Amélie Nothomb : My Belgian French-speaking Love

This was love at first Book .

Baroness Amélie Nothomb is a French Speaking Belgian Writer from a great lineage  of diplomats and writers ,  My love for her started when I borrowed her book 'AntéChrista' , from the French House "Maison de France" ( its the French consulate and Média-bibiliotheque/Library)

I instantly fell in love with her writing style , so I kept them coming , there was this whole collection of her books in the Library and I just couldn't help but going on a reading spree of her books , I consumed around 11 books in less than 2 months , I technically borrowed 2/3 books each 2 weeks sometimes I read the books I got prior to the deadlines and then I go again and borrow more !

I will leave AntéChrista without a preview , because i don't want to ruin it for you guys .

The second book was "Tuer le père" or "kill the father" , when you read the title for the first time , you'll most likely think of Freud's Oedipus complex , your intuition is not  entirely false . 

This book is about a teenage boy who have been abandoned by his mother and her boyfriend, Being an aspiring magician 14 year-old Joe  , met a couple and they eventually took him in as an adopted son , the couple  then ,had to adjust to having a teenage boy around , the rest is for you to discover , if you ever see the book grab it and give it a chance .

After these two books I kept on reading more and more of her work , I dived into older books like :

Hygiène de l'assasin - Hygiene of the assassin ,was her first Novel :

A famous novelist Prétextat Tach has Elzenveiverplatz syndrome a kind of cancer invented by Amélie in her book . Many journalists rushed to interview him after knowing that he only has two months to live . after the first few interviews, the reader realizes that Tach is an obese and obnoxious misanthrope of the worst kind: sarcastic , intolerant and  a misogynist , who can not tolerate any kind of questions about his private life . He has the audacity to turn  the interview into the most disgusting experience a journalist can ever have , but what will happen when Nina shows up ?

Her second novel was Les Sabotage Amoureux - Loving sabotage :

As the daughter of a Diplomat Amélie experienced so much in her life , and lived in different countries and cities which allowed her to use that in her writings , this book is situated in Bejing, China , This Novel follows the seven-year-old narrator living in communist China .Along with the numerous children of various nationalities spend their time fashioning an elaborate and ruthless game of war, designating the East German contingent as the enemy. Among these children is the indifferent Elena, who the narrator quickly becomes infatuated with and goes to great lengths to win her adoration.

Then came Les Catilinaires - The stranger Next door : 

which was about a retired couple Emile and Juliette Hazel , no body lives near their retirement home except an old doctor and his wife , so out of politeness the Hazels payed a visit to their only neighbors , Thus they came in contact with Palaméde Bernadin and his wife Bernadette , things took a different path when Palaméde took a weird habit of paying them a visit on a daily basis from 4pm to 6pm , being present in their household but without uttering a single word for his whole stay .

Attentat 

This  is another Novel I loved , this -as most of other novels written by Amélie- deal with the recurrent question " what is a norm? " Amélie created  two apposing characters Ethel and Epiphane as a pretext to discuss the issue of Societal norm . this main question engenders more questions , do we make our own judgments or are they strictly dictated by the society we live in  ? Are one's views on a given topic, fact, or idea a result of personal reflection or the absorption of a societal concept which has not yet been refuted? what is normality ?

Quote : 

"Mes parents sont frère et sœur comme leurs parents. Dans ma famille, on est crétin des Alpes depuis des générations. Cette consanguinité s'arrêtera avec moi : même ma sœur me trouve trop moche."

Métaphysique des tube -The Character of Rain  :

This Novel is most likely  an autobiography of Amélie , this Novel describes the world as seen by a three year old child born in Japan to a Belgian Family it deals with topics of language acquisition , bilingualism ,self-awareness  and developmental psychology . In Japanse Culture babies and toddlers under the age of 3 years are treated as Okasoma (Lord Child or Little Gods).

Quote:

"Notre unique spécificité individuelle réside en ceci : dis-moi ce qui te dégoûte et je te dirai qui tu es."

"Il existe depuis très longtemps une immense secte d'imbéciles qui oppose sensualité et intelligence. C'est un cercle vicieux: ils se privent de volupté pour exalter leurs capacités intellectuelles, ce qui a pour résultat de les appauvrir. Ils deviennent de plus en plus stupides, ce qui les conforte dans leur conviction d'être brillants - car on n'a rien trouvé de mieux que la bêtise pour se croire intelligent."

