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Leave it to Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse: Review by James Johnson

30/6/2015

 
If I were to ask; When there’s something strange in the neighbourhood, who you gonna call?  Many of you – no, I would openly bet all of you – would instinctively answer, Ghostbusters.  However, this is where you would be wrong. If we’ve learnt anything from P.G Wodehouse, it is that you’d call, or rather ring, for Jeeves, the apparently omniscient and omnibenevolent companion of the aristocratic Bertie Wooster.  In fact, you’d probably call for Wooster as well, due to his direct openness in funding any scheme hatched by the infallible Jeeves, so as to appear intelligent and of course correct for asking for Jeeves’ advice in the first place.  As he states himself, “Jeeves is always right.”

‘Leave it to Jeeves’ is the first in a collection of eight short stories to be found in Wodehouse’s book My Man Jeeves (1919).  It endeavours to portray another tale of the infamous duo whereby Wooster sets out to solve his artisan friend, ‘Corky’s,’ problems with his powerful and strong minded uncle.  How? you may ask.  Simple: just “Leave it to Jeeves.”   

Corky is a portrait artist, who of course can never draw a portrait until he has had his first portrait commissioned; makes perfect sense when you think about it.  As a result Corky has decided to live off his wealthy Uncle Alexander Worple’s fortune, through a weekly allowance.  However, such a living can quite easily be cut short if Corky were to get on the wrong side of his uncle.  Inevitably this is what the story goes on to portray, as Wooster makes every attempt to help prevent his friend from doing so.  His efforts are not helped by Corky’s decision to gain a fiancée before his uncle’s approval, and so Jeeves is called upon to solve the problem.

Although intelligent, ultimately Jeeves’ original plan blows up in their faces, due to Corky’s fiancée’s need to climb the social ladder through marriage to the wealthiest of the family, Uncle Worple.  The irony of this turn of events is that Corky unwittingly gains his fortune through his broken heart, later in the story.  (A twist you’ll have to find out by reading the story yourself).

Ultimately Wodehouse applies a satirical upper class sociolect to his primary characters to create a story which is just as humorous as any other full length novel.  His works have gone on to inform numerous modern interpretations, such as Clive Exton’s (11th April 1930 – 16th August 2007) British sitcom, ‘Jeeves and Wooster,’ starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, as well as modern technologies being named after his characters, for example the ‘Jeeves’ online search engine.  (Although a search engine with nothing but advertisements, which provides no rival to Google, is hardly a fitting memorial to the Wodehousian characteristics of Jeeves).  

Wodehouse was largely influenced by the historical and political context of his time, as all writers are; however, Wodehouse applies his views through melodramatic and exaggerated characters which results in an eccentric and hysterically humorous story which is short and easy to read, even today.  An example of this humour can easily be found in Wodehouse’s descriptions of Jeeves.  Wodehouse cannot simply say that Jeeves cracked a smile; he must demonstrate that Jeeves experienced a “paternal muscular spasm of the mouth.”  It is with this comedy and style of writing that engages the reader not only to read to the end of the story, but also on to the next story, and the next…

Wodehouse makes for some light reading to cheer you up at the end of the day.  

If you like any sort of light-hearted, charismatic text, then Leave it to Jeeves is for you. Just check out the link below to have a read for yourself:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WqyNK1HUTgQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=my+man+jeeves&ots=EP70dUArq_&sig=G2DS2D89z_s-xIdE6b88ePcfqus#v=onepage&q=my%20man%20jeeves&f=false

'The Assault' by Hanif Kureishi: Review by Lex Neri

30/6/2015

 
Violence.  Corruption.  Abuse.  'The Assault' brings about these connotations.  Little do you know that this short story is a haunting tale about an encounter between two socially neglected mothers.  Kureishi sheds a dark shadow on the social conventions such as courtesy and etiquette that prevents people from leaving an unwanted situation.

Due to Kureishi’s track record of novels and short stories, we may be surprised by his choice of topic in this story as he normally elects to cover topics that come from a darker place, such as racism and depression.  There is no surprise, however, that he revels in the morbid sense of humour throughout.  Kureishi possibly takes this perspective due to the dark literary years of his early works as a pornography writer before his later dramatic screenplays and novel such as My Beautiful Launderette in 1985, The Buddha of Suburbia in 1990 and The Mother which was adapted into a movie in 2006. Due to this fact we shouldn’t be too surprised that he is able to turn inner turmoil into this well-crafted short story.

