited (2007) (15) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) (PG) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (12A)

I’m sure lots of you will have seen Titanic (1997)and Avatar (2009). They were both directed by the Canadian director James Cameron. However he made his name and reputation with three other films: The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986—sorry, you’ll have to wait till you’re 18 to see that) and Terminator 2 (from now on T2)(1991). They are great films. The Terminator films are science fiction though all of the action takes place in modern day America. They star Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, and in T2, Edward Furlong as her son John Connor and

Robert Patrick as the villain of the movie, T-1000. In the first film a cyborg (Schwarzenegger) - a T800 Terminator - is sent back in time to murder Sarah Connor because in the future she will have a son, John, who will lead the human resistance to victory against the cyborgs. In the second film John has been born and is now a teenager. The cyborgs send back another, more advanced Terminator, the T-1000 to kill him “The T-1000 is composed of a ‘mimetic poly-alloy"’ a liquid metal that allows it to take the shape and appearance of anyone or anything it touches.” But the resistance send back the older version of a Terminator to protect him—thus, Arnie gets to be the hero. When I first watched it, the storyline was a bit confusing because the Terminator was from the future sent by John Connor. But it soon starts to make sense. I watched T2 13 years after it was released, I can’t remember my first opinion of it. I probably didn’t like it mainly because action movies weren’t my cup of tea, but I knew that my family were crazy about it. Now I’ve watched it MANY times and I love it! It was one of the first movies which got me into liking action movies. There is so much action: car and motorbike chase scenes, shoot outs and explosions, which is something that excites me.

When I was younger my favourite character was obviously the Terminator. He was brilliantly portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. I love his accent and his voice worked SO well with character. I can’t imagine anyone else as the Terminator. Now I like Robert Patrick as theT-1000; he is so deceiving, he can morph which is an awesome power to have. The way he walks is amazing. He has a certain sense of authority and swagger. I absolutely love the way he kills people. One of my favourite scenes was when he kills John Connor’s foster father. I think the actors James Cameron chose were perfect for the roles. They suited the actors well. I can’t think of alternatives. There are two more sequels but they’re not as good.—you don’t get the same adrenaline pumping excitement that Cameron is so good at generating, nor are they as funny as T2 which is often hilarious. Remember too that Cameron directed Titanic so as you can imagine there are sad, emotional elements to the films. [SPOILER ALERT—you may want to skip the next sentence] There is the scene at the end where the T-800 dies. I cried when I saw this scene, it was SO SAD! The scariest scenes are the ones when Sarah Connor has a vision on how the world was going to end. I actually thought the world was going to end that month! I thought that’s how the world was going to end. It was so frightening. This movie is great if you love action! If you’re not convinced that science fiction is for you then the Terminator films might just change your mind. It has a lot of humour in it. You’ll love this if Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of your favourite actors. This movie is great for excitement. Even though the Terminator franchise has been going on for more than 20 years, it’s never too late to watch it. Personally there are times when I hope the robots win. I just want to see what the world would be like if robots were in charge! [MK]

“I’ll be back”

Set in Stockholm in the early Eighties, Tomes Alfredson’s 2008 vampire flick Let the Right One In, may lack the sparkling male torsos of Twilight , but it more than makes up for this in an emotional bite that will leave you stunned and bleeding. Based on the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist; the horror and the savage charm of this film comes through the chemistry shared by the two main characters, Oskar, (Kare Hedebrant) and Eli (Lina Leandersson). Even without the gothic essentials of traditional vampire fare (there is not a fang in sight), Let the Right One In brilliantly entwines elements of a coming of age romance with vampire mythology.

The portrayal of loneliness and the alienation experienced by Oskar and Eli as social outsiders is exquisitely unsentimental. The premise is simple a bullied boy befriends a new neighbour not knowing what she really is. The shifts between dark and light, the monochrome settings and the blanket silences offered by the ever present snow, adds a sense of foreboding and melancholy to each scene that at once cocoons and unsettles you. Eli’s attack on a resident under a bridge lends a poetic quality to the brutality of her nature, her viciousness comes through the use of light and shadow in this scene; the slight child mourning her need to feed on a grown man is simultaneously heart breaking and horrifying. Ironically for me the most harrowing scene is not one in which Eli slakes her bloodlust, but the casual violence that is silently inflicted upon Oskar by his classmates, broken only by the sound of his breathing. A haunting rendition of how and why we attempt to connect with one another, Let the Right One In is a vampire film that frees us from our own misconceptions about the genre. [Miss Arif]

For any of you that like the idea of learning more about cinema here are some ideas.

