Shadowhunters. Sizzy & Saphael

This post is basically about two unreal pairings since on series there’s no Saphael and no Sizzy (yet). But since actors were such good match for their roles it took zero efforts for fandom to start this insanely cute ships.

I'm pure at heart. It repels the dirt.

Let me just fangirl for a moment about Isabelle coming straight from heaven books into life! Like, Emeraude is so perfect Isabelle, she is exactly the way I imagined her it’s surreal. I like all the little changes with Izzy since she rocks both in books and series. She is passionate about everything surrounds her. About shadowhunting, about her brother and her lover Meliorn though there’s no love between the two of them. Throughout the season Izzy grows up in so many ways as a personality she is almost ready for her big love. And we can’t wait any longer!

Alberto plays Simon so good I sometimes forget he is not actually Simon. The scene on graveyard made me ugly cry for hours. It was such an important scene for Simon as a character and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Alberto delivered ir very good. Internal sigh for that sad storyline with his crush on Clary. God (Raziel?) bless Alec got rid of his crush on Jace soon enough. I hope it wouldn’t take long for Simon either.

I didn’t imagine Raphael exactly like this but David is kinda works for me. He understood Raphael and played him good so far. Plus his incredible chemistry with Simon (well hello Saphael) makes difficult to take sides (Sizzy or Saphael that is the question). Since both Isabelle and Raphael are so hot it ridiculous that nerdy Simon even has to be involved (not that Simon isn’t hot, don’t get me wrong). All of them ship very well one way or another so anyways works for me. Remembering Raphael god-awful destiny I do hope in series that will do some changes. But that is not in the cards in nearest future, I suppose.
Me is happy.

Shadowhunters. Malec

“Iz,” Alec said tiredly. “It’s not like it’s one big bad thing. It’s a lot of little invisible things. When Magnus and I were traveling, and I’d call from the road, Dad never asked how he was. When I get up to talk in Clave meetings, no one listens, and I don’t know if that’s because I’m young or if it’s because of something else. I saw Mom talking to a friend about her grandchildren and the second I walked into the room they shut up. Irina Cartwright told me it was a pity no one would ever inherit my blue eyes now.” He shrugged and looked toward Magnus, who took a hand off the wheel for a moment to place it on Alec’s. “It’s not like a stab wound  you can protect me from. It’s a million little paper cuts every day.”"

I nearly lost my mind because of excitement about all things Malec. Like, for years (!) they’ve existed only in my head, then in 10 seconds in the movie and since the second film has been cancelled I thought it was it. So God bless it was cancelled for we’ve got such amazing series.

Malec is a word that stands for Magnus (Bane) and Alec (Lightwood). In the books they were the real treasure for me, my ray of light (for Sizzy being only in incipience and Clace being plain dull). I like how they changed things in TV series. Magnus deserved better than being Alec’s dirty little secret. Or shifting emphasis from homophobic Lightwoods (parents) to racist – brilliant move, actually. 

 It’s a shame we have so little of these two in books. Their story is amazing; the relationship of two so different people attracts readers and fans. On the example of their relationship I learnt, that your soulmate will always see you through all the layers you or society put on yourself. That love can conquer anything. That love is caring about someone’s happiness as your higher priority. That true love cannot die.

Obstacles on their way aren’t as simple as other couples face And that makes them more interesting and intriguing. Some may say that they are popular because they are gay or something like that. Cannot agree. Actually, I can’t fathom how orientation has anything to do with all the ordeals or problems they face.

Their story is about finding your true self. And is about creating yourself. It was showed brilliantly on the screen, each change has been done just fine. I can hardly wait for the continuation of this story.  

"A very magnanimous statement, Gideon,” said Magnus.“I’m Gabriel.” Magnus waved a hand. “All Lightwoods look the same to me-"

Shadowhunters. Clace

At last, we got our beloved series on the screens again. All fresh and new, with whole new cast. For so long we’ve got no hope in that so for what it’s worth let’s enjoy what we have and be grateful for any opportunity to witness our favorite characters come to life. 

Yes, it’s not quite an adaptation. It doesn’t follow every line from book. But there are main events from books and there’s TMI spirit which is the most important for me. I’m okay with the changes. Most of them were for the better. Or maybe I was just desperate to watch favorite characters came to life. Who knows?

Clace

“You're pining," said Jace.

Alec shrugged. "Look who's talking. 'Oh I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why—”

The main ship of all ships in this story doesn’t feel like that at all. Their story is quite rushed or it just feels that way.

 In this story all characters are older. Clary uses makeup and wears heels. She adjusts to her new Shadowhunter life and the whole thing too quickly in my opinion. Jace is looking a little bit strange to me. It seems that he is senseless soldier but he is ready to ugly cry at any moment. He is certainly a Jon Snow of this show – doesn’t know about Alec’s feelings for him, cannot see Malec interaction etc. When he found out about his parabatai feelings he tried to smooth the effect so Alec wouldn’t feel uncomfortable or hurt. Jace really cares about people who are like family to him. It’s the feature he shares with Clary. It’s a shame, that his  musician side of personality wasn’t represented.


 Although their chemistry as a couple is quite strange at the beginning they managed to work things out till the end of season. So you actually believe their kisses and stares. It’s understandable, that Jace is hugely affected by Daddy issues and he basically loses it in the season finale. Everything was well-played by Dominic.