I can imagine many people will be able to relate to the event that is expressed in this very short story to some degree. This piece poses an everyday occurrence in a melodramatic style, which is hardly a shock considering the writer's experience as a screenwriter.  Each thought is carefully analysed by the author who depicts the life of a stereotypical mother in impassive detail.  Kureishi uses hyperbole to establish the dry sense of humour running throughout his prose. He goes through the stages of anxiety and fear experienced by the mother that she contemplates meeting her fate with the peculiar individual just to escape the situation.

The protagonist is a pessimistic mother who we can empathise with.  She is an innocent victim who is subjected to a trivial conversation that she cannot escape due to the heavy burden of politeness.  She doesn’t have equal amounts of courage to a protagonist who should have to overcome the pivotal battle against the antagonist.  But would you have the strength to overcome a hormonal, socially deprived mother and deny her the thing she most craves? Attention?

However, we can also empathise with the antagonist.  The antagonist of this simple yet effective story is none other than an overly friendly fellow mother who doesn't seem to know when to release her captive from the unbearably trivial one-sided conversation being had by the two.  Let's be honest: we all have that one relative or individual who you feel obliged to keep company once forced to interact with them.  Some can come to pity her as the poor woman only wants the company of another and some acknowledgement that she does have strong feelings about the small events that enter her life.

I recommend the lazy, the pessimistic and the sarcastic to read this story as there is nothing like seeing feelings being expressed perfectly in a reflection of your own situation.  Even those who are hardworking and optimistic need a bit of negativity to even out their ridiculous positivity, and to experience a literary genius' light-hearted whingeing.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Review by Laura Morris

29/6/2015

 
Written by Charles Dickens in 1860, Great Expectations follows the story of a young orphan named Phillip ‘Pip’ Pirrip who is living under the care of his sister and her husband.  Great Expectations is widely considered to be one of Dickens finest novels and a true classic.  The novel’s opening has shown itself to be one of the most interesting and recognisable introductions to a novel ever written.

The novel begins with Pip visiting his parents’ graves one evening in the cemetery alone and drawing conclusions about their appearance and personalities from the lettering on the gravestones.  Without warning, a dishevelled character emerges, ordering Pip to bring him food and a file for his leg irons or he will tear out Pip’s liver and heart.  The opening scene offers its audience everything they may could ask for or expect from the opening of a novel, thus living up to its name Great Expectations.  The reader is plunged directly into the world of a small orphan boy attempting to piece together traces of his past in desperation to form his own identity by conjuring images and ideas about relatives he will never know.  Whilst the reader experiences the deepest sympathy for Pip, Dickens intelligently takes a light-hearted approach to the situation, reflecting the perspective of a young child, as where he describes Pip as believing that his mother was ‘freckled and sickly’ according to the inscription upon her gravestone.  The novel quickly moves on to introduce the escaped convict Magwitch who frightens Pip in the graveyard and shouts orders.  Once again the reader is faced with yet more emotions of fear for young Pip and anticipation for what the dangerous Magwitch may do.

It may be interesting to examine the relationship Dickens portrays between young Pip and Magwitch in this opening scene.  Elements of trust and desperation already play a key role in the formation of a friendship already between the two characters.  At first glance, the pair may seem to arise from two different dimensions and worlds; and yet with deeper thought, the conclusion can be drawn that the two characters are in fact very similar.  Pip can be described as a lost boy in this scene who cannot understand himself or his past.  Much like Pip, Magwitch is an unvalued escapee who is also misunderstood in many ways and misguided.  Although Magwitch deliberately frightens Pip, his desperation and need for a friend shines through his foolish actions forming the basis of a friendship already.

The opening of Great Expectations reflects many important issues in society at that time, including friendship and love in with criminality and loss.  Pip and Magwitch show themselves to be two characters who appear to be very different yet both in search of the same security of friendship and safety.  The opening is cleverly written by Dickens to provide its audience with an array of emotions which lay the foundations for the rest of the exhilarating and brilliant novel to follow.  Overall Great Expectations truly lives up to its well-earned title.

The Rapture by Liz Jensen: Review by Chloe Webb

25/6/2015

 
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC- January 2010

Rating: 3.5/5

Whilst waiting for hit TV series The Leftovers to take over our screens once more, are you looking for a fix to fill your desire for apocalyptic disasters?  The Rapture by Liz Jensen is a perfect apocalyptic thriller to do just that.  Set in the not-too-distant future, The Rapture combines the ultimate need for survival as well as a twisted story of a young girl’s terrible childhood.

Gabriella Fox is introduced to the world’s most dangerous patient in the country: Bethany Krall.  After a horrendous car crash, Gabriella is assigned to care for Bethany Krall – but could going to Oxsmith Psychiatric Ward be the worst mistake of her career?

