Review
Books in Brief
101 Forgotten Films by Brian Mills (Kamera)
This curious little volume does just what it says on the tin: lists a hundred and one films which are generally unavailable and which the author thinks ought not to be. He gives a synopsis of the story, a rarity rating out of 5 (invariably 4 or 5) depending on how hard it is to see the film and, in some cases, a brief and flattering biography of an actor or director.
This is obviously a very personal collection but it’s hard to see for whom it is written. The title is obviously a pun on the American custom of naming a basic introductory college course Whatever 101 but any film student, or even fan, would surely be put off by the complete absence of any critical comment or analysis. It’s just a list and, loath though I am to say it, isn’t this the kind of thing the internet is made for?
MC
2/5
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Under My Skin
by Alison Jameson
(Penguin Ireland)
Set in 2001 in Bray, to start with, Under My Skin is the story of a young couple struggling to make ends – and families – meet, while they luxuriate in the glow of their honeymoon happiness. Such joy doesn’t last and there are pitfalls ahead. The love nest falls apart and the heroine, Hope, tries to carry on until she gets the chilling news that her husband, Larry, was last seen in New York on September 10th. She goes in search of him and the second half of the novel takes place in America amid a chain of unlikely but believable coincidences.
This is a deceptively naïve novel about loss and loneliness, the power of true love and the bleak compromises of life without it. Despite all that, it’s a lovely read and I recommend it.
MC
3/5
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Images of Cork City - Shared Moments
by Brian Lillis (Nonsuch)
Derry and Cork, though as far apart as any two towns in Ireland could be, have much in common: beautiful settings, lordly rivers, hilly streets and the conviction that they are really better than the two bigger sisters. Brian Lillis has done his adopted city proud. His colour photographs arranged in five sections, from the river to the oddities of the ‘hidden city’, are superb. They make us, to quote its most famous song, ‘Fr Prout’’s, ‘The Bells of Shandon’ (appearing appropriately in ten pictures) ‘grow fonder, sweet Cork of thee.’
SM
4/5
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Bray and Enniskerry Railway
by Liam Clare (Nonsuch)
In the richer east of mid-nineteenth-century Leinster there were two resorts of outstanding popularity, Bray, often called the ‘Brighton of Ireland’ and the more exclusive, wildly beautiful Enniskerry, offering Powerscourt, the Scalp and the Dargle. They were hardly more than three miles apart; so in the age of the railway why not connect these amenities? They tried, and Liam Clare’s deeply researched book details why they failed. It is a fascinating account (illustrated with maps, engravings and photographs) of vested interests, political manoeuvring, incompetence and vandalism that has an oddly contemporary feel to it.
SM
4/5
