It’s not often that I pick up a bestseller, but I had some extra time in the Toronto airport so I did a little back-cover shopping. The Chameleon’s Shadow by Minette Walters looked interesting and seemed to be my best bet for a character-driven novel. It’s the story of a seriously disfigured British soldier returning from Iraq and how he deals with his injuries, his survivor’s guilt, and the suspicions that the police have about his involvement in several murders that take place after he returns home. Walters, in an interview, said the book was basically about anger, and I could certainly see her point. There is a good bit of it in the book. In general, it was a decent read with a fairly interesting murder mystery as a backdrop, and at least a couple of characters appealing enough to keep me turning the pages. However, 526 of those pages is a bit too much of a good thing: too many conversations with just about every character plowing over every possible theory of the crimes and the motivations of all the suspects, etc., etc. Some judicious editing would have helped. In spite of this, I enjoyed it. Mildly recommended.

While visiting in Winnipeg, I happened to catch opening night of the film The Secret Life of Bees, based on Sue Monk Kidd’s extraordinary 2002 novel of the same name. Before I comment on the film, let me first say that if you haven’t done so already, definitely read the book. It’s probably on my top 10 list of must-reads for the new century: beautifully written, finely crafted characters, complex story, sensitive and poignant without being melodramatic. The movie is equally moving with the added pleasure of some excellent performances. Queen Latifah as August Boatwright delivers a remarkable (and nicely restrained) performance, Alicia Keys as June Boatwright is equally terrific, and lesser-known Sophie Okonedo (May) and Jennifer Hudson (Rosaleen) are both scene-stealers. Dakota Fanning’s portrayal of Lily I thought was commendable, but she was a bit too cutesy for my sake, giving the picture an almost Disney feel to it that I could have done without. Regardless, it’s a fine period piece, set in South Carolina in 1964, that takes on the themes of racial prejudice and child abuse and somehow, much like the book (which the film follows quite faithfully) leaves you with a feel-good ending. FYI, Gina Prince-Bythewood (dir.), Wil Smith (prod.) Recommended.

I found an old copy of Mikahil Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog and read through it pretty quickly. I remember reading it years ago in college. It’s a short novel and truly crazy. Bulgakov was a Russian novelist and playwright who wrote in the early part of the 20th century. His most famous work is The Master and Margarita, about the Devil paying a visit to the Soviet Union, and is one of my all-time favorite Russian novels. In Heart of a Dog, a master scientist, Philip Philippovich, takes in a stray dog, and in the operating room he turns the mutt into one of the most annoying and vulgar men to ever walk the face of the earth. Much of the book is told from Sharik’s point of view (the dog). Part fantasy, part satire, part social and political commentary, this book is wildly imaginative and fun to read. Russian director Vladimir Bortko made a movie of it in the 1980s. I’ve never seen it but would love to. The full text of the novel is available to read for free at this link, through Collins and Harvill Press. Recommended.

Having read the first two books in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, reading the third, Morality for Beautiful Girls, felt fairly cozy. The third is pretty consistent with the previous books in style and tone and execution. There is something about these short novels that makes me think they’d be great reading for young adults. Maybe it’s Smith’s belief in morality and the goodness of human nature. Maybe it’s the positive role models he chooses to carry his stories. Regardless, the characters are terrific, the plots just complex enough to keep you interested, and when you read them, you somehow feel nourished afterwards. And there is the setting of Botswana, of course, a place that Smith obviously adores and paints with beautiful strokes. Smith has written six in the series to date, and I know that a lot of people absolutely love them. I can understand why. Recommended.

I promised myself some laughs and found them in two very funny and thought-provoking films.

Bill Maher’s Religulous is a comedocumentary (yes, I made up that word) that traced Maher’s roots of religion and how and why he turned away from religious belief. Of course Maher wanted to have some fun along the way, so he took sarcasm to new heights as he attacked Catholicism, Muslimism, Mormonism, and any number of other isms by examining their myths and traditions and shining a critical light on them. This is by no means a documentary; it is completely biased and meant to criticize what he sees as silly beliefs. But there is a serious underlying message, which he touches on throughout the film and puts forth very strongly in the final five to ten minutes. Religions are dangerous. Religions kill. And if we don’t do something soon to change our course, religions will destroy us. He makes a good case. Highly recommended.

The Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman House showed My Winnipeg this weekend, Guy Maddin’s semi-autobiographical, semi-serious film about Maddin wanting desperately to escape his hometown of Winnipeg. I have friends in Winnipeg and strong ties there, and I found this film downright hysterical. Maddin looks at his own life and personal history along with the history of Winnipeg, “the coldest city on Earth,” and pokes fun at the place, the people who live there, and some of the absurdity that can be found in any hometown anywhere. This movie has a great mix of fact and fiction, sometimes leaving the viewer lost between the two, and is creatively written, filmed vividly in black and white, and marvelously haunting, desperate, funny, and ambiguous. A great story for all people who have ever felt trapped in their hometowns and, for any numbers of reasons, couldn’t escape. Highly recommended.

Well, life isn’t always funny. I’m a big fan of Jean Paul Sartre’s writings, and I came across his 1939 short story “The Wall.” This is a moving piece set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Sartre examines the hearts and minds of a group of prisoners condemned to death. The men are in prison and told they will be executed the following morning. The title refers to the wall used for firing squad executions. The story is tragic, absurd, and ironic, just as you would expect from Sartre. It’s also compelling and dramatically written in stream-of-consciousness style. Sartre worked for the French resistance and was imprisoned by the Germans during WWII. “The Wall” doesn’t get a lot of attention as far as Sartre’s writings go, but it’s a great story and can be read in its entirety here. Recommended.