The Book Worm

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Snap.

That’s all it took — a finger snap — for several volunteer participants to go slack in their seats. Were they really under the host’s spell? Didn’t matter, the show was pretty funny anyhow. To the delight of the rest of the audience, the volunteers acted as if they were driving cars, dancing in a nightclub, stopping a robbery. The host had them doing all sorts of crazy things, and none of them remembered anything when he … Snapped.

Have you ever been hypnotized? Lucian Glass was, and in the new novel “The Hypnotist” by M.J. Rose, Lucian’s session revealed secrets from long ago that could unravel a string of murders.

Buried underground for centuries, the sculpture’s appearance wasn’t impressive: Worn, gray and battered, many of the precious stones that once adorned it were nearly gone. But considering that it had been crafted of wood by Phokians in the mid-fourth century, the chryselephantine sculpture of the God Hypnos was in excellent shape.

The question was where Hypnos had come from. A generous benefactor had bequeathed the statue to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art decades ago, and it had recently been rediscovered in an underground crate. But its route to America was muddied and several countries — including Iran — claimed that Hypnos had been illegally smuggled to the U.S. over a century ago. Each was demanding return of the statue, but the Met wasn’t budging.

For their part, the Iranian government didn’t just want the statue because of their cultural heritage. Rumor had it that Hypnos was a vessel for Memory Tools, ancient flotsam that, together, allowed humans to travel in time and control the minds of others. The Iranians wanted the power that Hypnos would give them.

But they weren’t the only ones. Dr. Malachai Samuels also knew about the Memory Tools, and as the director of the Phoenix Foundation and as a student of past life study, Samuels fully understood what the tools could do for him.

But wherever Samuels went, somebody died, and Agent Lucian Glass needed to stop it. He’d been hunting Samuels for years, but finding him wasn’t Lucian’s only focus. When he was 19 years old, Lucian’s first love had been killed, presumably over a Matisse painting. Could a past life help him solve two modern crimes?

Aside from the fact that there are way more characters than there probably needed to be, “The Hypnotist” is quite mesmerizing and thrilling.

Rose spins a tale that spans many centuries and bounces from ancient Greece to Persia to France and America. Reincarnation theorists will love the way she weaves several past-life suppositions into her story, and even skeptics will be intrigued by the (maybe?) fictional possibilities.

Despite that I was occasionally confused by the “too many characters” problem, I enjoyed the complexity of the plot and if you’ve read the other Reincarnationist book, you will, too. Fans, believers and art lovers will want to grab “The Hypnotist” … in a snap.

Terri Schlichenmeyer collects books, tigers, trivia and book bags. She has also been accused of collecting dust now and then.

On The Aisle

By Tony Macklin

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a brutal movie. It’s also compelling and absorbing. It takes one on a journey down the icy roads to hell with a dogged, investigative journalist and an avenging punk angel … an odd couple par excellence.

Based on the novel by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, originally titled “Men Who Hate Women,” it’s a potent adaptation.

Last year and this year have been a fertile time for memorable foreign films: “The White Ribbon,” “Mother,” “A Prophet” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” These films are unique and thought provoking. It’s been a long time since such a group of brilliant foreign films have made it to mainstream American theaters.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is the story of Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyquist), a disgraced journalist who loses a libel case against a big corporation and is sentenced to jail.

Also struggling to survive is Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a girl who is her own person and has tattoos and piercings to emphasize that. Lisbeth is an enigmatic cyber-hacker who works for a security company. She is silently willful, wary, alienated and fiercely independent.

But her independence is taken away from her when she is assigned to a guardian who begins to brutalize her. These are the most stunning sequences in a movie about a world of psychological damage.

Before Mikael is jailed, he is offered a job by Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), head of a Swedish industrial empire, who wants Mikael to find out who murdered his niece 36 years ago. He thinks it was a family member.

Mikael reluctantly accepts the case and eventually becomes obsessed with it. He enlists the recalcitrant Lisbeth, who once cyber-tracked him. It leads to danger and horror.

Swedish director Niels Arden Oplev has captured a remote world that is snowy, frigid and bleak with shafts of sunlight. It’s an atmosphere of frozen, glaring dread.

Oplev has made a film of faces, evocative expressions, puzzled, thoughtful, grim, that hide thwarted ideals and torn psyches. It may remind one of “Blow-Up and “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Larsson died suddenly at age 50 in 2004, before his Millennium trilogy (with its Dragon Tattoo novel) was published. His three novels have sold 21 million copies worldwide. Larsson never knew he was the second bestseller worldwide in 2008.

As with “The Silence of the Lambs,” one should read the novel as well as see the film. The books and movies differ.

The movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is more stylish than the book, but Larsson tells a better story, is less contrived and develops his characters more.

The movie amplifies the brutality but simplifies the relationships and cuts out key characters. Mikael’s daughter, who comes up with a major clue, is cut; her clue is given by Lisbeth in the movie. Mikael’s several bed partners are limited to one. His romantic relationship with his magazine co-founder is diminished to a few looks. At least the sadism of the dead cat is left out of the movie.

The book, because of its details, has a fascination the movie doesn’t have. And the book seems less contrived. Mikael has a motivation to work for Henrik that is not in the movie.

There’s also a scene added by the two screenwriters in which Lisbeth confronts the killer near the end that is not Larsson. In fact, he probably would have thought it different from what he was after.

