Twilight the movie

Twilight is being adapted into a film by Summit Entertainment. The film is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke and stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as protagonists Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen, respectively. It is set to be released domestically on December 12, 2008.

Now we at fetch are really excited about the movie as our very own Marius (M) saw immense potential in the book and always knew it was destined for great things besides this Marius made his debut on Fetch with his review of Twilight which you can check out here.

The scans are from Entertainment Weekly!

Source :: oceanup

posted by ( a )

The Twentieth Wife - The review

My dear readers! It feels wonderful to be amidst all of you again. While Sean, George, Ady and Eve live it up in Europe; I find myself setting up a life in India…Delhi, to be precise. The many impositions that college life brings along with itself in the form of assignments, research papers, presentations…the works, had me up to my eyes in work. Yet, I managed to cleave open a window so as to be able to sample the local…not cuisine… literature.
The book that I intend to discuss today belongs to a genre which I love to hate -historical ROMANTIC fiction. What normally goes wrong with books of the said genre is that they tend to drag, but that’s easily amended by a bit of ‘self-editing.’ (C’mon admit it! We all tend to skip a few pages once in a while). Secondly, the romantic overtones of such a novel tend to dilute…or worse…shift the focus away from true historical proceedings. Our book for today, ‘The Twentieth Wife’ by Indu Sunderesan does indeed suffer from at least one of these ailments but somehow manages to redeem itself.
The novel harks back to the Mogul era- an era defined by opulence, luxury, lavishness and lasciviousness! But that is not how Sunderesan begins her tale and why should she? After all, she is in the process of piecing-together a love legend and the unsaid rules dictate that her heroine Mehrunissa must work her way up into luxury’s lap. Oh but the drama of Mehrunissa’s birth during a winter storm in Qandahar is truly breath-taking. This is the point when Sunderesan reveals her true intentions i.e. that of writing a love legend. That her name means ‘Sun among women’is no coincidence, rather it is a very effective literary device for Mehrunissa’s rising also raises her family’s fortunes with her father employed in an important position by the omnipotent emperor Akbar.
It is as a child that Mehrunissa sets eyes on Prince Salim-the emperor’s handsome heir apparent and vows to marry him. Mehrunissa also finds a scathing, sharp-tongued mentor in Akbar’s Chief Queen Ruqqaya Sultan who teaches her to see through the many veneers of life in the zenana (the royal harem) as well as the royal court. Now here’s where the pragmatist in me raises in hand in a very Hermione-esque fashion and asks: How is it that Mehrunissa decides upon the prince as her soulmate when she is a mere child? That isn’t love…that is what I call ‘throwing a Paris Hilton.’Clearly, it is nought but one of the many irrational demands that spoilt rich kids make! And how convenient is it that the chief queen immediately decides to take Mehrunissa under her tutelage and train her in the fine art of bitchery? Here is where the fairytale begins to impose upon history. Let us remember that Mehrunissa is none other than Nur Jahan- the one Empress of India who refused to be a foot-note in History. We see (with an irrepressible glee) as Ruqqaya Sultan’s training pays rich dividends when Mehrunissa faces off against powerful elements at the court who are hell-bent determined to prevent her marriage with the mighty Emperor Jahangir (once the erstwhile Salim) from taking place…in fact the story takes on the garb of ‘Mean Girls’as Mehrunissa and Princess Jagat Gosini (Salim’s chief wife) meet in a cathartic confrontation. No subtle, "There are a lot of people at Versailles tonight, aren't there?" this! Imagine Mehrunissa to be the ashenly pretty Arty-emo chick while Jagat Gosini to be a twinkling cheerleader stereotype i.e. an imperious snob whose ‘daddy’ owns a major part of the country.
To me, the book is a paradox. Decidedly, I am in awe of Sunderesan’s alchemical prose and stunning imagery. So rarefied is her skill that one can’t help but envision some cryptic, supernatural force at work here: as though Sunderesan has a set of little bottles each containing the essences of her characters which she generously dabs onto the pages of the novel. Clearly, the research that has gone into this novel has been meticulously and enthusiastically done. Yet, it can get a little insipid at times but who cares? It is so much fun! Whether or not you will learn any history lessons from this; I cannot guarantee but you will come to appreciate the fact that the Moguls were FETCH…in the true sense of the word. I could swear that my nose caught of a whiff of Chanel No. 5 as Jagat Gosini left in a huff, closing a chapter behind her!
Until next time,
Marius van Muller.

