July 2, 2007 11:16 AM
Cult Classic week recap - that's a wrap!
Well, that was fun! Thanks for joining us for cult classic week last week on Trashionista. Between daily power cuts of 3-6 hours (!) I somehow managed to fit in some reading and writing about cult classics and it was a great time all round.
In case you missed anything (maybe you had power cuts too?) here's a recap of some of the week's highlights:
- Review of Bridget Jones's Diary
- Review of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
- Me and Bridget Jones: then and now
Plus more great stuff to read in the cult classic archives.
This week, we're back to normal: so that's more great reviews, giveaways and book news - don't go anywhere!
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on July 2, 2007 in Announcements, Book related, Cult classic week | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 29, 2007 5:34 PM
FRIDAY FLICK: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Who doesn't love a bit of Marilyn Monroe on a Friday afternoon? (Or anytime, in fact!?) I know our ed-in-chief Gemma is a big fan (if you ask nicely she might show you the pics of her dressed as Lorelei, Marilyn's character in this film... or she might not! Sorry, Gemma...)
Anyway! In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn and Jane Russell (Dorothy, the sensible brunette - of course) go on a cruise to have fun and meet men, and succeed in doing both, though not without the odd scrape along the way, and of course, they have to sing as they go...
It's not the best movie starring either of these iconic actresses, but it is a bit of fun, and based on Anita Loos's cult classic novel. It also features "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend", a number that's dazzling in more ways than one... (and was the inspiration for Madonna's Material Girl video, of course).
Carry on over the cut for a clip!
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 29, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, Classic Novels, Cult classic week, Friday Flick, Girly Stuff, Romance | Permalink | Comments (0)
BOOK REVIEW: Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York by Gail Parent
I'd wanted to read Gail Parent's 1972 novel Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York for some time, ever since Jennifer Weiner classed it as her favourite chick lit novel on her blog, in fact. It could certainly be called a cult classic: those who know of it seem to love it, but it's out-of-print (though available second-hand on Amazon) and pretty under-appreciated.
Our eponymous heroine Sheila has moved to New York after graduation and is pretty much living the Sex and the City dream: working, partying, young free and single... but she's desperately unhappy. Not only is she a touch chunky, she's - wait for it - she's single. The SHAME. And in fact, never having heard of feminism, she's so depressed by the fact that she has no hubby to take care of her, that she's planning her funeral already. For when she commits suicide. Yeah - that'll show 'em!
You might think that the storyline of the book is entirely satirical, and at first I thought so too - but then I read the quotes from reviews at the start of the book, calling it "real" and "sad but true", as if all single women in their twenties are so desperate for a man and kids that they'll kill themselves rather than get it. I can't imagine reading this book in the early 70s - I imagine the black comedic feel was probably a revelation back then but reading it in 2007 was a strange experience and I found I didn't relate to the novel at all. Sheila is too self-deprecating to be releatable and the only sad thing here is how much she hates herself.
Rather than the chick lit novel I expected, Sheila Levine's sense of humour is re-he-ally dark. There's no denying this book is funny and that Gail Parent is a very talented writer with a quick wit. But I wish she'd put it to another use instead and never even suggested that women of her era felt this way.
I expected a good laugh, an interesting plot and a dash of nostalgia. I was disappointed: I got a character who hated herself for no good reason and a book that left me with a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth.
Mainly for the quality of Parent's writing, I'd give it..
Rating: 3 out of 5
But I'd rather read a Weiner!
Like this? Try Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher or Girl, Interrupted.
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 29, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, Cult classic week, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction, Rating: 3/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Me and Bridget Jones: Then and Now
AKA: Why I'm feeling nostalgic now cult classic week is drawing to a close, by Diane...
I remember hearing the buzz about Bridget Jones's Diary almost a decade ago.
