Book Review: Debut novelist Aisha Muharrar deftly explores love and loss in ‘Loved One'
The opening scene of 'Loved One' could be a set piece on any of those shows, as we jump inside the head of our narrator, 30-year-old Julia, who is delivering the eulogy at a friend's funeral, a popular indie musician at the time of his death. She thinks in pop culture tropes. 'Gabe and I were actual friends… We weren't the kind of friends who were never really friends. The kind of friends you see in a romantic comedy where there are two incredibly attractive people who are deeply emotionally invested in each other, and we're supposed to believe they have never once considered the idea of sexual intercourse.'
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Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Book Review: Debut novelist Aisha Muharrar deftly explores love and loss in ‘Loved One'
I picked up a copy of 'Loved One' based solely on the fact that its first-time author, Aisha Muharrar, was involved in three television comedies that made me laugh: 'Hacks,''Parks and Recreation' and 'The Good Place.' The opening scene of 'Loved One' could be a set piece on any of those shows, as we jump inside the head of our narrator, 30-year-old Julia, who is delivering the eulogy at a friend's funeral, a popular indie musician at the time of his death. She thinks in pop culture tropes. 'Gabe and I were actual friends… We weren't the kind of friends who were never really friends. The kind of friends you see in a romantic comedy where there are two incredibly attractive people who are deeply emotionally invested in each other, and we're supposed to believe they have never once considered the idea of sexual intercourse.'
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: Debut novelist Aisha Muharrar deftly explores love and loss in ‘Loved One'
I picked up a copy of 'Loved One' based solely on the fact that its first-time author, Aisha Muharrar, was involved in three television comedies that made me laugh: 'Hacks,''Parks and Recreation' and 'The Good Place.' The opening scene of 'Loved One' could be a set piece on any of those shows, as we jump inside the head of our narrator, 30-year-old Julia, who is delivering the eulogy at a friend's funeral, a popular indie musician at the time of his death. She thinks in pop culture tropes. 'Gabe and I were actual friends… We weren't the kind of friends who were never really friends. The kind of friends you see in a romantic comedy where there are two incredibly attractive people who are deeply emotionally invested in each other, and we're supposed to believe they have never once considered the idea of sexual intercourse.' Julia next goes to the bathroom and ends up needing to borrow a tampon from Elizabeth, a British woman Gabe had been dating for more than a year at the time of his accidental death. (He slipped and hit his head on a marble sink when exiting the shower of an L.A. hotel.) Elizabeth's words to Julia in their brief bathroom encounter set the rest of the story in motion: 'I know exactly who you were to Gabe.' After some required background about how Julia and Gabe met at a program for arts and architectural students in Barcelona in the summer between high school and college, Julia is on her way to London to retrieve a few of Gabe's things at the request of Gabe's grieving mother. 'I was a set of house keys buried at the bottom of a purse, finally plucked out, jangling with a purpose,' is the poetic way Muharrar describes Julia's feelings as she heads overseas. Once in London, the story takes on an almost buddy comedy feel, with Julia and Elizabeth warily befriending one another as they attempt to collect mementos of Gabe's — from a guitar he once played to a Mets cap he wore. We stay inside Julia's head most of the time, as she travels around London, still delivering inner monologues wrapped in her pop-culture sensibility: 'I liked learning a new tidbit about him. It was never-before-seen footage that kept the movie of his life rolling.' As the two women get to know one another, we as readers get to know more about their relationships with Gabe, and especially what happened in the final month or so before his death. Muharrar's work developing her main characters throughout the story allows her to explore deeper themes of grief and loss in the final third of the book without too much sentimentality. Closure may be too much to ask for these grieving women, but it's enough that they realize they still have lives to live without the object of the book's title. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. ___ AP book reviews:
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Outlander' prequel series ‘Blood of My Blood' goes back in time again – to meet the parents
In Starz's 'Outlander,' Caitriona Balfe's Claire Fraser is bold and brave. She can also think on her feet in high-pressure moments. Her husband Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan, is protective and empathetic. In a new prequel series out Friday, called 'Outlander: Blood of My Blood,' we see how they each got that way. 'Blood of My Blood' tells the love story of Jamie's parents, Ellen and Brian, and Claire's parents, Julia and Henry. The characters are inspired by the stories of Diana Gabaldon but there are no novels for showrunner Matthew B. Roberts to follow. He also is the showrunner of the original series, which debuts its final season early next year. With no source material 'there's a lot more room to play in,' explained Roberts. In 'Outlander,' 'there are all these tentpole moments that we have to write to because that's what our audience wants from the books.' The Frasers In the books, Gabaldon mentions Jamie's parents in 'breadcrumbs' said Roberts. 'We stick to those, but the freedom is what can we do after that to get to essentially where 'Outlander' begins.' The big obstacle facing Jamie's parents, Ellen and Brian, who meet in 18th century Scotland — is that they come from families that 'don't get on,' said Harriet Slater, who plays Ellen. 'They don't mix. It's completely forbidden. My father's worst enemy was Brian's father so I'm sure he'd have had some strong words to say about the whole thing.' Jamie Roy, who plays Brian, enjoys the duality of his character. There's the 'tough, stoic, Highland warrior' who he says 'rides around on horses and swings swords and stuff.' Then there's this 'lovely, gentle, poetic, romantic guy who wants nothing more than to take care of other people.' A few months ago Roy went back and rewatched episodes from season one of 'Outlander,' because he wanted to watch Heughan as his TV son. 'There's so many people who had said there was resemblances about our performances and such. I was like, 'Well, let me see what Sam's journey was like right at the start. And I kind of see what they mean.' The Beauchamps Claire's parents Julia and Henry are mentioned even less in the books. They died in a car accident when Claire was young. We see them meet in 'Blood of My Blood' during World War I. Henry was a soldier and Julia worked in postal censorship. 'When we meet him, he's pretty much given up,' said Jeremy Irvine, who plays Henry. 'I think he's accepted death really and doesn't have anything to live for and sends this one last lifeline out in the form of an open letter back to England.' Julia finds his letter at work and feels compelled to respond. The two end up falling in love while writing back-and-forth. A series of events send Julia and Henry, like their daughter, back in time. They end up in the 1700s where Irvine explains they are 'trying to live second by second.' 'The time they've gone back to is not a friendly time to be an outsider at all. Being an outsider would likely mean death. Henry and Julia, as is Claire, are very quick-witted, fast-thinking, intelligent people. They survive by the skin of their teeth.' Season 2 of 'Blood of My Blood' is coming too The cast is already in production on season two of 'Blood of My Blood.' Hermoine Corfield, who plays Julia, says it's been nice filming 'in our own little secret bubble.' Promoting the series has been tricky because they have to remember what happened in season one versus season two. 'You almost forget what you did in season one because you're already onto that next journey and storyline,' said Corfield.
