The Greatest Showman: Historically Accurate or Sensationalized for Hollywood?

“The noblest art is that of making others happy” – P.T. Barnum

 

The Greatest Showman; a box office breaking phenomenon came to our theater screens on December 20th 2017, breaking records and grossing over $434 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest grossing live-action musical of all time. The movie is based on the true story P.T. Barnum, who founded the Bailey and Barnum Circus, a travelling circus deemed ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, from which the title of the movie The Greatest Showman was drawn. But how much of the plot line is an accurate representation of the real story of P.T. Barnum’s travelling circus, and how much is an idealised, sensationalised depiction of the story? How much is historically accurate and how much is exaggerated to impress the eagerly awaiting eyes of Hollywood’s critics?

The Tattooist of Auschwitz Book Review

Choosing to live is an act of defiance, a form of heroism.

 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the New York Times best-selling novel written by Heather Morris, can only be described as a horrific, yet unexpectedly beautiful account of a man and women in love, as they navigate their way through the cruelties, violence, and camaraderie of life in a concentration camp. Yes, this may seem like an oxymoronic observation, but the juxtaposition between love and hate is entwined throughout the entire novel as love and friendship are in constant battle with violence and terror. The author, Heather Morris is a writer and native of New Zealand, who now lives in Australia. Perhaps the most striking and harrowing detail about this elegantly written novel, is that it is based on a true story. Morris’ inspiration for her novel came when she was introduced to Lale Sokolov, on whom her novel’s protagonist is based. He entrusted her with the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust as he recounts how his life was forever changed the day he looked into the eyes of a young girl, as he tattooed her left arm. In return, as he told Morris personally, she tattooed her love into his heart.

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Novel vs Film

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God presented an African American woman in a completely different light for the era she lived in. It was written and published in the early 1920’s, right at the beginning of the jazz/ renaissance era. African American women were working as housekeepers, nannies, and cooks. But it was also part of the new age of entertainers, teachers, and most important, writers. This novel was written near the beginning of her writing career with many to follow including an autobiography and some she collaborated on with other writers.

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story about a young black woman, Janie Mae Crawford who grows up under the guidance of her grandmother, Nanny Crawford.

Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology Book Review

That’s the joy of myths. The fun comes in telling them yourself. Read the stories in this book, then make them your own. 

 

When we think of the Nordic myths, some people to tend to think of Marvel’s Thor, or perhaps the Vikings who worshiped the gods of the Nordic myths. If one tries to think of the original source of the Nordic myths, we soon realize that there may not be one. Homer and Hesiod are to thank for the Greek myths. Temple hieroglyphics and ritual texts gave the world the Egyptian myths. But, what of the Nordic? My first experience with Nordic myths came from children’s tale and even comic books. In reality, there are very little original texts that provide us information on the Nordic myths. What we do have are only interpretations. Stories passed on from centuries to centuries.

Luckily, Neil Gaiman released his retelling of the legendary tales of Odin and his mighty son Thor. As well as Loki, the god of mischief (who happens to NOT be Thor’s brother). Beyond Odin, Thor and Loki, Gaiman introduces us to other gods such as Try and Freyja. Gaiman introduces us to these gods and giants with very playful language. What struck me was how fast this was to read. Within in twenty minutes or so, I found myself on page forty. Gaiman makes these stories brand new in the sense that they are friendly. I personally did not read much into Nordic myths because I always found it to be brooding. Gaiman makes Norse myths agreeable for all readers. I appreciate that Gaiman wrote in such a manner that makes it a read a parent and a child can enjoy together. It’s diction is not difficult for the child to understand, but neither does it feel like a children’s book. An adult can gladly read this on their own, with child or not. 

Blas Falconer and April Wilder Reading

This past Wednesday at San Diego State University, The Hugh C. Hyde Living Writers Series welcomed writers, April Wilder and Blas Falconer. The Living Writers Series is strictly devoted to showcasing the extraordinary writers of today. Both students enrolled in the class and other literature lovers in the community have the opportunity to watch poets and novelists read from their work and engage with their readers. For the final installment, Wilder and Blas (both current MFA visiting writers at State) read from This Is Not an Accident and Forgive the Body This Failure, respectively. The reading began with Blas Falconer. Falconer earned his MFA from the University of Maryland and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston. Falconer read from his second collection of poems published this past September.

Beneath a Scarlett Sky Book Review

 That sounded like love, Pino thought, When I fall in love, I think it will feel just like that.

 

Mark Sullivan is an award winning author of eighteen novels and has a BA in English and an MA in Journalism. He works as an investigative journalist, as well as an author.

Sullivan’s novel takes place in World War II Italy and follows the story of teenaged boy, Pino Lella. This is based on the real life events that occurred to Pino Lella from June 1943 to May 1945. Sullivan actually met Lella and visited him in Italy on multiple occasions to get first hand knowledge of his experiences and was able to see where the events took place.

Seventeen year old Pino resides in Milan, Italy and his biggest worries in life are finding a date, that is until the bombings begin and his life is turned upside down.

Interview with Ona Russell

I often have wondered what the creative/writing process of a Historical Fiction writer is. I like to think it is not an easy one due to the strange combination of history and make believe. There is always the need to create a refreshing and unique story. However, how does one create such a story when its core is rooted in the past? To answer this and a few other questions, Ona Russell shares her wonderful insights. I wanted to find an author that had a clear passion for the genre but also differed from the rest. She is the author of O’Brien’s Desk, The Natural Selection: An Historical Mystery and Rule of Capture: An Historical Mystery, which was awarded the silver medal for the Pacific – West Best Regional Fiction in 2015.

NaNoWriMo

November has been designated as the month to represent several different causes over the years. It has also been selected as the month writers of various levels of experience share their time together in workshops and writing sessions all over San Diego County as well as in various places around the world. The NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) movement has been on my list of writing events to attend this season. I was finally able to commit time to join fellow writers on November 13^th.  I chose to go to the evening session being held at the Chula Vista Library on F St. This special writing event starts on November 1 and continues to the end of the month, November 30. If you visit the official website you will find more extensive information pertaining to how it works and some of the other highlights that occur throughout the year. Even though the process is not limited to November, it reflects on ways to build up to November. With this in mind I jumped right into the 50,000-word challenge.

Interview with a Librarian

Have you ever wondered how those really cool people who love to read books get to live their dreams and work being surrounded books? Do you often find yourself thinking, “Wow, being a librarian sounds so cool! I want to do that, too”? Do you think you have what it takes?

The Dome. SDSU’s library entrance.

A Look at YA vs Adult Historical Fiction

At the inception of Reverie, I choose two books on which to focus on. As most of my fellow editors, I choose a historical theme to read and learn more about which was the American Revolution. As a huge musical theater lover, I took advantage of the situation and decided to read books that had to do with one of today’s most famous musicals, Hamilton. I choose two novels I often saw in my local bookstores that had to do with the Hamilton’s and decided to write a book review for both. Now that I have finally finished both, I wanted to compare them while giving some thought to the fact that they belong to different shelves of the bookstore or, in a simple word, genre.