WORDS Eavan Gaffney
JS English and Film student Niamh Gaskin is currently reading Stephen King’s Carrie, the novel upon which Brian de Palma’s 1976 film and the recent remake were based. The now famous tale follows Carrie, a high-school student who suffers abuse from both her bullying classmates and her hyper-religious mother, as she discovers that she has telekinetic powers and uses them to exact a bloody revenge on her tormenters. According to Niamh, the novel’s telling of the story is slightly different to that of the film, in the inevitable sense that it gives more time to some of the details only glossed over by the adaptation. Largely, however, the novel displays the same riveting engagement with supernatural teen horror. Niamh would highly recommend Carrie — particularly to fans of the film.
Alexandra Black, another JS English and Film student is reading George Eliot’s 19th-century novel, Middlemarch. While she insists that she is only a short way into the 900 page tome, Alexandra is already enjoying its funny and, occasionally, bitchy narration. The story, which is set in the 1830s, involves multiple plots and a large cast of characters. It explores themes of marriage, the status of women and political reform, through the daily happenings and goings-on of the fictitious English midlands town of Middlemarch. Though it has been lauded by luminaries from Virginia Woolf to Julian Barnes as one of the greatest novels written in the English language, Alexandra maintains that it is light-hearted, for what it is, and is looking forward to getting further into it.
Peter Mahaffey, a SF Film and Theology student has been reading Stefan Zweig’s novella Chess Game (also known as The Royal Game). Through a frame-narrative structure, which Peter considers to be reminiscent of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the story of a chess genius who learned to play while being imprisoned by the Nazis, is recounted. A tale of psychological trauma and resilience, Chess Game was the final work by the famed Austrian writer (whose work, incidentally, served as the inspiration behind Wes Anderson’s upcoming film The Grand Budapest Hotel). At a mere 88 pages Chess Game is a quick, yet very intense read, which Peter would greatly recommend.
Charlotte Climan (left), a JS visiting student, and Tatiana Szpur, who studies Drama, have both recently been reading John Green’s bestseller The Fault in our Stars. The novel, which tells the story of two teenage cancer patients who fall in love, has become hugely popular with readers and critics alike since its release in January 2012. Charlotte has found it to be a bit sentimental, and its engagement with deeper issues to be somewhat self-aware. She maintains, however, that while it is not high art, The Fault in Our Stars is still a fun read, if more suited to younger adults. Tatiana largely agrees, asserting that the book has nice characters, some cute moments and that it made her laugh. She adds that it’s the kind of fast, entertaining read that suits a flight or a trip to the beach.
