Nonnas

tags: grandmas, Italian, Netflix movie, family restaurant, Vince Vaughn

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

From IMDB

After losing his beloved mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with actual grandmothers as the chefs.

The nonnas are played by Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire, and Susan Sarandon. all 70+ years old. Cast is mostly Italian actors or are part Italian. 

Highly recommended. I love it and will watch it again. The movie made me want to cook a batch of Sunday Gravy which I cooked just once, 15 years ago. .

The Palace At The End Of The Sea

tags: bildungsroman, historical fiction 

⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

A young man comes of age and crosses continents in search of an identity—and a cause—at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War in a thrilling, timely, and emotional historical saga.

New York City, 1929. Young Theo Sterling’s world begins to unravel as the Great Depression exerts its icy grip. He finds it hard to relate to his father. His father, a Jewish self-made businessman, refuses to give up on the American dream, and his mother, a refugee from religious persecution in Mexico, holds fast to her Catholic faith. When disaster strikes the family, Theo must learn who he is. A charismatic school friend and a firebrand girl inspire him to believe he can fight Fascism and change the world, but each rebellion comes at a higher price, forcing Theo to question these ideologies too.

From New York’s Lower East Side to an English boarding school to an Andalusian village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Theo’s harrowing journey from boy to man is set against a backdrop of societies torn apart from within, teetering on the edge of a terrible war to which Theo is compulsively drawn like a moth to a flame.

This novel is one of the choices on Amazon First Reads for June 2025. I downloaded it as soon as I saw the author: Simon Tolkien. I have read just one book by this author which I enjoyed. 

All the members of Theo's family, mother, father, and specially Theo are repulsive. The father is Jewish and the mother is a Catholic from Mexico. Theo as a child is very disrespectful to his parents. He is full of hate for his parents and it is not explained why. He just is. His parents are not likable but they do not deserve Theo's contempt for them. It doesn't make sense because the story is set first in 1929 and I don't believe children were like Theo at the time. The author wrote unfavorably the Catholic religion and its practices, capitalism, Republican (Herbert Hoover), and even Jews and seemed to sympathize with communism. Theo is a magnet to communist characters even as a 13 year old boy (huh?!!), first in New York, then England, then in Spain. What? Why is every communist leaning person whether adult, child, or teenager drawn to him? It's not credible. It is too contrived.

This is Book 1 of 2 books and I won't be reading the second. Not recommended.

Lessons In Love

tags: murder, romance

⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

Lady Lucinda Esmond’s swine of a father was forever fleecing young bucks in London’s gaming halls—until he met Cpt. Mark Chamfrey, who, having been once cheated, would not be made a fool of again and promptly kidnapped ten-year-old Lucinda for ransom . . .

But when Chamfrey thought better of it and returned the girl, Esmond nonetheless exacted his own price: Chamfrey could redeem himself and save his skin by agreeing to marry his little victim nine years hence, just time enough for Chamfrey to inherit a title and fortune. Lucinda’s father could not have foreseen what a beauty Lucinda would become as those years passed—nor that Chamfrey, a newly made marquess, would actually come to welcome his so-called punishment . . .

Originally published under the name Marion Chesney, this twist-filled tale of Regency romance is by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series.

I thought this M. C. Beaton novelette would be strictly romantic comedy set during the Regency era but somehow quickly turned into a series of murders. 

Spoilers

Heavenly Ever After

tags: Korean dramedy, Netflix, romantic fantasy

12 episodes, Saturday and Sunday

An elderly woman named Lee Hae-sook died at the age of 80. Since her husband's accident, she has provided for her family on her own. Hae-sook makes an odd choice when she first arrives at the Heaven Admission Counseling Office: she decides to keep her 80-year-old appearance for her afterlife. Her husband's affectionate remarks that she was gorgeous at all ages, but particularly now, had an impact on this choice. Hae-sook and her husband, Ko Nak-Joon, are reunited in Heaven.

But she is shocked to see him in his younger, thirty-year-old self, and he is equally shocked to see her looking older. As it happens, Hae-sook is the only individual in Heaven who has decided against going back to their younger self. In the meantime, Nak-joon delivers letters of well wishes from Earth while working as a postman in Heaven. While he waited for Hae-sook, he constructed a stunning home in Heaven and died before her.

I love it already after watching the first 2 episodes. My fave Son Suk-Ku stars in this comedy drama set in heaven. He is so funny and cute in a comedic role.

I think this series might be a tearjerker also but with more comedy and romance. The dogs who also went to heaven reunited with their humans. There is only one cat in heaven, Lee Hae-sook and her husband's pet who died before both of them did. I'm guessing the cat got to heaven maybe because Lee Hae-sook put a cross on her ashes/urn. 

