#family Saga

[fleurcaptive]

I made my first collage on Pinterest, of course it's Flowers in the Attic related.

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[primepalindrome]

Finished book three of my ongoing series!

It’s a vampire-family saga, a close-knit group trying to get their father back on the throne as king of all vampires. There are hunters to oppose them and a strange secret surrounding his wife. I’m planning to make this a six book series, happy to have you along on their often blood-drenched journey.

Link to books

[lifewithaview]

Meryl Streep and Winona Ryder in The House of the Spirits (1993)

Dir.Bille August

In mid-20th-century, the impoverished Esteban marries Clara and they have a daughter, Blanca. Esteban works hard and eventually has enough money to buy a hacienda, and he eventually becomes a local patriarch. He becomes very conservative and is feared by his workers. When Blanca grows up, she falls in love with a young revolutionary, Pedro, who urges the workers to fight for socialism. It is unavoidable that Pedro and Esteban are pitted against each other. Esteban tries to stop the love affair between Pedro and his daughter by all means possible, but soon Blanca becomes pregnant and has a daughter. The void between father and daughter seems unbridgeable when Blanca moves in with Pedro.

*Film debut of Grace Gummer, Meryl Streep's daughter. She plays Streep's character, Clara, as a young girl.

Based on a novel by Isabel Allende

[claudia1829things]

"PENMARRIC" (1979) Review

"PENMARRIC" (1979) Review

British author Susan Howatch had a prolific career as a novelist for roughly thrity-nine years. Three of them were family sagas, whose characters paralleled the lives of one of Britain's royal families - the Plantagenets. The first of those novels, 1971's "Penmarric", ended up being the only one adapted for the screen.

Paralleling the life of King Henry II of England, his wife Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and three sons; "Penmarric" told the story of the Castallack family through two generations, spanning between 1890 and 1945. The story was told from the viewpoint of five characters - landowner-historian Mark Castallack, his older wife Janna Castallack, Mark's younger illegitimate son Adrian Parrish, his and Janna's third son Philip Castallack and their youngest child, Jan-Yves Castallack. When the BBC adapted the novel in 1979 as a twelve-part miniseries, the screenwriters changed the story's setting between the mid-to-late 1860s and 1940. Apparently, the miniseries' producer(s) wanted to include the backstory of Mark's mother, Maud Penmar Castallack, and her failed attempts to secure inheritance of the Penmarric estate. The miniseries had included another major change. The screenwriters ended the Castallacks' saga in 1940, five years before Howatch did in her novel.

Overall, I thought "PENMARRIC" proved to be a good, solid adaptation of Howatch's novel. Aside from the changes, there seemed to be no other major diversions from the story's main saga. Through twelve episodes, I thought the miniseries did an excellent job of conveying the fortunes and misfortunes of the Castallack family. I also found myself impressed by how the production conveyed how three particular incidents - Maud Penmar Castallack's failure to gain inheritance of her father's estate, the violent breakdown of Mark and Janna Castallack's marriage and a major disaster involving one of the Penmarric's tin mines - had such major consequences on the family's fortunes and their lives.

In a production as large as "PENMARRIC", it was only natural I would encounter scenes I found very enjoyable or satisfying. Some of my favorite sequences featured the Penmars' reactions to the death of Maud's only brother, Maud's verbal conflicts with both her father and her Penmar cousins, Mark and Janna's volatile courtship, Philip and Adrian's conflicts following the breakup of the Castallack marriage, Jan-Yves' affair with his widowed sister-in-law Rebecca, his relationship with his first wife, Felicity Cranforth, Philip's relationship with the miner Alun Trevose, the Senen Garth mine disaster and Jan-Yves' ever changing relationship with both Philip and Janna. I believe these aspects of the miniseries highlighted the screenwriters' ability to re-capture the complex nature of Howatch's characters and their relationships. This especially seemed to be the case of the marriage between Mark and Janna, whose failed marriage stemmed from class division, resentment, bigotry and a violent act that permanently damaged their relationship. Fiction tends to romanticize mixed marriages, especially those between people from different classes.

The production values for "PENMARRIC" seemed to veer from solid to first-rate. It seemed clear to me that the film stock used for the miniseries may not have been of best quality. I could tell that some of the footage - namely the exterior scenes - have begun to show signs of aging. I am aware that "PENMARRIC" had aired thirty-five years ago. But I have seen television productions from both sides of the Atlantic that have aged a lot better. However, I cannot deny that I found Erik Messerschmidt's cinematography a bit mind-blowing. I thought he did an excellent job of utilizing the Cornwall and Devon countryside for the miniseries' exterior shots. I also have a high regard for the costume designs team of Anne Bailey, Doreen James and Janet Tharby. Each woman designed costumes for at least four episodes and all three did an excellent job of recapturing the fashions of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century.

