Book Review: The Memoirs of A Beautiful Boy

The memoirs of a beautiful boy
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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THE MEMOIRS OF A BEAUTIFUL BOY
By Robert Leleux
Published by St Martin’s Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
Price: $23.95
272 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780312361686

“For nearly thirty years, Robert Leleux has remained internationally unknown as a celebrated bon vivant, fashion icon, and man about town. Neither the best-selling author of Highland Fling (1931) or Wigs on the Green (1935), Mr. Leleux's work is in no way associated with that circle of Bright Young Things who illuminated the London social scene during the interwar years. He is known not to have been portrayed by Julie Christie in John Schlesinger's Oscar-winning film Darling. In 1972, Mr. Leleux wasn’t made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He does not currently reside at Swinbrook House in the Cotswolds.” From Robert’s website

THIS IS ROBERT’S FIRST BOOK.

“Mother let Daddy’s letter fall to floor, twisting her engagement ring around her finger. ‘Jesus God’, she said. “This is a pig fuck.”

‘Pig Fuck” was Mother’s phrase for the absolute nadir of something. Lycra was, for instance, the pick fuck of fabrics, with English toile, pimento loaf, Japanese cars, and Miracle Whip serving as further examples. And because Mother was an extreme person, whose circumstances tended to swerve from the best to the worst, our life involved lots of pig fucks. (There is no such thing,” she once told me, “as a happy medium.”).’



Robert Leleux’s first novel, The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy is one of the funniest, off-beat and original books I have ever read. The author makes no pretense about what he is up to; he wants to entertain, to amuse, and make us laugh. The novel reads like you are out to dinner with a group of friends in a fancy restaurant in New York, and Robert is holding court. Order another drink, more shrimp cocktail, little Onion soup, salad, thick juicy steak, rich and way too fattening dessert, black coffee. Relax. You’re going to be there for a while. There are stories to be heard that seem best to accompany a good meal. Robert’s book reads like an old friend spinning yarns about his youth and young adulthood in Texas. The book tells us a tale about Robert’s father leaving his eccentric mother for a pregnant jockey, leaving mom and Robert almost penniless. Robert leads a totally outrageous life with his self-obsessed mom. Mom is a first-class drama queen, and a high maintenance woman. With high Texas hair, and lots of makeup and jewelry, she breezes through life. Or so it seems. With the divorce the days of driving a Jag and going to Neiman Marcus on Saturdays for a makeover of hair and nails come to an abrupt end. Evicted from their handsome home in Houston, Mom takes the step she needs to survive Texas style…by finding a new, rich husband.

Robert is not trying to write the great American novel here. But his humor is totally new, fresh and of course is completely offbeat. He describes how they have absolutely no desire to find work, and they just plain old loot the house for cash. Meanwhile, mom updates her wigs, undergoes hilariously orchestrated surgeries, dates and leaves new men with impunity, and undergoes a series of lip enhancements, which Robert describes in painfully funny and poignant detail. The sequence in the book where he describes the glued-on hairpiece may be the funniest passages I have ever read.

Amazingly, it pays off. Mom leaves one man on a plane ride for another, when she finally gets her man. She sees Robert as the next Truman Capote. When he joins a local theatre group, it is the first time that he realizes he is gay, even if mom had known all along. Robert makes his way in life, meets his life partner and finishes school. I found that his off-beat personality that shines through this book and his ability to make me laugh made me root for him. This book is loaded with the most original and big sized Texas humor that you cannot help but feel the author is one of your friends, and his big heart make this book special. This is a glorious debut. Have another cup of coffee. Push that chair back, and enjoy the unusual musing of beautiful boy. This is a great young author, and this book belongs on your bookshelf. This coming of age story is a luminous, glorious start. I hope there is more soon.