Cosmétique de l'ennemi - The Ennemy's cosmetic

I am just gonna leave you with this quote from the book

"Without wanting to, I have committed the perfect crime: nobody saw me coming, except for the victim. The proof, I am still free."

Journal d'hirondelle -Swallow's journal :

This is by far my utmost favorite Novel written by Amélie , its about a hit-man who calls himself "Urbain" who got an assignment to kill a minister and his family (His referring to the minister) then bring back the Minister's briefcase, Urbain has no moral problem with his job , But things get complicated in the process , and he gets his hands on the content of the briefcase which turned out to be a personal diary "journal intime" , Urbain's life changed completely due to its content (the rest is for you guys to discover I don't want to give all of it out)

Quote :

"Mais allez étudier par cœur ne serait-ce que les solos de basse de Radiohead, qui sont à peine une couche de mystère ! Le casque sur les oreilles, je m’isolais dans une sorte de caisse sensoriel où j’écoutais en boucle Amnesiac, Kid A et Hail To The Thief. Cela agissait comme une seringue m’inoculant en continu la drogue la plus délectable…"

Voyage d'hiver - The Winter Journey :

Arriving early to the airport he decides to write down his plans before he boards his last flight.

 Near the end of Le voyage d'hiver the narrator, Zoïle, explains that when he goes through with what he has planned he will be thinking of the Schubert song-cycle, Winterreise.
I will leave the rest for you to discover .

Meanwhile there are still several short stories and novels written by Amélie that I still didn't read yet and that are worthy of being bought , i'll try to get hold of them as soon as I can .

 YES ,her face is  almost on most of her book covers whether hard copies , ebooks or regular paperbacks , deal with it .

Tag #3 : Halloween Creatures

Vampires

Lestat de Lincourt: from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles

Lestat is my Utmost favorite in this List (I must confess the Doctor has to step down a notch) ,
I have been an avid fan since I first watched Queen of the damned when I was twelve or thirteen years old .then I discovered Anne Rice's Chronicles and wanted to know more watched all the movies that involved his character , tried to get hold of the books and you know the drill , when you are an avid fan of someone . 

Akasha : From Anne Rice's Chronicles

Akasha has a special place in my heart as well being played in the Movie Queen of the Damned by Alyiah was terrific , her character was fantastic in the Chronicles as well

Eric Northman : from The Southern Vampire  mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse novels (& True Blood)

Eric Northman or my Favorite Viking-vampire , His character have undergone a lot of changes
from being the Vampire sheriff over Bon temps vamps to being crazy over Sookie Stackhouse , to losing his memory and then to regaining it and be a bad ass all over again 

Pam Ravenscroft: also known as Pamella Swynford De BeauFort : From The southern Vampire  Mysteries (&True Blood)

Pam is the right hand of Eric and the most Badass-kickass Female Vampire I have ever encountered,
her attitude , manners and ways are  worthy of a Badass Queen .

Werewolves

Alcid Herveaux : From the Southern Vampire  Mysteries (& True Blood)

 Alcide is a terrific Werewolf , A pack master at first , then a Loner at the end . his presence and charisma was overwhelming during the show .

ShapeShifters

Sam Merlotte: Also from the Southern Vampire  Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Novels (&True Blood)
Sam has the ability to literally shapeshift into anything he wants , any animal , any insects LITERALLY  ANYTHING .
the easiest or the shift he feels comfortable with and that he masters the most  is to  shift  into a dog . 

and this is the best shapeshift that he has ever done

Witch/Wizard

Severus Snape: from The Harry Potter Books 

Bellatrix Lestrange: From The Harry Potter Books

Demons

Memnoch the Devil from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles

Archangels

Gabriel :

From the Movie Constantine , Played by my All time Favorite Tilda Swinton 

In this movie , Gabriel is represented by an androgynous female , the leap here wasn't only because it was represented by a female but because Gabriel was represented as an evil Character .

Hybrids 

Warlow :

From Sookie Stackhouse Novels / The southern Vampire Mysteries (&True Blood)
(Half Vampire Half Fairy basically day walking vamp) *SPOILERS ALERT* don't read further if you don't wanna ruin it for yourself .

