"Life is made up of meetings and partings. People come into your life everyday, you say good morning, you say good evening, some stay for a few minutes, some stay for a few months, some a year, others a whole lifetime."

Some cultural aspects

“Books are bound people.”

   Books will tell you a lot of things if you want know them. Many aspects can be seen in the story. But I am interested in cultural aspects.

1)      “The same damn black BMW 330 Cabriolet.” This was Elizabeth’s car. So I can guess that this woman had a lot of money, because it is a very expensive and prestigious vehicle.

2)      “Her heels against the marble floor echoed loudly in the empty high-ceiling room. The room was hot from the sun’s glare through the glass of the conservatory. The spotless kitchen gleamed, the black granite counter tops sparkled, the chrome fittings mirrored the bright day. A stainless steel and walnut heaven. She headed straight to the espresso machine. Her saviour… She placed the steaming espresso cup on a marble coaster to protect the glass kitchen table.” This passage can tell us about the many details: a) American designers have a good salary; b) This is a description of the designer’s kitchen. So I suppose that this room was very fashionable and modern; c) Elizabeth’s life was very stressful, so she used to drink coffee.

3)      “It’s Jinny Joes Day!” For the first time I learned about the existence of this day. It was a revelation to me. Of course, it is not an official holiday, but maybe some families really make wishes on this feast-day. I want Dandelion’s Day in Russia too!

Self-evaluation

 “It is not so important what we read, but how and for what purpose.”

   Good evening, my diary! You know that everything in that life has a sense. There is nothing useless in the world. We should look for something positive every time. And now I want to share my thoughts about my work with the wonderful book “If you could see me now”.

  This time I just couldn’t go away from this book! I read it quickly in spite of many unfamiliar words. And this fact was very important for me, because people who learn foreign languages should have the linguistic intuition. And I finally realized that I have it too. I learned a lot of new phrases and interesting words. And I feel more confidence with this information. So I should read more English books or maybe articles. In addition, a man need to read ten pages a day to keep his brain in a good shape. A healthy body has a healthy brain.

New Word's Wall

Feel like a film director

   Good evening, my dear! Today I want to tell you about Elizabeth Egan. The author did not spare words to describe this character. It was the right decision, because now I can imagine this woman clearly. Let’s start!

   Elizabeth’s hair was tied back neatly and tightly at the back of her head. She wore a smart grey trouser suit and high heels.  Also she preferred dark colors.  Woman’s brown eyes were in harmony with her chocolate-brown hair. She had a soft olive skin and every day used mascara and lipstick. Elizabeth had never planned on having children – “in fact she had made a pact with herself never to have children.” She had raised herself and raised her sister; she had no desires to raise anybody else.  At twenty-eight years old, she had been successful in starting up her own interior design business. This woman reached her goal by being in control, always being realistic, believing in facts and not dreams, working hard. “So she was thirty-four years old and living alone with Luke in a house that she loved. A house she had bought, and was paying for, all by herself.” Love for this character was one of those feelings that she could never control. And she needed to be in control. Nobody knew that her mother had left her when she was a child, that her sister was wildly out of control and that her father barely spoke to her.

   So, these are the principal facts. I thought a lot of time about this character and came to the conclusion that the famous actress Salma Hayek would play this role perfectly.

  What do you think?

What I did not like about the story

1)    The end of the story. It was clear that the main characters could not stay together, because Ivan did not grow old. It would be terrible for him to see her death. But it was almost a fairytale...

2)    Elizabeth’s desire to control everything. It prevented her from enjoying life. She drove herself into the frames. Life is not life without dreams.

3)    The main character’s family had a lot of problems. It’s too much, I suppose. Notwithstanding, these misfortunes were the best set-off for this magical plot.

What I liked about the story.

1)    A touch of a fairytale. It was uncommon to encounter with magic story for adults. And now I just want to believe.

2)    The language is clear enough.

3)    I liked Ivan’s fad to say words backwards. It was like his own language. (A gnirob is someone who is boring).

4)    The main idea. Sometimes we all need some magic or just a special man to get through the days.

All stories have the end

– I am going to tell Elizabeth Egan that I love her and that I want to spend my days with her. I can still help people while I’m with her.

–Oh, Ivan, you can’t!

–You taught me that there was nothing that I couldn’t do.

–No one else will see you but her!

   This was a conversation between Ivan and his boss Opal. She told him that she knew how to fall in love. Then they went to a strange house with a lot of photos in different frames. An ancient man was sitting there. This old man was Opal’s beloved. Opal watched as Ivan’s face displayed many different emotions in a matter of seconds. He went from confusion, to shock, to pity, and then as soon as he had applied Opal’s words to his own situation, to despair. 

   ‘That’s what I was trying to tell you, Ivan. You and Elizabeth can live together perfectly happy in your own cocoon without anyone knowing but what you forget is that she will have a birthday every year and you won’t.’