 

George Bellairs

tags: British, George Bellairs, mystery,

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

The Classic Detective Inspector Littlejohn Mysteries by George Bellairs brings together seven riveting cases of the intuitive and methodical Inspector Littlejohn. This illustrated collection includes the novels Outrage on Gallows Hill, The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge, Death on the Last Train, and The Case of the Demented Spiv, Death In Room Five, among others. Each story is steeped in British charm, capturing the nuances of small-town life while delving into the darkness that lies beneath the surface.

Bellairs’s Littlejohn is known for his patience and keen observation, which allow him to navigate complex webs of secrets and motives, all while exuding a calm demeanor. The plots twist through surprising revelations and intriguing suspects, combining wit and suspense that keeps readers guessing until the end. Bellairs's classic storytelling style and Inspector Littlejohn's deductive brilliance make this collection a must-read for fans of traditional British detective fiction.

George Bellairs is the nom de plume of Harold Blundell, a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, who settled in the Isle of Man on retirement. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the series' detective Inspector Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon. 

 I recently finished reading all 7 books when the collection became available from Hoopla.. The past 2 years I read 

The Case of the Seven Whistlers 

The Case of the Headless Jesuit 

The Cursing Stones Murder 

The Body in the Dumb River 

Death Before Breakfast

Murder Adrift

I like George Bellairs's books. He has great sense of humor. His numerous characters have their own distinct personalities. They are not the usual cardboard cutouts that are very common in latest mystery fiction books.

Highly recommended if you are not a reader who takes offense at everything.

Karla's Choice

tags: espionage, George Smiley, mystery, thriller

⭐⭐out of five

From Goodreads

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor in Whitehall—unconfirmed and a little scandalous—that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple interview Szusanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But, as Smiley well knows, even the softest step in the shadows resounds with terrible danger. Soon, he is back there, in East Berlin, and on the trail of his most devious enemy’s hidden past.

Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway’s Karla’s Choice is an extraordinary, thrilling return to the world of spy fiction’s greatest writer, John le Carré.

The book was written by John le Carré's son Nicholas Cornwell under the name Nick Harkaway. I read this with very low expectations and I was correct in my presumption that it will be disappointing. 

The novel is set in 1963 but it reads like it happens in the present.. The author writes really well but it just doesn't feel that it is in the 60s with a sea of super women doing spy stuff. The young secretary of the character whom Karla wants to assassinate went to Control asking to be included in the mission, and just like that, she was made to accompany Smiley in his pursuit of the same man to save him. No training on how to work as a spy and with spies. Unbelievably stupid and so 2024. Almost all of le Carré's novels are inhabited by men except for one of my favorites, Connie Sachs, and of course George's wife, Ann. 

Some of the characters in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are here. Connie Sachs, Peter Guillam, Toby Esterhase, and Jim Prideaux have long-ish presence. Bill Haydon has a few appearances with annoying smart alecky lines. They have no similarities to the original characters. Nick Harkaway did a disservice to his father, IMHO.

I didn't like that the author made George Smiley a roly-poly James Bond with all the running and evading the bad guys. He is usually taciturn but very clever and cunning. Here he is soooo chatty. Hello Nick. Your father wrote George as the antithesis of James Bond! Sheesh.

Not recommended specially if you have read both The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Little Siberia

 

tags: comedy, drama, Finland, Netflix

⭐⭐out of 5

 From IMDB

The everyday life of the small village of Hurmevaara is shaken when a meteorite falls through the roof of a car one night. According to the town's mayor, the meteorite is very valuable for the future of the slowly dying village. Joel, the village priest, and a veteran peacekeeper, ends up guarding the meteorite in an old museum before it is sent to London for a more detailed evaluation. But a precious meteorite gets a lot of attention. It is understandable that he wants to get rid .. While Joel protects the meteorite from both amateur and professional criminals, he tries to unravel an even greater mystery surrounding his own life. Joel's wife has recently revealed that she, finally, is pregnant. Great news, but unfortunately, Joel is unable to have children due to his war injury. He just hasn't told his wife.

This is the first movie on Netflix from Finland. I can't decide if I like it or if I understood the point. There are a few LOL as well as suspenseful moments. 

A meteorite fell inside the car of a somewhat batty individual. He has been asking for a memorial or something for his dead friend and now the meteorite is more important. It is understandable that he wants to get rid of the meteorite. The stone is being kept in the town's tiny "museum" inside a glass case and protected because some people from the U.K might buy it for a million €s. A couple of strange foreigners together with a local are planning to steal the rock. The fate of the rock is hilarious and appropriate IMO. 