In the autumn of 1997, I was a fledgling student of English Language and Bridget Jones, the paperback, had landed in the bestseller charts (not for the last time). "Hmm," I thought, "I might like to read that..." so, cheapo student that I was, I asked for it for Christmas. I loved that it started at Christmas/New Year, with Bridget bemoaning the exact post-Xmas anticlimax I was experiencing. I may never have tasted a sip of Chardonnay (still don't like it), been to Cafe Rouge (I finally made it last year!) or had the pleasure of Una Alconbury's turkey curry buffet (!), but I identified with Bridget, even as I knew she was exaggerated: a satirical version of all women's insecurities.
Most of all, BJ made me feel better about myself. Like her, I'd often woken up fuzzy-headed from a hangover with all my clean tights in my washing basket and the good looking but smarmy men never took ME seriously either... (but good riddance!)
Re-reading BJD recently, I was full of trepidation: would I enjoy it as much a decade on?
Thank goodness, I did. I'd forgotten how funny Helen Fielding really is (Olivia Joules put me off her for a while!) and what a charmingly confused character Bridget is. And I hated Daniel and loved Mark's Darcy-ness all over again. I read it whilst in the grip of a horrible virus, and it was the perfect pick-me-up. It was also a big nostalgia-fest: full of pop culture references from the late '90s, a time I remember very fondly. Remember when the lottery was shown during Blind date? In fact, remember Blind Date?! And Gladiators (ugh - Bridget didn't like it either).
It didn't seem like it then, but it really was a more innocent time, and we were all full of optimism abut the new government and the future of Britain.
I wonder when we'll recapture that again - and what Bridget would think of Gordon Brown...
WIN! Your copy of the book here.
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 29, 2007 in Book related, British Authors, Cult classic week, Modern Fiction | Permalink | Comments (4)
June 28, 2007 1:47 PM
Underrated cult classics
You know those cult classics that a small band of people love and a lot of others haven't even heard of? Well I'm making it my duty today to share with you some well-loved books that deserve an even wider audience. They could all be described as chick lit, so don't let the fact that none of them were written in the last 50 years hold you back from picking one up and having a darn good read!
Carry on over the cut to see my selection (and suggest your own!)
In Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. No-one can satirise the upper classes like Nancy Mitford, and this tongue-in-cheek portrayal of an eccentric aristocratic family during World War Two is very witty and unexpectedly moving - a brilliant read.
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M Delafield. Before Bridget Jones and prior to mum-lit, the Provincial Lady kept a 1930s diary featuring her absent-minded husband, unruly children and her own shoddy housekeeping. Tongue in cheek and very well-written, don't let the perhaps stuffy-sounding title put you off, this is a great book (with lots of sequels if you really like it!)
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy. This will disabuse you of the fact that the past was a much more innocent era, and fast. Sally, the American heroine of Dundy's debut novel dies her hair pink, stays out all night drinking and smoking (and avoiding drugs) and generally living the debauched, bohemian lifestyle... in the 1950s. Fab, fun and definitely chick lit-ish, this is a great summer read that a LOT more people should have read.
What do you think?
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 28, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, British Authors, Classic Novels, Cult classic week | Permalink | Comments (6)
THURSDAY TRAILBLAZER: Dodie Smith
I've been meaning to "do" Dodie for some time, and as it's cult classic week on Trashionista, what better time to honour the author of one of the first, and most fabulous YA/crossover novels: I Capture The Castle. A favourite of many modern authors (as Rachel Johnson will testify), ICTC is the charming, funny and sometimes emotionally raw tale of Cassandra, a romantic 17-year old who can't wait for her first love... but who finds things don't always work out the way you expect.
Of course it's The Hundred and One Dalmatians for which Dodie became famous (and she apparently got very cross if people spelt 'dalmatian' wrongly so I checked I'd got it right!) but she yearned to be a more 'serious' writer than her best-known works would suggest. She was a huge fan of Henry James and championed many modern novelists she admired, among them a young Julian Barnes. Smith also wrote plays (best known is Dear Octopus) and was passionate about the theatre. But her talent was for more lighthearted (but very well-constructed) fiction - and there's nothing wrong with that!
