Review



	Book Review by Singer & Actress Andrea Corr
	This is what it's all about; the reason AndreArt exists, today. The thinking behind the words below, has always served to inspire and was always worthy of my time and this space. This year, 2008, is the final chapter of AndreArt. I began this page on a day along the bitterly cold Spring months and then, something that my good friend, Terje, said to me, gave me heart enough to finish the journey. Annie.
	The Silver Chair by CS Lewis As a child, CS Lewis was my favourite author. The Silver Chair is just magical and, like the other Narnia stories, transports you away. When I was a child on holiday in Skerries (just north of Dublin) I joined a library – I used to take out books and read them lying on top of a pile of old mattresses in the dusty spare room of the house where we stayed. It was the perfect place to see the magic in ordinary things.

	Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca I have read and loved all of Lorca's plays. The female characters are always the strongest – not to say that's the way I like things to be, but I feel Lorca had the right idea. The drama of the situations he creates is incredible – it's the strength of the characters and the way they put things. In Blood Wedding, when the maid is talking about the marriage bed, the way she describes what it's like to lie in bed with a man is very powerful. It inspired one of the songs on my new album, This Is What It's All About, which is about first thing in the morning when you wake up with the person you love. You are aware of each other, but you aren't really awake. The song is about those lovely moments before you really admit you are awake, while you are still lingering in the half sleep.

	Memoir by John McGahern Reading John McGahern's books made me realise how much I love Ireland. And, even though his work is dark and doesn't romanticise Ireland, there's such beauty in it. This is his last book (he died in 2006) and it is brilliant. He describes his mother dying, and the way he describes one person moving towards death while the other person clings on to life is so beautiful. He perfectly describes how horrible that kind of separation is. Thinking about my own mother dying, I have never read anything so beautifully and accurately put.

	Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky I go back to this book again and again. Morally, it's absolutely what I believe in. Once you have done something horrifically bad, you can never get over the evil you've done, even if you are able to explain or justify it to yourself. You may not actually end up in prison, but there is no escape from the punishment you inflict upon yourself, and you can go crazy with it. There's something really dark and raw about Crime And Punishment – a kind of hunger and a madness.

	The Return Of The Native by Thomas Hardy At the moment I'm reading The Return Of The Native. There's this brilliant bit where Eustacia Vye works up a fantasy about Clym Yeobright. She has built him up so much in her head after hearing all about him that, even before she has met him, she is in love with him. So she keeps going on walks to see if she can bump into him. When she does eventually come across him, he walks past with his sister and mother but she can't see him (although she can hear him), and they can't see her. So, it's very funny when he says 'Goodnight', even though he can't see her. It's a beautiful moment that has surely happened to everyone. You know, when you have built up somebody in your head, usually when you are in your teens, and you keep walking by their house, just casually, hoping to run into them.

	The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan This is a collection of fantastical stories, but ones I can totally relate to. They could be for children or adults, but not in a Harry Potter way. I love Ian McEwan. There's this bit in one of the stories that's about a drawer, the kind of drawer that everybody has in their house where all the lost things go, whether it's a pencil sharpener or a button. It's incredibly funny. I'm not usually keen on funny books, but this is very funny. I often buy this book for friends.

	The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde I feel like this novel is filled with great insights into life. All of Lord Henry's one-liners are outrageously brilliant. You read them and you just think, 'Oh my God!' Oscar Wilde had a knack for seeing and commenting on reality – he just got it so right. He is so witty. His truths live forever – it doesn't matter what time he lived in and commented on, his witticisms are absolutely relevant. ******* N.B: Because the above works are classics, we have not printed any publication details, as there are many editions of books in print and often more than one translator, where the original work is in a language other than English. Penguin Classics is a good place to start, either at your local bookshop or on-line at Amazon.com should you wish to look further at any of Andrea's chosen, favourite reads.


	With thanks, Annie.....x
	Updates at AndreArt will become less over the next year and we will, finally, close our door mid-2009. A special thanks to Tara, our web partner at Ultimate Corrs and later at AndreaCorr.co.uk and to Jason, another of our web partners, until the closure of UkCorrs. A very special thank you to Terje, who is responsible for the beautiful Nordic photography in one of our two galleries at Studioneill, also on this site, and to the many thousands of visitors still passing our way. Most of all, a very special thank you to AndreA for allowing AndreArt to flourish, by her good grace and inspiration. Wherever I am, you will always remain in my kindest thoughts. Videos will be updated from time to time, photoart pictures may also spring up now and again, but this is the page I will use, perhaps, to publish some of my poetry or, to post anything else that I wish to air in the future. My very first website was for poetry on-line, a shared project with celebrated American fantasy artist, Jessica Galbreth, who was responsible for the stunning artwork. Over the years I have written several poetry collections and have recently been invited to write for a new anthology, to be published later in the year. BLOG After a warm day of heavy, grey cloud and intermittent bursts from the sun, evening has lifted herself into clear, pearl skies, with just a hint of blue and gold. There are about four hours before the majestic, summer sunshine sets but, all the while, the colours through my study window will grow deeper, stronger and ever more evocative. Sunset reminds me of Terje and his love of photographing this resplendent time of day in his native, Norway. I must ask if he's seen the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, one that figures in my own, personal, list of wonders of the world. The sun is now dropping like a stone through the sky and has begun to slide down my window, warming my shoulder and painting the room exquisitely .... gold. Here, at this moment, I am the richest person on earth; 'here' is the magic - 'here' is the heart, the soul and the wealth ..... simply rich and satisfying. The sun, the moon - one warm and golden, the other silvery-cool. Both are jewels and a fond part of my life. I have been, particularly, lazy these past few weeks, seldom turning on my personal computer to capture pictures and words through inspiration; my imagination is sleeping and at times, like these, I wonder if the slumber will last. I had intended revamping the children storybook series, 'AndreA and Dessie', with a view to publication - one of the many stories is on site, with pencil illustrations by Tara. At the moment, there's a fog in my head and a pebble rattling around my heart, and I can't find the soul that lifted them and brought joy to my pen ... and so, the project is shelved. Time is a thief that takes from precious life; days have ebbed away before I realize they're gone. The quicker time goes by, the less I have for photo-art or writing yet, at the risk of sounding contradictory, I do think a great deal and deeply, without finding the thing that eludes me .... my inspiration. At the week-end, I may catch up with answering a few letters and think about a summer vacation. On Sunday, I may prepare lunch for friends, as together, we relax with a selection of chilled, white wines, good conversation, reminiscences and laughter. What could be better?