Tips for Tuesdays - Books: The Furrows & Movies: The Swearing Jar

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any products, and/or visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: The Furrows

Today we are talking about The Furrows by Namwali Serpell. This is a novel about the different ways that people deal with grief. When Cassandra is twelve and her little brother is only seven, they are alone at the beach when an accident occurs and her little brother is lost forever. Cassandra has nightmarish dreams about him. Since his body was never found, her mother is convinced he is still alive and forms a group Vigil dedicated to finding missing children. Her father throws himself into a new relationship. When Cassandra meets and falls for a man with the same name as her late brother, her family thinks he is just scamming her, but he is dealing with his own haunted past.  The book moves along slowly and is at times very confusing. Although it ends in a decent place, it is mostly pretty dark and depressing. If you are looking for something light to read, choose something else.

Today we are recommending The Swearing Jar. The Swearing Jar is a movie that revolves around the question of whether you can really have two soulmates. Carey seems to be torn between her husband, Simon, and a man she falls for in a bookstore, Owen. Things turn out to be quite different than what they seem, however. To say more than that would be giving away too much of the plot. 

Nevertheless, this is a thought-provoking film that is at times heartbreaking at times hopeful. The screenplay is so well written and the acting is so good that the story seems completely believable and true. However, surprisingly it is not actually based on a real story. You still might want to keep some tissues handy while you're watching though.

The Swearing Jar is available now in theaters and On Demand. For more information, visit www.tiff.net/events/the-swearing-jar

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.