Neil JordanCritiques

Irish music teacher Tara, in late middle age, learns the English Maestro who has crossed her path three times across the years, and never recognised her, discovers he has moved into the old rectory. Responding to an advertisement on the café noticeboard for a housekeeper, she inveigles her way into his life.

Full of stories as any Irish novel will be.

Carnivalesque is an interesting fantasy offering from Neil Jordan. Andy goes to a carnival with his parents and, alone in a mirror maze, finds himself trapped inside a mirror, replaced by his reflection in the real world.

Andy is later spotted in the mirror by carny Mona, who drags him back. Going by Dany now, he realises that he has little choice but to remain as part of the strange world of the carnies. Mona involves him in her trapeze act and starts to induct him into their ancient and mysterious culture.

As Dany learns at the carnival, a mysterious force begins to stir elsewhere, with huge implications for the carnies.

Jordan has come up with an unusual scenario for this novel, but it does drag in places and there are a few loose ends in a plot that might have benefited from deeper exposition. It's slightly better than three stars, but I didn't think it was quite good enough for a higher rating.

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A boy walks into the hall of mirrors at a carnival only to be drawn into a mirror and replaced by his reflection. Then someone pulls him out, after which he stays with the carnies, who are in fact magical beings of folklore.

All of which actually makes it sound more straightforward than it probably is. Really, this is just an odd little novel. The prose is strange and dreamlike, and at some point near the end it shifts suddenly from a languid sort of fantasy to full-on horror and gets much more plotty than you'd expect for about ten minutes before it abruptly resolves all of that and moves rapidly to an end, if not exactly a conclusion. There's an interesting combination of familiar and novel elements here, and I actually did rather like the horror stuff, even if it did take me by surprise. The prose is sometimes rather pretty (even if not always as much so as it seems to think it is).

But overall, honestly, it feels to me like a literary experiment that's interesting enough to be worth a look, but just never quite fully works.½

Aesthetics like you wouldn't believe. Angela Lansbury!!! The opening scene with the sister in the woods is truly creepy with oversized dolls and red-eyed wolves in a classic dark wood - running in the white dress super gothic touch. In the story of the woman who marries the traveling man, it's the wild folk wedding that kicks it off. It's so lush!

It takes us on a toxic masculinity journey. It fails to offer a way out of the "nature" of these wolf/men in the grandmother's tales. Women are victim of the men in the stories, even if the men are given some sympathetic "excuses"

I also wondered, is this horror? Then a guy rips his face off at one point, so... yes.

This isn't a crime thriller. The detective doesn't even do much detecting. It uses a plot device similar to the "Crying Game" in which there is an unexpected twist with the romantic interest. It wasn't badly written, but it made me roll my eyes.

I kept reading because this novel reminded me in a direct, visceral, uncanny way of the stories my mother used to tell me at bedtime until I was 7 or so...my mother would start her story with a vivid character and describe them in great detail, and then some small, nearly inconsequential event would happen to this character, and then some other character would enter the story, and be described in turn with great detail, and this character too would experience some small event, and on and on, where the person I was supposed to care about as a protagonist kept changing every night or two, and the story never went anywhere.

The great nostalgia I felt while reading Carnivalesque, for precisely this meander of a storytelling style, kept me reading, because I had forgotten all about those times with my mother every night in those early years of my life.

But if you have no such fond memory of your mother telling you endless stories with no real story attached to them, then you may want to give it a skip.

Looking through the maze of distorted reflections, Dany watches in horror as the boy who walks out of the house of mirrors, a boy who looks just like himself but isn’t, leaves the carnival with his parents. Trapped as a reflection in the mirror, Dany (now Andy) is rescued by Mona, a magical acrobat. Unable, or unwilling, to leave this fantastic place, Andy falls easily into the routine of the carnival. Back home, Dany’s mother struggles to understand her son, a boy who looks like Dany, but who seems “off”, sullen, and dark. When Burleigh, the creator of the house of mirrors returns and connects with the changeling, the stories of Dany and Andy converge, and take a dark turn. Carnivalesque by Neil Jordan explores a world of magic, a boy’s transition from childhood to adolescence, and the fragile line between reality and illusion.

