Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything

Massawa: A Tale of Illusion, Espionage, and Love Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Books Forward in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read tons of historical fiction novels set during World War II. Most of them usually take place in Europe and Asia. However, Allied and Axis bases were also in North Africa, and wars were fought there as well, especially for control of the Suez Control. Not many novels cover that aspect of the conflict. Luckily, today’s book, Massawa: A Tale of Illusion, Espionage, and Love by Pam Webber, does. It’s a good story with a memorable setting and interesting characters.

Massawa: A Tale of Illusion, Espionage, and Love is the first in a series about novice female American spies in North Africa and the Mediterranean that changed the tide during World War II. In 1942, Wild Bill Donovan, the director of the United States’ first spy agency, believes that women were the key to winning the intelligence battles against the Nazis. To prove his point, he pairs fledging agent Kit Thomas with British MI6 agent Mark Williams and sends them to one of the most dangerous places in the world – Massawa, Eritrea – to investigate the theft of millions of military payroll dollars. While there, Kit and Mark discover a conspiracy by the Vichy French – Nazi sympathizers – to shut down the only Allied naval base on the Red Sea, an essential resource in stopping the Nazi invasion of North Africa. As they work to reveal the conspirators, Kit and Mark engage in a perilous and tempestuous dance of trust versus mistrust.

Normally, I follow the rule of not judging a book by its cover. However, the one for Massawa doesn’t scream spies and espionage. The picture looks like it could’ve been a part of a commercial for an adult contemporary love song CD compilation with On the Wings of Love by Jeffrey Osborne playing in the background. I even showed it to my husband, and he said it resembled a romance novel. He’s not wrong, for there is romance. Fortunately, the cover is referenced in the story. One character mentions that ancient Massawans believed a mirage was “a gift from the gods to be able to live near the union of sun, sand, and sea – to thrive in a place where illusion and the environment protected them from their enemies” (p. 269).

In other words, the cover makes more sense when one reads the book. At the same time, it could’ve been more effective if it added a woman in uniform looking outwards, like the ones in Kate Quinn books, to emphasize the espionage work.

Once I actually started reading Massawa, I enjoyed it. I love the setting. I could imagine the desert and the colorful buildings as well as feel the heat. This certainly demonstrates how the city is a character in itself. It was funny when various people complained about the heat or spoke about the need of air conditioning in the story for that reason.

While the characters are well developed, the story mainly focuses on Kit. She is a strong, confident woman who’s determined to prove herself to her peers and perceived enemies. And, she gets to do some physical stuff as well. At the same time, Webber doesn’t make her one note. Kit gets into spats with Mrs. Higgins – the British secretary in the city who’s mad at the Americans for not doing enough. Additionally, her confidence gets a reality check when a man points out all the techniques she used to seduce him to get information. She remains insecure even when the same person congratulates her for fooling him in other ways. Moreover, she has romantic feelings for her supervisor Jake and her coworker Mark, but she wants to concentrate on her work and tries not to let love distract her. It’s refreshing to see a female character who is skilled, but flawed.

Some readers might complain about how much this novel is a slow burn, especially if they want more action. It certainly felt sluggish at times. This was apparent when Kit discovers something and then tells certain characters everything about what she saw…literally. I understand that Webber probably wanted to let readers know what was going on. However, it feels similar to how Netflix wants its writers to make it super clear of what was happening in their shows because they knew viewers weren’t always paying attention. I’m not saying any reader who picks up this book will not understand the plot and its mechanics. It’s that Webber simply needed to pick up the pace by trimming down the details. Thankfully, the third act was swift.

Massawa: A Tale of Illusion, Espionage, and Love by Pam Webber is a good historical fiction novel about a little-known World War II story. The setting and characters were engaging, yet there were issues with the cover and pacing. I would recommend it for those who love stories about World War II, espionage, and strong female characters. Massawa: A Tale of Illusion, Espionage, and Love is out now, so grab it wherever you get your books.