In her personal life, she was a survivor: a bit of a loner, she would escape to her school's library and find company in books. Orphaned by the age of 18, she struggled at first to support herself, but clearly she survived in the end, although struggled for money in her later years, after the death of her husband Alec Beesley with whom she had a very loving (if, it is thought, purely platonic) relationship for many years.
Read this: I Capture The Castle. Plus, if you're interested in learning more about this unconventional and opinionated writer, I highly recommend Valerie Grove's wonderfully entertaining biography Dear Dodie, which is easy-to-read yet very well researched.
[Picture via BBC]
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 28, 2007 in Book related, British Authors, Classic Novels, Cult classic week, Thursday Trailblazer, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (1)
BJD TV: What would Bridget watch?
All is revealed (thanks to the power of conjecture) over on TV Scoop!
Related: Review: Bridget Jones's Diary | WIN! Bridget Jones's Diary.
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 28, 2007 in Cult classic week, Modern Fiction, Opinion, Television | Permalink | Comments (0)
BOOK REVIEW: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
Persephone Books reprints forgotten classics by twentieth-century (mostly women) writers, making them perfect for Cult Classics Week.
Written in 1938, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is the story of downtrodden middle-aged governess Miss Pettigrew, who is on the brink of homelessness. When her employment agency accidentally sends her to the home of a young woman seeking a new maid, Miss Pettigrew gets caught up in a day that changes her life forever.
The woman, glamorous cabaret singer Miss LaFosse, is Miss Pettigrew's complete opposite, so they really shouldn't get on, but they do. Under Miss LaFosse's influence, Miss Pettigrew's finds herself doing things she's never done before: wearing make-up and fancy clothes, drinking cocktails, dancing at a nightclub and really living for the first time.
With each chapter divided into hourly time periods you find yourself not wanting the day to end.
In her wonderful book, The Shops, India Knight called Miss Pettigrew "the sweetest grown-up book in the world" and she was right. It's a lovely, charming book and a quick and easy read. Perfect for a plane journey, if you're off on your hols.
Rating: 5/5
Like this? Try The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne
Posted by Keris on June 28, 2007 in British Authors, Cult classic week, Debut Novels, Rating: 5/5 | Permalink | Comments (6)
June 27, 2007 6:32 PM
WIN! A copy of Bridget Jones's Diary
You've read the review (haven't you?!), you've probably seen the film and read (and watched) the sequel, but would you like to win a brand spanking new movie tie-in version? Yes? That's good, 'cos we have five to give away thanks to the lovely people at Picador!
Here's what to do to be in with a chance of winning: just send us an email with "Bridget" in the title, and your name and address in the body of the email (so we can send you a book if you win). Sorry, UK only.
Look out for more fabulous giveaways in the next few days - there's something for everyone, coming up on Trashionista!
Posted by Aigua Media on June 27, 2007 in Announcements, Book related, British Authors, Competition, Cult classic week, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction | Permalink | Comments (0)
BOOK REVIEW: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
You may have heard of this one... can anyone reading Trashionista not have read this book (if so, why?)
Although Marian Keyes's Watermelon was technically the first chick-lit book, Bridget Jones's Diary (BJD) started as a column in the Independent a year before Watermelon was published. Helen Fielding's modern (cult) classic captured the zeitgeist of a generation, introducing us to Mark Darcy, Daniel Cleaver, Una Alconbury, the concept of f***wittage and the importance of Chardonnay.
Plus it introduced us to one of the literary heroine of the nineties: Miss Bridget Jones...
In case you don't know the storyline, a quick reminder: Bridget Jones keeps a diary of her year, which starts with her being introduced to a snobbish man she instantly hates, Mark Darcy, progresses via disastrous dinner dates, job humiliations and bad boyfriends like Daniel Cleaver until she ends up with the man who was right for her all along...
