{Audiobook} Review: Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair

Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair 

by Gyles Brandreth 


Genre: Biography
Source: borrowed copy
Date Read: 06 March 2014
Narrator: Stephen Thorne
Unabridged audio - Length: 
13 hours 08 minutes

This is the definitive account of one of the most extraordinary stories of our time. Gyles Brandreth, who spent many hours with Prince Philip in both formal and informal interviews, presents a unique portrait of his son, Charles, Prince of Wales, and of the one "non-negotiable" love of his life, Camilla Shand, now Duchess of Cornwall. What are Charles and Camilla really like? What is their heritage? What has made them the way they are? This is both a revealing portrait of two unusual individuals and a family saga like no other, told with unrivaled authority, insight, and humor, by a bestselling writer who has met all the key characters in the drama, including Charles, Camilla, and Diana, their children, families, and friends.

My thoughts:
I am not British and am not a big groupie of the Royals. But I needed something to play in the background while I completed some tasks and this fit the bill perfectly. 

Before I begin my rant, let me just say that I loved Diana. I thought she was beautiful and an asset to the Royal family. I have since learned of Diana's faults but we all have our problems. It is easy for me to understand all the “games” she played especially since she had a cheating husband that was jealous of the attention and love she received from the public.

I assume that this book was meant to create greater sympathy for Charles and Camilla but for me, this has just made me dislike them more.  Camilla was the Royal mistress. But the author tried to downplay this by giving us a history of the all the extra marital affairs of the royals

since before history began it felt at times. I am sure he tried to desensitize us to the fact that Charles cheated on Diana.

I would love to write exactly what I think of Charles but will let it stand at the fact that I do not have any time for him. How could you think it appropriate to bed your mistress in the same week as your marriage (and in the years thereafter with your wife in the same house). 

Even though a blind person would be able to feel how bias the author is, and I certainly did not agree with all he said,  I still thought that the writing was excellent.  The “story” flowed easily from one chapter to the next and kept my attention throughout. 

The narrator was fabuous. His calm voice was made for this book. He read some of the facts that could easily have become tedious in such a way that I did not feel like fast forwarding through any places. I just felt sorry for him to have to read the same sentence every few minutes “Charles is the Prince of Wales after all.”

If you are a big fan of the Royal family,  this is a must read even if only to be able to rant about it afterwards, like I did :)  

 

{Movie} Review: Argo

Argo (2012)
Starring:  Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Adam Arkin
Genre:  Drama, Biography, History

In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans were taken hostage. However, six managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA was ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devised a daring plan: create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez created the ruse and proceeded to Iran as its associate producer. However, time was running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House had grave doubts about the operation themselves.

My thoughts:
I greatly enjoyed this movie.  It is not your average CIA movie.  It is full of emotion, fear and dread (from the captives as well as from their would-be rescuer, Tony Mendez).   I cannot believe that this was all based on real events . . . I cannot believe that it actually worked. On the other hand, we all know that Hollywood is full of hype and lies, so why would a "fake-movie" not be believed.  

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but let's just say that In the end, the most unlikely of the captives becomes a hero. 

This movies comes from a terrible time in history.  In November 1979,  Islamist militants took control of the U.S. Embassy in Iran. They took 52 Americans hostage and only released them 444 days later.  Six embassy workers were able to escape before their colleagues were captured.  This is the story of how they were smuggled out of the country under the noses of the militants. 

I highly recommend this movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat.