The Critique

Recently I had the good fortune of visiting the Caculo Mall with my family. It’s been two months since my last visit and I was taken up with the new look that the mall has been given thanks to Christmas. The tall Christmas tree in the lobby makes for a beautiful photo besides drawing your immediate attention. The shops are all decorated and given a festive look. Some shops have gone a step further by painting Christmas symbols on their doors. Something worth looking out for are the cribs that adorn the first and second floors. The gamezone has been given a complete makeover. Games have been shifted and a few new ones have been introduced. It remains a fun place to hang out and enjoy yourself especially if you have younger companions like I did (my brothers and sisters). For me the only worthwhile thing at the mall is the gamezone for the other branded clothes and apparel shops are beyond a humble man’s budget. Even the food court requires a large wallet to patronize it. Cac...

Dir: Nitesh Tiwari Starring: Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sheikh, Zaira Wasim,Sanya Malhotra, Suhani Bhatnagar Dur: 2 hrs 30 mins Rating: 9.5/10 It’s been quite a while since I have been to a theatre to watch a film and Dangal, without doubt rates as the best film I have seen in theatre in the past year. It would perhaps even be the best Bollywood film I have seen in a long time. Everything about it is fantastic. It stands far above Sultan  in terms of story as well as performance. Even wrestling is given a better show in this film. Dangal (which translates as Wrestle) is the story of Mahavir Singh (Aamir Khan) of Haryana. Although the focus ought to be Geeta (Fatima Sheikh plays the older Geeta while Zaira Wasim plays the young Geeta) his super-achieving daughter, the story for me is about him and his mad passion to bring glory to India through sport. Now this is a rare passion but it permeates the storyline and becomes the spirit of the film. The st...

Dir: Brett Ratner Starring: Dwayne Johnson Dur: 1 hr 38 mins  Rating: 2/10 PG: Foul language and lots of gory action This was perhaps the worst rendition of the Hercules legend I have ever come across. At first I enjoyed the different perspective it offered but as the film progressed my interest gradually lowered and finally fizzled out. Overall the film was a forgettable one. Dwayne Johnson plays the lead character and brings to the screen all the brawn you would associate with Hercules. However the story is incredibly twisted and portrays Hercules as a mere mortal with supernatural aura and little else. The film isn’t appealing either in set or in story and so doesn’t make for good entertainment. To add to the list of what went wrong was the unnecessary introduction of foul language. I confess that I was disappointed with the film and especially with Dwayne Johnson. It’s not that he does a bad job in fact he tries his best to resurrect the otherwise dead f...

A mind-blowing concept. The task is to find clues and unlock secrets finally culminating in the great escape. Within an hour, the team must crack the mysterious clues and uncover the numbers that open combination locks which conceal further clues and cryptic messages. The setup is fantastic and gives more than a 3D feel to the game. The best part is, the game is interactive: It requires you to move around in the limited space and use brain and body in a coordinated manner. Lately an offer has been announced of Rs 150 per head for a game if played between 10am and 2pm. The price otherwise is Rs 300, so the offer is pretty interesting. The game is really fun and if played with friends it’s all the more exciting. The supervisors are cordial and ease you into comfort. The offer is really worth it. The game is also very interesting, although I think Rs 300 is a bit too much. Nevertheless, considering the setup and props, the owners do have to recover quite a bit of money. Some ...

Dir: Vinil Mathew Starring: Siddharth Malhotra, Parineeti Chopra Dur: 2 hrs 21 mins Genre: Romance Rating: 4/10 Bollywood produces a lot of romantic movies. Come to think of it nearly every film is a romance or has something to do with romance. Romance is a useful component for spicing up a movie but when it is turned in to the main storyline it reduces the scope of the movie and relies on the directors and screenwriters creativity to turn it into a hit. Indians love romance although they may not be very vocal or open about it. The idealist romantic thread is woven strongly into the Indian sensibility. Hasee toh Phasee is a weird romance. It’s about a guy who is courting a beautiful girl but who ends up falling in love with her outcasted and eccentric sister. I called it ‘weird’ because he spends more time and is shown as more sympathetic to the sister then to his lover, for no obvious or apparent reason. Things like this can happen but the film remains disconnecte...