Most of the performances featured in "PENMARRIC" struck me as solid . . . competent, including those from Patsy Kensit, Ralph Bates, Kim Braden, John Patrick, Lesley Dunlop, Shirley Steedman, a young Alan Cox and especially Rosalind Ayres. There were one or two that struck me as a bit over-the-top. One of those "dramatic" performances came from John Castle, who portrayed Mark Penmar - Maud's father and young Mark Castallack's maternal grandfather. Castle has always struck me as a very skillful and subtle actor. Yet, he seemed to have given an exaggerated portrayal of an eccentric Victorian landlord. Another performance that rubbed me the wrong way came from Holly de Jong, who portrayed the volatile Rebecca Rosalyn Castallack - Mark and Janna's daughter-in-law, Hugh Castallack's widow and Jan-Yves Castallack's sister-in-law and mistress. De Jong had her moments as excellent acting, especially in those poignant scenes featuring Rebecca and Jan-Yves. But when it came to Rebecca's more emotional moments, de Jong seemed incapable of reigning in or controlling her performance.

There were a handful of performances in "PENMARRIC" that struck me as exceptional. One of them came from Angela Scoular, who portrayed the ambitious and single-minded Maud Penmar Castallack. I thought Scoular did an excellent job in conveying Maud's more prominent traits - her arrogance, eccentricity, ambition and emotional desire for the Penmarric estate - while maintaining control of her performance. Thomas Ellice struck me as equally skillful as the domineering Mark Casallack, whose arrogance, self-involved and controlling nature led him to make questionable decisions that had major impacts on his family. I might as well be frank. Mark proved to be one of my least favorite characters in the story. Yet, Ellice still managed to convey certain traits in Mark's character that made him occasional sympathetic in my eyes. One of my favorite characters in this story happened to be Janna Castallack, the beautiful daughter of a Cornwall fisherman, who became Mark's wife. I might as well be frank. Janna was no saint. She could be evasive, reactionary and quick-tempered. I thought Annabel Leventon did a superb job of conveying Janna's emotional journey - from the financially struggling young widow who became acquainted with a well-born man of a higher class, to the angry wife estranged from her husband and finally to the aging matriarch of the Castallacks who struggled to hold her family together.

One of the most complicated characters in Howatch's novel proved to be Philip Castallack, Mark and Janna's third son and the latter's favorite. Superficially, Philip struck me as a hot-tempered and righteous (perhaps too righteous) personality, who could be very obsessive over people or issues that mattered to him. I thought Rupert Frazer did a superb job in capturing these many facets of Philip's personality in a performance that struck me as both emotional and skillful. At times, I found myself wondering if Philip Castallack might prove to be Frazer's best role. My favorite character in the 1971 novel ended up being the youngest Castallack sibling, Jan-Yves. Jan-Yves proved to be such an entertaining, cynical, yet complicate character. I had been worried if the miniseries would cast the right actor for this role. Eric Deacon ended up portraying Jan-Yves. Granted, he was handsome in compare to the plain-looking Jan-Yves from the novel. But I might as well admit it . . . Deacon did an excellent job in conveying everything about Jan-Yves I found fascinating. Everything, which included Jan-Yves' wit, cynicism, insecurities, intelligence, and vindictiveness. If someone ever decides to do another adaptation of Howatch's novel, I hope and pray that person would find someone just as perfect as Deacon was in the role.

If I had any serious issues regarding "PENMARRIC", it would have to be the narrative. At first I did not mind the narrative's detailed look into Maud's backstory, her attempts to acquire the Penmarric estate for herself and how she ended up securing her son Mark as her cousin's heir. At first. But this entire sequence featured a great number of flashbacks that dragged into Mark's own narrative. Come to think of it, his initial romance with his mistress Rose Parrish, his courtship of Janna, his discovery of Janna's relationship with his father and his encounters with his Penmar cousins were conveyed within three-and-a-half episodes. Mark and Jenna's wedding did not occur until at least by mid-Episode Four. I do not recall Howatch taking this long to reach the couple's nuptials in her novel. It took three-and-a-half episodes for Mark and Janna to get married. It took fourteen years and one-and-a-half episodes for their marriage to fall apart. Wow.

Due to the producers' decision to stretch out the beginning of "PENMARRIC", the miniseries featured twelve episodes. Unfortunately, not even twelve episodes were enough for the screenwriters to do full justice to Jan-Yves Castallack's own arc. They cut it short once Jan-Yves became the master of Penmarric. Yes, the miniseries had conveyed his courtship of and marriage to Isabella Clay. But not long after the wedding, the miniseries did not take long to jump to the outbreak of World War II and the final scene. The miniseries never bothered to reveal the fate of Jan-Yves' sister-in-law, Rebecca Castallack. It never bothered to convey the clash between Jan-Yves and Rebecca's son, the churlish Jonas. It never bothered to reveal Jonas' fate, let alone Jan-Yves' wartime experiences. And if that was not enough, the series' portrayal of Isabella Clay Castallack proved to be nothing like her literary counterpoint. The literary Isabella was a ethereal, yet pragmatic woman with a penchant for witticisms. This television version of Isabella proved to be another one of those mild-mannered, "angel-in-the-house" types straight from a Charles Dickens novel. In other words . . . BORING. I do not blame actress Deborah Makepeace. I blame the producer(s) and screenwriters. As much as I had enjoyed the miniseries, both its portrayal of Isabella Castallack and the ending proved to be very disappointing to me.