Bethany Krall is a destructive, delusional young girl who believes she can predict the world’s natural disasters, a symptom of a condition known as ‘Doomsday Delusion’.  However, her ability to accurately predict disasters all over the world, such as the fall of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, is gripping but somewhat unbelievable.  Bethany thrives on ECT, which makes the reader wonder if her predictions are no more than coincidence, but then again is her power genuine?

Her father, a Christian Preacher, sent Bethany away after the murder of her mother. Bethany seeks revenge through the mocking of Christians who believe they will be saved from the rapture by god.

The Rapture is a mesmerizing read packed full of excitement.  The special bond eventually created in this book between Bethany and her psychiatrist is touching and heart-warming. The powerful story draws you in, while the tension and emotion carried through the book allows a connection to be made to the characters.  Mixed feelings towards Bethany leave you wondering whether you should sympathise with her or be disgusted by her vicious behaviour.  I highly recommend The Rapture if you are looking for an apocalyptic thriller you won’t be able to put down.

Suits: Review by James Johnson

24/6/2015

 
The unfortunate addiction of today’s adolescent mind is no drug, but rather the enabler of our continual desire to put off real tasks that need completing (such as revision) for ‘just one more hour.’  This object we call Netflix.  I must shamefully admit that I am in fact a victim of this addiction, and through it came my discovery of Aaron Korsh’s legal drama Suits from across the ever-decreasing ‘pond.’

I have to say that Suits has re-dramatized the legal scene without the need for any appearance of the traditional barrister’s wig that features in most British legal dramas, even through the time of ‘Pearson Darby’ during season three.  It manages to create invigorating cases that portray the twists and turns a legal battle can take, understandable to anyone even with the use of some American legal jargon.  I have to admit that I can’t comment on the accuracy of the jargon, but if any inaccuracies have occurred they have gone unnoticed through the settling tone of Mike Ross’ secret, which at every hurdle has been threatened with exposure.  The continual change in the actions of the characters through each season is something I was unaware could happen so frequently, and yet its development really works at keeping the audience entertained and on the edge of our seats as we unwittingly prepare for the next event in this unravelling tale.

I feel a special mention has to go to the performance not of Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter) or his compatriot Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross), or even the beautiful Meghan Markie (Rachel Zane), but in fact Rick Hoffman, as the incredibly comical Louis Litt.  As I first began my journey into the world of Suits I developed a sort of annoyance for the character of Louis Litt, and yet through each season I found myself laughing more and more at his performances.  At certain points we feel sorry for Louis’ exclusion and ultimate need for a friend who treats him fairly, and then at others we develop a sort of hatred for his never-ending acts of betrayal towards Harvey and Jessica.  However, this recurring division in my attitude shows that he’s doing something right and his job – acting.  Admittedly I may find him so funny as I usually watch Suits with my brother and sister, and so have developed some moments that we collectively find funny even if others do not; but I promise that if you watch Suits either for the first time or to discover what the hell I’m talking about, if you watch Louis Litt you cannot watch one season without at least letting out a little smile.

Obviously not all parts of Suits are achieved with perfect effect, such as Gina Torres’ performance of Jessica Pearson, which honestly I find to be quite tedious and more or less the same in every episode as she tells Harvey to ‘get it done’ or ‘win the goddamn case’ – pretty much her only role in the whole drama.  However, Suits doesn’t fail to impress as a modern legal drama.

American Horror Story: Review by Izzy Porter

24/6/2015

 
In the upcoming months, the thrilling yet gripping TV series American Horror Story will be releasing its fifth and supposedly scariest season yet to its 10 million scare-hungry fans.  Each plot throughout the series continues to be totally unpredictable though compelling, drawing your attention immediately, being constantly entertaining yet spooky.

Whilst containing scenes of explicit and terrifying situations, the show also finds a way to introduce current and serious problems that the majority of its viewers are able to relate to in every episode.  Within the first season of the tense horror show, characters’ personalities are further revealed as the series continues, for example, Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who suffers deeply with depression along with her teenage boyfriend, Tate (Evan Peters).  The young couple work to tackle her mental health problems the best they can in order to help her in any possible way. Alongside this, the mother and father of the Harmon family are currently undergoing serious relationship issues, after Violet’s mother Vivien (Connie Britton) cruelly discovers that her husband Ben (Dylan McDermott) is having an affair, causing an extremely tense and awkward atmosphere in the house.  Both of these issues are serious both in and out of the TV show, and may help a majority of its teenage viewers who suffer with depression and anxiety to try and improve their tough condition, whilst also providing a relatable environment through the parents constant struggle, an issue which a lot of married couples may be facing.