Dir: Boaz Yakin Starring: Josh Wiggins, Thomas Church, Lauren Graham, Luke Kleintank Dur: 1 hr 45 mins Genre: Drama, Family Adventure Rating: 9/10 This is a really cute film with a nice story. It’s been quite a while since I’ve last watched an animal-centred film and I wasn’t disappointed with the performance. Animal-based films usually have a better appeal because of their simple storyline and creative performances. Max is no exception. It stands as probably one of the best animal-based films I have ever seen. It is wonderfully made and has a mysterious appeal to it. It is a tribute to war dogs and their handlers and hence the protagonist, Max is a war dog whose handler was killed in a firefight. Max suffers from post-traumatic stress (this is the first time I heard of an animal suffering from this disorder but apparently it is possible and true). He turns ferocious and is about to be put down but begins to show some kind of loyalty to his handlers brother. Hence he...

Dir: Raja Krishna Menon Starring: Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur Dur: 1 hr 45 mins Genre: Thriller Rating: 9/10 When I first heard about Airlift I was so eager to watch it. The story caught my attention and I was curious to know how Bollywood would dramatize the story. My experience with Bollywood cinema is that they either over-dramatize or misrepresent the facts. I was happy to note however that neither of these was the case in Airlift . Airlift tells the bold story of a man who was willing to put his life on the line to help his fellow countrymen escape the terrors of war in a foreign land. When Iraq went to war with Kuwait lakhs of Indians were left stranded on foreign soil with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Their lives were in danger and their belongings had to be left behind. Somehow they drew close together and Ranjit (Akshay Kumar) emerged as leader. Things didn’t progress smoothly and after repeated attempts that courted danger and failure, he, along with t...

Dir: James Marsh Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones Dur: 2 hrs 3 mins Genre: Biography – Romance PG: A number of kisses.   Rating: 8/10 When I heard about the release of this film I was very excited. Besides, reading the reviews whetted the appetite. The film didn’t fail to deliver. Normally biographies are pretty interesting though they tend to be slow but The Theory of Everything engaged me for the entire duration. The tempo was pretty slow but nevertheless it was well shot and above everything are the performances of the lead pair. These, in fact blew me away. Eddie and Felicity were absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t think of a better pair to play the parts. The story is inspiring and touching. I did feel a heart tug when Stephen is told about his disorder and what the future holds for him. That his fate turned out different is a matter of joy, for if it hadn’t the world would have lost a genius even before he could really share his brilliance. The f...

Dir: Clay Klatis and Fergal Reilly Dur: 1 hr 35 mins Genre: Animation I had great expectations from this film. Considering the craze around Angry Birds and the interest the ads and trailer created I couldn’t help but expect a hilarious comedy. What I was delivered instead was a poorly scripted and disinteresting movie that sucked out over an hour and a half of my precious time. Basically, here is a failed attempt at explaining the theme ‘Angry Birds’. The main birds are all in an anger management class for reasons that are rather stupid and the rest of the story is also rather stupid. The entertainment factor is pretty low and so is the attraction. The dialogues are simplistic and humour-less as is the rest of the adventure. I can’t fathom how it has grossed over 350 million worldwide. In my opinion it’s a total waste of time and money.   

The 2 nd Gospel Music Fest was organized at Garcia da Orta by Henry Music Café to mark 26 years of its foundation on the 12 th of October 2016. It was a nice evening with pleasant weather and a decent crowd. The stage was well lit up and the sound system was a bit too ostentatious in my reckoning. The organization could have done with better planning and coordination. Projectors and screens were set up but were sparsely used. Too many performers were called up to entertain in a short span of time and this led to a lot of time being wasted on set up and sound checking. Besides the regular changes led to a loss of momentum and meant that the audience had to make another laborious wait. Some of the groups did do justice to the opportunity given to them while the others served merely as entertainment. Chrystal and Sancho gave the crowd a wonderful performance. Chrystal had powerful vocals and a honey-dipped voice; combined with Sancho’s skills on the keyboard, the duo were fantas...