I wanted to love this! I wanted more of the Borgias, so in that, I got what I wished for. But I was one of those huge Lucrezia and Cesare fans and in THAT, I was sorely disappointed. Worth the read to feed the need for more, but don't at all expect it to be the dream fourth season that we all wanted!

2.5 stars

Carnivalesque by Neil Jordan is a story about a boy named Andy who finds himself sucked through a mirror in a carnival’s house of mirrors. His reflection enters the real world and goes home with his parents, leaving Andy stuck and alone on the other side of the glass. He is not alone here, for this is the world of the Carnies, the carnival people, a place where magic is real. Meanwhile Andy’s mother watches the Not-Andy living with her family, wondering if this is merely Andy growing up or if this is something else, something more sinister.

The prose had me captivated and wanting to read more from the first page. The language used is beautiful and enchanting, perfect for depicting a world that overlaps our own, a place filled with magic and people who aren’t quite normal. I was also quickly invested in Andy’s family, namely in Andy and his mother, two characters that are both interesting in their own right.

Andy is not quite a child but not exactly a teenager, either. He knows something has changed within his family, but doesn’t know what. The air of sadness is palpable, but something he can’t quite get to the bottom of and doesn’t seem to wholly understand. The house of mirrors is a surprisingly frightening place. After being sucked into the mirror, he finds himself in a place very similar to our own world, yet quite different. When he speaks words seem to come out backwards, forcing him to be more careful with his words. In this place he has a new name, Dany, partially due to the difficulty of speaking and hearing the words correctly.

This metaphor is a bit heavy handed, I have to admit. The entire scene went from quite atmospheric and spooky to a bit drawn out and heavy handed. However, I do like that the mirror world is different from our own. The place itself was frightening. The new characters introduced were quirky, odd, and had more going on with them than perhaps met the eye.

It was Eleanor I found most interesting, however. We see a perspective not often seen in portal fantasies here – that of the parents left behind. What do the parents think? Do they notice that the boy who looks like Andy isn’t really him? What happens in the world left behind? These are all questions that are answered here. Eleanor’s struggle is real. There is an air of mystery here, Eleanor having the nagging feeling that something isn’t right with her son, but not knowing what.

As a whole, the first third or so of the novel stands tall and proud. It was intriguing. It flowed from place to place and character to character with easy. The second third doesn’t follow this same pattern. The majority of the second third is dedicated to world building and the backstories of characters not heavily involved in the plot. Reading had the tendency to grow tedious. We learn about the carnies, this new family of carnival workers that has taken Andy in. I never found myself very invested in any of the carnies, despite each of them having objectively interesting pasts. They were secondary characters at best, in no way the main characters of the novel. All forward momentum of the story was stopped in exchange for what is, essentially, an info-dump. Yes, very pertinent information was conveyed, but the manner was drawn out and dull.

Much reference is made to a former boy who fell through a mirror and the books and notes he kept on the carnies and their history. It seems a bit obvious to say that if all of this were related in more direct manner it may have been more interesting and felt less like a deviation from the plot. Passages from this book could have been used. At the very least past events could have been relayed through Andy instead of nearly writing him out for a chapter on end.

These chapters wind their way in so circular a manner that they finally manage to stumble upon the plot once more. The mystical yet spooky air of the novel changes. Real world events take a clear turn towards the horror genre, which may surprise some readers. Not-Andy proves just as strange, terrible, and frightening, as Eleanor supposed. A slow, meandering plot suddenly has a single focus. While a fun, edge of your battle concludes the novel, it proved to be ultimately unmemorable. I was not necessarily invested in the reasoning behind this attack on the carnies and ensuing fight, largely because I never felt very connected or invested in the carnies and their past.

What I was invested in was Eleanor. The ending of her plot was something I was both invested in and enjoyed. I found myself sympathizing with her more so than many of the other characters, and it was this ending that I enjoyed the most.