Warlow  is a long lost Fairy , who encountered  Lilith by chance , she changed him into a vampire but because he is originally a fairy (and not a human) he kept his ability to walk under the sunlight . after being turned by Lilith into a vampire and went back to his village, he  killed all of its inhabitants , save for the Little Niall , who happened to be sookie 's Great Grand father (that's where she gets her fairy abilities from) Warlow made a pact with Niall , that the very first female Heir in the family will be destined to marry him ... but you'll have to read the chronicles or watch the show to know the rest *wink wink*

Jack Harkness: 

From the Doctor Who series , John Barrowman is one of my favorite male actors Playing the Role of a 51st Century kid who Travels through time and space after a certain incident with Rose and The doctor he became Immortal ,his life span and notion of time and getting older takes longer way longer than usual . what makes him a Hybrid is the flow of Alien energy he received during that incident which made him immortal .

and Lately I got acquainted with the Character of Ashildr in Doctor Who's new episodes

Ashildr : 

She is originally a viking Shield Maiden , who due to her encounter with the doctor and her stubbornness she went into war with a very strong civilization , but due to her imagination and strong sense of creativity  and the help of the Doctor she saved her village from the Alien invasion , she died because it practically sucked her energy , the Doctor intervened and he brought her back to life . using a medical/technological devise that the Aliens Left behind , which  subsequently made of her a Hybrid . a human with Alien technology.

DemiGods

Achilles: 

who doesn't know him ? if you know your way around Greek Mythology you've certainly heard of him . If you watched Troy you will know him as well , he was played by Brad Pitt in the movie .

 

Aliens 

Ohoooo ! don't get me started ! I have a long list of these ! mostly from Dr Who as i am an avid Who fangirl , I don't only watch the show but i also read the available books .

Time Lords : 

The Doctor : 

The Doctor is a Time Lord from the Planet Gallifrey , constellation of kasterborous , he has a regeneration cycle of 12 faces basically twelve different humanoid bodies or as the Doctor puts it "Humans look like time lords not the other way around" .

The Master : 


The Master is also a Time Lord , but he is the Arch'Nemesis of The doctor. he has a cycle of twelve regenerations as well ,so far we have seen 9 of his faces , The Last being a Time Lady .

Other Aliens : 

Silurians : 

They are a Lizard-like and humanoid-ish creatures who lives in the depths of the earth and who avoids contact with humans . they are said to be the real inhabitants of earth long before humans came to existence.

Cyberman :

 These are Alien Cyborgs and one of the deadliest Enemies of the Doctor , their sole aim and mission  is to "upgrade" humans to be like them . considering themselves to be the best "species" in the universe 

"you will be like us , you'll be upgraded"

Daleks 

These tin cans that you can see in the pictures below , may seem harmless and a bit colorful for those who are not familiar with the Doctor-who Universe .

These are  my all time favorite Evils The Daleks and their Emperor Davros  from the Planet Skaro .
These are also Cybrogs-mutants . they are originally  The Thals and the Dals , they were very old and  advanced civilizations , and they reached a peak in Technological discoveries and material ,  but they ended up going  to war against each other . Left with nothing and on the brink of extinction, Davros the Only and Sole survivor devised a way to make his progeny live on . They are one of the prominent Adversaries of The Doctor.

and last but not least our favorite and classic Xenomorphs or  our regular Aliens from The Alien saga and Prometheus , I don't need to make any further explanations about them its useless !

Aurora

I planned a perfect date , I bought her flowers , cooked for her and spoiled her .
Then , I took her out for a walk in the nearby forest , It's that time of the year when the Gods sent their lights . Her name was Aurora , wasn't that enough of a sign ? They were desperately calling for her .

She never doubted my love for her , I fed on her energy and happiness. I loved her nativity and purity. Oblivious of her fate , she told me that she loved me . Her love and compassion weren't meant for me , it was meant for those calling her name  .

 She was the chosen one and  , yet she  ignored it, but I knew for sure what I had to do .  She took me for someone I am not  , I am not a god , I am a mere human  destined to do what the Gods asked me to do . I am not worthy of her love and attention , Angles don't belong to this world.

Aurora , you are too good for this world , you belong among the gods , there is a reason you were called after a Goddess .

We took a pair of drinking horns and a bottle of Wine for the walk , you held on to the bottle and horns, and ran to the forest playfully , expecting me to catch up , so we will enjoy the night and watch the Aurora Borealis , you didn't know that , that was the Gods' way to call for you, to reclaim your original place .

I ran to catch up on you , I took hold of you from the back , wrapped my left arm around your neck , your face was  very close to mine I felt your breath , and your heart throbbing  faster , I gave you a passionate kiss while taking out my pocket knife with my right arm, I held your neck tightly with my arm and slit your throat with the other . I gave you a quick and merciful death. You didn't see it coming , yet you genuinely accepted it without fret .