Dir: Prabhudeva Starring: Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam, Anandaraj, Manasvi Mamgai Dur: 2 hrs 24 mins Genre: Action Rating: 0.5/10 The first three words that come to my mind when I think of this movie: Aimless, Shameless and Brainless. Just when I was beginning to appreciate Bollywood and rid myself of the long held prejudice that Bollywood is all about fake fights and melodrama besides a whole lot of other fake stuff, I watched Action Jackson and honestly, I regret doing so. It is perhaps the worst film I have watched in the recent past. It’s got nothing to offer save for some stupid action and mindless violence that every person would do well by avoiding. Honestly I don’t even feel like reviewing this because some may be drawn to watching it after reading my review.  I’ve said it once indirectly, now I’ll say it directly: Don’t Waste Your Time Watching This Movie. It is really awful. The story in short is about AJ or Action Jackson [Ajay Devgn] who ...

Dir: Lee Toland Krieger Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman Dur: 1 hr 50 mins Genre: Romance PG: A number of kisses. Rating: 7.5/10 A fantastic tale of love and age and how the two try hard to outdo each other but end up complementing one another. Adaline Bowman [Blake Lively] was a beautiful young woman who married and had a baby but whose life changed forever after she met with a fateful accident. Due to a DNA reaction, which is supposed to be discovered in 2035, she stopped aging and remained 29 for over 70 decades. Her everlasting youth was no pleasure. In fact it began to tear her apart. She was forced to remain on the move for fear of being pursued as a science specimen. Her daughter, Flemming grows old without and before her mother. Adaline can never resign herself to a single place or a single person save her daughter who she passes off at different times as her sister and even grandaunt. Her resolve however is put to the test when she encounters the debona...

Dir: Rupert Wainwright Starring: Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne Dur: 1 hr 37 mins Genre: Thriller PG: A few smooches and foul language.  Rating: 6.5/10 The occurrence of stigmata is something that has always fascinated me and I suppose it has also fascinated many within the church. St Francis of Assisi was the first known stigmatist. Since then numerous people have claimed to have received the stigmata and the Church has been rather careful in accepting their claims. This is a story that stands by its name and does so in a pretty dramatic manner. We follow Fr Andrew Kierman {Gabriel Byrne} a priest and scientist who is entrusted with the task of investigating a case of stigmata in Pennsylvania. The subject is a young and wayward girl who accidently came in possession of a relic of a stigmatist whose spirit consequently entered her. The what and how of stigmata is hardly given any explanation but the manifestation of it is shown rather clearly and graphically....

Dir: Babak Najafi Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart Dur: 1 hr 30 mins Genre: Action Rating: 3/5 PG: Plenty of foul language and violence. If you’ve seen the prequel Olympus Has Fallen , than you know pretty much what to expect from this film. The storyline isn’t new. If anything, it may be a little too cliché. We know the drill by now: A serious crisis with possible global side-effects; one man who is willing to risk it all for the sake of his country, group or firm or in this case, friend; a seemingly daunting task and a glorious though bloody and muddy triumph. America is back to fighting against its favourite enemies – the Jihadi Terrorists. Enemies of the Stars and Stripes usually end up getting pulverized even though they are shown to have the upper hand. The scenario here is no different. To fulfil this mindless narrative, the villains are considerably mellowed down vis-à-vis, the villain of the prequel and the location is shifted to create psychological ...

