Good books and good films should partly be about personal enrichment. Well, that's what I think anyway.
I have known about "Philomena" for a decade or more but this afternoon, courtesy of Netflix, I finally got round to watching it. Starring the now legendary Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, the film is based upon the true story of Philomena Lee.
She grew up in western Ireland and at nineteen, through a romantic fling, became pregnant. The baby boy she called Anthony was born in a Catholic home for unmarried mothers. It was run by nuns who, in spite of their professed religious belief, were often harsh and judgemental.
I could tell you the whole story because it is fresh in my mind but instead I will just say that in my opinion it was an excellent, truly convincing film. It held my attention throughout. Steve Coogan and Judi Dench played their roles brilliantly - Coogan representing former BBC journalist - Martin Sixsmith.
The Catholic Church in Ireland and elsewhere has a lot to answer for. Historically, they ruined countless lives - young women, their children and boys and girls who were educated in overstrict Catholic schools. Many priests and nuns - perhaps the majority - were always kind-hearted, supportive and "holy" but a significant minority were cruel bullies and abusers, hidden in plain sight in their Roman Catholic costumes.
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“The partition between love and anger is thin. I suppose it's a need to protect the
self from further wounding that makes people scream at the one they love.”
― Sebastian Faulks, "Where My Heart Used to Beat"
Waking far too early this morning, I came downstairs to read the last chapter of "Where My Heart Used To Beat" by Sebastian Faulks. It has taken me far too long to read it - especially when I consider that it was a damned good novel that confirmed my view that Sebastian Faulks is a very fine writer.
This was the fifth of his novels that I have read and once again war and its impacts coloured the background. Both World War I and World War II featured though you could not say that it is a war novel as such. It has more to do with memory, the workings of the human mind and love. The main character is Robert Hendricks who experienced military service in North Africa and Italy in the 1940s. His father before him knew service in The Great War from which he never came home.
"Where My Heart Used To Beat" has its flaws but in the final analysis I am very glad I read it. It entertains and it gives much food for thought. The very quality of writing - including vocabulary, construction, metaphor and reader teasing - is of a splendid standard.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/CY0A3Ie
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