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Adapt Me Podcast – Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype

Hi Everybody,

Howl like a wolf because the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast is up right now. In it, returning guest Jaylan Salah from The JayDays YouTube Channel and I discuss how we would adapt Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés as an immerse theatrical production. We talk about how this kind of medium could truly capture the authentic and intuitive nature of the book. We also discuss how the nonfiction book changed our lives and has influence feminist circles since 1992. Check it out at this link!

In the meantime, I have a review of the book itself, so check that out too!

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Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype Book Review

I’ve come across plenty of self-help books over the years, but I’ve rarely read ones that are geared towards women. The only one I can think of is Forget the Fairy Tale and Find Your Happiness by Deb Miller, which covers how the author forged her own fairy tale and happily ever after. Recently, I found a different kind of female empowerment book with Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, which was published back in 1992. It’s a powerful nonfiction title about how women can get in touch with their inner Wild Woman through the power of stories.

Normally, I would provide my own summary, but the one from Goodreads is so good that I had to provide it here:

“Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. For though the gifts of wildish nature belong to us at birth, society’s attempt to ‘civilize’ us into rigid roles has muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own souls.

In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, folk tales, and stories, many from her own traditions, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman, and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine.

Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.”

I never knew about this book until a friend of mine recommended it. Even a volunteer who’s about 10 years younger than me was aware of this title. I can see why it has stood the test of time. It speaks to the soul of women and encourages them to embrace the kind of person that they truly want to be regardless of what society dictates. And, what better way to do that is through the power of stories.

Pinkola Estés chooses familiar and obscure fairy and folk tales to get her points across. She analyses stories like The Ugly Duckling (translated from the Hungarian language) to let women know that they’ll find their own family who accepts them as they are, The Red Shoes (from the Hungarian-Germanic version) about self-preservation, and La Llorona for the importance of nourishing one’s creative life. In addition, she utilizes the dark, and sometimes, violent versions of these stories to add to the authenticity as well as ones from all over the world, and not just from Europe.

My favorite chapters involved knowing how to identify a predator (the French-Slavic version of Bluebeard); utilizing intuition (Vasalisa the Wise); retrieving sexuality, as in being a state “of intense sensory awareness that includes, but is not limited to, her sexuality” (p. 334) (The Dirty Goddesses); and setting boundaries with rage and forgiveness (The Crescent Moon Bear from Japan and The Withered Trees from the Middle East). I especially love the last one because I’ve had trouble defining those lines, and Pinkola Estés does a great job with letting readers know that anger will always exist, justified or not, and it’s a matter of when to use it. Additionally, I have even started employing her advice in my everyday life. After reading about returning home with Sealskin, Soulskin, I literally spent a few hours in my childhood house, and it was refreshing.

If I have one complaint about it, it would be that it could’ve been trimmed down. With the bibliography and index, it’s over 500 pages. Without them, it’s still over 400, and I felt it. Pinkola Estés left no stone unturned when analyzing every aspect of the stories chosen for this book. However, she can be repetitive and the ways she dissects the tales are sometimes stretched out. Reading this book has made me understand how some things can be analyzed to death. At the same time, when it works, it’s truly effective.

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés is a great analysis of that character type. She shows women how they can get in touch with their inner Wild Woman through the meaningful stories she recites. While it can be overanalyzed at times, it’s certainly empowering for female readers whether they need it the most, or are simply curious. I would recommend it for those who like reading about character and story archetypes ala Joseph Campbell. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got to go sing “She Wolf” by Shakira and howl because that’s what my inner voice is telling me to do.

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast will come out this week. Returning guest and host of the JayDays YouTube Channel Jaylan Saylah and I will howl about how we would adapt this tome. Keep an eye out for the link.

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A Bear Called Paddington Book Review

After last week’s review of what’s probably the most disturbing adaptation of Wuthering Heights, I needed something soft, cozy, and silly. I managed to get this with Paddington – the iconic bear from the series of the same name. Since one of his birthdays is coming up on June 25, let’s look at the character and his adventures in the book that started it all – 1958’s A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond.

