April 2022 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Happy April, everyone! Spring is here and Easter is coming. There's still a lot going on in the world, and I don't have an answer for it, but I'm not ready to give up yet. This month, I'm digging into the grim side of mystery with a Gothic novel from one of America's best writers and a noir from one of America's most eccentric directors. I hope you don't find this inappropriate - I'll admit that I don't have much else.

Reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson

This was the final novel written by the esteemed author of The Haunting of Hill House before her untimely death from a heart condition, and some consider it her masterpiece. it's told from the perspective of 18-year-old antisocial Mary Katherine Blackwood, affectionately known as "Merricat", who lives with her sister and uncle in a secluded Vermont mansion, hated and feared by the townspeople for the mysterious conditions surrounding the deaths of the rest of her family; their stasis is disturbed by the arrival of a cousin whose motives may be less than altruistic. It's a brief novel, especially compared to Haunting, but it really may be Jackson's most intense work, featuring a complex protagonist with an askew view of the world.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Castle-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0143039970/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z94EI34FE7CB&keywords=we+have+always+lived+in+the+castle+shirley+jackson&qid=1648928226&sprefix=we+have+always+lived%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Lived-Castle-Penguin-Vitae/dp/0143134833/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/We-Have-Always-Lived-Castle-ebook/dp/B004SS1MH0/ref=monarch_sidesheet



Viewing: Touch of Evil (Orsen Welles, 1958)

Here is a movie with an interesting history, as it was initially held in low esteem by critics upon release but was later reappraised as one of Welles's best films in his catalog, as well as one of the finest film noirs of the era. A Mexican prosecutor (Charlton Heston) is implicated in the murder of two people via time bomb along the U.S.-Mexico border; he and his American wife (Janet Leigh) become further embroiled in danger when he begins to piece together that the aged police captain (Welles) has a long history of corruption due to planting evidence to acquire convictions. Originally edited conventionally due to creative differences with the studio that forces Welles off the project, the film was added to the National film Registry in 1993 and has since been given a makeover in 1998, following a memo from Welles outlining his original vision.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Widescreen-Orson-Welles/dp/6305999872/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-3
Blu-Ray 1: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Blu-ray-Orson-Welles/dp/B07G2D87JH/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3F0R0X4VBDFZ8&keywords=touch+of+evil&qid=1648928251&sprefix=touch+of+evil%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-3
Blu-Ray 2: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Special-Orson-Welles/dp/B09NDYBFNY/ref=tmm_blu_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-1
4K: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-4KUHD-Orson-Welles/dp/B09NDZSBXP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F0R0X4VBDFZ8&keywords=touch+of+evil&qid=1648928251&sprefix=touch+of+evil%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-1
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Orson-Welles/dp/B0017122AM/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-1


That's all for April. Have a Happy Easter, and I'll see you next month!