Inspired by a question I answered when filming my Unpopular Opinions video* - Which movie did you prefer to the book? - I thought I would pick a few of my top movie over book scenarios, a controversial topic I know!
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh :: It pains me to say this as Trainspotting is one of my favourite movies ever but the book is dark, man, real dark and even as someone who loves black comedies I found reading about Scottish smackheads a bit more than I could handle. Also deciphering the Scottish accent it's written in made it that much more difficult to get into.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin :: Sorry, sorry, sorry. Blasphemous I know, but as a massive fan of the television series I really found that I understood GoT's many plotlines that much easier when I was able to put a face to the names. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Martin's writing and obvs he gets all the credit in making this series what it is but I needed some serious flow chart action to stop me from being confused all the damn time.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne :: A great book that I probably would have enjoyed more if it went without the hyped "it's middle-grade fiction but suitable for adults too." (Although in that case I probably wouldn't have read it). The book is a fantastic middle grade book but I felt it wasn't deep enough and didn't work as an adult fiction book because it's not meant to! Lets call this a case of having too high expectations. I enjoyed the film more.
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy :: As a massive Cormac McCarthy fan it actually pains me to add this one to the list but I made the rookie mistake of seeing the movie and then reading the book. McCarthy's book works so well as a screenplay they basically tore off the front and back covers and used it verbatim. It makes for a brilliant film but pretty much ruins the reading experience. Always, always read a McCarthy book first!
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo :: One of my all time favourite musicals both on the stage and in film (although sometimes I forget how weird it is watching a film when people are singing everything all the time) I absolutely hands down adore the thematic version of Les Miserables. Honestly I found the reading experiencing a tad miserable myself as I'm not the best person at persevering with classical fiction and this one is a long wade through convoluted waters.
Tell me, what books did you think were made better as movies?
*Coming to a blog post near you very soon!
Ha, I understand you though. They made changes on the screen version, many changes in fact, but then again, if it's 100% similar, the Game of Thrones TV series would be too depressing to watch :P
ReplyDeleteNot good for the non readers. This way, at least the TV series entertains us all.
That's true. I would actually like to know how the books differ from the television series but Im not sure if I will give the books another go to find out!
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