Book Review: Plum Lucky

Plum Lucky
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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PLUM LUCKY
By Janet Evanovich
Published by St Martin’s Press
Publication Date: January, 2008
Price: $17.95
176 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780312377632
Four Star Rating ****

13 OF HER STEPHANIE PLUM NOVELS HAVE BEEN IN THE NY TIMES TOP TEN BEST SELLERS

HER NOVEL HOT SIX HIT #1 AND ALL OF HER SUBSEQUENT PLUM NOVELS DEBUTED AT # 1

THIS REPRESENTS HER 14TH STEPHANIE PLUM NOVEL

“The little man was talking to Grandma, and Grandma wasn’t happy with him. Grandma started inching away, and the little man snatched the strap of the duffel bag and yanked it out of Grandma’s hand. Grandma roundhoused the man of the side of his head with her big black purse, and he dropped to his knees.”

For the fans of this best-selling author, the wait is over. Their favorite heroine, Stephanie Plum is back in Janet Evanovich’s new top ten, best selling novel, Plum Lucky. This is another “Between the Numbers” novel, following up on Lean, Mean 13, where Stephanie and Diesel take on a new and dangerous adventure. Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur finds a large bag of cash and decides to go to Atlantic City to try her luck. However, the fellow (a leprechaun, the man in the green pants) who misplaced the money is not very happy about that. Stephanie and her friends, Lula, Connie, and Diesel set out to find her before the killer does. The book is written in the hilarious, madcap style of adventures that mark the rest of this series. Everyone finds a little luck in this book, Lula’s found a job in plus sized modeling, Connie finds a man, Diesel finds Stephanie, and Stephanie find a mystery involving the stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase, and a bad case of the hives.
This is classic Stephanie/Janet at her best. There are plenty of hilarious situations in this book, and it is a quick, page turning read. This book is full of funny stuff, a leprechaun who believes he is invisible while naked, putting Doug the racehorse into an elevator and an RV after he has been knocked out, a bad guy that wears aluminum foil, a rash that sort of moves around, and oh yes, a rocket launcher. This is a very interesting little book, and I rate it a must read.

Book Review: Change of Heart

Nineteen Minutes

The Entertainment Critic Book Review, By James Myers
NINETEEN MINUTES
By Jodi Picoult
Published by Atria Books, An Imprint of Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Price: $15.00
272 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-9673-5(pbk)
Four Star Rating****

“Shots fired…At the high school…Sterling High….Signal 1000, the dispatcher said. Signal 1000.

In Patrick’s entire career as a detective, he’d only heard it called twice. Once was in Maine, when a deadbeat dad had taken an officer hostage. Once was again in Sterling, during a potential bank robbery that turned out to be a false alarm. Signal 1000 meant that everyone, immediately, was to get off of the radio and leave it free for dispatch. It meant what they were dealing with was not routine police business.

It meant life or death.” (Pp. 21)


Judi Picoult has yet another novel that addresses a current national social issue that is both compelling and thought-provoking: school safety in light of a record number of school shootings in 2007. The question of what causes a student to take a weapon into his school and then to open fire on his classmates is addressed in the paperback reissue of the top selling hardbound from last year, Nineteen Minutes. Jodi has an amazing talent for objectively revealing issues to us in these controversies that seldom are discussed in the news and print media. If you are the parent of a shooter, how do you feel? How does the student himself feel? What kind of an impression does he make on other people, like his own attorney? How does the community feel? How do the parents of the victims feel? Judi uses her famous stream of conscious technique to examine how each interest group involved is thinking. What are their private issues, concerns, and biases? What’s their angle? In this examination of the aftermath of a public school shooting, all sides have their say, and Picoult makes sure that the participants discuss and privately raise all of the angles to every issue.

In a sleepy bedroom community, Sterling, NH, the school misfit, Peter Houghton walks into his high school with a literal barrage of weapons, systematically eliminating his classmates, including several that have tormented him over a period of years. After the killing ends in 19 short minutes, 10 people are dead and Josie Cormier, the best eye witness to the incidents claims she cannot remember what happened. Picoult throws us a curve when her mother ends up as the criminal court judge who presides over the case. One further twist is that Matt, Josie’s boyfriend is one of the victims. Judge Cormier does not recuse herself from the case, creating all sorts of knotty legal and personal issues. Picoult makes good use of another one of her favorite techniques, the flashback to show how Peter was bullied, teased and beaten by his classmates and his athletic brother since kindergarten. This caused Peter to recede into the world of video games, a unique world of killing and violence all of its own. (Although Picoult touches on this only tangentially, the issue of an ineffective current rating system for videogames is an undercurrent in this book). Peter is also a closet computer programmer. When they were younger, Peter and Jodi were best friends. But as she grew older, Jodie became one of the popular kids, and it just was not cool to be seen hanging around with Peter anymore. Peter recedes even further into a world he can control. The programming/designing aspect of video games coupled with his anger over be constantly bullied leads him to create a videogame in his mind; one where the hero marches his way through Peter’s school, killing all of his enemies.