A Bear Called Paddington is Paddington’s origin story and then some. A little bear has just traveled from Peru when the Brown family first meet him at Paddington Station. Taken in by his charm and manners, the Browns decide to bring him home and make him a member of the family. The bear, now named Paddington, gets into plenty of shenanigans while adapting into his new environment. Since then, the Browns’ lives have never been quite the same, for ordinary things become extraordinary whenever Paddington is involved.

Growing up, I didn’t read a whole lot of books. I was more of a movie and television kid. However, if I had read Paddington when I was young, I would’ve loved it to the end of time. The bear is cute, kind, and means well when he accidentally gets himself into trouble. Regardless of what happens, the Browns accept and care for him. They don’t even question why he’s able to talk in general. Of course, they make sure that he understands certain things and that they accident proof the house, but they love him just the same.

In addition, It was fun to read the kinds of scenarios that Paddington found himself in. My favorites in A Bear Called Paddington were when he goes shopping, to the theatre, and to the beach. The book consists of eight chapters, and they follow a pattern: Paddington goes to a place and accidentally gets lost or misunderstands something and tries to do it himself. He then finds himself in trouble, but everything is straightened out in the end. Most of them could’ve been individual short stories because there isn’t much of a plot in A Bear Called Paddington. Outside of the Browns finding the bear at the Paddington Station and certain members accepting him, the book is literally a series of episodes that could’ve been written for television (yes, I’m aware of the fact that Paddington had several tv shows). Regardless, it was still fun to see how he dealt with certain situations.

While reading this book, I noticed how British it is. It’s not just in using certain words like lift (elevator) or spade (shovel), but it’s in the humor like the focus on the little things. For example, when Mrs. Bird – the Browns’ live-in housekeeper – first meets Paddington, she is skeptical, but she mentions that he has good manners, so she’s ok with a bear living with them. This comes full circle in the beach episode. When Paddington is lost at sea, the family try to search for him, and Mrs. Bird says that she couldn’t imagine the house without him. Additionally, British humor tends to focus on navigating the chaos as opposed to causing it, A Bear Called Paddington is full of that. Since he arrives in London from Peru, he’s unfamiliar with the territory and social customs. Much of the comedy comes from how he attempts to understand new things, like going shopping or taking a bath.

While A Bear Called Paddington and the other books in the series are marketed towards children, it can still be read by adults. There’s clever wordplay, and a cast of colorful characters that people might recognize in real life. Readers will certainly know someone who’s like the friendly and caring Mr. Gruber or the nosy and critical Mr. Curry. For the children, the reading level is geared towards anyone over the age of 8, but parents can easily read it to younger kids. There are small, pencil illustrations, created by Peggy Fortnum, of Paddington in various situations, but if kids want more visuals, there are picture books of his adventures. One way or another, people of all ages can enjoy reading about the marmalade-loving bear.

It’s easy to see why A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond and the series it spawned are beloved. The titular character is memorable in his manners and how he finds himself in unfamiliar places. In addition, while it’s predictable to a degree, I found myself invested in what he or the Browns were going to do. As I alluded to earlier, I would recommend it to any reader of any age, whether it’s the first or the one hundredth time. Paddington has been around for nearly 70 years, so here’s another 70!

Stay tuned when I review Paddington’s first movie – 2015’s Paddington in December.

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Wuthering Heights 1998 Television Movie Review

Content warning: this review mentions animal abuse and sexual assault.

Welcome to Part 8 of looking at various adaptations of Wuthering Heights and seeing if they can capture the spirit of the book by Emily Brontë. Today, I’ll be looking at the 1998 movie made by Masterpiece Theatre starring Robert Cavanah as Heathcliff and Matthew MacFayden as Hareton.

As I got more into the post-Kate Bush Wuthering Heights adaptations, it’s clear that each one of them wants to be as faithful and transgressive as possible. So far, this version takes the cake for both. Not only does it contain the second half of the book, but it also has almost every scene, including ones that weren’t in the prior adaptations. The most infamous being when Heathcliff tries to hang Isabella’s dog. I was nervous about that since anytime she was on screen prior, she was carrying her little black dog. Luckily, the film provides a happier ending to that scene than in the novel.

