About Life and All Its Problems

Nick Hornby’s About a Boy (1998) is a story which almost anyone could read. It is easy to understand, there are no fancy phrases and it doesn’t have too many pages. Still, the most important thing about the book is that it has something for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re middle-aged or a teenager; in any case, you will find something to relate to.

The two protagonists of the book are Will Freeman and Marcus Brewer. Will is a bachelor in his thirties who thinks he’s cooler than cool, and Marcus is a twelve-year-old who knows he’s not cool at all. In consequence of Will’s plan of pretending to be a single parent, the paths of these two collide. The result is a peculiar relationship which develops throughout the book. Will and Marcus may be an odd pair, and sometimes Marcus seems to be more of an adult than Will is, but ultimately they help each other overcome their obstacles and find their roles in life.

The first chapter of the book is from Marcus’ point of view, in the next one it switches to Will’s and so on. This is a truly clever idea from Hornby. The reader gets to see Marcus through Will’s eyes and vice versa, and this makes them seem more real, more human. The flaws and problems of these two characters make them feel like actual people and not just words printed on a paper. Will doesn’t have a job or any particular direction in his life. Marcus, who is bullied at school, has the music taste of a middle-aged woman, weird hairy sweaters and the urge to be just like everyone else. They are the kind of people you could meet in real life and not find it weird at all.

The fact that Marcus and Will’s relationship is depicted so well is mostly the greatest strength of the story, but it has its downside. Whereas both Marcus and Will are well-built and deep characters, the others kind of blend into the background. Marcus’ suicidal mother Fiona, Fiona’s friend Suzie and Will’s finally-found love Rachel all have potential to be interesting, but eventually they just leave a bland taste in your mouth. Even Marcus’ friend Ellie, who has some serious swagger and personality, doesn’t really get the chance to find her way into the reader’s heart.

Though the title About a Boy refers to Kurt Cobain and thus has a real meaning, it doesn’t tell much about the book. The book isn’t just about a boy. It’s also about love, tough experiences, friendship, humour and a whole bunch of problems. It’s a book about life. It isn’t a cold aristocrat who confuses you with complex words. It’s more like an old friend who invites you to have a cup of tea.

So… Would you like to have some tea?

The Culture I'd Like to Live in

I’ve never been to Spain. Yet if someone offered me a chance to live there for a year, I’d start packing my suitcases right away. Spain just seems to be the perfect place for me. It’s very different to Finland, but after living here for my whole youth, a bit of change would only do me good. And I’d have a chance to really learn Spanish, which is the most beautiful language in the world.

When someone mentions the Spanish, the first thing that comes to my mind is easy-going. According to what I’ve heard, people there are much more positive and relaxed than those here. In Finland, many people always expect the worst to happen, and even the most wonderful thing can be turned to something bad. The Spanish seem to simply go with the flow, without dreading too much. I really like that. I’m a person who lives by the rules, and maybe the Spanish people could teach me to abandon those rules for a change.

One thing I absolutely love about the Spanish is how much they love football. They don’t just like it or watch it or talk about it. They live and breathe for football, and it brings them together in a unique way. Spain is a very divided country with Catalonia and Basque Country both craving to be independent. Still people from all over the country gathered in Madrid when Spain’s national football team won the World Cup in 2010. It would be beyond marvelous to be a part of their football culture. If I could watch Real Madrid playing on Estadio Santiago Bernabéu almost every weekend, it would be a piece of heaven for me.

Oh, and then there’s the food. I love Spanish food with its spiciness and versatility. And who wouldn’t like to have a cup of coffee and some churros first thing in the morning? I also have a serious sweet tooth, and rumour has it that there are some spectacular chocolate boutiques and pastry shops in Spain.

Maybe someday I’ll get my chance of living in Spain at least for a year. I certainly hope so because it would be exhilarating to start my day with the words “Buenos días” and end it by saying “Buenas noches”.

A Song Imprinted on My Mind

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?”

These words are enough to make my skin tingle and bring a goofy smile on my lips. When I first heard Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody about six years ago, it left me completely in awe. I practically gaped into the distance with my mouth open for a few minutes after the last notes had faded away. Then I listened to the song again. And again. And maybe a couple of hundred times more.

I had heard quite many of Queen’s songs before Bohemian Rhapsody, but none of the others had had such a huge impact on me. The kick-ass harmonies in the beginning are deeply impressing, and when Freddie Mercury starts playing the piano and singing, shivers run down my spine. If you ask me, no one will ever reach the level on which Freddie was as a singer. His register was beyond comprehension, and he could make the listeners feel all the things he was feeling just by singing about them intensely.

Though Freddie Mercury usually gets most of the attention when it comes to Queen, we should not forget the other members of the band. They are all very gifted musicians. Bohemian Rhapsody, just like all the other Queen songs, wouldn’t work without Brian May’s virtuoso guitar solos, Roger Taylor’s precise drumming and John Deacon’s crafty bass lines. It isn’t all about Freddie.

There has been plenty of discussion about the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody over the years. The most common interpretation is that it tells about a man who has sold his soul to the devil. I completely buy this theory. The lyrics may seem a bit dodgy at first, but when you listen to them carefully, you can hear the story behind the words.