I re-read the book for this review, so I could give it a fair rating and check that nostalgia hadn't made me remember it as better than it was. Not only was it at least as good as I'd remembered, it's actually got better with time: the cultural references may not be as relevant, but Bridget's insecurities and observations may be even truer now than back when this was published. (Women seem to go to even greater lengths to try to please men, for a start...) None of us know what classic s will still be in print (if we still have print books) in a hundred years time. But BJD definitely deserves to be one of them. It's a cult and a classic.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Like this? Try Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding.
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 27, 2007 in Book related, British Authors, Cult classic week, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Romance | Permalink | Comments (1)
What Bridget Jones taught us...
To whet your appetite for my review of Bridget Jones's Diary and a very special cult classic week competition, I thought I'd share: What I learned from Bridget Jones.
Here's just a few of the lessons the cult heroine shared with us. From her failures, we all can learn...
That mini-breaks are the height of romance/the ultimate test for a relationship.
Never to take fancy dress invitations too literally.
The older generation conducts extra-marital affairs via department store coffee shops.
Never wrap meat in blue string.
Always check for post under the interior doormat.
1471 is not your friend.
Lotto scratch cards, smoothies, cigarettes, mini pizzas and alcohol can all be extremely addictive...
The man called Darcy is always the hero.
Are there any I've missed?
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 27, 2007 in Book related, British Authors, Cult classic week, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction | Permalink | Comments (0)
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jen Lancaster
I'm reading Jen Lancaster's first book, Bitter Is the New Black, on Diane's recommendation and I'm loving it. Jen's latest book is Bright Lights, Big Ass.
As this is Cult Classics Week, Jen's choice of favourite chick lit book fits in perfectly. Over to Jen:
Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:
A humorous look at how NOT sexy-in-the-city urban life can be.
Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?
I used to write in bookstores and coffee shops, but due to our home’s gravity problem, I keep dropping my laptop computers and now it’s easier (and less expensive) to use a desktop. It’s located in the alcove off my bedroom. It’s convenient for my dogs so they can comfortably lie on the bed and stare directly into my soul while I try to write. (Yeah, no pressure there.)
Your favourite chick-lit book?
Hands-down, it’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. I’ve read it no less than twenty times and it makes me laugh with each reading. Helen Fielding was the first author to so neatly capture and immortalize the real life of post-collegiate, but not-yet-suburban women. In one scene, Bridget works from home in order to be more productive and ends up taking a seven-hour nap, which made me wonder if Fielding had been spying on me.
Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?
I love Bridget and also Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series because they’re both so delightfully real with their foibles and imperfections. (However, when I finally grow up, I want to be Patsy and/or Edina.)
What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?
Write for yourself, not an audience. That way, you know at least one person will be happy and what ever you put down will sound so much more genuine. Also, writing is a muscle that gets stronger the more you exercise it – so do it as much as you can and I promise you’ll see results.
What are you reading at the moment?
I have three different books going at any one time. Right now I’m in the middle of Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead and Uneasy, Laurie Notaro’s There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell, and Christopher Buckley’s Boomsday. Admittedly kind of a schizophrenic mix, but I’m enjoying all of them for their humor and distinctly different writer’s voices.
What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)
My next book comes out in May
2008 and it’s called Pretty Fat. It’s a true story
about trying to lose 50 pounds by every means possible (and despite
rampant laziness and an inflated sense of self-worth.) I’ve
hated the process but am delighted with the results and hope readers
are, too!
What question have you never been asked in an interview, but think
you should have been? (Tell us the question and answer it too, if you
like!)
The question is: “Would you like to meet Vince Vaughn?” And the answer is yes. Yes, I would.
Thanks, Jen.
Posted by Keris on June 27, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, Cult classic week, Interviews, Non Fiction | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 26, 2007 5:53 PM
TUESDAY THREE: Future classics
As you know, it's Cult Classics week at Trashionista this week (although it's slightly on hold since poor Diane currently has no electricity thanks to the inclement weather!) So for this week's Tuesday Three, I'm looking at future chick lit classics.