As the seasons of American Horror Story continue, we see more relatable issues being raised, such as in Season 2: Asylum, when a woman is locked in a mental institution after her homosexuality is discovered.  Although times have changed and homosexuality is now accepted in society, the show undoubtedly still helps teenagers, especially as they are able to relate to the struggle that Lana (Sarah Paulson) faces after identifying her sexuality, as she is unable to find a way to communicate this to others, a problem many teenagers may face.

Overall, I feel that this dramatic, dark and direful show is extremely gripping to most ages, not only appealing to an audience of young adults, but also to those who are scare-thirsty and love the thrill and adrenaline of a TV series such as this, one guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.  American Horror Story is also consistently enjoyable, as teenage audiences especially are able to learn from and relate to plots and issues portrayed through the very different characters in each series, whilst also thoroughly enjoying the shocks and drama of every episode.  A TV show I would definitely recommend.  

Supernatural Season 10: Review by Kieran Isgin

23/6/2015

 
When the horror drama Supernatural started in 2005 we were all awestruck at these two young guys fighting monsters who we thought lived in the closet.  It goes without saying that the show started off as ground breaking – but recently it has taken a fall in terms of imagination and entertainment.

The issue many people have with the recent Supernatural is that it has gotten completely out of hand at the level of the story.  At first it was two brothers defeating monsters in a little town somewhere, and now they’re teaming up with angels while killing pagan gods and going on a pub crawl with the king of hell.  When looking at this, one has to imagine the writing to be like that one child we all knew who had an IQ of 9000 but when he became a teenager started experimenting with magic mushrooms with a side of lysergic acid – that’s what I believe season 10 to be: the product of a crazy acid trip.

While the beginning of the season seemed promising, we soon realised that the writers were straining to find a plot to focus on.  We were presented with a cliché twist by learning that Crowley (a demon aka the king of hell) had imprisoned what we were soon to find out was his mother.  To be honest it all felt like something you would find on Jeremy Kyle, if he expanded his target audience to the deep infernos of hell.  But the worst thing about this season is the ending: an ending should both shock the audience and leave a creative cliffhanger to entice viewers to carry on to the next season.  However, after doing it nine times already, we can expect at least one slip up – I mean, even the characters were as confused by the ending as as we were, when presented with something we’re told is called ‘The Darkness’, a very original character idea that’s never been seen before.


In conclusion I believe that Supernatural, like The Simpsons, is long overdue to be cancelled.  The story is clearly wearing thin and the writers are running out of ideas while the characters are getting older and older.  Just how many times can Sam and Dean die and then come back from the dead, as if they’re trying to beat Jesus Christ’s record?

League of Legends: Review by Leah Busow

19/6/2015

 
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game that was primarily published by Riot Games in 2009.  Since its release, the game has been well received, with over 27 million people playing the game per day (as of January 2014).  The game offers a dynamic three-lane layout, where players take on the roles of ‘champions’, each with their own unique set of abilities and spells, as they team up in either bot or PVP games.  In these games the teams must destroy the enemy team’s ‘Nexus’, after having first destroying the turrets on the way.  However, unlike most PC games, each player’s champion starts each battle fairly weak, forcing the players to build up their powers through collecting gold to spend on items and obtaining kills. 

The game started to attract massive popularity from 2012, and has developed a very active competitive scene.  Riot Games set up multiple tournaments across the globe, with the League of Legends Championship Series in North America and Europe, as well as multiple tournaments being held in China, Taiwan, South Korea and elsewhere.  The tournaments are nothing to be taken lightly, however, with the League of Legends World Championship in 2013 having a grand prize total of $1 million, and the 2014 one having a grand prize total of $2.3 million.  And they say playing video games all day doesn’t pay…The people who win these championships, though, literally treat the game not as a hobby but as a job, most of them being categorised as professional players, having spent years since the game was first released honing this particular ‘skill’.  So while it may be all fun and games, it’s not something that I’d advise dropping college over.

Still, not everything is fun and games.  Many people have criticised the League community for being particularly aggressive towards newcomers to the game, even those within the community themselves (me being one of them).  In a way, the League community is ‘heated’, for lack of a better word.  Many players take the game very seriously, so it’s not the best situation if you have to carry your teammates while defending your own lane.  Compare it to working in a group project, where one person just clearly doesn’t get what they’re doing and you’re forced to do extra work to make up for it.  However, recently Riot Games have tried to tackle this problem, with pop-ups in games urging people to swear less at their team and so on.  The issue of the community mostly sorts itself out with the feature of registering a report against another user, and, to be honest, there’s not much more Riot Games can do; they’re more focused on the people who intentionally become AFK during the game, where more serious bans are placed.

