amateur review space

The Visiting Privilege (Written by Joy Williams)/2015 I never really saw the point of short stories nor could I see the difference between short stories and novels. I thought short-stories were just short novels. However I have recently been enlightened by reading American author Joy Williams’ work The Visiting Privilege. The Visiting Privilege is a collection of Joy Williams' new and old short stories set mostly among people living in rural America. Joy Williams stories are generally set in a humble background with simple people leading quiet lives. However they also capture the deeper and darker aspects of human mind that is drastically contrasted by peaceful and natural setting; voyeurism, domination, manipulation, abandonment – some intentionally, some driven by unconscious desires. There is often unsettling and disturbing feeling to her stories that you can’t quite comprehend; they have the eeriness of a holiday house out in the middle of nowhere. I think she achie...

What Happened, Miss Simone? (Directed by Liz Garbus)/2015 What Happened Miss Simone covers the life and work of the queen of the Blues and Soul, Nina Simone. Nina Simone got into music from an early age firstly to train as a classical pianist and later to provide income for her family. Due to her intense piano training, she had a relatively isolated life from children her age. This perhaps had a lasting impact in her figuring out her identity. Also it seemed that many of the people closest to her were white (her piano teacher and later her guitarist) and Nina came into the civil rights debate quite late in her time and did not fully grasp the concept as she was growing up. For her, engaging with the discussions on racial discrimination helped her to understand how she felt about herself and the world she was in. While she supported civil rights movement wholeheartedly she did not particularly play a leading role in it which was surprising considering her stature in the music sc...