SHORTCOMINGS: EMOTIONAL DILEMAS OF A NORMAL GUY

"Shortcomings" by Adrian Tomine / Photo by Agnes Prygiel

"Shortcomings" is a poignant graphic novel by Adrian Tomine, published in Britain in 2012 by Faber and Faber.

"Shortcomings" by Adrian Tomine / Photo by Agnes Prygiel

Ben is a 30-year-old university cinema manager and more or less a normal guy whose relationship with Miko falls apart after she organizes an independent film festival at the campus and gets a small modelling job. Ben feels insecure and slightly jealous of her career as he himself is a bit stuck with his job and life in general. With Miko distancing herself he turns for support to his lesbian friend Alice and starts some small sex experiments with other girls.

With art, campus life, a fascinating trip to New York and of course love - "Shortcomings" is a really interesting graphic novel to read.

THE GODDESS & THE THIEF: MAGIC VS FREEDOM

The Goddess and the Thief by Essie Fox, photo Agnes Prygiel

"The Goddess and the Thief" by Essie Fox is a contemporary novel written in the style of old Victorian romances. Full of ghosts, mysterious elixirs, crystal balls and dark visions - the book takes us back into the era of proper old-fashioned dramas. Published by Orion Books in 2013 it has a beautifully designed cover. Powerful colors and tantalizing Hindu imagery makes you just want to grab the book from the shelf.

It is 1850. Alice is a British girl growing up in India. When both of her parents die she is brought up in Britain by her aunt Mercy - a fake spiritualist medium.

Carefully manufactured ghost sessions aunt Mercy drags Alice into attract regular clients - grieving Queen Victoria being one of them - and become a way of making money. But while aunt Mercy is just a spiritual wannabe, growing up Alice showings real supernatural abilities and becomes a threat for a controlling guardian. Soon the young girl will have to choose between her gift, love and freedom.

Sexy Yoko! Sexy Ono!

When you think of Yoko Ono - controversial is the first word that comes to you head. You wouldn't necessarily think of her as of a sex bomb. She has definitely been  a powerful experimenting artist and John Lennon loved it about her. But Yoko Ono also strikes me as a very attractive woman indeed.

 

 

Love Story (Or Not)

 

'Empire State' is a comics novel by Jason Shiga I have only just came across. It tells the story of a bit lost and dreamy young man who works in a local library in Oakland. He goes all the way to New York to meet up with his old friend he has recently developed a crush for. After 6 days spent on a bus and a few minor adventures involving ex-criminals, he climbs the top of the Empire State Building where the date is supposed to take place, but the girl... well... she isn't there.

.

.
It is a lovely and soothing story relating to all those moments in our lives which didn't quite work out the way we wanted, but still they were worthy of a go.
.
Jason Shiga's website: http://shigabooks.com/

Difficult Love

Two Lovers' DVD cover looks typical. But one shouldn't judge a book by the cover or a DVD by the front image. What I thought would be a predictable romance came out to be a stunning masterpiece where a troubled young man (talented Joaquin Phoenix) with a passion for photography has got to choose between an arranged marriage (Vinessa Shaw) and a beautiful but difficult lover he naturally feels connceted to (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Two Lovers takes its inspiration from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's short story White Nights and, like old Russian dramas, trows us into a middle of an emotional conflict where the choice between passion and convienience is not easy. It kept me masmerised and unsure about what was going to happed untill the very last last second of the film. And even after it finished I remained under the spell of this intimate story.

Directed by James Gray, released in 2008, also stars Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonow and Elias Kotenas.