Review: The Returned By Jason Mott

One day, out of the blue, all the dead return to the living, as though they'd never left. For elderly couple Harold and Lucille, it means seeing their long-dead son again - or does it? Is it really their son? And does it matter? Such are the questions that create the central drama at the heart of The Returned. It's not so much about the dead coming back to life, as it is about the impact the event has on the people around them and society at large. It's about grief and hope and love and fear and horror and joy and death and life.

Going into this, I was expecting it to be creepy, and while there is an uneasy tension and building sense of horror that pervades the novel, as humans react as they always do - by locking away and even destroying what they fear - The Returned is, more than anything, a truly beautiful book.

The writing is lovely, but it's the characters that really get under your skin. I love, love, love the fact that the hero of this book is an old lady - an ordinary old lady, at that. Lucille is one of my favourite characters in a long time. I also appreciated the exploration of Harold's mixed emotions, and the intrinsic sense of good that ruled his behaviour no matter what. A lot of the secondary characters were great, too, and their varied reactions to the Returned felt incredibly realistic.

The setting of a small town in the US was really effective in creating a claustrophobic and increasingly oppressive atmosphere that conveyed the confusion and fear felt by everyone. I also enjoyed the interludes featuring the stories of the Returned around the world - some of them were truly gut-wrenching - but I have to say the subplot involving the Reverend kind of disappointed me. It was interesting at first but just fizzled out. The main story, on the other hand, started out slow but built to a fantastic and memorable climax.The bittersweet ending, and indeed the book as a whole, really makes you think a lot about what it means to be alive, and what it takes to let go of those we love. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've finished it.

Rating: 4/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013, Harlequin MIRA
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Book Depository

Related
The Returned has been adapted into a TV series that is apparently coming out in March. It doesn't look anywhere near as good as the book, judging from the trailer, but it still looks worth a watch.

Book to TV Movie: Stuart: A Life Backwards

I first heard of Stuart: A Life Backwards when I saw the trailer for the movie on TV. It looked dramatic, intense and brilliant - especially thanks to the acting of Tom Hardy, from what I could tell - so I was definitely intrigued. Then I kind of forgot about it, until I came across the book at the library and knew I had to read it. It quickly became one of my favourite books of the year, and after reading it I knew I had to watch the movie asap.

 I finally got my hands on it (ahem, it's on YouTube) and I have to say my first impression from the ad was correct - it's dramatic, intense and brilliant. Tom Hardy is an AMAZING Stuart. He embodies the character in a literal, physical way; changing his posture, body language, facial expressions and even his voice. He captures Stuart's humour and heart, but doesn't shy away from his incredibly dark side. Hardy's performance is so raw, gritty and utterly heart-wrenching that it's difficult to watch at times, but you can't look away all the same. He's completely compelling.

Also brilliant is Benedict Cumberbatch as Stuart's biographer, Alexander. He's spot-on as the middle class intellectual, perfectly delivering his wry observations and air of nervous affection around his subject. It's the odd couple that Alexander and Stuart form that is placed at the centre of the movie, and amongst a helluva lot of horrible back story, it's a joy to watch. Hardy and Cumberbatch have a wonderful chemistry.

The style of the film perfectly captures and conveys the essence of the novel. Aside from the amazing performances, the timing and structure are well done, interspersing harrowing flashbacks with more heartwarming scenes at just the right intervals. The soundtrack is utilised to wonderful effect; one of my favourite scenes is when Stuart and Alexander bond over singing along (quite badly) to Babybird's 'Because You're Gorgeous' in the car (who can resist a car singalong?!). Animation is also used a few times to communicate Alexander's hilarious imaginings (like his worry that Stuart will steal everything the first time he's in his flat), and it ties in nicely with the illustrations in the novel.

Obviously things had to be left out and altered to adapt the story to fit the one-and-a-half-hour movie format, but the film is remarkably faithful to the spirit of the novel. The only thing I really missed was the scene from Stuart's stay in the country with Alexander's friends; what appears at first to be one of Stuart's fits actually turns out to be him saving the place from some robbers. It's an effective scene in the book, playing with the readers' assumptions and shining a new light on Stuart, but I can understand that it would have been cut from the movie for simplicity and time. As it is, all the key events and elements are in there, touching on all the important emotions; in the space of an hour and a half, you'll laugh, get mad, get sad, probably cry and definitely feel incredibly ill. Stuart was a remarkable man who led a difficult and short life; it's heartening that, though he didn't live to see it, his story will continue to touch many, thanks to his friend Alexander's book - and this movie.

Rating: 5/5

Related
This interview with Hardy and Cumberbatch made me smile. Watch it after seeing footage from the movie to realise just how much Hardy transformed himself for the role. Brilliant.

Book to TV: Puberty Blues

It's a bit hard to compare one episode of a TV series to a whole book, so I thought I'd just post some general thoughts on the first episode of Puberty Blues. I may do a more in-depth comparison once the season comes to a close. (Psst, you can see my review of the book here).

• The casting is amazing. The adults, all Aussie veterans, are obviously great, but I think the young cast is really brilliant. Deb, Sue and Garry were highlights for me, though that could be coz they were obviously given the most screentime in this ep.
• Deb and Sue's story is off to a solid start, while the adults and boys have been given much bigger story lines than in the book. I like the way the first show focused on Garry's problems; he already stands apart from the other dropkick guys. But I hope the show doesn't sanitise the overall misogyny too much - it would really undermine the message of the original. They don't seem to be shying away from the more disturbing aspects, like date rape. As for the parents, the setup for their subplots is promising, and provides a bit of welcome balance to the squeals of Deb and Sue.
• I wrote down the exact quote and lost it, but I loved the inclusion of Persuasion by Jane Austen and the comment along the lines of the way it portrays the restrictions placed upon women in the past - just like Puberty Blues. Intertextuality, woo!
• While they took a lot of things - the horses, the panel vans, the language - straight from the book, it kinda annoyed me how the girls were wearing flares. A minor point, I know, but they make such a big deal out of straight-legged jeans in the book that the flares really stood out as wrong to me.
• LOLPAST moments: The "hilarity" of drink driving - with your child in the car - with no seat belts. The boy who'd rather be whacked with a ruler than read a book as punishment. There was also the fact that Sue's mum only told her not to get sunburnt coz of how much she whinges, instead of, you know, skin cancer.
• Name drops: Many "molls", "You're dropped" and "pash-off".
• Food drops: Splices, Cheezels (five finger rings!) and Sunnyboys (taking the shape of missiles hurled at Deb and Sue).

Did you watch Puberty Blues? What did you think?