I honestly didn’t expect how far Masterpiece Theatre would go to show the wickedness of the novel, but wow, it went there. It includes a scene in which Heathcliff rapes Isabella soon after they get married. In previous adaptations, he’s always a brute to her, but I never would’ve expected that one would take it up a notch, especially from Masterpiece Theatre, which is funded by viewers like you. Thank you. The 2002 Goodbye, Mr. Chips movie through Masterpiece Theatre also had plenty of realism, but it wasn’t to the level of this version of Wuthering Heights. It was very unsettling. It didn’t help that director David Skynner decided to juxtapose that sequence with Catherine getting hair cut to reduce the swelling in her brain from her fever. Although I don’t know if I want to see this film again, I will give it props for including such a disturbing scene.

The rest of the movie is decent. I like how it taps into the best parts of the 1970 and 1992 flicks. It contains the scene in which Heathcliff chases ghost Catherine all across the Moors, which is a nice homage to the former. In addition, it emulates the 1992 movie with its gothic horror tone, supernatural elements, and its volatile Heathcliff.

On the other hand, there were a couple of parts which were baffling. For starters, the story starts when Heathcliff flashes back to his youth as opposed to Nelly telling Mr. Lockwood about it. This is like the 1950 teleplay, and just like that one, this change makes Mr. Lockwood and Nelly pointless to some degree. Also, in the beginning, when young Catherine and Heathcliff are playing outside, she sees an older Heathcliff. Then later, when he’s dying, he flashes back to that time. How was he able to teleport himself through space and time? I mean, he has the ability to put people in purgatory by damning their souls, but that could’ve been explained better.

My main complaint is the rape scene is so overpowering that it overshadows everything else in the film. It’s not to say the movie is bad. Not much of it is as memorable as the sequence mentioned earlier.

The performances are mostly good. Robert Cavanah is Heathcliff. Let’s get it out of the way now: he’s another white man playing a racially ambiguous character. Even with bronzer on, that still doesn’t change the fact that he’s a white man. As for his performance, he’s the most volatile Heathcliff I’ve seen. He forcibly kisses Catherine, and I already mentioned what he does to Isabella. It doesn’t help that he looks like a tan Bob Geldof during the first half. I still prefer Ralph Fiennes’s interpretation of the character because of how dynamic it was, but this one is still serviceable. Orla Brady is Catherine. She does a good job with tapping into the character’s volatile moods, especially when she calls Hindley a tyrant and acts like a stubborn child during the key scene. The best performance comes from Matthew MacFayden, who portrays Hareton – Hindley’s son. From the moment I saw him, I felt the character’s sadness, torment, and determination with little to no dialogue. Also, he gets to play with a puppy. MacFayden would go on to portray Mr. Darcy in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice.

The Wuthering Heights 1998 television movie is fine. It’s the most faithful version I’ve seen so far in how true it is to the text, and it captures the disturbing elements of the story. I’m truly amazed by how PBS greenlit this one, but I don’t know if I will ever return to it because of how unsettling it is (even with Matthew MacFayden in it). I would recommend it to those who are actively watching every adaptation of Wuthering Heights and/or want to see a more loyal adaptation of the story. We’ll see how the other ones fare as we move into the 21st century.

Now, let’s see how this one fits into the ranking.

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights 1992 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1939 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1958 Teleplay
Wuthering Heights 1967 Series
Wuthering Heights 1998 Television Movie
Wuthering Heights 1970 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1950 Teleplay
Wuthering Heights 2026 Movie

We’ll see how this ranking evolves after I see all the others.

Stay tuned next month when I review the 2009 mini-series with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley.

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Sisters Book Review

There have been plenty of books that I’ve read that I could relate to. One that comes to mind is Big Love by Bari Beckett. However, I don’t think I’ve connected to a novel as hard as I did with Sisters by Raina Telgemeier. It’s a great story about two sisters trying to get along, and it also contains some great illustrations.

