The Shadow of the Wind - a novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I have to begin by saying that no review will ever do justice to the magnificence of this novel. Carlos Ruiz Zafon is not just a writer, he is a craftsman and his is the age old craft of story telling.. where the author uses a magician's tricks of smoke and mirrors so that the more you read, the more you are mystefied... where the advancement of the story only leads to more complications of the plot till you are in the middle of a labyrinthine web of stories, rich with character and atmosphere.

David Sempere is the son of a bookseller in Barcelona. In 1945, when he is 10, he discovers a novel "The Shadow of the Wind" by an unknown writer, Julian Carax.. and over the next decade Daniel carries his obsession with the doomed author. Daniel is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding Julian and protect Julian's legacy of literature from complete destruction at the evil hands of Lain Coubert, a mysterious figure who has threatened to burn every copy of Julian's books. The sinuous path of the story leads the reader to a host of characters who offer clues of Julian's existence: his star-crossed love affair with Penelope; the loyalty of his lifelong friend, Miquel; the unrequited love of Nuria; and the treacherous intentions of his lifelong enemy, Inspector Fumero.

One of the most unforgettable characters in the book is Fermin .. Daniel's friend and ally .. the self confessed admirer of all things female, whose wandering eyes belie a steadfast and loyal heart. Fermin's contempt for the anti-democratic Nationalist forces that came to victory after the bloody Spanish civil war of the 1930's, serve to showcase the tumultuous times of the novel's setting. But those events are not at the center of the story - at its core, the book is a gothic mystery, and the imagery conjured by the author of dark, sinister houses, shadowy figures, and ominous symbols will both shock and delight your senses. The story is an experience, an exercise of the reader's imagination.. the author will take you on a journey that comes full circle, and on the way you will be spellbound by the sheer magic of his story telling.

Grey Gardens

They created a world that was bizarre, isolated, eccentric, yet, it was their very own.. no one else could lay claim to it. Theirs was a tale of chances not taken, escapism and the cruelty of time. "Grey Gardens", the HBO film, was inspired by a documentary produced in the 1970's based on the true lives of Edith Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie") and her daughter Edith ("Little Edie"). Big Edie was the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy and enjoyed a life of privilege and wealth till her separation from her husband in the 1930's. Edith's daughter, Little Edie, had visions of becoming an actress on Broadway, but somehow lacked the drive or the star power to achieve her glamorous dreams - she came to live with her mother in the 1950's in Grey Gardens (their once-magnificent home in East Hampton, New York). And thus commenced the beginning of the end - a reversal of fortune, and a mental state of denial that would cause the decay of a beautiful home over the next twenty years or so.

The movie goes back and forth between the happier times of former glory to the years of decline, constantly comparing the beauty and richness of the past to the emptiness and squalor of the present. Even though her wealth, beauty, good favor and fortune diminished, Big Edie would rather live in the dilapidated shell of her previously opulent home than see it torn down. Little Edie could have left for a life of her own on several occasions but chose to stay... whether this is from fear of failure, loneliness, or perhaps the realization that her mother needs her - we cannot say.. but we do know, that at her core, little Edie was a poet, artist and someone who craved a life filled with travel and adventure - who just lacked the motivation to step outside her own world of eccentricity.

Jessica Lange (Big Edie) and Drew Barrymore (Little Edie) were phenomenal in their roles.. especially, Lange, who imbibed the haughty and dogged nature of Big Edie so well. Even though Barrymore's accent is somewhat distracting, she still manages to depict the sadness and frustration felt by Little Edie as she witnessed changes in her appearance, her transformation from a young, free-spirited beauty, to an aging, trapped woman.

Rachel Portman's musical score for the movie is one of the best I've heard - it captures the mood of seclusion, exile and anguish that characterizes the story, and yet at the same time hints at the fleeting moments of delight and playfulness that are also apparent in the lives of these two women.