Dir: Tom McGrath Starring: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill Dur: 1 hr 35 mins Genre: Animated Rating: 3.5/5 Animated films are often like parables. They generally use simple stories to get across powerful messages. The target audience is believed to be children but the older you are the better you are able to grasp the meaning of the film. Children watch films merely for the entertainment and animation. Perhaps if they are sharp they may pick up the core message but it takes an adult to form an overview of the film and identify the numerous messages that are embedded in the storyline. Megamind has a refreshing concept. It’s not a straight up good guy-bad guy action film. It’s got an interesting twist and children are likely to get a bit confused. I have had a first-hand experience as I showed it to my students. In the discussion that followed the film I realized that the students (who are in the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd standard) had got the idea all wrong. After r...

Dir: Reggie Rock Bythewood Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Meagan Good Dur: 1 hr 51 mins Genre: Adventure? Rating: 2/5 PG: Occasional foul language and a few kisses. It’s not a secret: boys love bikes. The film’s name itself is an indicator of what it contains. From the title it is obvious that this flick is all about boys on fast bikes. Personally, I’m not a big fan of bikes (I’m very much a boy though!) I enjoy gazing at sports bikes but I don’t fancy making them a subject of daydreams. Unlike me the protagonist in this film is a young chap whose sole aim is to become king of the streets. He is introduced to the underground world of drag racing by his father who works as a mechanic for the champ who is interestingly called Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). The name suits him fine as he usually leaves his opponents with the smell of burnt rubber and exhaust fume. But his supremacy is challenged by a young lad, called, again interestingly Kid (Derek Luke) whose ...

Dir: Bobcat Goldthwaithe Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynn Barr Dur: 1 hr 44 mins Genre: Dark Humour Rating: 1/10 PG: Lots of foul language The film is barely watchable but has got a powerful message to get across. Unfortunately it suffers from a communication block. It fails to appeal to the interest and hence remains a mere spectacle to yawn at. It’s got nothing to hold your interest and is just a drab story of a man who begins to see through the charade that is life and goes on a farcical rampage to eliminate the jerks from America.  Along the way he tags along an equally dumb and brainless girl who is equally disgusted with life. The two team up to rid of America of its stupidity but fail to recognize the stupidity of their design. America is crassly parodied and the American way of life is mocked with the hope of waking up the Americans to the reality that is their lifestyle. How far they succeeded is beyond my desire to know but surely it doesn’t interes...

Dir: Ali Abbas Zaffar Starring: Salman Kahn, Anushka Sharma Dur: 2 hrs  50 mins Genre: Sports based film Rating: 6.5/10 Love, sweat and dirt thrown around in the dust of a local wrestling arena; Sultan is the story of a small town Haryana, wrestler who climbed the ladder of achievement to win his girl’s heart. It’s romantic in its own way and warms the heart although its presentation may not appeal. Its success at the box office however, paints a different picture. Sultan has gone on to become the fourth highest grossing Indian film. This response does point to the success of the director to mix romance with a sports-based drama and to the good performances of the lead pair but it doesn’t tell you why you ought to watch this film. If you ask me I’ll tell you that if you don’t watch this film you aren’t missing much. It’s not great. It’s…. alright. One reason why Salman’s films sell, as I’m given to understand, is because he shows off his hunky body and whacks ...

Dir: Craig Zobel Starring: Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Chiwetel Ejiofor Dur: 1 hr 37 mins Genre: Sci-fi drama Rating: 2/10 This film suffers from a typical case of a betraying trailer. The trailer promised far more than the film delivered. Watching the trailer, one is given to believe that the film is full of post-apocalyptic drama. The reality is, a film struggling to make you believe in a post-apocalyptic drama. The setting is different. It’s a beautiful valley that is somehow preserved from any radioactive pollution that has destroyed the rest of the world as we are given to believe. One woman, Ann [Margot Robbie], and her faithful dog survive there. We are shown how they survive until they chance upon another survivor, Loomis [Chiwetel Ejiofor]. The two strike up a relationship that bends towards romance but is struck short by the arrival of another survivor, Caleb [Chris Pine]. The tension between the three becomes palpable and climaxes with the sudden disappearance...