The lyrics may be unusual, but the melody isn’t the simplest one either. There is plenty going on in the song, and the tune shifts a lot. It’s almost as there were several different songs merged into one. Actually, the most curious thing is that these different parts blend in perfectly. The variation doesn’t sound weird; it just makes the song better and more ingenious. The melody and the story seem to go back to the beginning in the end with the words “Anyway the wind blows”, which have been sung earlier on. The circle closes, and it all makes sense in some twisted way.

Me - a bookworm?

When I was a young wee girl, I always wanted my mother to read me bedtime stories. I loved the way the words softly fell from her lips, and it was incredible how those little syllables tied together could build a whole world in front of my eyes. There are some deeply impressive stories that I’ve first experienced through my mother’s reading and later by reading them myself. One good example of this is The Chronicles of Narnia. The books left me in awe because of their wondrous world, earthy main characters and exhilarating creatures.

I learned to read at the age of six with the help of good old Donald Duck. I was paging through a Donald Duck paperback, and suddenly the secret of reading became clear to me. The written letters just started to make sense. Ever since that joyful day, reading has enthralled me like no other pastime.

Reading books is an important part of my life. There may be times when I don’t read that much, but I can’t be too long without reading a book. Some of my friends read barely two books per year, and for me it’s perfectly normal to read about 50 of them in the same amount of time. I just love to turn the pages, smell the scent of paper and wait for the book to take me somewhere far away.

One of the best things about reading is the fact that you can travel to another world without moving a bit. If you forget about everything around you and just live wherever the book takes you, you know you’re reading something special. There’s nothing quite like the feeling when you simply can’t let go of the book. It is just magical when the characters of the book feel like real people to you, and you can really relate to their feelings.

I don’t know if everyone has that one favourite book or series which rises above all others, but I certainly have. I’ve read all kinds of books from classics, like Wuthering Heights and Catcher in the Rye, to modern popular series, like The Hunger Games, but nothing has yet overcome the Harry Potter series. I still remember reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the first time when I was seven. For some reason, I had started the series by reading its second book, but it didn’t bother my reading experience whatsoever. I was completely blown away by the book, and I wouldn’t have let go of the universe I had just discovered for anything. I’ve grown up with the world and characters of Harry Potter. Though all the seven books are published now, that world and those characters still live in my mind, and Harry Potter will always have a special place in my heart. It is sad not to have another Harry Potter book to wait for, but fortunately I can always start the journey with Harry, Ron and Hermione all over again from the very beginning.

After all I’ve written above, it’s pretty obvious that I’m a bookworm of epic proportions. You can’t really compare the power of heart-wrenching, beautiful, exhilarating written words to anything. For me, it’s pure magic.

The Subconscious Adventure

Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010) is not the easiest movie to watch. It requires concentration and thinking. If you don’t pay attention to what’s happening on the screen, you will probably get lost in the plot. The film may seem odd or confusing when you see it for the first time, but it’s definitely worth watching.

The main character of Inception is Dominic Cobb. He is a thief, but not the most traditional one. Cobb steals information from people’s subconscious when they’re sleeping. After an unfortunate mission he is offered a different kind of job: he needs to plant an idea to someone’s mind. The operation is called ‘inception’, and that’s where the movie has gotten its name from. It seems almost impossible to succeed in the mission, but Cobb accepts the challenge. Working it out would get him the thing he so desperately needs – the way back home. Cobb’s past continually interferes with the mission but the man is ready to do whatever it takes to see his family again.

Leonardo DiCaprio is believable and almost frighteningly good as Dominic Cobb, who is haunted by the ghosts of his past. DiCaprio may not be the most beloved actor when it comes to critics, but in this movie he exceeds expectations by being at least as great as in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island.

The supporting actors have been chosen wisely. Rising star Ellen Page does well as Ariadne, the architect of controlled dreams. Her acting could be a bit more vivid in some scenes but she interprets Ariadne’s confusion, worry and growing doubts in a convincing way. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is remembered from the romantic comedy (500) Days with Summer, shows his versatility by playing the meticulous and quite bad-ass point man Arthur. Tom Hardy brings some good old fashioned English humour in the seriousness of the movie as Eames, who can impersonate other people in controlled dreams.

Inception may demand some serious attention but after watching it for a while it becomes incredibly addictive. It grabs the audience tightly in its grip and keeps them there until the very last moments. The plot thickens evenly towards the end making the viewer squirm in the agony of wanting to know what happens next. The storyline may seem complicated but when you think about all the pieces of information you’ve gotten, you can put them together as a whole puzzle. Inception is one of those movies about which you can realize some new things even while watching it for the fourth or fifth time. Director Christopher Nolan worked on the script of Inception for about ten years, and it shows. Everything is precisely executed: nothing is left to chance.

Visually Inception is breathtaking. The carefully built world of dreams leaves the viewer in awe. Huge, derelict skyscrapers, houses turned upside down and a battle in a corridor which has no gravity… Words can’t describe these visual miracles well enough. You need to see them with your own eyes.

Christopher Nolan is known not only for great movies but also for ingenious endings. Inception is not an exception. Not much should be told about it, though, as the director himself has said that the less you know about the ending scene, the better.

So, if you’re looking for a film which is visually stunning, glues your eyes on the screen and challenges you to use your brains to the very last seconds, you don’t need to search for it anymore.

You’ve just found it.