I like Stardust because it’s like reading about two different worlds. The village of Wall is in one world, the human world, and it lies near a stone wall that is the border with another world, the magical kingdom of Stormhold.

The main character is called Tristan, his dad went over the wall when he shouldn’t have done, and he fell in love with a woman who was a slave to a witch. The woman was the daughter of the King of Stormhold. When the King of Stormhold died, all of his sons had to compete to be the last man standing to be the new King.

The story is about what happens when Tristan goes over the wall, and how he faces true love

I liked reading this story because the language and the story was old fashioned and it was magical as well, it had heart eating witches and stars, and you will find out when you read it!

After I had read the book I watched the film, I would recommend watching the film because it’s a really good version of the book.

Stardust, Neil Gaiman, Harper Collins (1998/2006)

Get Into Reading Wirral is holding a special Valentine’s event this coming Thursday to help fund The Reader Organisation’s ongoing work with Looked After Children in the area.

A very romantic reading from Edith Wharton’s classic story of passion and heartbreak, The Age of Innocence, will certainly put you in the mood for love. Alongside reading, there will also be a special showing of the 1993 Martin Scorsese film of the novel, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer. There’ll be a chance to enter a raffle and win some very special love-themed prizes.

Get Into Reading group members can get their tickets, which cost £2, from their group facilitator and can pay on the door on arrival at The Lauries. Refreshments will be included in the ticket price (but tissues won’t – so it’s highly advised you bring your own, because things will get emotional.)

This classic is one bleak journey into the human psyche. Those who have not read it may be familiar with the story from the frankly excellent Apocalypse Now (1979), a modern film adaptation which transports the setting from Belgian Congo and the brutality of the colonial regime to the relentless horror of Vietnam War era South East Asia. The fundamentals of the plot remain intact however, as will become clear to readers of Heart of Darkness; the real story revolves around eternal features of humanity, not the setting.

It follows the retelling of the harrowing adventures of Marlow, an English sailor who takes a job as a riverboat Captain in Belgian ruled Congo in 1899. The title reflects the old, colonial European idea of Africa as ‘The Dark Continent’, dangerous, full of mystery and twisted things far removed from civilisation, a place where adventure could be had, a place that Europeans should ‘civilise’. Heart of Darkness is a product of it’s time, hence the casual racism, which is a constant theme. That said Conrad’s novel is not really about Africa at all in the end. The real heart of darkness in this novel is that which lurks in human beings.

The story partially mirrors Joseph Conrad’s life, like Marlow he travelled to the Congo where he was to have commanded a river boat. In the end he caught a tropical disease and was invalided home, but several of Marlow’s experiences are retellings of Conrad’s, the beleaguered condition of their prospective commands upon arrival in Congo, for example.

The main presence in the story, other than Marlow himself, is Kurtz. This remarkable individual has set himself up as a ruler deep in the Congo, served and almost worshipped by native tribes, beyond the authority of the Belgians. Kurz arrived as a trader for the colonial authorities, gathering huge amounts of ivory and other natural resources, until he grew so powerful as to become a law unto himself. He is a man of deep charisma, described as a “universal genius”, respected and feared by those who know him. Kurtz is a fascinating character: the contrast between his early despatches, full of optimism and belief in education of the locals and the “white man’s burden”, and the horrors that Marlow discovers are marked. The power-mad genius represents the darkness that resides, in one way or another, inside us all.

Marlow takes a native crew from a reputedly cannibal tribe and a handful of white men he despises for their moral corruption on an odyssey up the Congo, to find Kurtz. They find death and desolation along the way and Marlow gains insight into the human condition, which depresses him deeply, leaving him a changed man.

Heart of Darkness is a brilliant book. It is only relatively short, and if you are anywhere near as impressed with it as I was it will not take you long at all! Very much worth a go though, the chilling character of Kurtz is a real classic. I would say don’t read it if you are feeling down though, it will not help! (Incidentally, Marlon Brando’s interpretation of Kurtz in Apocalypse Now is worthy of the character – superb.)