But Larsson would have been smitten with Rapace, who brings his character Lisbeth to intoxicating life. Larsson, the author of “Men Who Hate Women,” loved women … especially those with dragon tattoos.

Tony Macklin, a former college English and film professor, is still foraging for truth in literature and film, in Arkansas, Las Vegas and beyond.

The Bookworm

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

From the minute that child came into the house, you knew you were in trouble. You never asked for a brother or sister, but there you were. And from then on, you had to share toys, Mom, everything.

But it wasn’t all bad. With a sibling in the house, there was always somebody to play with. It pretty much doubled your toys. And best of all, you knew, down-deep, that somebody would always have your back.

But what if you were kept from your siblings and denied your birthright? Who would have your back then? Ky-Mani Marley says he loves his family, and he wishes for the closeness they should have had. In the new book “Dear Dad” he explains.

Born in Falmouth, Jamaica — the place most of us think as paradise — Ky-Mani Marley says that his family was dirt-poor. Nine people lived in a two-room shack and the building had no kitchen or bathroom. Still, he had an idyllic childhood and he remembers being happy and completely cherished.

Ky-Mani always knew that he had “royal lineage.” His mother, Anita, was a championship table-tennis player and, during a tournament, she met a fan named Bob Marley. Ky-Mani says that Anita pretended indifference to Marley’s attention, but the connection was there and it endured. After Ky-Mani was born, the King of Reggae spent lots of time in Falmouth, and was said to have been looking for a house for his family when he died of cancer in 1981.

A year after Bob Marley’s death, Ky-Mani’s grandmother decided to move the family to America, the land where everybody got a “pot of gold.” But as far as Ky-Mani could see, poverty was worse and drug-dealing was the only thing profitable. At 10 years old, he was selling weed as easily as some kids sell lemonade.

By the time he was an adult, Ky-Mani had seized control of his legacy and started making music and writing songs. So that his life would always “mean something,” he started his own nonprofit foundation (www.LoveOverAll.org).

And about the family he loves? He has some painful things to say …

While I was dismayed to see the “controversy” explained so late in this book — nearly a quarter into the story-and though he tends to belabor several points often for many, many pages and though he tends. To. Write in. Slang and. Annoyingly. Short. Sentences, Ky-Mani has a voice that lifts his readers straight onto the sands of Jamaica.

He describes incredible poverty amid sand, sun and love. He personifies “it takes a village to raise a child,” saying it perfectly in this book. His stories are funny, much like those that you’d hear at the table of an old friend. This abundance of good canceled out what annoyed me, and I ended up liking this book quite a bit.

If you’re a fan of either Marley musician and you’re in the mood for a quick read, grab a copy of “Dear Dad.” For you, this is a book to bring into the house.

Terri Schlichenmeyer collects books, tigers, trivia and book bags. She has also been accused of collecting dust now and then.

The Book Worm

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Nobody has to tell you that the economy is uncertain. You live it. The job (if you have one) is shaky. The savings account (if you have one) is emptying. Debt (you have that!) is growing and your way of life has changed, perhaps forever.

You’d like to make your money go in a different direction but as far as you’re concerned, financial information might as well be written in Greek. But there’s help: if you just don’t get it, get “A Purse of Your Own” by Deborah Owens.

You’ve never invested in stocks because it’s scary, right? It’s hard to understand, and besides — you don’t have the money in the first place. Wrong, says Owens. Take baby steps. Begin by looking at your assets, liabilities and overall budget. When everything’s written down, you might be surprised to see that you can shave a little money here or there to invest. Even $5 a week can turn into thousands of dollars in profit if you have the patience.

Once you have a nest egg and are comfortable enough to invest, remember to do four things: diversify, diversify, diversify and don’t let fear keep you from acting. Because of the Internet, it’s easy to research the businesses in which you want to invest. Owens says to look for companies whose business models reflect your values. Buy stock in those that make the products you like.

So how to get started? You can buy stocks online or you can use a broker; there are advantages and disadvantages to both. In either case, Owens says, a financial advisor may be your portfolio’s BFF.

Embrace the 7 Wealthy Habits, one of which is to keep an eye on “the big picture.” Reach for more than what you can immediately see. Ignore nay-sayers but accept real help when it’s offered. Do your homework and pay attention. Never put your eggs in one basket. Educate yourself about investments, bonds, mutual funds and tax-deferred retirement plans. Treat your portfolio as you would a family member. Be sure to “pay it forward.”

Tired of seeing your money disappear? Then dig in your purse, sharpen your pencil and get ready to learn how to stop the drain by reading this book.

Using analogies that are easy-to-understand, Owens starts from the beginning with a family that was shocked to see the small size of their net worth. From there, she moves through the various ways to invest and save, how to start and utilize an investing club for support, and how to think like a wealthy woman.

Owens’ advice is solid, real and a little outside-the-box and the quizzes she includes (what is your Purseonality?) are eye-opening, all of which makes the entire finance industry seem seriously fun.

Even if you’ve only got a few dollars to spare but you want to see it grow, “A Purse of Your Own” is a book to bag. Invest a few dollars in it, and you’ll soon be investing like a pro.

Terri Schlichenmeyer collects books, tigers, trivia and book bags. She has also been accused of collecting dust now and then.