JacquiWine

@jacquiwine.bsky.social

Book lover, film lover, art lover, wine lover. I write about books at JacquiWine's Journal. https://linktr.ee/jacquiwine

'He had Tertia with him, the daughter of a lord. So sleekly pretty, so fair & tall that she seemed an advertisement for something very costly. She had driven a car from the castle, & her hair was bound with a strip of pink silk that passed behind her ears.' jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/t...

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

First published in 1980, The Transit of Venus is the third novel by the Australian writer Shirley Hazzard, an author I’ve been circling for some time. It’s also one of the best novels I’ve read so …

jacquiwine.wordpress.com

"...Quite simply, it is a scintillating, head spinning, exhilarating directorial debut by screenwriter #BOTD John Huston, a maverick talent who is perhaps somewhat undervalued today..." - My ★★★★★ review of The Maltese Falcon on Letterboxd boxd.it/9H0VaB #FilmSky

A ★★★★★ review of The Maltese Falcon (1941)

"When a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it. It doesn’t make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you’re supposed to do something about it. And i...

boxd.it

First watch: Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023). Not sure what made me put this off so long, although I suspect that some Letterboxd reviews played a part. Although mostly positive, some were suprisingly vicious. Personally, I found it rather moving after a shaky start.

The poster for Celine Song's 2023 film Past Lives, featuring its two main stars Greta Lee and Teo Yoo on the subway in New York, looking at each other with some yearning, their hands almost touching on the rail

I've been wanting to read more of Maylis De Kerangal since reading Canoes, her collection of short stories. Enjoyed this short, intense novel about a soldier deserting on the Trans-Siberian train and the woman reluctantly trying to help him. Translated by Jessica Moore, book 2 for #witmonth

A cooy of Eastbound by Maylis De Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore, lies on top of a white wrought iron table.  The cover is green with a black and white photo of a train rushing around a corner.

First watch: TOKYO TWILIGHT (1957) The grimmest Yasujirō Ozu film I've seen to date is a quietly powerful story of two sisters whose life struggles can be traced to being abandoned by their mother, despite a loving father who does his best to compensate. #FilmSky #MovieSky 1/4

Poster for the Japanese film Tokyo Twilight.

1/3. Scenes from the c1500 year old Admonitions Scroll - one of the earliest surviving Chinese painted handscrolls - currently making a rare appearance at the British Museum. Due to its fragility, it can only be displayed for up to 6 weeks a year.

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New on the blog today, my thoughts on THE TRANSIT OF VENUS by Shirley Hazzard. A stunning novel about love, chance, fate, power dynamics & moral integrity, fully deserving of its status as a modern masterpiece. I loved the subtle use of foreshadowing here! jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/t...

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

First published in 1980, The Transit of Venus is the third novel by the Australian writer Shirley Hazzard, an author I’ve been circling for some time. It’s also one of the best novels I’ve read so …

jacquiwine.wordpress.com

"Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table..." Shirley MacLaine reads The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (from an enviable Faber edition) in Woman Times Seven (Vittorio De Sica, 1967). This still is rather better than the film.

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New on the blog today, my thoughts on THE TRANSIT OF VENUS by Shirley Hazzard. A stunning novel about love, chance, fate, power dynamics & moral integrity, fully deserving of its status as a modern masterpiece. I loved the subtle use of foreshadowing here! jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/t...

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

First published in 1980, The Transit of Venus is the third novel by the Australian writer Shirley Hazzard, an author I’ve been circling for some time. It’s also one of the best novels I’ve read so …

jacquiwine.wordpress.com