Thursday 27 January 2011

Vampire, Werewolf, Ghost and Witch

The U.S. version of the British drama 'Being Human' is, in my opinion, better than the original. It takes the ideas behind the series and pushes them further. Now that I've seen the U.S. one, the original seems a bit 'Friendsy'. They haven't stuck to the British scripts nor even the supporting characters, but the main characters seem more tortured, creepier, darker and thus sexier. I know, that last statement could use some exploring, but not right now.

A friend recommended a book to me, 'The Hangman's Daughter' by Oliver Pötzsch. Bizarrely, I was only able to find it at The Book Depository, so having imported it from England, it turns out that it's a U.S. American translation. I mention this merely for the bizarreness of it. No doubt I could have schlepped down the I5 and found it at Borders.
But anyhoo. It is a very engaging and edifying read. It's interesting when modern authors write about subject matter that we would view quite differently today. The Hangman himself is one of the central characters, and he not only dispatches people, but it is his job also to torture them. To some extent he judges too. When he is convinced that the townspeople have condemned someone unjustly, he makes sure they have been sufficiently medicated so that they suffer as little as possible. If he is executing a monster, he can also adjust the suffering upwards.
And the mystery takes place at a time of alleged witchcraft.
It is one of those reads that you want to both devour at one sitting, and yet eke out for as long as possible.

2 comments:

Sleepy said...

I loved the 'Pierrepoint' film a couple of years back, for the discussions it caused in the house.
I thought the film was fecking excellent, most likely helped by Timothy Spall's portrayal of the man..
Strangely, I wasn't a fan of the death penalty before I saw that film....
Not SO adverse now..

Schneewittchen said...

Oh, interesting, haven't see that, but I'll ask Kev to have a look. Timothy Spall is one of those indicators of a good film in the same way that Nicholas Cage is an indicator of a bad one.
Unbelievably, I'm writing this from the Static. The Magician strikes again.