21 October 2022. By Neptune LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE (Enzo le Croco) *** There are films that simply make you happy, whatever their genre. This one, aimed mainly at adolescents and families, is one of those. Like the delightful “Paddington 2” or the sweet “Stuart Little”, its main character is an animated creature, whereas the rest […]
FILM: ROCKETMAN – even better than Bohemian Rhapsody
7 June 2019. By Neptune ROCKETMAN ***1/2 A bit late in the day, for I missed it in Cannes where it made a huge splash, and just saw it a few days ago, so here goes… If I compare this to the recent Oscar-anointed Queen/Freddy Mercury biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I would say this one is […]
Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Switzerland
Basel-based Irish writer Padraig Rooney, whose recent book The Gilded Chalet, explores Switzerland’s relationship with American, British and other expatriate authors, looks at Hemingway’s and Fitzgerald’s own encounters with the Lake Geneva region. The war was over and the French franc cheap: twenty-five to the US dollar in the mid-twenties. Ernest Hemingway first breezed into […]
FILM: THE SHAPE OF WATER – the very essence of love
23 February 2018. THE SHAPE OF WATER **** This pre-Oscar season has been a rich one indeed – DARKEST HOUR, THREE BILLBOARDS…, THE POST (The Pentagon Papers), PHANTOM THREAD, LADYBIRD, DUNKIRK, and Woody’s WONDER WHEEL (unfortunately not in the awards lineup)… every one of them exceptional and Oscar-worthy. And then I saw THE SHAPE OF […]
Book review: Montreux Riviera Switzerland by Farrol Kahn
Books in English about the Lake Geneva region are rare and good books are even rarer. In his third book about Switzerland, Farrol Kahn, a British journalist who has lived in the region for several years has succeeded in describing in a refreshingly eclectic style, the Montreux Riviera (a region he denotes as starting in […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
The Long Haul. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the ninth book in this series of children’s books written and illustrated by American author and cartoonist, Jeff Kinney. Published by Penguin the latest book is about a family road trip. Normally this is supposed to be a lot of fun but of course this story […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
The Edge of Eternity by Ken Follet has once again risen to the top of Payot’s best seller list. So, to avoid tedious repetition, we look instead at number 2 on the list, Michael Connelly’s The Burning Room published last week by Little, Brown and Company. Set in the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit, a man succumbs […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Gray Mountain by John Grisham and published by Doubleday enters Payot’s top 10 bestseller list at number one. Not surprising given the author’s stellar reputation for weaving a right ripping yarn. His latest legal thriller focuses on a young female protagonist dispatched through redundancy to a legal aid centre in a small Virginia town, dependent […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe, published by Penguin. Expo 58 enters the Payot best seller list at number 1. The Atomium, built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, is the setting for Jonathan Coe’s latest thriller. Coe, author of the hugely successful The Rotters’ Club has received widespread acclaim for what Robert McCrum in […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban Hardcover – Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. In 2012, when she was fifteen, she paid dearly for her beliefs. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while on the bus home from school. Miraculously she recovered after arduous surgery in the UK. Her ordeal failed to silence her and she has become a pre-eminent ambassador for women’s rights and education. In October she was awarded the Nobel Peace prize. This is her story.