Sisters is a graphic novel based on the author’s relationship with her own sister. When Raina was little, she couldn’t wait to have a sibling. But once her sister Amara comes into the picture, things don’t get off to a great start. Amara is cute, yet she is grouchy, throws temper tantrums at times, and prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn’t improve much over the years, but when a baby brother arrives and later, when something feels off with their parents, they realize that they must figure out how to get along. This story unfolds over a three-week period during a road trip from San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado.

It’s the second in the “Smile” series, which is based on Telgemeier’s own life while growing up. The first in that series is Smile. Reading Sisters makes me want to read Smile at some point because the former is fantastic!

I love the story. The relationship between Raina and Amara feels 100% real with all of its ups and downs. To be fair, I may be biased in this since I had a similar one with my older sister when we were growing up. Though the book is told through Raina’s perspective, it shows both sides of the coin when it comes to her and Amara getting along. When Raina offers to do stuff together with her younger sister like drawing and dancing to music, the latter flat out refuses and throws temper tantrums. At the same time, once Amara becomes interested in drawing animals and going to the zoo, the older sister doesn’t seem to care as much, for she tunes out the world with her walkman.

There are times that they do effectively bond. This happens with the most inconsequential things like making fun of Colorado’s state nickname. It also occurs with more important stuff like wondering if their parents will divorce because it’s becoming apparent that they’re not getting along. It felt very genuine. This all leads up to a heart-to-heart conversation towards the end, where Amara calls out Raina for shutting out the world around her. Afterwards, Raina decides to not wear her walkman headphones on the way back to California. This shows a step towards mending the relationship, instead of being fully resolved. I appreciate this open ending.

The other strong point of this graphic novel is the illustrations with the color by Braden Lamb. It goes into flashbacks frequently, and this is represented through sepia tone. I also enjoyed seeing the facial expressions of various characters. It often relies on big emotions because it’s told from a preteen’s viewpoint. For example, when Raina asks Amara what she’s drawing, the latter gives the biggest glare I’ve ever seen in a graphic novel. It helps that the word “glare” is present on that panel for those who have trouble reading facial expressions. Another instance of this is whenever snakes are shown or mentioned in conversation. Raina’s eyes are always big and rarely the same size as she loathes that reptile because she stepped on a dead one when she was 4 years old. When it comes to more serious moments, the facial expressions become less exaggerated to fit the tone. These are obvious in scenes like when the dad tells the family that he’s been laid off and when the sisters discuss their parents.

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier is a great graphic novel that anyone with siblings can relate to. It contains a story with lots of depth and fantastic illustrations. I would recommend it to those who love graphic novels, anything by Raina Telgemeier, and have siblings even if they are adults. I’m going to have a hard time finding a book that I can relate to more than Sisters.

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Adapt Me Podcast – Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies

Hi Everybody,

The latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast is up right now. In it, guest Marc Bonani from the Broadway by Ghostlight YouTube Channel and I discuss how we would adapt Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin as an anthology miniseries ala Fosse/Verdon. We talk about how the book pulls back the curtain on the beloved musical’s creation in real time in the 1970s. We also discuss how theatre is the most collaborative art form and gush about current Broadway shows just in time for this year’s Tony Awards. Check it out at this link!

In the meantime, I have a review of the book itself, so check that out too!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

The Next Breath Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Author Marketing Experts in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: this review discusses sex and death-related trauma.

Letting go of the past can be hard for many people. One wants to hold onto it even if the future is big and bright. The main character in today’s novel, The Next Breath by Laurel Osterkamp, deals with that in a highly dramatic way. It’s a good book that tackles grief with realistic characters, while involving theater and educating readers about cystic fibrosis.

The Next Breath is about a woman who goes on a journey to let go of her past boyfriend in order to embrace her new romance. Ten years ago, Robin found true love with Jed, but soon, she lost him. But when Nick enters her life, she starts to believe in second chances. However, she’s reluctant to release her love for Jed. It doesn’t help that she agreed to star in a play that he wrote for her before his death. Robin must reconcile with old wounds and long-buried emotions. As Jed’s ghost lingers in her dreams, she must navigate heartbreak, loss, and her fear of moving on. Can she find the strength to leave Jed in the past and embrace a future filled with hope and love?

I enjoyed the environment. I knew I was going to like this book because of the theatre aspect, but Osterkamp describes the past and present settings in great detail. I could easily imagine the campus Robin was on while she dated Jed, along with the theatre where she performs the play. Osterkamp gives realistic touches to the environment, like the bit with the sex room at the Open House that Nick runs as a real estate agent.

I didn’t know much about cystic fibrosis before reading this book. In the story, Jed had that specific lung disease. I learned a lot about it through the flashbacks when Robin and Jed interact. This includes him teaching her how to pat his back, which helps dislodge mucus from his lungs, as well as him receiving a new lung through a transplant and the complications that follow. While Jed was not a perfect person, I still felt for him due to his circumstances.

The biggest strength of this novel is the realistic characters. Robin has fallen in love with Nick, but she has a hard time moving on from her first love because of how Jed made her feel during their brief relationship and the matter of his death. This led to her burying her emotions and getting stuck in a limbo. While Robin is kind and creative, she can also be competitive to a fault. Nick even calls her “Rocky” due to her drive and determination. This is exemplified with scenes of her trying to outrun a runner she calls “Flashdance Girl.”

The author also portrays Nick and Jed realistically. The former is a guy that any woman would dream of for a perfect boyfriend. He’s nice, caring, and encouraging. However, he has his past trauma through the loss of one of his parents and had to raise his younger sister. Additionally, although he loves Robin, he refuses to be compared to a dead guy. I was rooting for them since they are cute and feel authentic.

Through the flashbacks, readers get to know Jed. At first, I wasn’t keen on him since he was a player. However, once I got to know him and his ailment, I warmed up to him, for he seemed to really care about Robin. He may come off as sarcastic and one who wants to live fast, yet he wants nothing but the best for her, and not to worry about him when he dies. In addition, it helps that Catherine – the college’s theatre director and Jed’s mom – is a wonderful character. She and Robin bond after the latter starts dating Jed, and I could feel the love and respect between them, especially in how they maintain a connection years after his death. Since Robin’s mom died when she was young, she sees Catherine as the mother figure she needed in her life.

Moreover, I adore the dream sequences that Robin has at the beginning of several chapters. They give a theatrical touch and reflect what she’s going through without making it too obvious. For example, in one dream, she’s encouraging Jed to drive safe. This happens another time, so for a brief bit, I was convinced that he died in a car accident.

The Next Breath by Laurel Osterkamp is a good romance book that deals with the art of letting go. The main characters are well-written and have their own personal conflicts. It also helps that there are great descriptions of the locations used in this novel and that readers get to learn about cystic fibrosis. To quote The Page Ladies Book Club on Goodreads, I would recommend it to readers who want stories that involve, “love after loss; theatre; second chances; healing arcs, and thoughtful, emotional writing with a touch of hope.” The Next Breath is out now, so grab it wherever you get your books.

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Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies Book Review

I love musical theatre. I’ve adored musicals since I was little while watching Disney and old Hollywood films. I get excited seeing people sing and dance, whether it’s on Broadway or at the local theatre. It’s also fascinating to learn about how a show comes together, especially how a creative team decides on certain elements and how the actors get along. One of the best books on the making of a musical is Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin. It does a great job with demonstrating how a Broadway show was created and mounted in the early 1970s, and it’s a wonderful read even if one is unfamiliar with the specific musical.

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies is about the making of the musical Follies. In 1971, college student Ted Chapin found himself as a production assistant at the creation of one of the greatest musicals, Follies. Needing college credit to graduate on time, he kept a journal detailing every aspect that he saw and heard while the musical was actually being developed. Years later, Ted decided to fashion his notes into a chronicle. Follies was made by composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, producer and director Hal Prince, choreographer Michael Bennett, and book writer James Goldman. These men were giants in the evolution of Broadway and geniuses at the top of their game. Everything Was Possible takes readers on a roller-coaster ride from the uncertainties like casting, drama-filled rehearsals, the care and feeding of one-time movie and television stars, the pressures of a Boston tryout, and the exhilaration of opening night on Broadway.

Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest Broadway composers ever. I’m familiar with his work, for I’ve seen productions of his shows like West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, and Sweeney Todd. I even was in Into the Woods at my high school. Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know a whole lot about Follies – the show Sondheim put on Broadway in 1971 – outside of some songs like “Buddy’s Blues” and its most famous tune, “I’m Still Here.” I listened to its famously truncated original Broadway cast recording to get a better gist of the musical.

While knowing what Follies is helps, the book also focuses on what goes into making a musical. Chapin explains every aspect in a way that anybody can understand. For example, I loved the way he described a technical rehearsal and how vital it is to the show. He was the production assistant aka the gofer. His job was to do what the creative team and actors asked of him. The main one was to type up script and lyrics changes and make carbon copies. Since this was before computers, this took a long time. Along with that, he wrote in his journal of what unfolded on a daily basis. That’s why the chronicle contains so many miniscule details. Some readers might feel the need to skip these parts. I don’t blame them. At the same time, I like a lot of detail, so it was cool to see what was going on minute by minute.

Although Chapin acknowledges that he has his biases (including of certain actors and songs as well as the overall musical), he’s still able to see the forest beyond the trees. To get the bigger picture, he interviewed people who were a part of the show like Prince and Sondheim years after the fact. He also provides both black-and-white and color pictures of rehearsals, performances, magazine covers, and the famous poster to illustrate what he describes in the text. This is truly one of the most objective books I’ve ever read because of the care the author puts in to cover all aspects of the creative process.

The best part was learning about everything that unfolded. The process was full of ups and downs. Members of the creative team clashed with one another on certain story beats, and some actors were jealous that others received more attention than they did. However, these never led to cat fights (sorry for those readers who wanted that). In addition, Chapin escorted actors around during rehearsals leading up to opening night, including Yvonne de Carlo (Lily Munster in the 1960s television show The Munsters). It was amusing finding out that she may have had a thing for him.

Furthermore, songs went in and out. One of the most fascinating things to find out was that “I’m Still Here” was written during the Boston tryout. The original ditty that the character Carlotta (originally played by de Carlo) sang was called “Can That Boy Frox Trot?” However, it wasn’t working in Boston, so Sondheim came up with the former on a whim that tied the story’s flashbacks and current events together. On top of that, the musical received infamously mixed reviews when it premiered in April 1971. Chapin goes into great detail on how the creative team and the cast reacted to them. As a show, Follies remains divisive to viewers to this very day, and those initial assessments reflected that.

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin is a great book of how a famous Broadway musical came together. Even if one doesn’t know much about Follies, it’s still a memorizing read. Chapin excels with covering the show’s development from all angles while adding some personal touches. I would recommend it to anyone who loves musicals and wants to know more of how they get made. Regardless of how one feels about Follies as a show, go pick it up and see how it’s still here.

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I will record the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast soon. Guest Marc Bonani from the Broadway by Ghostlight Youtube Channel will join me to talk about how we would adapt this book. Keep an eye out for the link next week.

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Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights 1992 Movie Review

Welcome to Part 7 of looking at various adaptations of Wuthering Heights and seeing if they can capture the spirit of the book by Emily Brontë. Today, I’ll be looking at the 1992 movie starring Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff and Juliet Binoche as Catherine.

You’re probably wondering, “Emily, why is that movie titled Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights instead of just plain Wuthering Heights?”

It’s because Samuel Goldwyn Studio owned the rights to the title due to the copyright on the 1939 flick, which they produced. As a result, Paramount Pictures was forced to use the author’s name when they released this very movie. Funny enough, 1992 was the same year in which the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula was released, and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights came out a month prior.