However, the community is not the only fault with League of Legends.  While I have to admit that the character designs are very well done, and the artwork for the champions is of a high standard, there’s one thing that I can’t help criticising, which seems to be present in most games: the pointless sexualising of the female characters.

Game of Thrones: Review by Lex Neri

16/6/2015

 
Mostly spoiler-free review: read at your own risk!

Game of Thrones
…


I don’t know whether there’s a place on the whole earth where someone would look at those three words and not know anything about the complex and in-depth world of George RR Martin’s imagination.  They don’t know the ice blonde hair of Daenerys Targaryen.  The smart and witty comebacks of the imp, Tyrion Lannister.  The sick-minded perspective of his sister Cersei, or the boundary-breaking strength of Brienne of Tarth.

The casting director of Game of Thrones, Robert Sterne, depicts the characters in such a way that embodies their personalities as well as their looks.   So the handsome ruggedness of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a perfect frame to capture his conflicted character’s personality and the awkward relations between all of the Stark children.  Costume design allows readers of the book to put their imaginations at ease as the intricate designs of Daenerys’ gowns and the specific placement of ragged linens of even the cameos exceed expectations.  In the earlier seasons there was an understandably poor quality of special effects, due to the constraints of kick-starting a new TV show, but they have improved dramatically over the later seasons.

Whenever I explain a scene or pivotal event that occurs in the series in an attempt to advertise it to friends, I find that words don’t do the show justice, and in all honesty make people weary of watching the series.  For example in order to explain the character of Cersei Lannister I have to outline her incestuous habits and her strange attachment to her eldest son Joffrey.  Joffrey… when I come to explain his brutal character I have to include his sadistic tendencies and the nature of his birth.  Every single character has a dark side in which all of them shouldn’t have the capacity to overlook.  However we, as the audience, overlook as these attributes as we understand it is part of who the characters are and the time in which these events occurred.  Furthermore as an onlooker outside of my advertising conversation for Game of Thrones, I imagine I must seem to be a horrific person, as when I explain Season Five all I have to say about it is: “everyone you love is going to die”.  Couldn’t imagine sounding like a sane human being.  Still, be wary of Season Four, but especially Five: many tears will be shed for the ones lost.

OK Computer: A Retrospective by Joe Davies

16/6/2015

 
Few bands have had such a drastic and rapid effect on popular music in the last two decades as Radiohead, and their third album OK Computer (1997) was the catalyst that propelled them to Alternative Rock greatness.

Recording over the space of a year in a secluded Somerset mansion with long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich, Radiohead were perfectly adept in recreating the rich, powerful alternative sound of their sophomore album The Bends (1995), while harnessing the isolated, paranoid atmosphere of their surroundings to create a modern classic, regarded by many as their masterpiece, and an inspiration for many bands to follow.

With a greater emphasis on electronic instruments, the band creates the perfect backdrop for Thom Yorke’s cynical anecdotes of car crashes, contemporary businessmen and past regrets, while members such as Jonny Greenwood provide dark, constricting, and sometimes modest  guitar melodies that enthral and unsettle.  The album opener, ‘Airbag’ provides a deceiving tale of vehicle-related paranoia amidst the lush jangle of sleigh bells and driving drums, followed by the album’s flagship song ‘Paranoid Android’, a disturbing portrayal of modern life and its failures.  ‘Subterranean Homesick Alien’ laments a lost family long since seen, and transitions to the organ powered ‘Exit Music for a Film’, a twisted documentation of a failing relationship.  ‘Let Down’, which is quite possibly the album’s stand-out track, creates a sparking atmosphere of chromatic guitars and optimistic despair, until those hopes are dashed by ‘Fitter Happier’, ‘Electioneering’ and ‘Climbing Up The Walls’,  three aggressive rants of contemporary workers and politicians, and the failures of the system and past decisions.  ‘No Surprises’, easily Radiohead’s most recognisable track, stifles the mind with ideas of suicide and depression, while ‘Lucky’ and ‘The Tourist’ end the album with broad guitar harmonies and angst-laden falsetto performances from Thom Yorke.

OK Computer is without a doubt one of the most influential album of the last twenty years, with few other bands even coming close to the musical feats of what is undoubtedly Radiohead’s magnum opus.

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