Picoult take us along for her journey of post-traumatic stress brought on by constant bullying over a decade or more, where Peter can find no relief from his parents, the teachers or the school administrators. Emasculated, this is a teapot waiting to boil over. The other issue she explores is the love Peter’s mother has for him, despite the horrible crime, and her attempts to cope with the horrible crimes. The parents enter into a where did we go wrong zone, that is particularly insightful in this book. Jordan McAfee who defends Peter in trial doesn’t understand his client either. Picoult puts forward the post-traumatic stress theory, much like you might see in a brainwashing/crime/Patti Hearst type case in this unique set of facts. Jordan has problems: how do you defend someone who admits they performed these acts to test their computer program? Worse yet, his unpredictable and socially inappropriate client wants to testify. Not exactly a day at the beach for the lawyer and judge in this case. Particularly, when called on during the trial, Jodi drops a bomb during her testimony, when her memory magically returns. This legal thriller and social examination piece has more twists and turns than most curvy roads. Like all of Picoult’s wonderful books, this one is well written, researched and executed. Picoult’s skills as a great, modern day storyteller are on display in this book. Who is the victim and who is the villain becomes more and more murkier with every passing page. Deeply disturbing, and at paperback prices, this book is a “can’t pass up bargain” you need to get your hands on. As the publisher says, “It is provocative fiction as its best.” At its very best!

Book Review: Her Little Black Book

Her Little Black Book
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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HER LITTLE BLACK BOOK
By Brenda Jackson
Published by St Martin’s Press
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Price: $13.95
320 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780312359331

THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUTHOR TO HAVE A BOOK PUBLISHED UNDER THE HARLEQUIN/SILHOUETTE DESIRE LINE OF BOOKS
THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ROMANCE AUTHOR TO MAKE USA TODAY'S BESTSELLER'S LIST.
ON ESSENCE BEST SELLER LIST

“She had to be about twenty-four, no more than twenty-five at the max. He couldn’t remember the last time he was attracted to a woman that young. But as he continued to watch her every movement, he felt a tugging desire in the pit of his stomach. With every step she took, a part of him couldn’t help but be thankful he’d been born a man.”

Brenda Jackson is one of the hardest working Romance writers in America. Did you know that she writes almost 8 books a year? Her new book, Her Little Black Book is a variation on a theme. In this book a woman, Sonya Morrison, who is getting married, gives her little black book of hot dates to her cousin, Courtney Adams. This book may be full of hot, dark, tall handsome men, but Courtney’s initial experiences make her realize that she and Sonya don’t have the same taste in men. Courtney already had bad experiences and her parents had a rough go, so she is a little bit apprehensive. When he first date gets arrested, and another leaves with a waiter, and sticks her with the check, she can’t help but wonder if this was such a good idea. Oh yeah and then there is the guy who thinks this is a sure thing… Courtney is close to giving up.

Then she meets Lake Masters (I like that name, Brenda. Just a cool name), and he makes her body tingle. Problem is he is 10 years older than she is, and he is sexy, intelligent and wealthy. Lake knows how to appreciate and treat a woman. Love is not easy, and as you can guess sexual tension and complications arise. Brenda Jackson delivers an intriguing and interesting romance. Her Little Black Book should be counted among her very best, and Brenda has written national best sellers and is an award winning author. If you like romance from feminine point of view, check out Her Little Black Book.