The cut was clean and straight to the point , it can be considered  surgical , the cut was enough to let the crimson blood gush from her throat . I laid her down on the snow , I took one of the drinking horns that fell from her hand . I collected some of her blood in it .

You are on a Longboat now ,Aurora , entering the the world of the Gods.

SKÅL

To Valhalla you shall go , dine with the Gods my Aurora and thank me for what I did .

SKÅL

In  Asgard you shall live with the Gods , who are already awaiting your Grace .

SKÅL

I am as merciful as Odin , and as malign as Loki , and as ruthless as Thor can be , they invested their powers in me and I couldn't disregard it and be a selfish lad.

SKÅL 

All of this is not my design Aurora , Its the design of the Gods 

Top 5 favorite Villains

*I didn't post anything for the last couple of weeks because I was busy reading and watching shows and movies . 
I will soon post some reviews and other articles so stay tuned .

 Sometimes there are this villains that you can't simply hate , but rather love and at some point even appreciate . sometimes the villain teaches you things that the good guy can't . As a literary person and a writer I appreciate characters that "begs to differ" from the mainstream and that stand alone and rebel , whether that rebellion is ethical or  not,that doesn't matter . As a writer ,one look forward to be as androgynous as possible in order to see things through the eyes of the characters that (s)he create .

So without further do Here are my Utmost Favorite Villains as represented by Actors and drawings

I/ Hannibal:

The infamous Hannibal the Cannibal , is an Icon for Cruelty and Elegance , there is a thin line between being a Genius and a psychopath , that line blurs with Hannibal Lecter   

                 

Gaspard ulliel played the Role of Hannibal in the movie adaptation of Hannibal rising

Sir Anthony Hopkins played Hannibal in the movie adaptation Silence of the lamb 

Mads Mikkelsen played Hannibal Lecter in the TV series Hannbial along Hugh Dancy and Laurence Fishburne 

Who is your Favorite actor that played Hannibal ? tell me in the comment section below .

II/ Loki:

Loki is more than just a fictitious character , Loki is a Nordic god , Paganism always intrigued me , Norse mythology is a fantastic world to dive in . Loki stands alone from the crowd of the Gods , his intelligence and Malign attitude allows him to impose himself in a stagnant world , Sometimes a little 'smart' selfishness is necessary in our world to make a balance .

Loki ,as played by Tom Hiddleston in the two Thor movies.

III/ Davros:

Davros is a character from my all time favorite British Show 'Doctor Who' , He is the Arch enemy of the Doctor and the Creator of the Daleks . Davros is a crippled man from the Planet Skaro , that have been in war with other races noticeably the Time lords of Gallifrey . the Planet Skaro was home to two humaoid races the Thals and the Dals/kaleds (later called  Daleks ;a highly mutated supreme race after the intervention of Davros ) they went to war against each other not any kind of war but a Nuclear one.   Anyhow ,Davros was a genius who mastered many sciences but he is also a Megalomaniac who believes that through his creations he will become the supreme being .

IV/ Dracula:

Dracula also known as  Vlad Tepes-Dracul ,

what can one say of such an Iconic figure that marked the last century with its magic and which is still glowing til this day ?

Bela Lugosi was the precursor of a whole style , The king of Horror, in the above Picture Bela was playing Count Dracula in the very first movie adaptation of 1931 and before that he appeared in Broadway adaptation of Bram stoker's Dracula in 1927, after that he played in movies like the black cat (1934) , The Raven (1935) and son of Frankenstein(1939) among other cult, black and white movies

Gary oldman, Played Dracula in the 1992 movie Adaptation of the Novel along with Keanu Reeves 

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers played the role of Dracula in the recent TV show of the same name , what was peculiar about this adaptation is that the producer gave a new spirit to Dracula , a fantastic new perspective to the character ,a sort of a new mashup between the historical  character of the cruel Vlad tepes and the amazing Nicola Tesla . Sadly the show was cut off after two seasons . 

V/ Medusa:

Medusa is a Greek  Mythological character , She is a gorgon , generally described as having an hideous female human face with living venomous snakes instead of hair gazing directly into her eyes will turn the onlookers to stone . she is the only mortal among  her sisters ; Euryale and Stheno

Uma thurman as Medusa in Percy Jackson : the lightning thief

*Stay turned for more articles ;

I will post at least two articles per week.