invisible

Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1)
$12.99
As other reviewers have noted, Ivy Malone is a senior citizen sleuth much like Mrs. Pollifax. But Ivy and this book have a lot more layers. Ivy comes to grip with being "invisible" to many people -- just another little old lady. But she uses that invisibility to find out who killed her neighbor and in the process has some adventures and gets involved in others' lives. And Ivy is a Christian who has Bible verses to rely on in tough situations.

This book was a lot of fun and I'm going to recommend it and the series to my Mom.

The Invisible
$19.99
What a nice change. I instruct High School At-Risk students and I wanted to show a movie about setting goals and thinking about your future. A student suggested this to me. It is a B-to C+ quality film, but there is a definite message they portrayed in this movie. I checked out the book, because I always believe the book is better than the movie--this was a definite no for the first time in my life. The movie was a bit too long in dragging out the search, and you have to have some imagination when watching this, but I will show it again another year.

Invisible Man
$14.95
Good Book, well worth reading, but it's too long.

The story is good, moving and helpful to understand the powers and forces at work on Black men and all disenfranchised people of the early 20th century, but it is too long. Too much discription and detail that sometimes get in the way of a moving, well told story.

For the modern reader, the story that is told in 580 pages would best be told in 350 to 45O pages. Having said that, it is important to remember that this book might well be considered an example of the writing style of the early 50s. If that thought is a consideration, this criticism would be unfounded and lack validity.

Wade your way through the Introduction and early stuff and get right to the story, Chapter One. It is quite good, quite moving and at times, quite sad and alarming. It offers new depth and insight into the Black experience and perspective.

Invisible
$19.99
Konstantin Bojanov is a fearless, sensitive, respectful observer of the young people of Sofia, Bulgaria whose lives are focused on drugs. Three years in the making (2000 - 2003) this unique documentary was possible only because of the dedication of Bojanov who sought to depict from the addicts' vantage a problem that encircles the globe. Having used some drugs himself Bojanov approached six Bulgarian drug users as a friend and instead of exploiting their lives, he steps aside (or beside) and lets the six young people (ages 17 - 39) talk to the camera about their perceptions, delusions, reasons for using drugs, the highs and lows of drug use, the types of drugs they use and how they obtain them, and most important - their personal philosophies of how they view life and humanity and their place in it.

The characters (these are not actors) are addressed only by their first names: Diana, Kamen, Remi, Sasho, Stani and Vicki. They are filmed as they mix their heroin with citric acid ('lemon') to put it into solution as it heats, how they use syringes, sharing with their best friends, how they survive finding veins that will accept the dirty needles, and then the effects of the drug once in their blood stream. At this point they stare into space with the glazed look of the junkie and share their fears, their concerns, their need for heroin, their thoughts of suicide and the response of those who have tried it and succeeded or failed.

One aspect of the film is the discussion about prescription drugs widely used by these addicts in addition to heroin, drugs such as Parvikan (an anti-Parkinsonian drug not available in the US), and drugs that are primarily belladonna, barbiturates, and opiates. Over the three years of the shoot we get to know some of the users well, as they change physically, as they survive in the shadows of deserted buildings and under bridges, and how their friendships endure: they are the Invisible ones, the representation of an illness we would rather not address. All of this is filmed without the words of an interrogator: Bojanov simply allows us to overhear the tragic lives these people endure, without preaching, judging, or sensationalizing.

An added feature on the DVD is an extended 20-minute interview with the Director and it is from this interview that much of the film is explained in terms we can understand. Bojanov is an artistic humanitarian and he has created one of the more realistic and informative explorations of drug abuse ever filmed. It is a fine achievement. Grady Harp, January 07