While hitting on some very deep topics and touching on things other, similar books don’t often both including, Carnivalesque just didn’t hold my attention the way it should have. The plot was meandering, there was too much backstory and info dumping, and side characters were thrust into a spotlight they were never really intended for. Regardless, I quite enjoyed the author’s prose, and do want to read more of his work.

This review and more can be found on my blog Looking Glass Reads.

This was a very weak season. Pope Alexander VI was relegated very much to the background, while Cesare was the main character. They really ought to have called this "The Cesare Borgia Show." Luckily Francois Arnaud is talented and charismatic enough that he could carry the whole season by himself. I also *really* did not like how they decided to go the incest route with Cesare and Lucrezia - it was considered a salacious rumor by people at the time, and I'm really disappointed that the writers chose to run with it just to shock us. Also, there were WAY too many convenient coincidences, characters running into eachother to facilitate plot developments, people getting there/doing something at just the right time. Honestly just a letdown.

The Borgias is the sordid saga of one of the most remarkable and legendary families in history. Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia (Academy Award Winner Jeremy Irons) to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family. Don't miss a minute of the lavish, sexy, scandalous drama from the creative mind of Academy Award Winner Neil Jordan.
3/3 discs: SEASON 1 disc 1/3:
The Poisoned Chalice, The Assassin, The Moor
Special Features: Eye of the Cinematographer, Building Medieval Rome, Costume Creation
SEASON 1 disc 2/3:
Lucrezia's Wedding, The Borgias in Love, The French King
Special Features: Cast Biographies, Photo Gallery
SEASON 1 disc 3/3:
Death of a Pale Horse, The Art of War, Nessuno (Nobody)
Special Features: Casting Cesare, Outtakes, Get Connected
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xLYTlyOXdg

I will start by saying my rating is borderline between 2 and 3 stars.

There were things I liked, the interplay between Cesare and Micheletto was one; how Cesare's 'allies' are being played; i will not spoil the rest.

I will only say (without further spoilers) that a) aside from a tiny bit that was important, Lucrezia's role in this 'finale' was pitiful and a complete letdown nor was there any sense of closure, b) what led to Alexander's exodus was confusing and nonsensical and was totally anticlimactic and c) the very end was an epic fail, because Jordan did not bother with building a proper momentum.

You are left with a 'what the hell?' Historical truth or not, there were a hundred ways this could be manipulated into a proper end.

It was not.

So, if you loved the Borgias, I suggest you stay clear. I do not regret reading this, but if Showtime ever pays to film it, I will feel sorry for them.

(Borderline) 3 stars, just because i love those characters.

CARNIVALESQUE by Neil Jordan, is a fantastical story of a boy who enters the mysterious and supernatural world of a carnival and becomes a person he never knew he was but maybe who he was always supposed to be.
The book flows like a stream of consciousness, where sometimes it's comfortable and easy to follow and other times I felt like I was lost and had to reread sections several times. There is a natural desire while read the story, to find out the secrets of the carnival and Jordan slowly teases the secrets out so that the reader is wanting more. I did feel like, though, through the middle of the book that the storyline stops flowing forwards and just kind of meanders around without a purpose for a while, then suddenly grows to the climax of the book, as if the book remembered that there was a purpose to it. The end of the book is well written and I enjoyed then last few chapters, but I just wanted a little more clarity and purpose to the middle of the book.
Jordan's writing style in CARNIVALESQUE carries a certain fantastical beauty to it, but like an avant garde artist sometimes does, Jordan seemed to have lost his way at times. I was reminded of Neil Gaiman's storytelling and I would say that if you are a fan of Gaiman's, you will probably like CARNIVALESQUE.
Thank you to Bloomsbury, Neil Jordan, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Includes original screenplay of The Crying Game.

In an unspecified post-Communist Eastern European city, an English private detective named Jonathan makes a living by taking on assignments from ordinary citizens desperate to find lost loved ones. He lives in the city’s suburbs with his wife Sarah, an archaeologist working at a dig in the city, and their young daughter Jenny. Jonathan and Sarah’s marriage is going badly: the couple is seeing a therapist. In the course of previous investigations, Jonathan has (in unorthodox and highly questionable fashion) consulted an elderly psychic named Gertrude, whose advice has proved helpful. Early in the novel Jonathan and his associates Istvan and Frank are approached by a couple from the countryside who, 12 years after she went missing, are still looking for their daughter Petra. They are convinced she disappeared somewhere in the city. But before Jonathan can get the search for Petra underway, as he’s walking near the river one evening, he sees a young woman on the bridge who seems about to jump. He goes to her and tries to talk her down, but she jumps anyway, and he jumps in after her and pulls her to safety. She leads him along the twisting twilit city streets to an apartment, where they dry off, and soon he hears her playing one of Bach’s Suites for Cello. He leaves, and when he arrives home Sarah has the Casals recording of Bach’s Cello Suites on the CD player. From here, the story of Jonathan’s search for Petra and for some measure of peace of mind grows complex and layers mystery upon mystery: the city descends into a state of unrest, he discovers things about Sarah he would rather not know, the conundrums and inexplicable events pile up. Neil Jordan’s writing is brilliantly atmospheric. The unnamed Slavic city where the action takes place remains enticingly out of focus, and one can almost smell the steam rising from the cobblestones as the sun emerges after a sudden rain shower. The Drowned Detective is billed as a crime novel, but Jordan incorporates elements of other genres into an occasionally awkward mix that makes it difficult to place the book in any single category without caveats. The purist reader of detective thrillers will probably be disappointed, perhaps even frustrated. But for anyone who doesn’t mind spending a few hours with a novel that doesn’t necessarily answer all of the questions it poses, The Drowned Detective is not the worst choice you can make.

Everyone knows that circuses are magical places, but they can be dangerous too, subversive, circumventing the rules of society, propriety and even reality. One day, young Andy loses himself in the hall of mirrors in a carnival sideshow. When he emerges some hours later, he both is and is not himself: that is to say, his body is unchanged, but the thing inside him is no longer Andy; or, at least, not the boy he was before. That old Andy, or his essence, is trapped within the speckled glass of the mirror-maze, snatched or changed, call it what you will, and ready to be drawn out into the inner life of this fantastical place. Part fable, part fantasy, part horror-story, this novel is rooted in a strong concept but preserves its enigma too fiercely, to the point that the reader never quite comes to engage emotionally with its character or narrative...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/02/20/carnivalesque-neil-jordan/

A magical world that felt like a cross between The Night Circus and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I was pulled in right from the beginning in this enchanting story with a cinematic feel. Just like certain characters in the book who experienced time in a different way, I would sit down for just a few minutes to read and before I knew it an hour or more had passed in what seemed the blink of an eye. Mythology, folklore, coming of age, and a dash of love all expertly crafted into a story that will captivate and delight. You will not look at carnivals the same way again.

Boy, this is one strange book. It started off a little slow for me and I even considered putting it down without finishing it. I don't know exactly what made me pick it back up, but then something happened and I literally flew through the rest of the book to see what in the world was really going on. Jonathon and his wife have moved to an unnamed country (seems like Russia, not sure) from England. He runs a detective agency with two other men while his wife is an archeologist. They are having marital problems and are seeing a therapist while he's in the middle of a case of a missing girl. It's hard to tell what is real and was is not. It's definitely not for those who like a straight forward detective story. But, if you are a little off center, yourself, this might be for you. Just be patient and give it a little time...personally, I wish I had read this on a foggy, rainy night!

Originally from England, Jonathan has moved his family to an unspecified former Soviet Republic because of his wife’s archaeology job. Jonathan operates his own “tracing” agency with the help of a photographer and another investigator, Frank. The agency takes small cases of following errant husbands, seeking out fake designer handbag sellers, that type of thing. They don’t really do missing persons. But when a middle-aged couple comes to the agency for help in finding their missing daughter, Jonathan takes one look at the child’s picture and he can’t say no.

