Holy Smoke not so Holy...
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I wanted to read this book because I really admire the actress Kate Winslet and I've read all the books that relate to the movies she starred in (Kate plays Ruth in Jane Campion's 'Holy Smoke', which is said to come out fall 1999) I also have seen most of Jane's movies so I really wanted to know what the story is all about. First of all I think that the themes of this story themselves are appealing: A spiritual quest mixed with an impossible love story, all of this set in Australia. This is how the story goes: Ruth a young Australian woman in her twenties has fallen under the spell of a guru while being in India. her family convinces her to come back to Australia by telling her that her dad is dying. Her family,which by the way seems more wacko than Ruth, hires PJ Waters ,a professional deprogrammer from New York (played by Harvey Keitel in the movie). All along the book PJ and Ruth develop a strong sexual attirance between each other which ends in a delirious erotic relationship. I think that this is where the story looses its charm and sense: the story becomes nothing more than the contemplation of Ruth and PJ's becoming slaves of their perversities. I read in an article that it was Anna Campion who wrote the main part of the book (and especially the erotic scenes) so it seems to me that we learn more about her than about Ruth and PJ's obsessions. (sorry Anna if you read this) However, I know that this book is like a support screenplay of the movie...so I suppose (or maybe hope) that the movie will be better than the book.
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