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH BRENDA JACKSON AT WWW.THEENTERTAINMENTCRITICMAGAZINE.COM

Book Review: Friend of the Devil

Friend of the Devil
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
By Peter Robinson
Published by William Morrow an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: February 26, 2008
Price: $24.95
ISBN-13: 9781416552512
372 Pages
Five Star Rating ****

WRITER FOR 25 YEARS
WRITTEN 17 BEST SELLING BOOKS
BOOKS HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED INTO 19 LANGUAGES
1990 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY – “INNOCENCE”
1991 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL – PAST REASON HATED
1994 TORGI TALKING BOOK AWARD – PAST REASON HATED
1995 AUTHOR’S AWARD, FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF CANADIAN LETTERS – FINAL ACCOUNT
1996 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL – INNOCENT GRAVES
1998 MACAVITY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY – “THE TWO LADIES OF ROSE COTTAGE”
1999 ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL – IN A DRY SEASON
1999 BARRY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL – IN A DRY SEASON
2000 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL – COLD IS THE GRAVE
2000 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY – “MURDER IN UTOPIA”
2000 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY – “MISSING IN ACTION”
2001 LE GRAND PRIX DE LITTÉRATURE POLICIÈRE (FRANCE) – IN A DRY SEASON
2002 MARTIN BECK AWARD (SWEDEN) – IN A DRY SEASON
2002 CWA (UK) DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY AWARD
2003 SPOKEN WORD BRONZE AWARD – THE HANGING VALLEY
2006 PALLE ROSENKRANTZ AWARD (DENMARK) – COLD IS THE GRAVE
2008 TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY CELEBRATES READING AWARD

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL IS A MARCH 2008 BOOKSENSE SELECTION

“Hagrid lost interest and edged towards some bushes away from the path, where he probably sniffed a rabbit, and Gilbert walked toward the immobile figure to see if he could offer any assistance. It was a woman, he realized. At least something about the way she sat and the hair curling over her collar indicated she was. He called out but got no response. Then he realized that she was sitting in a wheelchair, wrapped in a blanket, her head propped up by something. Perhaps she couldn’t move? There was nothing usual about seeing a woman in a wheelchair around Larborough Head- the care home wasn’t far away, and relatives occasionally came and took parents or grandparents for walks along the coast-but what on earth was she doing there all by herself, especially on Mother’s Day, abandoned in such a precarious position? It wouldn’t take much for the chair to slip over the edge, just a change in the wind. Where in the hell was her nurse or relative?”


Peter Robinson has been writing stunning crime/mysteries novels for nearly 20 years involving Inspector Banks. In Friend of the Devil, his 17th book, Banks and Detective Inspector Annie Cabot are back in yet another great crime chiller. There are 2 separate plot lines that make the writing so intriguing. Banks is trying to solve the brutal murder and rape of a talented college student, Haley Daniels, while Cabot is investigating the slashing death of a young quadriplegic woman, Karen Drew, whose throat was cut and abandoned near a slippery cliff in her wheelchair. As the struggle to resolve the separate cases, they keep running into dark and clandestine clues and devilish characters, 2 of which return from past novels.

Cabot, after an exhaustive search finds that Karen Drew lived a quiet, solitary life for the last 7 years. She can find nothing in Drew’s past that points to someone wanting her dead. Banks on the other hand had suspects galore. Anywhere Haley Daniels went, she attracted attention. Anybody could have followed the 19 year old student on the last night she was out drinking with her friends and saw to it that she never made it home.

Suddenly, there is a breakthrough in Cabot’s case, and the trial of the killer takes a surprising new direction—straight towards Banks. As the separate investigations progress, clues, witnesses, and suspects begin to overlap. I won’t say anything more except that the title, Friend of the Devil, hold the key to solving the mystery.

Peter Robinson spins yet another suspenseful tale of crime and punishment. He consistently delivers engaging thrillers and detective stories. In Devil, he not only weaves a tale, but he gives us a glimpse into the private lives of Banks and Cabot. Like all of his well-crafted and deftly written novels, Robinson gives us a look into the character’s soul and let us see what makes them tick. The insight into Banks and Cabot create a third compelling subplot in this book. Somehow these personal epiphanies are expertly woven into the plot. And what a plot it is. Great prose, tight character development, and a dark, deep mystery are too seductive to resist. Another great book from a legend in the mystery genre. Don’t pass this one up. Don’t be surprised if you start to itch to read a few of its predecessors. Robinson’s page turners are addictive that way.