Good magazines include Empire, Total Film and Sight and Sound. Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo have been running their film review show on radio for may years. It’s as brilliant as ever. Kermode also writes for The Observer and has a film blog at the BBC.

All the broadsheet newspapers usually have interesting reviews. The

Guardian’s film site is very comprehensive.

Abigail Nussbaum always provides thoughtful reviews of genre films.

Finally, every film buff could not do without IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by CHARLES DICKENS

When an ordinary teenager (like me) is presented with the thought of reading a ‘classic’ book a big groan is all you’ll hear . Personally if it had been up to me I would

have never dreamed about picking up one of those seemingly complicated fancy-worded books. In fact for a very long time I despised the thought of ever laying eyes on one . But of course life is unfair - especially when it comes to a mother’s opinion of what's best for their child. Yes - my mum made me read my first classic novel called Great Expectations. Not ideal perhaps and If I have to be completely honest I got sleepy after reading the first three sentences as I had already had to use the dictionary at least five times already on words I never knew existed. What can I say, I had only just turned thirteen? Anyways moving on ... I was convinced after a glare or two from my mother to continue reading and before I knew it I was half way through. The very descriptive story portrays the life of a young boy named Pip who has lived his short life in relative poverty. The book begins as this young orphan boy is sent to live with his selfish sister and her kind hearted husband. He has already endured enough mess in his life but that does not compare to the events that take place on a normal day at the graveyard. This was the day he stumbled upon a supposedly serial criminal with the name of Abel Magwitch who manages to change his life forever.

Classic

Reads

Anyone who has ever met me will understand that these types of books are most certainly not my taste, I mean, who wants to read about two people who love each other but their only method of flirting is by looking at them in the eyes. I'm sorry but that's just plain right cheesy. My taste in books normally consist of supernatural fictional books that are funny, easy to read and can pass the time. However I soon came to realise that Charles Dickens had a way with writing his novels so that you emotionally empathised with these characters making it seem that you knew everything about them. The book livened up even more once you met Miss Havisham. Now this is a lady you would not really like to meet on the street! Nonetheless you become fascinated by her character. Through Pip's point of view we come to understand the misfortune that befell Miss Havisham - on her wedding day her

groom failed to meet her at the altar leaving this woman literally heart broken. Encased by her grief she is determined to break the happiness, and rob the hearts, of all young men. Not only does it tell you of her sick mind and psychopathic thoughts but the actual description of Miss Havisham is rather ghastly. A woman who has not bathed or changed since the dreaded day that haunts her memories has now got disease taking over every aspect of her body. Ha - if you think I'm going to give you more information about the book well your wrong. Your just going to have to read and enjoy the book yourself . The tale of selfishness, cunning , revenge , love and the element of surprise will blow your mind. Peace out people! [AY]

Gillian Anderson as Miss Haversham in the recent TV adaption

AY (Yr 9): OK, so I’ve read Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice. What other classics could I try?

TBD: That’s seriously tricky! Every librarian or English teacher would have their own preferences. Obviously the Brontes and more Austen and Dickens. Then? George Eliot’s Middlemarch (suggested by Patrick Ness) is a fantastic novel but be warned - its huge; I’d probably start with Silas Marner. Thomas Hardy’s novels are accessible: some would start with Tess of the D’urbervilles , but like Jude the Obscure, it’s not the happiest of stories - go with Far from the Madding Crowd. But I’m sure you’re reading this hoping for some surprising suggestions . . . So, Ivan Turgenev is justly famous for his novel Fathers and Sons but try First Love and On the Eve first. A film version of Bel Ami has recently been released starring Robert Pattinson so I should take the opportunity to recommend all of Guy de Maupassant’s short stories as well as those of the great Anton Chekov. Then cross the Atlantic and try the stories of Kate Chopin. Finally take a step into the twentieth century with Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier. A great novel, that not everyone has discovered.

The Book Doctor

Author Visits We’ll be starting the new academic year with a bang. Annabel Pitcher, author of the brilliant My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece will be coming to Swanshurst in September. To celebrate Black History Month in October we’ll be welcoming Anna Perera, author of Guantanamo Boy and The Glass Collector. Then, we’ll be talking to Randa Abdel Fattah in Australia via the magic of Skype.

We’ll announce more author visits next term.

“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. I wish for all this to be marked on by body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography - to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience. All I desired was to walk upon such an earth that had no maps” Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

Don’t forget

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Have a great summer.