Talking It Over by Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes takes a go at the alchemy of a particular love triangle in this insightful, witty novel. Sturdy Stuart is an earnest, levelheaded banker (note that the book was published in 1992) and devoted husband to Gillian, a placid, somewhat inscrutable art restorer. Oliver, Stuart’s longtime friend, is a pedantic train wreck (think of an unholy Christopher Hitchens-Russell Brand alliance) whose untethered existence gives him plenty of time to systematically disrupt the happy couple.

Stuart, Gillian, and Oliver take turns narrating; so each character gets a chance to explain--and reveal varying degrees of delusion. This technique shows off Barnes’s deft understanding of human dynamics, as well as an unsentimental objectivity that makes for bracing realizations. Further, his elegantly adventurous facility with language rendered the book a remarkably good time. Highly recommended; and, so far, so is the sequel.

-Megan

Beautiful Books

The internet is abuzz with the fear and/or hope that print books will go the way of the clay tablet and the papyrus scroll, and it is certainly undeniable that ebooks do have certain significant advantages over their physical forebears. However, one of the things books made out of paper have going for them is the fact that they can be pleasurable objects to hold, to look at, to smell. Sometimes, they are even beautiful.

It seems that books were, long ago, always beautiful, sometimes mysteriously so. Today, the attractiveness of their product seems to be, at best, an afterthought for most publishers, but there are exceptions that seem to consistently pay attention to the design and quality of what they put out. For instance, New York Review Books has built an intense cult of followers, partly due to the quality of the work they publish, but also largely due to the sheer delight of handling their volumes. The Library of America puts out authoritative versions of our nation’s greatest literature, and their books are always solid, sophisticated, handsome.

Of course, there are also beautiful libraries and bookstores (such as Buenos Aires' El Ateneo, pictured above), and, while the structures may be magnificent, where would they be, really, without their books? Also, take a look at some of the most beautiful pictures of books and bookshelves you will ever see, at the saucily named (but entirely worksafe) Bookshelf Porn.

And then there are those people who have turned books into art, or even architecture.

-Eric

Movie Review: HeartBreaker

Alex (Romain Duris) is a professional match-breaker in this frothy, giddily entertaining French film. His impeccable record is challenged when he’s enlisted to end the engagement of Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln). Jonathan’s a philanthropic billionaire (and British, ladies!), but still not nearly good enough according to Juliette’s father, who hired Alex.

So Alex and his suspiciously, ridiculously high-tech associates (his sister and brother-in-law) pull out a variety of amusing stunts to capture Juliette’s aloof heart, and absurd hijinks ensue. Alex uses every weapon in his arsenal, including but not limited to Juliette’s weakness for George Michael and Dirty Dancing.

Much of the movie’s charm can be credited to Duris, a remarkably agile and versatile performer who is something like a French Heath Ledger. It will be interesting to see who will be cast in the impending American remake. My money is on Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Alex and Amanda Seyfried as Juliette. (Kindly spare me your Jake Gyllenhaal and your Scarlett Johannson!) But I’ll savor this delightful original now and save the teeth gnashing for later.

-Megan

Is this the history of science fiction?

Artist Ward Shelley has created a fascinating (and also, perhaps, a little ludicrous) infographic (seen above) that displays the history of science fiction. Shelley portrays SF as something of a many-tentacled blob, which is probably both accurate and appropriate. He starts off with fear and wonder (presumably the basis for science fiction in the human psyche) and then goes on from the Enlightenment, and the Gothic novel to pulp fiction and modern movies.

Apparently Shelly created this map as a submission to the Places & Spaces: Mapping Science Exhibit for 2011, which has the theme "Science Maps as Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries". This map is amazingly detailed, and you could spend hours and hours wandering through its many back streets and alleys (and if all the names and terms on the map were actually somehow linked to some sort of digital library, or even wikipedia, this could become a never-ending journey). Should you want to investigate this future, there’s a rather enormous image of the map here.

-Eric

Movie Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop

The Oscar-nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop takes an unconventional, entertaining look at a bygone era of street art. Directed by Banksy, the enigmatic (e.g. shrouded in darkness and disguised by a voice decoder) superstar of the movement, the film follows the scene’s most inspired figures as they adorn unsuspecting buildings and billboards with wit and whimsy. Commercialization comes quickly, and with varying results. Banksy cashes in, Sotheby’s style; Shepard Fairey (of the ubiquitous Obama “Hope” image) is promptly sued by the Associated Press; and Thierry Guetta--a wannabe Andy Warhol for the porkpie hat set--goes about industrializing street art’s winking subversion with a team of workers and an Ikea-sized showroom.

Exit Through the Gift Shop effectively explores the wonders of artistry, inevitable commodification of youth culture, and the thin, stubborn line between clever and stupid. Spirited, slightly ridiculous fun.

-Megan