posted by ( m )

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - review

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' The first time I read the title all I could say was 'God, how corny is that?!' It was the first sign that my expectations had attained mammoth heights, as pertaining to the Harry Potter series. One cannot help it, actually. Here is an authoress who has managed to the hit the Bull's Eye six times and that too with such artistry that one could only gape with awe. But what about the seventh? With '7' being the most magical number of them all, will J. K. Rowling manage to bind the spell successfully? I remember now how a literary compadre had reacted to the book. She had stayed up all night, standing in line, ignoring the fact that Sabbath meant 'Day of Rest.' After avariciously devouring the book, she exclaimed, "What have you done? Joanne Kathleen Rowling, what HAVE you done?" Candidly speaking, I'm sure a lot of you will probably react on the same lines. I cannot tell you why, though. 'Fetch' isn't a spoiler site...unless we count Sean. However, personally, the only complaint I have against Rowling is that the book ends too quickly. In this case, a protraction would only serve to delight and not depress. But, I do feel that whatever 'decisions' she took, regarding the book, were sensible, expedient ones for they help convey the magnitude of the 'problem' that Harry and the rest of his entourage have to deal with. Moving on,(oh trust me, we have to move on before I reveal more about the story) one is pleased to see the way Harry's character matures, the same can also be said about Ron and Hermione but in slightly different contexts. While Harry reveals a more intrepid albeit angst-ridden side of him, many of the complexities in Ron's character surface. Hermione, on the other hand, is firebrand this time round. I'm sure many will love the dare-devil streak that Hermione imbibes (perhaps from Harry?). Another character that comes as a surprise is Neville...who loses the pusillanimous affectations and metamorphoses into a valourous persona, much befitting his parentage. Luna, as usual, is a delight. Romance takes a back-seat this time as intrigue, deception and high-octane action dominate. Rowling's descriptiveness is flawless; it can even incite imagination in one who is clinically dead! In truth, the final volume is a saga of epic proportions...even the chapter names reinforce this view. For your consideration: 'The Battle of Hogwarts.' Note the effect this produces, it's like perusing a historical record. Rowling chooses a behemothic canvas to paint the final scenes of her delightfully etched tapestry. One gets a sense of innocence lost when she harks back to events in the first book and juxtaposes them with the state of affairs in the final one. Maybe the Letts' people could come up with a Harry Potter revision guide that readers can go through before embarking on the final volume because there is a lot of anaphoric reference to events in the previous books. Overall, the final volume is a pleasing one. The pleasure comes with bittersweet overtones as one laughs, cries and raises his glass to a hero whose greatness will be remembered and cherished till the end of time.

posted by ( m )

Twilight - review + Marius debut!

We at ‘Fetch!’ are glad to welcome our friend Marius; who will enlighten you all with his words, that I am sure will de-shroud the exclusivity of the literary world. The family just keeps growing! - ( s )

Twilight is a young adult/fantasy/romance novel written by author Stephenie Meyer, originally published in hardcover in 2005. The story is about seventeen-year-old Isabella Swan, a girl who moves to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen.

