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• Current

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Type: documentary

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Status: I recommend

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Author: Eleanor Coppola

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Tags: families memoir love marriage films mothers

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Description: Copyright 1979, new afterword written in 1991. The diary/notes of the wife of Francis FordCopyright 1979, new afterword written in 1991. The diary/notes of the wife of Francis Ford Coppola during the period of the filming of the movie Apocalypse Now -- when she was also trying to film a documentary of the film-making (her first foray into film). Parts of this book were used in the documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" (1991), which used footage Eleanor originally shot. Mother of three, wife of famous man, who has his own little apocalypse triggered by the making of the film. Heart-aching, how Eleanor has to hold the family together, especially once Francis admits to an affair. The marriage almost breaks up, as Francis almost breaks down. Afterword deals with death of son Gio in an accident. Beautiful, thought-provoking diary of a woman torn between the roles of wife, mother, and self....

2007-01-29

 

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: neutral

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Author: Jack Gantos

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Tags: teen love gothic twins mothers ya_lit taxidermy dysfunctional

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Description: A bizarre little book about obsessive mother love coursing (cursing) through a family. TheA bizarre little book about obsessive mother love coursing (cursing) through a family. The narrator is a girl who grows up observing the phenomenon in elderly identical twins across the street and in her life -- and coming to understand how she is part of it (one major secret being that one of them fathered her, though she struggles to figure out which one). I've never been a fan of gothic fiction, a tradition Gantos is consciously contributing to by mentioning Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe, and Hawthorne in his introduction. Basically the twins have stuffed their mother and she continues to play a role in their life -- just as the young narrator realizes (and plans) what parts of her own beloved mother she will preserve when the time comes....

2006-12-18

  & 19 users

• Current

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Type: fiction

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Status: liked

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Author: Nicole Krauss

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Tags: stories holocaust love poland authors

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Description: Terribly clever -- well constructed -- the unraveling of a mystery by a 12-year-old (?) girlTerribly clever -- well constructed -- the unraveling of a mystery by a 12-year-old (?) girl trying to understand her dead father -- involving the secrets of an old Polish refugee from WWII who never got to know his own son (who didn't know his true father) -- also involving stories as the means of survival. Supposedly based on stories the author heard within her own New York Jewish family. Admirable, but wouldn't necessarily recommend to anyone. Made me think I should finish reading Zusak's "The Book Thief" as there are similarities....

2006-05-27