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Penguin Classics (1899/2007)

Another major reworking of a perennial staple for page-to-screen adaptations had its unveiling at the Venice Film Festival this week. The latest film version of Wuthering Heights is the imagining of acclaimed British director Andrea Arnold and its take on the enduringly popular story of passion and obsession is considerably gritty, closer-to-the-bone than its many predecessors and perhaps even brusquer than Brontë; if Jane Eyre can be likened to a rich, sumptuous but sweet soft-centre then the new Wuthering Heights is surely a dark and chunky chocolate with a nut at its core: precarious and tough but ultimately extremely satisfying.

Speaking before the film’s premiere, Arnold said she wanted to honour Emily Brontë and the book’s “strange, dark and profound” spirit in her version. Certainly the notorious wildness of the moors, as much a key ‘character’ in the novel as Heathcliff, Cathy and Edgar, are brought to life not only through the setting and naturalistic approach to the narrative – much like the recent Radio 3 adaptation of the book, the new film contains a smattering of coarse and profane language, holding nothing back – but most impressively, through the use of hand-held camerawork and shots that are rough around the edges, placing the characters deep within the wild and windy landscape and emphasising their tumultuous emotion.

Another fairly unique take comes in the casting; instead of being subconsciously distracted by superstar names, the two leads are played by up and coming actors. Kaya Scoledario (previously of Skins) takes on Cathy, while the role of Heathcliff – pictured here as a runaway slave picked from the Liverpool streets – is played by Solomon Glave, whose portrayal of Heathcliff as a a boy is being especially praised, and James Howson, in his first acting role; James himself being plucked from the job-centre to attend open-call auditions.

The production of the new Wuthering Heights has proved to be a long journey, almost as tortuous as the novel’s story, but well worth it for its brutal but brave portrayal. Lovers of the book will have to wait a little bit longer for the film’s release at the start of November – but that provides the perfect amount of time to curl up and give it a good re-read.

The enduring appeal of the Earnshaws: a timeline of Wuthering Heights in the spotlight

• December 1845-July 1846 – Emily Bronte pens the novel.
• July 1847 – A year after completion and initial rejection, Wuthering Heights gets a publisher.
• 1939 – The seminal film adaptation of the novel appears, starring Laurence Oliver and Merle Oberon as Heathcliff and Cathy. It is nominated for Best Film at the 1939 Academy Awards.
• 1970 – First colour film version stars Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall.
• 1978 – The story of Wuthering Heights takes on a lyrical form when Kate Bush releases her musical imagining of the classic tortured love story as her debut single. It tops the UK singles chart.
• 1992 – Another film adaptation stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
• 2008 – Wuthering Heights is reinvented musically once more as a dramatic musical, narrated by Ray Winstone.
• 2009 – A two-part television adaptation for ITV features Tom Hardy (who stars in the new adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Charlotte Riley.
• 2011 – The latest film adaptation, directed by Andrea Arnold, is to be released.

Dickens failed to finish the story before he died in 1870, and its adaption forms part of a season of programmes on TV and radio to celebrate the printed word for the BBC’s Year Of Books.

BBC director of vision Jana Bennett said of the season:

“Since the BBC’s first broadcast in 1922, a key part of our role has been to impart knowledge through programmes that inform, educate and entertain.

“What better than to share the pages of our most treasured cultural asset with BBC audiences than through a year of programming that celebrates the BBC’s vast collection of books programmes, both historic and new.”

Click here for the full story

Not long ago I watched the film adaptation of the Alan Bennett play The History Boys, which featured a couple of quite distinct mentions of the poetic form. In the first, poetry recital causes a few groans of dissatisfaction, especially from one pupil who says “I don’t always understand poetry”. The eccentric and charismatic General Studies tutor Hector responds by saying “You don’t always understand it? Timms, I never understand it. But learn it now, know it now and you will understand it…whenever”. Of course, treating poetry as something to be dusted off, committed rigidly to memory and known for knowledge’s sake is missing the point quite considerably but there is a lot to be said for not always understanding – or at least, not over-analysing, picking everything apart at the seams and driving yourself around the proverbial bend in a bid to understand. Quite often we may have to wait for something – sometimes significant, sometimes not – to happen in our own lives for us not simply to understand a poem, but for the poem to understand us. And in the meantime, it can be read again and again and again, slowly, carefully. With each reading, something new, if only something very small will emerge; and that’s the beauty of not ‘getting it’ straightaway. The ‘eureka’ moments – when the lightbulb doesn’t just flash but floods everything in a golden glow – seem to occur when we’re stumbling rather than searching. And such discoveries can be deeply powerful. In a later exchange while exploring Drummer Hodge by Hardy, Hector makes an observation even more truthful than the last: “The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”