Jonathan is married to Sarah and they have a young daughter of their own. Jonathan spends each day drowning in jealousy and anger over the discovery that his wife and his partner Frank have had an affair. Each night when he goes home to Sarah, he is at a loss to face her betrayal of their marriage. When he goes back to work in the morning, he’s confronted with the infuriating visage of Frank.

Then Jonathan rescues a woman who jumps off a bridge into the river. As the days go by, he finds himself drawn back to this woman again and again to listen to her play her cello. Her cello music continues to haunt him even when he’s not with her. The woman’s sadness somehow echoes Jonathan’s own feelings of confusion and despair.

Told against a backdrop of Eastern European protests, this is a haunting story of a man’s loss of identity, the tumultuous results of one spouse’s affair, and whether or not this couple can find their way back to each other.

When I first started this book, the language and writing style threw me off a bit and I was sure it wasn’t for me. I almost never pick up a book without finishing it though, and I am so glad I didn’t put this down! I gulped down this book in a just a few hours and it was well worth it. When I read that the author was in filmmaking it didn’t surprise me, as the story is told as if it were a series of scenes from Hollywood’s classic film noir period. The dreamlike landscape unfolds beautifully and it will leave you chilled.

I want to thank the publisher (Bloomsbury USA) for providing me with the ARC through Netgalley for an honest review.

So I just saw this yesterday in the latest batch of Guardian reviews, and it sounded interesting. Although the physical book won't be released here until May, the ebook edition was available, so I snagged it. A very good snag, as it turns out. Now I just have to figure how how to describe it without giving too much away.

It is a mystery, but it is also more than a mystery. The main character, Jonathan, is a private detective in eastern Europe - he has two other men working for him, and he also has a psychic that he consults whose name is Gertrude. The side characters here are fabulous, and Gertrude is my favorite. The books opens like any other detective novel, but very soon things start to go a bit wonky, and then the fun truly begins. There is a ghost in this story! I won't say more than that except to say that I loved the ending. If the premise is at all intriguing to you, do not hesitate to pick this one up.

A vampire tells his life story.

Even though the characters and romance - which are essentially what the movie is about - are corny and uninteresting, it's still a good movie. There's enough serious fantasy and horror to give it a compelling gravity. It's bizarre how bad Pitt is in this movie, though.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: D
Pacing: B
Cinematography: D
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.2/4½

Loved this short book about a father-son relationship, the woman who came into their lives and Ireland before and during WW2. Since it was set in Bray, a seaside town my family went to when my brother and I were kids, it had a special poignance for me. It made me want to go back and see it again. Jordan did an excellent job of describing the town and I could almost smell the sea from his rendition.

excellent acting but a very offbeat story.

Serien om Borgias går over to sesonger, og består av 19 episoder. I første sesong var vi vitne til hvordan Rodrigo Borgias ved hjelp av kløkt og sluhet tilranet seg pavemakten i 1492 - en makt han skulle beholde frem til 1503. Som pave Alexander Sextus med kone og fire barn (som snart ble til tre), var han nødt til å skille seg fra sin kone for å leve i sølibat. Like fullt skulle han bli den paven som for ettertiden huskes som den mest korrumperte og umoralske av dem alle.

Pavens tre barn - Cesare, Giovanni og Lucrezia - skulle komme til å få sentral betydning i årene som fulgte mens pave Alexander Sexus satt ved makten. Datteren Lucrezia var gudsbenådet vakker, og henne ønsket paven å gifte bort til erkefienden Giovanni Sforza, i håp om å skape en allianse. I sesong 1 fikk vi se hvilken tragedie dette innebar for Lucrezia, som på bryllupsnatten ble voldtatt av sin ektemann, fordi han var avsindig av raseri pga. sin impotens. Senere tok hun en stallgutt som elsker - en forbindelse som fikk som resultat at hun fødte en sønn. Elskeren skulle imidlertid komme til å betale en høy pris for denne forbindelsen.

