Book Review - Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Title: Any Man
Author: Amber Tamblyn
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2018
 
Description: A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, a home – the place doesn’t matter, neither does the man. Her victims them must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack.
 
Review: In “Any Man”, a female rapist is at work. She’s hunting men like prey. Amber Tamblyn is known as an actor, but she had published books before she wrote “Any Man”.
 
Tamblyn choose to make the rapist in her book a woman and write from the point of view of the six male victims. This was unpalatable to some people. Tamblyn herself stated that this is because people think she had just reversed gender roles and she took away women’s experiences and giving it to men. But it’s not about gender roles, but about having more difficult conversations about what sexual violence looks like.
 
“Any Man” is nothing like any other book I have ever read. It’s original, brutal, has gorgeous writing, a literal gut punch. Be aware of trigger warnings for sexual assault and rape in the worse forms. This book grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until I finished it.
 
The book focuses on male victims, instead of women, and it will impact each reader differently. It’s very thought-provoking and extremely difficult to read because of the heavy subject matter. It’s brutal, poetic and raw. A book that I will most likely never forget, it really got under my skin. If you think you can stomach these themes, I think you should definitely pick it up. The audio book for this is highly recommended as well, the narration is amazing. If you are sensitive about the themes of rape and sexual assault, you should not read this. This book will stick with me for some time.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Moments: "127 Hours"

This movie blew my mind when I saw it. Especially because of the great performance by James Franco. Here are my favorite moments from "127 Hours".

Moment # 1: Opening
We see how Aron gets ready for his trip to the Blue John in the Canyonlands. We hear the song “Never Hear Surf Music Again" by Free Blood.

Moment # 2: Aron meets Kristi and Megan
When Aron is climbing, he sees two girls. He sees that they’re lost and their names are Kristi and Megan. Aron offers to take them to the Dome, the place they were looking for. The girls accept Aron’s help.

Moment # 3: Climb and squeeze
Aron tells Kristi and Megan that he knows how to get to the Dome, but he knows an ever cooler way to get there. The most fun they will have with their clothes on. They have to climb and squeeze though. The three have to get between two rocks, but Aron lets go and drops. Kristi and Megan are afraid that something happened to him, but when they hear his voice they know he’s fine. He dropped into a beautiful blue pool of water. Kristi also dares to let go and Megan follows pretty soon.

Moment # 4:Aron gets stuck
After leaving Kristi and Megan, Aron starts to climb down a canyon. Suddenly a rock comes loose, falls and roles on his arm. Aron is stuck. First he doesn’t really realize what happened, he tries to move the rock and screams for help. No one will hear him.

Moment # 5: Sunshine
The sun comes up and Aron enjoys the feeling of the warmth on his skin. It reminds him of his dad, when he was younger. Unfortunately the sunshine only lasts for 15 minutes.

Moment # 6: Do not lose it
Aron is filming himself, a video for the people who find him. When he hears something he starts screaming for help. It was nothing, but when Aron sees himself on the camera he tells himself not to lose it.

Moment # 7: Good morning everyone!
When the morning breaks, Aron starts filming himself hosting a morning show. He starts interviewing himself, admitting that he was selfish for not telling anyone where he was going. Oops…

Moment # 8: The only sulotion
Aron knows the only way to get out of there is to cut of his arm. First he has to break the bones and cut the nerves. His will to live is much stronger than his fear of the pain. He manages to cut his arm of and escapes the canyon.

Moment # 9: Aron finds help
When Aron gets out he still has to walk all the way back. Aron finally finds help, they make sure he gets water and they send him a helicopter to take him home. The song "Festival" by Sigur Ros is playing.

Favorite Moment: Moment # 3: Climb and squeeze

Movie Tip # 48: 127 Hours

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn

Description: "127 Hours" is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston (James Franco) examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he can be rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?

Review: Director Danny Boyle earned himself eight Oscars for "Slumdog Millionaire". This time the scale of the movie is smaller, but the hero bigger. A man who was trapped between a rock for 127 hours, literally. How can that be interesting? Well, this is how. The cinematography in this movie is simply brilliant: split screens, quick montages, impossible angles, great soundeffects, etcetera. But it's not only the cinematography that made this movie so good. Thank you James Franco, for that fantastic performance. I think this is one of the best performances I've seen in a while. He has the ability to show us so many different emotions: fearless joy, desperation, anger and regret. His subtle performance makes him believable. After you've seen this film, you ask yourself one question: How come the adrenaline is pumping through my body while watching a man who hasn't moved an inch for 90 minutes? Danny Boyle is a master and "127 Hours" is a masterpiece.