 

All in all, I like how Dom and Kat represented Clace. Kat is awesome Clary, visually at least. Looks like exactly the book Clary. This variant has its right to exist. I like what they did with The Kiss. I mean, it was really beautiful both in books and movie. But this Clary is 18 yo, she is a modern young woman and has no time to waste. She sees the man she wants grabs him and kisses. You go girl. It felt right to me.

Maybe it’s just that I don’t like this ship initially. Too boring for my taste. Cannot wait for all the drama and Climon in season 2.

Ulysses by James Joyce

Love loves to love love.

 I have a story. not very original one. I couldn’t do it. this book has been too much for me. reading it hurt me physically. it’s been six years since I’ve picked it up. And I wasn’t disappointed. I strongly believe that Ulysses should enter your life at a certain period of life. And definitely not when this is a required reading.

I have no intention to speak about its plot – you can read the back of the book by yourself anytime. I’m rather interested in emotions. so, stylistically, some episodes of Ulysses are complete disaster. You just cannot read this. And still you continue. As we all know, Joyce made it on purpose. And these details turned this book into a real roller-coaster for me.

Speaking of characters, I cannot relate to any of them. They are, in most cases, representations of Joyce’s opinions about himself (Bloom, Dedalus), fears (Molly) or just random acquaintances of Joyce. It is known, that James Joyce had some issues with a father figure in his life. We feel that he is trying to depict Bloom and Dedalus’ father (sort of, because Stephen has already a real father – Simon Dedalus). But He was not very close with his father, and Bloom has lost his son. So both of them needed this deep father-son relationship in their lives. 

But I have a feeling that it was not delivered properly. They tried to talk, but couldn’t find common ground. They hadn’t become very close either. He suffered after his mother’s death though. 

This is a difficult read; it’s hard to recommend it to anyone. But for those of you, who are interested in strange and conflicted ride it would be interesting.

Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was a sensation and a very special book for many of us, including me. But we had no idea that there’s a continuation to this story. If you are scared by a mere thought of grown up Jean Louise or elderly Atticus what about this: “Go Set a Watchman” has been written before the Mockingbird. Yep, you got it right. In fact, Harper Lee has written Watchman, but her editor recommended her to write a prequel because the readers would enjoy it. So he was right, eh? Mockingbird was a huge success, whilst Watchman has been in the desk up to 2015.

I have very mixed feelings about Watchman. On the one hand, I can relate to Jean Louise on so many levels. We are really alike, I understand her struggles because mine are the same and I support her. We are almost the same age now so it was interesting to read her thoughts on different situations and to see the world through her eyes. There’s been a while since the time described in a novel and yet still the world is the same. 

On the other, it seems that I’ve better not read this novel at all. This book is a total ‘wake up and smell coffee’ thing. Both for Jean Louise and me. For her (and me as well) Atticus has always been the role-model, a reliable man. She was so shocked to understand that he had different beliefs from those she imputed to him. It hit her hard! But she was strong enough to rise up and made a decision to be true to herself. 

This book is about growing up and understanding more about the real world and your delusions about it. You are who you are and you should choose the only right direction in your life – yours. Not depending or counting on anyone except you. All the young people over there who are lost and can’t find the way out this book may be in hand. 

The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

“By shutting out the real world we can live peacefully in ours. We know that a world without pain is a world without feeling… But a world without feeling is a world without pain.”

I should’ve finished this review long time ago. Although each time I tried I just failed. This is an incredibly sad and true story of a man, who experienced tragedy and as a result he divided into 24 separate personalities, each one unique.

Мені слід було давно закінчити цей відгук. Але кожного разу я сідала писати і не могла. Це неймовірно сумна і реальна історія людини, яка пережила трагічні події і розділилась на 24 окремі особистості. 

Billy Milligan was never ordinary. He was too sensitive therefore it was easier for him to survive difficult situations being just a bystander. He imagined that these situations happened to someone else. It was the moment when first personalities appeared. But the biggest tragedy related to his stepfather who repeatedly raped and buried alive a boy, who wasn’t even 10 yo at the time. The most personalities appeared at that time. They are all completely different. The most interesting part in this – all personalities could function separately and very often others didn’t know what one or another personality has been doing for some time. Billy was completely clueless. That’s how the most of crimes have been committed. Billy has gone a thorny way to become a whole personality.

Біллі Мілліган ніколи не був звичайним. Будучи надто чутливою дитиною, йому було легше переживати якісь стресові події дивлячись на них ніби зі сторони, коли вони трапляються не з ним, а з кимось. Так почали з'являтись перші особистості. Але найбільш серйозним потрясінням був його вітчим – чоловік неодноразово ґвалтував і закопував у землю хлопчика, якому не було ще й 10 років. Все це спричинило появу багатьох особистостей. Всі вони абсолютно різні і не схожі між собою. Цікавою особливістю було те, що особистості могли діяти не ставлячи до відома інших особистостей – так було скоєно більшість злочинів, про які сам Біллі ні сном ні духом. Біллі пройшов тернистий шлях доки став цільною особистістю.

Personally I enjoyed reading it. Especially all the psychological moments where professionals explained phenomena. As far as I know there is an adaptation in the making. So I recommend it to anyone. It will be interesting to discover how much we don’t know yet about our brain! 

Особисто мені книга була дуже цікава, зокрема всі психологічні пояснення явищ. Наскільки мені відомо, ще планується екранізація. Тому дуже рекомендую цю книгу усім. Скільки всього ми ще не знаємо про наш мозок!