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH PETER ROBINSON AT WWW.THEENTERTAINMENTCRITICMAGAZINE.COM

Book & Movie Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

Double Book and Movie Review

The Other Boleyn Girl
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
By Philippa Gregory
Published by Touchstone Books, from Simon and Schuster (Reprint)
Publication Date: September 2007
Price: $16.00
ISBN-13: 9781416556534
752 Pages
Four Star Rating ****

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) (Film)
Director: Justin Chadwick
Writers: Peter Morgan (screenplay)
Philippa Gregory (novel)
Studio: Columbia Pictures/Focus Features
Producer: Alison Owen
Executive Producer: Scott Rudin & David Thompson
Three Star Rating ***

Release Date: 29 February 2008 (USA) more view trailer
Genre: Drama / History / Romance more
Tagline: The only thing that could come between these sisters... is a kingdom.
Plot Outline: Two sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII

Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Natalie Portman ... Anne Boleyn
Scarlett Johansson ... Mary Boleyn
Eric Bana ... Henry Tudor
Jim Sturgess ... George Boleyn
Mark Rylance ... Sir Thomas Boleyn
Kristin Scott Thomas ... Lady Elizabeth Boleyn
David Morrissey ... Thomas Howard - Duke of Norfolk
Benedict Cumberbatch ... William Carey
Oliver Coleman ... Henry Percy
Ana Torrent ... Katherine of Aragon
Eddie Redmayne ... William Stafford
Tom Cox ... Rider
Michael Smiley ... Physician
Montserrat Roig de Puig ... Lady in Waiting
Juno Temple ... Jane Parker
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content and some violent images.
Parents Guide: View content advisory for parents
Runtime: 115 min
Country: UK / USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix: SDDS / DTS / Dolby Digital
Certification:Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) / Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) / Germany:12 / Singapore:M18 / USA:PG-13 (certificate #43291) / Australia:M / Canada: G (Québec) / Ireland:15A / South Korea:15 / Netherlands:12 / Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) / New Zealand:M
Filming Locations: Bath, Somerset, England, UK more
Company: BBC Films more


PHILIPPA GREGORY HAS BEEN PENNING COMPELLING WORKS OF DRAMATIC HISTORICAL FICTION SINCE THE MID-1980S, BREAKING OUT WITH THE BESTSELLING WIDEACRE TRILOGY AND CREATING A BUZZ WITH THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. AS FELLOW AUTHOR PETER ACKROYD ONCE SAID OF HER, "SHE WRITES FROM INSTINCT, NOT OUT OF CALCULATION, AND IT SHOWS."

MORE THAN 1 MILLION COPIES IN PRINT OF THIS BOOK


“George took my hand. ‘If you conceive a child the king has to know that it is his and none others’.
‘I can’t be his mistress,’ I whispered back.
‘No choice.’ He shook his head.
‘I can’t do it’ I said out loud. I gripped tightly on my brother’s comforting clasp and looked down the long dark wood table to my uncle, as sharp as a falcon with black eyes that missed nothing. ‘Sir, I am sorry but I love the queen. She’s a great lady and I can’t betray her. I promised before God to cleave only to my husband, and surely I shouldn’t betray him? I know the king is the king; but you can’t want me to? Surely? Sir, I can’t do it.’
He did not answer me. Such was his power that he did not even consider replying. ‘What am I supposed to do with this delicate conscience?’ he asked the air above the table.
‘Leave it to me,’ Anne said simply. ‘I can explain things to Mary.’”

Philippa Gregory has written a best-selling novel of “love, sex, ambition and intrigue”. The story opens in 1521 when Mary's distant cousin, the Duke of Buckingham, is executed on the king's orders. His crime was his daring to suggest that Henry could not produce a healthy son. A year later, Mary's sister, Anne, returns from the French Court where she has lived as a lady-in-waiting for the last few years. Gregory chose to portray Anne as Mary's older sister even though Anne was usually believed by historians to be the younger of the two. Both the Boleyn girls are remarkable beauties, and Mary (despite being only fourteen years old) is already married to the wealthy courtier Sir William Carey. Mary's life is turned upside down, however, when the 31-year-old King Henry VIII takes an interest in her. Despite being a favorite lady-in-waiting to his wife, Queen Catherine, Mary becomes the king's mistress. She is assisted in this process by her two siblings - the quick-witted George and the scheming Anne. To her father's delight, Mary becomes pregnant with the king's child. She gives birth to two children - Catherine and Henry. However, while she is pregnant, Anne sets out to seduce the king and steal him away from her sister. She is successful, and the King flirts with Anne by day and sleeps with Mary by night. In the process he breaks the heart of Mary, who has by now fallen in love with him.