Though when we’re seeking solace from the harsh realities of life, it’s more likely that we look for someone else’s positive words to balance out our negative thoughts and feelings, the deeper, darker and occasionally more uncomfortable poems are often the ones that reach out and touch us in this most profound way. This poem by Gerald Manley Hopkins is full of darkness, pain and suffering but also beauty, empathy – and understanding. Understanding of everyone who has felt incredible pangs of grief, a dense fog of depression, an inescapable inner world full of torment. It won’t act as a replica of life for everyone – what poem does in every sense? – but it does extend the hand to many who feel unable to grasp one elsewhere.

No Worst, There Is None

“No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,
More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?
My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief
Woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing -
Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked ‘No ling-
-ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief’.

O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
May who ne’er hung there. Nor does long our small
Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,
Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all
Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.”

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

Did you miss Romeo and Juliet at the Fire Station? Want to relive some of the memories? No idea what I’m talking about?!

Not to worry on any count, here’s a short film, made by Kev Higgins (Merseyside Community Theatre‘s Media Assistant), which captures the essence of this huge community project in the Alt Valley area of Liverpool and some of the magic created by the shows (one of the highlights being the brilliant ‘Thriller’ routine at the end of this film):

Here’s a few comments from people that saw, or were involved in, the show:

One of my friends has seen ‘Romeo and Juliet’ on five other occasions and she mentioned that this was the best version she had ever seen.

Thanks to The Reader Organisation also for having the guts to bring this to my community – not many would have given us the chance to shine – now, for the first time in a long time, good things are being reported about the area and everyone is buzzing. A great positivity seems to be in the air.

I had low confidence before this project and was very shy meeting people, but now I’ve made some great friends, become more sociable, and have more confidence within myself. My eyes have been opened to the possibilities in life and I feel I can deal with anything.

I wasn’t too sure what to make of it at first, nothing like this had happened in Croxteth before, but when I saw how many people came to watch and just how good it was.  I thought it was fantastic, for all the people involved and for the image of the area.  Well done, more please.

I made note of the film, Tamara Drewe, in my diary for the scheduled release date (September 2010) and somewhat forgot about it. Now, here we are at that time, the film’s a huge success and I haven’t yet been to see and try to spot The Reader (but it is my mission at the weekend). Have you?! Please let me know if you see those copies on the bookshelf.

It may look like this...

In case you miss it on the big screen, you can a copy of The Reader to see it for yourself: visit the magazine pages on our website.

Unfortunately, the film was rather short on literary insights and ran high – even for my tastes – on schmaltz, bordering rather dangerously on being completely cringey at times (especially when you factor in the obviously fake ‘British’ accent of the male love interest). But nonetheless, it wasn’t a total write-off. For a start, it has raised my anticipation levels even higher for the upcoming Merseyside Community Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. But also it had left me feeling very intrigued indeed; I had never heard of the phenomenon of the letters that continue to be written to Juliet before the release of the film. I’ve read up since on the ‘work’ carried out by the real-life secretaries of Juliet and have been charmed, saddened and uplifted in equal measure by what I’ve learnt. Whatever the story of love lost or hoping to be found, from teenage girls asking what they should do to find their dream boyfriends to troubled prison inmates lamenting the complete loss of love from their lives, it strikes me that there is something perhaps unexplainable but certainly special about all of the letters. They are all testament to the incredible power of literature; that so many from all corners of the world would be so moved by reading about one young girl’s experience of forbidden love, feel that the only person they could confide in, seek solace from and look for answers to all of the burning questions of the heart is a fictional character (of course, whether Juliet is the best person to take direction from is questionable). To think that in a time of incredible despair and despondency in an individual’s life that comfort and peace of mind can be sought from a piece of literature is something quite astounding indeed, but at the same time it seems perfectly understandable. It’s what us at The Reader Organisation have been saying all along. Okay, so maybe composing a letter to one of Shakespeare’s creations may be stretching things a little…but then it’s down to what works for the individual. Perhaps it doesn’t give us all of the answers, or indeed the most satisfactory ones, but reading does give us insights into areas of life we’d never even considered it might benefit – and it’s good for the heart and soul.