I live near a Missionaries of Charity institute and what strikes me about them is their availability, serenity and commitment to serve the inmates be they infants, children, physically or mentally challenged people, diseased, or even aged. The sisters devote their time and energy to caring for these people and making them feel loved. They become the face and hands of God to these people just as the inmates become Christ to the sisters. Therefore, a mutual service is constantly taking place. Christ is ever present there as every action is done in His name and for His glory. I recall having a Missionary of Charity as my catechism teacher. I don’t remember much of what she taught me but the Gospel values I picked up from her life and the way she carried herself, have remained with me. I fondly remember her as being the most gentle and kind person I’ve ever come across. She was soft-spoken and didn’t seem the jolly type but her face revealed her inner contentment and serenity. I was ...

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to Your word” (Lk 1:38) If I hadn’t known better, I would definitely have thought that there were the words of Mother Teresa. A look at her life will reveal why the above verse is characteristic of her and perhaps even descriptive of her existence.   Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxa in   Skopje   (modern Macedonia) to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu.   After having lived in Macedonia for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life. She was fascinated by stories of the lives of   missionaries   and their service in   Bengal , and by the age of 12 had become convinced that she should commit herself to a religious way of life. She arrived in India in 1929, and began her   novitiate   in   Darjeeling , near the Himalayan mountains, where she learnt   Bengali   and taught at St. Teresa's School, a schoolhouse close t...

Producers: Michael Bay, Jack Bender et al. Starring:   Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Sam Spruell, Marissa Neitling, Christina Elmore, John Pyper-Ferguson, Jocko Sims, Bridget Regan, Bren Foster, Kevin Michael Martin In all 3 seasons have been released. The first season had 10 episodes and only episode one of the same is under review. I was introduced to ‘The Last Ship’ serial by my cousin. It’s not made its way into Indian channels yet but I think it ought to make an entry. The setting is a post-apocalyptic world and the problem is that a new virus has broken out and is claiming its victims by the hundreds. One very British-sounding doctor is trying her best to find a cure to the virus and is soon put aboard a Navy vessel with her double-crossing partner. The Navy vessel then takes over as the centre of attention and it’s from this that the serial gets its name: The Last Ship.   The first episode is great. It puts...

Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent...

Dir: Tinu Desai Starring: Akshay Kumar, Illeana D’Cruz Dur: 2hrs 30 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 4/5 The poster of ‘Rustom’ carries the caption “Three shots that shook the nation”. I won’t call it a bad caption but it doesn’t authentically reflect the reality. The three shots shook a lot of people but it is presumptuous to say that it shook the nation. For the vast majority of Indians, myself included, Rustom, or should I say Naval Officer, Nanavati, is an unknown person from an unknown era who did… who cares! Nobody even remembers. And yet here we are with Rustom , trying to bring into our dulled or perhaps indifferent consciousness, a historical action that created a wave in an otherwise fairly still lake. The film is based on the Nanavati case, wherein Naval Officer K.M. Nanavati, shot and killed his wife’s lover. The whole issue is not so much about whether what he did was right or wrong, although that aspect is also brought out very beautifully in the film; the key...

Raksha Bandhan is a yearly feast that many young girls and boys look forward to. The boys look forward to it more than the girls for reasons I will mention a little later. This is a typically Indian feast which celebrates familial ties between brothers and sisters. The words ‘Raksha Bandhan’ mean quite literally ‘Bond of Protection’. The festive celebration centres around the sister tying a ‘rakhi’, which is a decorative thread adorned with beads and other trinkets, on the hand of her brother. This is an ancient Hindu festival that ritually celebrates the love and duty between brothers and their sisters. The sister performs a Rakhi ceremony, then prays to express her love and her wish for the well being of her brother; in return, the brother ritually pledges to protect and take care of his sister under all circumstances. It is one of the several occasions in which family ties are affirmed in India. The tying of the rakhi is preceded by the performance of aarti and t...

