Youthless

Anyone free in Perth this Sunday should head down to the Bird from 2pm onwards for youthless, a youth arts showcase exhibiting our local talent! Free entry and amazing art, clothes and music!

Song of the Week - Love! Love! Love!

Book Review - Atonement by Ian McEwan

I’ve always wanted to like Ian McEwan’s novels with their bleak brilliance and unorthodox subject matter. I love black humour and gothic novels but the books that I’ve read of McEwan’s in the past have never been relatable to me with their bizarre characters and unbelievable circumstances. In Atonement, I finally got a glimpse of the eloquence of McEwan’s writing with how convincingly he portrayed the self-obsessive preoccupation of a thirteen-year old girl. So much of the novel lies in the belief in Briony’s romantic dreaminess and heightened self-awareness that if her character were not believable, the entire story would fall to pieces.


Although McEwan is known for impeccable timing and flawlessly paced writing, I found the story dragged during the war years of part two and was difficult to trudge through after the intensity of part one. Even though part two was well researched and very detailed, it seemed to ramble on aimlessly for pages at a time in contrast to part one where every moment was very obviously leading up to a dramatic event.

Despite the lacklustre mid-section of the novel, I can’t help but admire any man whose writing leaves me gloomy and melancholic for days afterwards. While the main events of the novel take place in the English summer, this is not a light, sunny read to flick through in a deck chair with a cocktail in hand. This is a book for reading by candlelight in the bath on dark, brooding winters nights. I’ve had mixed feelings about Ian McEwan in the past after reading The Cement Garden and First Love, Last Rites, but Atonement completely won me over with it’s compassion, contriteness and despair.

http://colosoul.com.au/atonement.php

Song of the Week - Barry White!

In honour of my aunty Lisa's special birthday last Saturday and for the girls at work who I know are just dying for me to play this to them just one more time...