Advantages: strong tale, sympathetic characters
Disadvantages: changes in society mean it s a touch less relevant now.

...I remember once reading a comment written by George Eliot, in which she said that she always hoped for books in which the less pretty, dark haired girl triumphed rather than the elfin blondes. The Mill on The Floss is the tale of the dark girl triumphant - for the man prefers her to her pretty blond cousin. It is also a tale of honour and courage in the face of social disapproval. Finally the fate of the heroine is not a happy one, but as a tragic heroine, maggie is certainly preferable to many of the 'dappy bints' occupying that niche.. The plot then - the first section of the book deals with the heroine's early life - her adoration for her older brother, her parent's pretentions and errors. Her father's foolishness leads the family into abject poverty. We see snippets of other family members and local people - not as much detail... Read review

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Advantages: Reasonably, sophisticated humour
Disadvantages: Some poor storylines

...The humour in Frasier is not always clear. The cogs have to tick over for a few seconds before you smile, giggle before breaking out into hysteria. It is very funny if you can see the joke. The main character, Frasier, is an intelligent psychiatrist working for a New York Radio Station. His brother Miles, mills around looking after their father who lives with them in their expensive flat. The two brothers are constantly competing with each other with their amazing I.Q's whilst their father is very down to earth, lacking his son's intelligence. The characters are quite good although a few can be a little irritating. I do, sometimes, feel quite bored watching some episodes as the storylines are not always what I would expect from such a show. As the Friday Night Comedy Zone on BBC 2 is in full swing by the time Frasier makes... Read review

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Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...This is a fabulous film. It focuses on two Italian brothers, Primo and Secondo, who are trying to run a restaurant in America. Primo does the cooking while Secondo manages the business. Primo is very temperamental and he will not compromise his culinary beliefs and make run-of –the-mill dishes. I loved how he practically has a coronary when any of the customers order dishes that he doesn’t approve of like spaghetti bolognese. Pascal is a rival restauranteur, but unlike Primo and Secondo, his restaurant is a success as he serves the usual Italian food. Pascal tells Secondo that he will arrange for his friend, the great Jazz musician Louis Prima, to have a meal at their restaurant. This dinner is the ‘Big Night’ of the title as the brothers believe that the success of this night will set out whether their restaurant... Read review

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Advantages: Im still here.
Disadvantages: none

...had tried to catch him, from what was said from witness reports and both fell to their death, she said I had been a lucky boy and that this time it looked liked the brother had waited and finally found his chance to save some-one, me. We never returned, to the Mill ever again as a family, and the incident in people's minds, faded except for mine. I never forgot, and 3 years ago I returned to the Mill, it had been updated, with cycle hire, modern toilets, better café etc: I hadn't told my family about the story, we crossed the Mill bridge over the river Manifold and parked up, I had noticed the two caves in the corner of my eye as we had crossed, there was butterflies in my stomach. A young lady served us with tea and biscuits, and then we went for a stroll, I wanted a closer look, we came across the stile, which had been updated... Read review

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