If I were an English teacher who had to show a version of Wuthering Heights to my students, this is the one I would choose. Not only does it include the second half of the story, but it leans into the gothic horror spirit harder than previous adaptations. I love the cinematography. Mike Southon does a great job with color and light. I especially adore how the moors look grainy and vast with blue skies most of the time. The score by Ryûichi Sakamoto is Celtic-inspired, which provides the movie with its wild and pure spirit. Additionally, I adore how it emphasizes the horror elements. For example, when Mr. Lockwood hears Catherine’s ghost, a tree branch crashes into the windows. It’s a great setup for what follows afterwards. This was Peter Kominsky’s directorial debut, and he sticks the landing with his filmmaking.

Moreover, the performances are very good. I have to single out Janet McTeer and Ralph Fiennes. McTeer is fantastic as Nelly aka Ellen. She radiates kindness to the people around her, but she’s also exacerbated anytime she has to deal with their antics. Given the situations many of the characters find themselves in, I don’t blame her and her Rachel Dratch eyes. Ralph Fiennes steals the whole show. He’s the best Heathcliff since Laurence Olivier. Once again, he’s a white guy playing Heathcliff, but he’s still great. For one thing, he looks different from the other white people in the film. He wears a long, flowy black wig that makes his blue eyes pop. I’ve never seen his eyes look so blue in any of the other films I’ve seen him in. For WASP people, this makes him look exotic because who could ever look like that? Like Olivier, Fiennes combines Heathcliff’s passionate, brooding, and manipulative nature, but he takes it one step further by truly embodying the character’s villainy. This is most apparent in the second half when Heathcliff comes back to indirectly torment everybody who wronged him. I especially love the scene in which Heathcliff locks Catherine and Edgar in the Linton kitchen. Fiennes has a sadistic and joyous look on his face when Edgar tries to wrestle the key away from Catherine. It’s because of this movie that Ralph Fiennes was able to appear in such villainous roles as Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named in the Harry Potter film franchise.

As much as I praise the flick, it’s not perfect. For starters, Juliet Binoche is ok as Catherine. Her demeanor is too soft and ladylike. This is the same problem that I had with Anna Calder-Marshall in the 1970 adaptation, although Binoche fares better as Catherine’s daughter Cathy. I know some reviewers had issues with Binoche’s French accent. I didn’t mind because she looks like she belongs in late 18th-century Northern England, and her dialect only slips out once in a great while. In addition, her chemistry with Fiennes is through the roof. I could feel the love and passion between the two. They certainly felt it too since they appeared in two more films together: the 1996 Oscar-winning romantic drama The English Patient and 2024’s The Return.

Since the movie places a lot of emphasis on the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, it reduces the significance of certain characters and scenes. For example, the sequence of Catherine and Heathcliff as kids only lasts for less than 5 minutes, and Mr. Earnshaw is killed off soon after he brings the latter home. This could have been fleshed out more. The 1939 film had similar problems with this, but at least it took the time to show them as children. Additionally, I don’t understand the framing device. It involves Emily Brontë herself exploring an abandoned castle, which supposedly inspires the very story seen on screen. This doesn’t make sense because the novel already has a great framework of Nelly telling Mr. Lockwood the story of how Heathcliff became so bitter. It makes both characters less important to the overall plot. Oh, by the way, Brontë is played by an uncredited Sinéad O’Connor.

Every Wuthering Heights version leads up to Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. It’s faithful to the source material and truly captures the spirit of the novel more so than the previous adaptations. It also displays plenty of wonderful filmmaking, especially the cinematography and music. The performances, especially Ralph Fiennes’s, are the heart and soul of the flick. While it isn’t perfect, it’s the best version of the book so far. I would recommend it to anyone, whether they are actively watching every adaptation of Wuthering Heights or just want a movie to see.

Now, let’s see how this one fits into the ranking.

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights 1992 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1939 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1958 Teleplay
Wuthering Heights 1967 Series
Wuthering Heights 1970 Movie
Wuthering Heights 1950 Teleplay
Wuthering Heights 2026 Movie

We’ll see how this ranking evolves after I see all the others.

Stay tuned next month when I review the 1998 television movie with Robert Cavanah and Matthew MacFayden.

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