Myth: The book is always better.
Opinion: The book is almost always better than the movie.
Truth: They're just different.
Summer, 1964
Television commercials announce the upcoming release of the movie, Island of the Blue Dolphins, with Celia Kaye playing the role of Karana. I am filled with excited anticipation, eager to see the heroine of my all-time favorite book on the giant screen. In my eagerness, I reread the book for the third time, marking in my mind's eye exactly the countenance and mannerisms of each person, especially the heroic Karana and her brother. Again, I envision the island setting, with its sandy beaches and rocky cliffs, reminding myself of each and every detail of the plot as it unfolds. I want to see on the big screen what, until now, I have been able to see only inside my head.
Opening weekend finds ten-year-old me at the glass ticket window in front of the Center Theater, in San Fernando, well before the movie is to begin. The ticket costs me fifty cents, a snack of popcorn and soda another fifty cents. Friends and I find perfect seats—halfway back and dead center—and sink into the deep red cushions. The popcorn is nearly gone by the time the red velvet curtain ascends to expose the giant movie screen.
I discover that day in that theater an important rule—The book is always better than the movie!
I am soooooooooo disappointed! The movie's female hero, Karana, doesn't look like MY Karana! The island doesn't look like MY island! Did the director and I even read the same book? Huge parts of the story are missing entirely! Somehow Karana isn’t as heroic in the movie as she is in the book. They ruined it! Ruined the movie! In my innocence, I believe the images that form in my mind as I read O'Dell's words, are the same images that appear in other readers' minds. I expect those who make the movie to be faithful to the author's words and, therefore, to my imagery. The fact that others perceive "reality" differently than I do comes as quite a shock!
Fast-forward to the 2020s.
I’ve gotten over my disappointment a long time ago! I can appreciate both the limiting characteristics and the empowering features of each medium. I can enjoy them both precisely for their differences. Given the number of wonderful books out there, it’s no wonder movie-makers are always scanning bookshelves for the latest and best new ideas.
To make a great film needs three things—the script, the script and the script. ~Alfred Hitchcock
There were a number of books recently adapted for feature films or streaming TV series, many of them to great success. List from 2022. List for 2023.
I loved reading the beautiful and mysterious Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie version. Ditto with the touching and tender A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and its movie adaptation A Man Called Otto. The TV series Three Pines, based on Louise Penny’s series of “cozy murder mysteries” set in the Canadian town of the same name was a terrific show with great acting. It kept me binge-watching.
My current favorite TV series, Daisy Jones & The Six, based on the book of the same title by Taylor Jenkins Reid, is a wonderful trip down memory lane and a fun, music-filled story. And so was the book. I’m gobbling up the series as enthusiastically as I consumed the book.
On the other hand, though I really liked Min Jin Lee’s epic Pachinko, I could not watch the TV series. Too vivid, perhaps?
I got excited when I read that the movie rights for Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard have been picked up, and Amy Adams is slated to play Simard.
What’s your opinion? Book or movie? Movie or book? Do you have favorite book-movie adaptations? Are there book-movie conversions you thought were awful?
Looking Ahead
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. There are several brand-new great books, all written by women, that had me thinking, Wow! This would make a great movie!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabriella Zevin
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
In these last days of Women’s History Month, let’s make a list of books—by and about women—that could be made into great movies by more women. Think strong, brave, smart, creative female characters, authors, film-makers, and actors.
What books come to your mind? I’d love to hear your opinions.
#ForceOfNature #Bookshelf #WomenWriters #BookBlogger #Bookstagram
I just ended up watching the Pachinko intro over and over and over…
Nancy Drew, the smart detective. She hooked me on reading even though it wouldn't make a good movie