18 January 2015

Review: Missing Reels


Missing Reels
Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Honestly closer to a 4.5.

This was originally presented to me as a young adult book, but it's really more a new adult book set in the late-1980s with subject matter I love reading about - old, lost films and coming of age tales. This one contrasts feeling like you're lost in time/in the wrong era while using the history of old movies and lost films as a parallel.

The book's strengths are its references. The more knowledge you have of old movies, the more fun the book's references are. I'm better versed than many and still missed a lot of the references along the way (perhaps reading on a Kindle would have helped in this regard). The story itself is not groundbreaking, but the late-1980s setting provides some good wrinkles and brings a lot of the plot around in a good way.

I did enjoy reading this, but there are some really draggy parts. Nehme's characters love their monologues, and while they are in character, I couldn't help but feel a bit of a "get on with it"-ness on occasion.

Overall, a great book that shouldn't sail under the radar if there's any justice. It's a great read for anyone with an interest in old cinema in particular, but is basically one of the better sort-of-contemporary reads I've picked up as of late.



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