Book 92: Hoping It Might Be So, by Kit Wright

OK, I've made a mistake in the numbering somewhere... I listed the Herriot as Book 92, but I've definitely got 8 more books to read after this one. So we'll have two 92s. Wonder where I went wrong.

Anyway, the book. Strange to say, I hated it. Didn't enjoy it at all. Yes, Kit Wright's poetry is brilliant. His sense of rhythm, rhyme and phrasing is almost impeccable. But his chosen subjects and the attitudes he expresses are sarcastic, rude or plain depressing. I remember greatly enjoying Cat Among the Pigeons (his book of verse for children) when I was younger, but this volume was quite a disappointment. In fact I'm surprised it came up on this list of books for children to read - some of the content was quite shocking. Cat Among the Pigeons would have been a much better choice!

Film 75: "Empire of the Sun"

Synoapsis: "Empire of the Sun"

A very young Christian Bale plays Jamie is spoiled. He's also living in a wealthy British imperialist sort of community of Shanghai in WWII China, just as the unofficial war between China and Japan rages on. His parents are reluctant to move back to Britain, even though most of the residents have been evacuating the country for weeks. With tensions between the nations mounting, Jamie's dad moves the family to a hotel in Shanghai for a while, just as Japan attacks the city.

In a mad panic of British citizens and Chinese peasants alike, Jamie becomes separated from his family and forced to live on the streets of the war torn city. The film follows his journey from scraping the bottom of tins in his empty mansion under Japanese occupation to street life in Shanghai to removal to an internment camp, where his story is far from over.

The best bit:

There's so much to this film that it's difficult to pick one moment as the most significant or defining moment for Jamie because it's a slow progression for him from spoiled childhood to becoming a human being with real character. I'll have to settle with a moment that Jamie was particularly proud of- when he crossed the perimeter fence to catch a pheasant for a big American thanksgiving.

Marks out of 10:

Visually, this was not quite stunning but still captivating. It's an amazing story turned into a heart-breaking yet wonderful film. It shows fantastic character development all around and speaks to the audience about the nature of war in terms of how one chooses a side. I'd recommend it. 9.5