Reading And Watching Joyously

 I've seen bits and pieces of Hamilton over the past few years but today was the first time I actually sat down to watch the entire show. 90 seconds in I was blown away by the rhyme and perfection of the first song, and I was mesmerised the whole way through. There were bits of history that I knew and recognised, and a heap of stuff that I didn't know before. I loved the realness of the story, that it didn't try to hide anyone's faults. And the songs, music, lighting, costuming and choreography were incredible. I loved every minute of it. I've been fascinated by Lin-Manuel Miranda lately and this just adds to my esteem of and interest in him.

 At first I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this book, the style of writing didn't flow easily for me and it felt like it was a bit of an effort to read. I came back to it after a couple of weeks and was quickly swept up in the story - I really enjoyed seeing a well known history told from a different point of view, focusing on the humanity of Jesus and giving an incredible glimpse into the world of Galilee and Egypt in the early 1st century AD. It was also a wonderfully feminist text, exploring the idea of ways women can have a voice even if their culture makes it difficult.