Since Jennifer Weiner is the chick lit author most likely to cross-over, her debut novel, Good In Bed, is destined to be a future classic. It's is the story of Cannie, who finds out her boyfriend Bruce has left her for another woman by reading about it in his new magazine column. Weiner's debut addresses issues of family, self-image and love in a way we hadn't seen in chick-lit before. Cannie isn't a Bridget Jones style diet-obsessive - she has phases where she's unhappy with her body, but generally she likes being a larger lady. And she is, we're assured, very good in bed...
Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper perhaps suffered a bit for being a Richard & Judy bookclub choice. While being picked by the twosome is a huge boost for earnings and profile, it pretty much guarantees you a critical mauling. Jodi Picoult's books, though, are brilliantly written, topical, moving and entertaining and surely this will be recognised at some point in the future.
Thirteen year-old Anna is a human pincushion, who's been through countless invasive surgeries and blood transfusions to help save her sister Kate, who has leukaemia. She was never given a choice in this - in fact she was born for this very purpose. But now she's had enough. She's taking her parents to court to ask that they stop harvesting her body to help her sister. As you can imagine, this tears an already disparate (and desperate) family apart...
We haven't actually reviewed the final book in the three - Rachel's Holiday - but I couldn't possibly leave it out, since, as the chick lit readers' and writers' favourite, it's surely a future classic. Marian Keyes' third book is the story of Rachel Walsh, whose love of a good time lands her in Ireland's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic. Rachel is hopeful, expecting spa treatments and celebrities, instead, she finds a lot of group therapy, which leads her, against her will, to some important self-knowledge and a man who might actually be good for her.
Which books do you think are classics of the future?
Posted by Keris on June 26, 2007 in American Authors, Cult classic week, Debut Novels, Irish Authors, Marian Keyes, Modern Fiction, Tuesday Three | Permalink | Comments (3)
June 25, 2007 7:25 PM
MORE ON MONDAY: Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby came to most women's attention (sorry to be gender biased, but I think that's true!) with High Fidelity, his excellent lad lit novel about a music obsessive and his estranged girlfriend.
But if you haven't read Fever Pitch, you've missed a trick. The memoir of Hornby's obsession with Arsenal might be a bit much if you're a mad-keen Chelsea or Man Utd. supporter, or if you're American and think football's called soccer...(I tease!) but even if you're not a fan of the 'beautiful game', there's still a lot to enjoy in this book. It's a raw and touching story abut the power of sport to transform the emotions and the sense of belonging and bonding that football can provide. Even if you don't like sport, it's hard not to be won over by Hornby's enthusiasm and the excitement and tension at the end of the book is palpable.
I admit, I wouldn't ahve picked this book up had I not loved High Fideltity, or if it wasn't handy on my Dad's bookshelf. But I'm so very, very glad I did.
It's a cult classic of the footie field and beyond!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Like this? Try A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby.
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 25, 2007 in Book related, British Authors, Cult classic week, Memoirs, More On Monday, Non Fiction, Prize Winners, Rating: 5/5 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Welcome to Cult Classic Week on Trashionista!
Cult classics are not the classics of old (although we like those too - remember Jane Austen week?) but the classics of the not-too-distant past that instantly resonate with readers and that we know (or we hope) will be around for a long time. They may not be critically acclaimed (although sometimes they are) but readers love them.
This next week on Trashionista is officially Cult Classic Week, so you can look out for tips on chick lit classics of the future, reviews of books you already love and the unearthing of some cult classics that are a little too culty - undeservedly under-rated reads we think you'll love.
And of course, my friends, there will be competitions - oh yes! Some of our best giveaways yet., in fact. All of which is a lovely way to celebrate the fact that this week is the one-year anniversary of Keris and my induction into the Trashionista gang. What a great year it's been!
Let the cult classics roll....
Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 25, 2007 in Announcements, Cult classic week | Permalink | Comments (3)
