GEORGIA

 Okay, I think I jinxed myself with what I said in the last post. My reading rate halved and I only got through 4 books this month. But in my defence they were all quite long. And very dense, some of them. April's trajectory is looking a little better I'd say. Two weeks off school and one down already. But what did I read in March? Kicking things off with some nice light reading, I read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. And it's very understandable exactly why this book was banned. Truly quite horrifying. Although I gave it 4/5 stars, it was criminally long. I can sort of see why Nabokov included almost every single detail of every single day, in that it reveals to his readers the extent of the ordeal he put Dolores through, but it got a little bit tedious at times. However, his writing style is masterful. Suspense and a horrible sinister feeling run all the way throughout, even in the seemingly mundane. And the ending was honestly not where I thought it was heading at all but...

A relationship between a teenage girl and an adult man is always going to be an uncomfortable subject to portray in film. But writer, director and lead actress Suzanne Lindon treats the central relationship in  Spring Blossom  with sensitivity and uncomfortable awe. The fact that Lindon was a teenager when she wrote the script is incredibly clear—something I intend as a compliment. Despite its premise being not relatable to most,  Spring Blossom  captures the teenage experience in an all too painfully realistic way. Though niche in focus, its emotions are universal. From the very beginning, the autobiographical lead character Suzanne does not fit in with her peers. This is made obvious through various uncomfortably awkward scenes of her struggling to make conversation with those around her. We’ve all been there. It’s a classic coming-of-age film trope—one I think most people have been drawn to at some point in their life. But  Spring Blossom  still manages ...