And leading on from these ideas is this poem by Thomas Hardy. It’s a poem that I, from first reading it, found particularly reassuring. Maybe it’s got something to do with the title which I think produces such a brilliant image – the idea of words floating along, being blown to anyone who needs them by a sheer force of nature is something not only soothing but really quite ingenious. Granted it’s more of a steely shake-up than a sugar-coated assurance, but it’s like everything: sometimes what we need to hear isn’t the easiest thing to swallow. Yet I still find it comforting, perhaps because of its reasoning that everything faces its trials and tribulations at some point. And still things continue.

(And for anyone who’s interested in discovering more about the secretaries of Juliet, visit The Juliet Club.)

The Wind Blew Words

The wind blew words along the skies,
And these it blew to me
Through the wide dusk: “Lift up your eyes,
Behold this troubled tree,
Complaining as it sways and plies;
It is a limb of thee.

“Yea, too, the creatures sheltering round -
Dumb figures, wild and tame,
Yea, too, thy fellows who abound -
Either of speech the same
Or far and strange–black, dwarfed, and browned,
They are stuff of thy own frame.”

I moved on in a surging awe
Of inarticulateness
At the pathetic Me I saw
In all his huge distress,
Making self-slaughter of the law
To kill, break, or suppress.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

THE LIVERPOOL PREMIERE OF A BOY CALLED DAD

Starring Liverpool actor Ian Hart
Friday 30 April 2010, 7.00p.m.Crosby Plaza Cinema, 13 Crosby Road North, Liverpool, L22 0LD

Tickets: £5 and £10
Box Office: 0151 474 4076

Directed by award winning Liverpool director Brian Percival (Much Ado About Nothing, The Old Curiosity Shop, Gracie!) written by Julie Rutterford (Teachers, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes) and starring Liverpool actor Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Neverland), A BOY CALLED DAD tells the story of Robbie – a 14 year old boy who has just become a father.  Abandoned by his father, Joe, Robbie snatches his baby son and goes on the run. As Joe joins the search for Robbie, they are each forced to face up to the past and what it really means to be a father.

A BOY CALLED DAD is an emotionally stirring but ultimately uplifting ‘coming of age’ drama which marks the acting debut of Kyle Ward and the feature film debut of award-winning director Brian Percival and producers Michael Knowles and Stacey Murray. It received its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2009 where it was nominated for the Michael Powell award with its young lead actor, Kyle Ward winning a Trailblazer award. The film was also voted an audience favourite at the festival.

Ian Hart:

The opportunity to work on Merseyside is one I always relish and I think this film captures some of my feelings about the area.  Liverpool is a great city but most people don’t realise that it is also surrounded by some outstandingly beautiful countryside and beaches.

Clapperboard UK Director Maureen Sinclair:

I’m delighted that we are screening A BOY CALLED DAD at the Plaza Cinema in Crosby, my home town. Ian Hart is a great supporter of Clapperboard and I’ve known the film’s director, writer and producer for many years and I’m very proud of all their achievements

A Question and Answer session will take place with Brian Percival (Director) and Julie Rutterford (Screenwriter) immediately following the screening.

Tickets can be obtained directly from Plaza Cinema (0151 474 4076) for £5. Please note there are a limited number of £10 tickets available which include an invitation to the post reception event at Esperanto’s Restaurant, Waterloo.

This event is sponsored by Esperanto’s Restaurant, Forward Culture, EventSinc, Bill Elms Associates Ltd, Banana Fish Management, and the Dutch Flower Shop. Income raised will go to the Plaza Cinema and Clapperboard Youth Project.

More information can be found at www.plazacinema.org.uk