ON THE BIG SCREEN—WOMAN POWER
It’s hard to accept how sexist the sailing world was in 1990. The Maiden, a new documentary, is a graphic account of skipper Tracy Edwards and her all female crew’s performance in the Whitbread Round the World Race. In the past women just didn’t compete there or at that level; or, if they were on one of the race boats it was to be the cook, how Tracy spent her first race. Tracy is one determined individual, and she was determined to obtain a boat, hire a crew and strive to win the race.
All twelve crewmembers were women and, despite the fact that all the male journalists (and probably the other skippers) expected that the Maiden crew wouldn’t complete that first leg, they did in first place! And then they did it again in the second leg. Although the film starts out slowly, it’s gripping with harrowing scenes of high seas and high winds. What makes it even more enjoyable is that the crewmembers were interviewed in the making of the film so you see them on board and you get to see and hear their reflections today about their feelings at the time and the whole experience.
Kudos to our local non-profit Harbor Theater for screening this! They have done an admirable job bringing first run films and classics to the Boothbay Harbor community.
ENJOYABLE NOVELS
The Oysterville Sewing Circle by Susan Wiggs
It was just happenstance that the novel I picked up after reading No Visible Bruises about domestic violence was also about battered women. Susan Wiggs writes very good popular fiction. Her characters are believable and sympathetic and she treats their issues with warmth and understanding. In this case, fashion designer Caroline both loses her job in New York and simultaneously finds herself in charge of two small children. She has a rude awakening about the domestic abuse suffered by her friend Angelique. Returning home to Washington State, Caroline must find a new career and deal with the children while she seeks to learn more about domestic violence. This is a novel that educates the reader without ever being preachy. (~JWFarrington)
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Holmes is a pop culture critic for NPR and this is her first novel. It’s sweet with a happy ending. But then, like most romances, you know that everything will work out eventually. Evvie Drake is a young widow who didn’t much like her husband before he died unexpectedly, but no one knows that, and she feels guilty about it. Dean is a major league baseball player, a pitcher who’s got a case of the yips and is unable to pitch. Evvie agrees to rent him the apartment in her house and thus begins an unusual friendship.
Holmes creates two likable characters, each with plenty of mental baggage, and also pulls off a wonderfully enriching friendship between Evvie and her divorced friend and weekly breakfast mate, Andy. If you like baseball and are intrigued by offbeat individuals, this is a good end-of-summer read. (~JWFarrington)
ON THE SMALL SCREEN—Footnote on Borgen
The Chief Penguin and I just finished binge watching the last episode of Season 3, the final Borgen. And I’m in serious withdrawal. This Danish political series about a female prime minister is topnotch drama, some of the best television I’ve seen in recent years! The third season flags a bit in the beginning, but then re-gains its focus. And the last episode brings everything to closure, possibly too neatly, but with a twist.
The acting is superb, the story is meaty, and the main characters have messy and fascinating personal lives. It’s as much about the people as the politics. There are politicians and their spin-doctors (Denmark has eight parties vying for power) and TV reporters scrounging for stories and better ratings than their competition. Intense and gripping. I lived with these folks!
As critic Andrew Romano points out, “every public decision on Borgen has private consequences, and vice versa, which is something Hollywood usually ignores and real politicians, operatives, and journalists have to hide. Finally getting to see these secret repercussions spool out and spill over isn’t just spellbinding. It’s comforting, too.” (dailybeast.com)
Watching, I also felt as if I acquired a bit of Danish. Borgen is available on Apple TV. The first episode is free and then, if you’re hooked, it’s $24.99 for a season. Highly recommended!
Note: Text and header photo ©JWFarrington. Header was taken at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