Okay . . . yes, "PENMARRIC" had some disappointments that prevented it from being a truly excellent adaptation of Susan Howatch's 1971 novel. But the 1979 miniseries had virtues that outweighed what I believe were its flaws. Aside from a problematic beginning and ending, I really did enjoy "PENMARRIC", thanks to the production values, the team of screenwriters and a talented cast led by Annabel Leventon, Thomas Ellice, Rupert Frazer and Eric Deacon. However, I would like to see the BBC produce a better effort.

[dengswei]

what’s the point in asking me what i want if you’re just gonna complain that what i ask for is expensive and recommend something cheaper which isn’t even the same 😒

[elenichr]

Year of Lists

June Books

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors *3/5 - I expected more from this. I loved Cleopatra and Frankenstein. The characterisation is very good and the start is promising, but it just gets boring. I feel like there was so much more that could be done, both with the plot and with the exploration of themes.

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown *4.5/5 - the rating is a bit of a fuck you, like the book is a bit of a fuck you. There are many problems but it's certainly worth the read. Molly could sit alongside any great literary character and hold her own. She's one of those characters that stay with you as if they've lived - and in a way they have. The book is bold, loud, tenacious, and funny.

And it became increasingly clear that all Leroy and I had in common was a childhood full of ice cream, raisin boxes, and a mattress full of holes. But then I had never thought I had much in common with anybody. I had no mother, no father, not roots, no biological similarities called sisters and brothers. And for a future I didn't want a split-level home with a station wagon, pastel refrigerator, and a houseful of blonde children evenly paced through the years. I didn't want to walk into the pages of McCall's magazine and become the model housewife. I didn't even want a husband or any man for that matter. I wanted to go my own way. That's all I think I ever wanted, to go my own way and maybe find some love here and there. Love, but not the now and forever kind with chains around your vagina and a short circuit in your brain. I'd rather be alone.

James by Percival Everett *4/5 - Beautiful writing, nuanced reimagining. Looking forward to reading more Percival Everett.

Brutes by Tate Dizz *2/5 - it starts off strong with language that forces you to slow down, like a sticky, sweaty summer haze. And then it fizzles out, kinda stays at that. The use of the plural is refreshing, dizzying, unnerving. It could have made a cracking short story. It fails as it tries to be more. Length doesn’t add to it, it takes away.

[bookishlyvintage]

05/02 pub day: The Half Moon, Mary Beth Keane

[full thoughts] This book is about a couple that split, but they somehow find their way back to one another indirectly. The bar Half Moon is the main topic of this book, and infertility is kind of the secondary topic. Long chapters & a slow pace, but an interesting read overall

[theauthorpaula]

(via Siblings in Fiction)

[easternpine]

“There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.” - Ann Patchett, The Dutch House

[desdasiwrites]

– Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half

[jamescarstairs]

good thing about being an adult is i can say no to things

bad thing about that is that my mother will definitely guilt me into feeling bad about it

[bookdivareads]

Book Spotlight: WATER MUSIC by Marcia Peck

Today's book spotlight shines on WATER MUSIC: A CAPE COD STORY by #MarciaPeck, published by #SeaCrowPress. #fiction #historicalfiction #familysaga #AuthorMarketingExperts @Bookgal

Water Music: A Cape Cod Story by Marcia PeckISBN: 9798986567686 (Paperback)ASIN: B0C15CNBMG (Kindle edition)Page Count: 242Publisher: Sea Crow PressRelease Date: May 5, 2023Genre: Fiction | Historical Fiction | Family Saga The bridge at Sagamore was closed when we got there that summer of 1956. We had to cross the canal at Buzzards Bay over the only other roadway that tethered Cape Cod to the…

[primepalindrome]

Finished my vampire book!

Thrown together by fate, a group of outcast vampires is tasked with awakening their king. Did they pick the right human to be his temporary wife? Can they overcome their differences to escape the looming threat of the hunters? Also, is there something wrong with their house?

Here's a link it's great :)

[petorahs]

would you still love me again?

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: The House Filler

Synopsis: A family saga set in China during the most tumultuous time of the twentieth century including the Japanese invasion, the civil war, and the Communist takeover. The House Filleris told through the experiences of Golden Phoenix, a woman who faces war, poverty, and political oppression as she fights for survival, freedom and happiness. After the untimely death of her husband, Golden…