The story of the pastor and his wife is vague. He did some lame "investigation" and finally told her his condition. The wife didn't comment after the revelation but got upset and decided to go to Helsinki and asked her husband if he still wants her, he can come for her. Huh?! But I like that they didn't shout nor quarrel, no drama at all. They talked like they were discussing what's for dinner. 😄

My Cousin Rachel

tags: classics, Daphne du Maurier, gothic, mystery

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow - Philip's cousin Rachel - turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet ...might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?

Philip Ashley at 18 months old was brought up by his cousin Ambrose when his parents died. The trouble started when Ambrose went to Italy for plant specimens and got married to a half Italian half English woman. The English parent of the Countess, as she prefers to be called, is a cousin of Ambrose and Philip. 

Ambrose hadn't come home to England for almost 1 year because he started getting sick and became paranoid that his wife is trying to kill him. He was able to send a few short letters to Philip when cousin Rachel is out. Philip went to Italy to try to rescue Ambrose but he was already late. Ambrose has died and the Countess left immediately after his death so they never met. 

Philip was angry at the gold digger cousin Rachel and imagined her as a huge fat ugly woman who didn't deserve his beloved Ambrose. Cousin Rachel as part of her scheme, came to England and the gullible easy to manipulate Philip instantly fell in love. Cousin Rachel is the opposite of a warty ugly witch. She is pretty, small and with dainty small hands with lovely fingers. Poor Philip. He had no idea and never seen a "real" woman. He doesn't think his childhood girl friend is a woman. She's just there as a girl He is so enamored with Rachel that he couldn't accept that she has a purpose in coming to England. Philip gave in only to discover the truth. He is frustratingly childlike that I wanted to shake him up or slap him upside the head for his naivete. However, all the feelings of aggravations while reading became moot with the great ending. 

Daphne du Maurier is a master of atmospheric superb stories. I loved this book. 

Highly recommended.

The City And Its Uncertain Walls

Tags: Japanese, magical realism 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads

We begin with a nameless young couple: a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. One day, she disappears . . . and her absence haunts him for the rest of his life.

Thus begins a search for this lost love that takes the man into middle age and on a journey between the real world and an other world—a mysterious, perhaps imaginary, walled town where unicorns roam, where a Gatekeeper determines who can enter and who must remain behind, and where shadows become untethered from their selves.

Listening to his own dreams and premonitions, the man leaves his life in Tokyo behind and ventures to a small mountain town, where he becomes the head librarian, only to learn the mysterious circumstances surrounding the gentleman who had the job before him. As the seasons pass and the man grows more uncertain about the porous boundaries between these two worlds, he meets a strange young boy who helps him to see what he’s been missing all along.

Murakami is at his best in this long-ish novel. All his trademark elements are present: unfulfilled romance, unicorns, alternate worlds, ghosts, jazz music, weird interesting people. Also, shout out to two animated movies - Hayao Miyasaki's Spirited Away and the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. 

The book is divided into 3 parts which came full circle. Very enjoyable read and ending but only for die hard Haruki Murakami fans like myself.

Labyrinth Of Reflections

tags: Russian, sci-fi, thriller, virtual reality

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

From Goodreads 

The story is set in the near future, where a chance invention allows people to experience virtual reality without the need for costly hardware — a seconds long movie drives a person into a sort of psychosis, forcing one's subconsciousness to perceive a simple 3D game as real world.

Soon after the invention, Microsoft and IBM build a virtual city on the Internet called "Deeptown" (named so after the street name for VR — the Deep), which anyone is free to log on and enter. The painted world becomes a second home for millions people — but some of them 'sink', i.e. forget to return to the reality and eventually die of dehydration.

Only a small group of people calling themselves divers are capable of leaving the Deep at will. Gods of the virtual world, they help those who sink.

The book has similarities to Mamoru Oshii's Avalon movie although the book came out earlier in 1995 and the movie in 2001. Players in both the book and movie get addicted and don't want to leave the game for different reasons. In the movie, players who reach the top most level become catatonic and they are removed to a hospital facility with fellow players but their "gaming persons" stay in the level.

In the book, the players who don't want to stop playing are anonymous and do not provide their locations so they die from malnutrition until a diver or savior locates, convinces, and guides them out of the game to get some nourishment.

The setting feels outdated specially the technology and lingo. The players only use a computer and a headset, no fancy equipment that are not affordable for everybody. The story is more of a thriller, IMHO, than purely a sci-fi novel.

I like it although I don't know anything about virtual reality games. This Russian writer is becoming one of my favorite fiction book authors.