As I checked this item off my Summer Reading List, my mind stumbled upon an old Oliver Wendell Holmes quotation...and I couldn't help but smile in agreement. Would you like to hear it? No, don't answer that! At any rate, here's how the quote goes: 'Love prefers twilight to daylight.' Perhaps the foreshadowing has worked...perhaps it hasn't. The item I speak of is Stephenie Meyer's much hyped 'Twilight.' This 435 page Vampire romance is...odd. How so? Well, to begin with, it doesn't suck! Frankly, the premise of the book disgusted me. The fact that it was 435 pages long also got me pretty hot and bothered. Anyone who has endured even one of L.J Smith's vile 'Night World' puke-pieces will know what I am talking about. You obviously have that one important thematic consideration: Love. And not just any ol' love but FORBIDDEN love. Other cliches like the scandalously pulchitrudinous vampire and the ho-hum plain Jane of a heroine abound. Not to mention how the two fight their 'urges' and eventually give in to the tempestuous force that is LOVE!!! Not sex.

So now you're probably wondering how this differs from any of L.J. Smith's bouts of projectile vomitting. Saying that 'Twilight' does not suck as bad as 'Secret Vampire'(Yes, dear reader, yes. Want to see my emotional scars?) and leaving it at that is a bit of a bitch, isn't it? A rather recondite bitch, actually. But I should stop meandering and address the lingering issue of what works to make 'Twilight' work. Two words: Character Development. Meyer belongs to that breed of writers who, brought up on Bronte and Austen, amalgamate those classy Olde Worlde pretensions into contemporary sensibilities to come up with that recherche phenomenon called an intelligent romance. Yes, romance and that too, a romance that flirts back with elan; in a time when love is nothing but a few seconds of squishy noises. Having said that,one can see that Meyer showers her characters with a lot of love and this feeling is palpable. Why this is judicious is because eventually you begin to see with Meyer's eyes and the vision is an enthralling one. Meyer's prose is lyrical and has true flow...her elegiac prose makes the book slip down as easily as cold fruit punch on summer's day...all this can be attributed to the rather alliterative and assonant nature of many of the sentences. Lexically speaking, it is fairly obvious that Meyer has deliberated over making her heroine, Isabella sound contemporary and the Vampire gigolo,Edward slightly Old World but still approachable. Her lexical choices in several of the descriptions (esp. Edward in the sun) are prudent and convey the beauty of the idea with ease, without overwhelming the reader. With the dexterity of a carpet weaver using a thread of delicately chosen words, Meyer builds up a scorching erotic tension between the couple. The intellectual tone of the book is raised with the many parallels that Meyer draws with The Bard's perpetual tale of star-crossed lovers: 'Romeo and Juliet.' In this aspect, 'Twilight' isn't very in-your-face for subtlelty and sub-text make any romance truly delicious! Those readers familiar with the play will be astounded at the many similarities that they can find in both incident and character. In terms of the protagonists, Meyer introduces us to Isabella or Bella, as she is called. Bella's character shows shades of Juliet. But it is a contemporary Juliet that you will find here -a Juliet who is not all incandescent gloss and beauty but one who can be slightly klutzy and often inarticulate. Yet, Bella can be dazzling in her own way...her levelheadedness and even her coquettishness comes as a bit of a surprise. Let me go ahead and say that Bella has shades of Austen's Elizabeth Bennet. The less I say about Edward Cullen, the better. He's revoltingly handsome and Byronic and I hate him for it. There is also a lustrous cast of minor characters who are as beguiling as they come. 'Twilight' is an exposition; it only introduces you to the characters and seductively hints at the intertwining destinies of Bella and the Cullens. Oh sure it has some (and I say this as delicately as possible) 'girly' parts like Meyer's constant attention to the many anatomical details of Edward's obscenely perfect personage. But on the whole, Meyer avoids the cringe factor with a wide, wide margin (Ms. Smith, do I have your attention?). The novel has the potential into turning into a time-less love legend but only the rising of the 'New Moon' followed by a much-needed 'Eclipse' can be privy to that fact. Meanwhile, put on Skillet's 'Comatose' CD and dig into the guilty pleasure that is shrouded in 'Twilight.'


posted by ( m )