Paven utnevnte sønnen Giovanni til hærfører og Cesare som kardinal - dette for å sikre seg kontroll over landets to viktigste maktområder. Vi må huske på at Italia på denne tiden ikke var samlet til et rike, og at paven i likhet med mange andre var å regne som en slags småkonge for sitt område av landet. Han var mao. ikke bare hersker innenfor den katolske kirken. Etter hvert vokste det frem et hat mellom brødrene Giovanni og Cesare, og kun farens - dvs. pavens - iherdige kamp for å opprettholde fred og fordragelighet innad i familien, forhindret at brødrene gikk løs på hverandre på et tidligere tidspunkt ...

I mens hadde Lucrezia kommet hjem igjen til familien etter sitt mislykkede ekteskap, og hennes fyrrige spanske blod gjorde at hun ikke hadde tenkt å finne seg i å bli giftet bort til den første og den beste. Farens iherdige forsøk på å få henne til å forstå at hele familiens ære og trygghet sto og falt på at de fikk henne godt gift, fikk henne ikke til å endre oppfatning.

Hatet mellom Borgia-familien og Sforza-familien ble ikke mindre etter at Cesare tok et oppgjør med Giovanni Sforza, men i motsetning til broren Giovanni hadde han hodet med seg når han tok sine beslutninger. Lenge før begrepet psykologisk krigføring var oppfunnet, brukte han det han hadde av kløkt og klokskap for å unngå krig med franskmennene. Og paven hadde virkelig nok med å håndtere det indre opprøret som var i ferd med å bygge seg opp i Rom, som en direkte følge av hans egen dårskap og horing med alt som beveget seg i skjørt i hans nærhet, om han ikke også skulle måtte forholde seg til trusler utenfra.

Alle annerledes tenkende ble torturert og sperret inne før de ble drept, og det fantes virkelig ingen grenser for utspekulerte metoder for å fremkalle smerter og pinsler for ofrene. Samtidig skjønner vi at det bare er et spørsmål om tid før pave Alexander Sextus´tid er over, og at hans omvendelse til et mer nøysomt og kysk liv etter at at taket i en kirke nesten dreper ham, kommer for sent ... Her planlegges opprør, giftdrap og kupp, og spørsmålet er etter hvert hvem som først klarer å ta paven av dage ...

Selv om serien om Borgias ikke er 100 % historisk korrekt, handler den om en pave som rent faktisk har levd, og som var meget omstridt pga. sin livsførsel. Som alltid er det imidlertid grunn til å stille spørsmål ved om absolutt alt ved hans ettermæle er i overensstemmelse med virkeligheten, fordi det først og fremst er hans fiender som har skrevet historien. Her som i sesong 1 har i alle fall produsenten lykkes i å lage et storslagent drama som holder seeren i en skrustikke fra første til siste episode, med en dramaturgi og en spenning som gjør at man blir helt avhengig og bare må se en epiode til - og enda en og enda en til ... Den eneste virkelig kjente skuespilleren som opptrer i serien, er Jeremy Irons, men de øvrige skuespillerne gjør også flotte rolletolkninger. Her er det duket for intriger, hete elskovsscener mellom vakre mennesker, en ondskap som ikke kjenner noen grenser og et begjær som er til besvær for dem dette gjelder. Og selv om det var ålreit at alle plottene på en måte fant sin løsning til slutt, beklager jeg sterkt at det ikke er en sesong nr. 3 ... Jeg gir terningkast fem til denne serien!

Innspilt: 2012
Originaltittel: The Borgias - the original crime family: Season 2
Nasjonalitet: Canada, Irland, Ungarn
Genre: Drama, TV-serie
Skuespillere: Jeremy Irons (Rodrigo Borgia - pave Alexander Sextus), François Arnaud (Cesare Borgia), Holliday Grainger (Lucrezia Borgia), Lotte Verbeek (Giulia Farnese), David Oakes (Juan Borgia), Ronan Vibert (Giovanni Sforza), Sean Harris (Micheletto), Michel Müller (Kong Karl VIII av Frankrike), Luke Pasqualino (Paulo), Peter Sullivan (Cardinal Ascanio Sforza) m.fl.
Spilletid: 8 t 17 min.½