By 1527, Henry has made up his mind to divorce his wife and marry Anne. Mary is pushed into the background and becomes the other Boleyn girl. She is reduced to being Anne's lady-in-waiting. As an act of malice, Anne secretly adopts Mary's son, stealing all legal rights as the child's mother. She becomes consumed by her ambition to be queen, not even bothering to sympathize when Mary's husband dies of the sweating sickness in 1528. Mary comes to suspect that Anne is planning to poison Queen Catherine, and has already attempted to poison a bishop who is opposed to the Boleyns' ambitions.

In 1532 Mary falls in love with the handsome William Stafford, they keep their love a secret until Anne becomes Queen and then Mary runs away with William to his farm in Essex, where they marry. William then persuades Mary to go back to court in order to get her children. Mary and William try to keep their marriage a secret until Mary finds out that she is pregnant she then goes to Anne to try and persuade her to let her have children back. When Anne discovers Mary has married a commoner and is pregnant with his child, she immediately banishes her from court. Meanwhile, Mary's brother George is trapped in a miserable marriage to Jane Parker and is seeking solace in a secret homosexual affair with Sir Francis Weston. After Anne gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth in 1533, she suffers two miscarriages - being forced to abort one with a witches' potion. When Mary returns to court in 1535, she begins to suspect that the King is impotent and that Anne and George have committed an incestuous affair in order to help her conceive again. Her fears are seemingly confirmed when Anne has another miscarriage in 1536, and the fetus is monstrously deformed.

Anne is arrested in May, and so is George. He and his homosexual lover are executed as Anne's supposed lovers, and Mary is uncertain what to think - knowing that people are telling lies about her sister, but also fearing that they are telling the truth. In an echo of the novel's beginning chapter, The Other Boleyn Girl ends with an execution - Anne's. Mary lives out the rest of her life in peace, with her common-born husband, William Stafford.

The film is consistent with the book. The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics. As of February 29, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 90 reviews — with the consensus being that the film was "more like a soap opera than a historical drama." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.

In addition to the criticism the novel received for its presentation of Anne Boleyn, there was further criticism from some sections of the British press for the decision to cast two Americans (Johansson and Portman) and an Australian (Bana) in the main roles, all historical British figures. Critics included veteran academic and broadcaster David Starkey, author of several best-selling factual accounts of the Tudor royals. Johansson dismissed these criticisms, stating her only reservations about the filming were about its melodramatic storyline.

Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl, was employed as a historical consultant for the movie. She was especially impressed by Johanson's commitment to the historical accuracy of her role. "When I got on set it was like a reading group. The whole cast and set were reading not just The Other Boleyn Girl but the rest of my Tudor novels, too. Scarlett's copy of the book is broken-backed and it's marked on every page. She's continually going to the writer and director and saying, 'Let's look at this, let's do it this way.'"

What I think saved the film from becoming just another gossip-type vehicle is the performance of Natalie Portman as Anne. She plays Anne as a calculating, self-serving, win at all costs femme fatale. Her enlistment of her brother (Jim Sturgess) for stud service to fool the king, may be historically inaccurate, but makes a dull picture somewhat interesting. Read the book, see the movie with interest, but in the long run, remember the book.