Dir: Todd Haynes Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara Dur: 1 hr 55 mins Genre: Romance Rating: 2/5 PG: A love-making scene. “Love”, they say “comes in different shapes and sizes” and I may add, even in different types. Gay love isn’t looked upon anymore as something rare and forbidden. Although in the time of the film, i.e. the 1950’s, it was taboo. The LGBT movement is gaining momentum and every now and then they stage a massive rally and hog a lot of media publicity. Carol is a story about lesbian love between a married woman (Cate Blanchett) with a history of lesbian activity and a young maiden of marriageable age (Rooney Mara). The film is romantic but only melancholically so. Love is not fulfilled here. It’s frustrated and love that is frustrated can never be upbuilding and enriching. That’s the case here. We have two people in love but such is their situation that their love helps neither of them. In fact it only worsens their situations. Carol (Blanchett) is...

Dir: David O Russell Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper Dur: 2 hrs 11 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 1.5/5 PG: There is a semi-nude scene, revealing clothing, quite a bit of swearing and shared kisses. If I may summarize my feelings about this film in a line it would be: A lot of fuss about nothing. I remember reading a review which said that the movie is really good and a lot of other blah blah… The only thing I would agree with is the good performances of the cast. Besides the acting there is little else the film has to offer. It’s all American sans any hustle. The plot is a bit winding and after a while you begin to feel like not so much drawn into its intriguing vortex as much as sucked into it only to be spit out later all high and dry. Many reviewers especially Americans heaped a lot of praise on the film but as I said earlier, it does seem misplaced to me. The story revolves around a conman, Irving (Christian Bale) and his par...

Rajendra Pillai, A Pocket Book of Humour , Better Yourself Books, 2007, ISBN 81-7108-353-6, Rs. 45, pp. 215 I have read Pillai’s previous two books and I liked the way he presented his matter. The same goes for this book too. In his opening address, he expresses his motivation for writing this book, “our sense of humour... make(s) things that much easier for ourselves and for those around us.” His Christian roots too make an appearance as he quotes from the Book of Proverbs. Life without humour would be dull and dry. Humour is the spice of life and when we live with a healthy sense of humour we make life interesting and worthwhile for ourselves and for others. The layout of the book is simple and ordered day-wise such that there is one joke and one witty remark for each day of the year. I felt that the general humour of the book was pretty sour and insipid but the witty remarks were worthwhile reading. The jokes lacked punch but the wisdom statements shared were the real one...

Dir: Kevin Reynolds Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis Dur: 1 hr 47 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 4/5 PG: The violence is a bit gory. I’ve been looking forward to this film ever since I watched its trailer. The trailer promised a fascinating story of a Roman tribune’s conversion. The film delivered up to expectation and the cinematography was a treat. The story was permeated by a sense of urgency: The Romans are desperate to end the fiasco surrounding Jesus as the disappearance of his body has shaken up the Jews. Unrest is brewing in the countryside and Pilate is determined to show the higher ups that he has things under control.   The actors have given excellent performances. Particularly noticeable is the character of Bartholomew who is usually never given much importance. Here he is highlighted by being the only disciple brought in for questioning. The dialogues are powerful and well-scripted. They add to the drama, mystery and emotion ...

Chetan Bhagat, One Night at a Call Centre, Rupa Publications, 2005, ISBN 978-81-291-0818-0, pp. 57, Rs. 95.   This was Chetan Bhagat’s second novel and I must confess – it was a let down. ‘Five Point Someone’, despite being half as good as the movie it inspired (3 Idiots), has a way better story than this. Chetan’s style in this book is drab and unbecoming of a writer of his caliber. Perhaps he has improved over time, for his later novels are far better than his initial ones. The book’s beginning and end had his personal charismatic touch but the large number of pages in between reek of aridity. The story is told in first person and is a narration of incidents that occurred on a single night at the call centre, Connexions, with few flashbacks that serve little purpose besides distracting you from the story and providing some ‘masala’ for those looking for it. The end is extremely predictable and hence detracts from the novels’ glory. I didn’t enjoy the reading experience a...