Book Review: Change of Heart

Change of Heart
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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CHANGE OF HEART
By Jodi Picoult
Published by Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc
Publication Date: March, 2008
Price: $26.95
447 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780743496742
Four Star Rating ****

ONE OF THE TOP SELLING NOVELISTS IN THE WORLD
HAS HAD #1 BESTSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, & SOUTH AFRICA
14 PRIOR NOVELS
HER NOVEL NINETEEN WEEKS HELD THE #1 SPOT ON NY TIMES LIST FOR 5 STRAIGHT WEEKS
2,000,000, 000 COPIES IN PRINT OF MY SISTER’S KEEPER
1 MILLION COPIES FIRST PRINTING MADE OF THIS BOOK
MY SISTER’S KEEPER WILL BE MADE INTO A MOVIE, SPRING 2008
THE TENTH CIRCLE, THE PACT, & PLAIN TRUTH CURRENTLY BEING MADE INTO FILMS
2003 WON THE NEW ENGLANDER BOOKSELLER AWARD FOR FICTION
2007 WROTE 5 ISSUES OF WONDER WOMAN, ONLY THE 2D WOMEN TO SCRIPT THE SERIES SINCE 1940

“They say God won’t give you any more than you can handle, but that begs a more important question: why would God let you suffer in the first place?

‘No Comment’, I said into the phone, and I slammed down the receiver loud enough that Clair-on the couch with her iPod on-sat up and took notice. I reached beneath the table and yanked out the cord completely so that I would not have to hear the phone ring.

They had been calling all morning; they had set up camp outside of my home. How does it feel to know that there are protesters outside the prison, hoping the free the man who murdered your child, and your husband?”

Jodi Picoult’s new novel, Change of Heart, contains issues that include religion, capital punishment, child molestation, victim’s rights in a criminal case, and redemption. Somehow she weaves this in as perfect a piece of fiction that has been published in the year 2008. June was happily married to a wonderful man, the love of her life. They had a beautiful child, Elizabeth. A drunk driver struck their car, killing her first husband. The police officer who investigated the case, Kurt Nealon, eventually gave her a second chance at life. She was pregnant with her second child, Clair, when tragedy struck again. A handy man that she hired, Shay Bourne, was arrested, tried and convicted of murdering her second husband, Kurt, and her first child Elizabeth. In a bizarre twist of events, when Bourne enters prison on death row as a cop killer, he begins to perform miracles, causing people to believe he is the second coming of Christ. He has a desire to make things right between himself and June. Her second daughter, 11 year old Clair has a heart condition. It is incurable and without a transplant, she will die. Her mother June is desperate to save her life. Bourne has offered the child his heart. His lawyer, Maggie, an ACLU advocate, runs in several problems with the request. First, the child’s mother and victim in the underlying murder case, doesn’t want his help. Second, the method of death in the state is by legal injection, and that renders the heart useless. Third, she have to convince a judge that her killer-client has the right to choose his own method of death. A spiritual adviser is consulted, Father Michael. He has his own secret issues about the Bourne case, namely that he has on the jury panel who not only convicted Bourne, but sentenced him to death. Secondly, he was a hold out against the death penalty, who finally gave in to the others. He directly contributed to the miracle worker’s death sentence, and now it appears he may not have been responsible for the murders at all.

This is a certifiable page turner. Picoult, in her stream of conscious style, buttressed by flashbacks and separate chapters for each character, as they think matters through, each with their own unique prospective and concerns weaves a tale full of unsolvable, fascinating issues. “Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone that you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy’s dying wish? Can we save ourselves, or do we rely on others to do it? Is what we believe always the truth?” Picoult has a reputation for taking very topical moral issues that you see on the evening news, and making them very real for us. Placing questions like these in our lapse, uniquely presenting them to us from the each individual prospective. She seems to make everyone’s position seem very plausible, and just when you begin to think there is not way to resolve the issues, her books take an decided twist and the matter is resolved. Change of Heart is just such a book. Well researched, shrewdly engaging, impeccably written, Picoult’s ability to develop the plot line through the internal thoughts of her characters makes for addictive reading. Elaborate weaving of a complicated plot with sensitive issue makes this book a jolting, intriguing joy ride. Picoult’s search for the truth and issue resolution grabs you by the ears and drags you head first through this book of justice and redemption. The rotating speakers and their individual though processes, coupled with Picoult’s slow and deliberate revelation of fact, research, detail and intrigue make you feel like you are watching an old Hitchcock movie. There are surprises and unexpected jolts at every turn. Ms. Picoult has written another winner. “You cannot go wrong with Picoult.” This book should be on your must read list.