The Book Page

By Kate

August 29, 2007 8:14 AM | Link to this

I’m with you on Atonement. It has a great story, but I think the ‘metafiction’ part of the novel, which I think is one of the most interesting/powerful parts of the book, will be lost on screen.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 8:25 AM | Link to this

Krakauer is good, and Into Thin Air is the basis of a movie I really enjoy (Vertical Limit), so I’ll check out Into the Wild.

I agree on the trailer for Compass. I doubt I’ll read the book, as I’ve never been able to read fantasy (note that this includes LOTR, though I IMMENSELY enjoy the movie versions!), but the movie version sounds like a good time.

Another that I’ve been told (as in it is on the author’s official site) is in the works is Steve Alten’s Meg. No word on its release date though.

As far as the others in your list, I’ll probably wait for DVD, but there may be a couple in there that inspire me to read the book. (While unusual for me to go movie -> book, it isn’t unheard of, as I began reading Cussler after seeing Sahara.)

By kager

August 29, 2007 8:50 AM | Link to this

I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I just hope this movie doesn’t leave me feeling empty. It might be nice to see “One Hundred YEars of Solitude” into a movie (if it is not already). I will definitely go see it though. I just can’t help myself.

By grabbingsand

August 29, 2007 9:03 AM | Link to this

First of all, a big sarcastic “thanks” to commenter Lee for spoiling one of the more important scenes in the last book of the trilogy. It is possible that you’re just oblivious to the idea of spoilers, but I suspect that you’re more interested instead in turning people away from the books in the quickest way possible.

Secondly, the Pullman trilogy is incredibly well-written and life-affirming, provided one approaches the books with an open mind. I was raised in the Methodist church, but I found nothing in these works of fiction that threatened my faith.

But Lee’s complaint is not his alone. Many, many people and collectives will cry foul about this movie, just as they’ve complained about the books, but we must not forget that the world of His Dark Materials is not ours. Pullman makes this perfectly clear by providing the reader with an Oxford that seems familiar, but only just.

In his world, electricity is replaced with aether, a kind of “magic on-tap.” Texas is its own country, not a state. And the frozen north is ruled by armored, talking polar bears. And so, it is only reasonable to consider that the Heaven of Pullman’s fiction (and the angels that have taken control of it) is not the Heaven of our Sunday morning sermons here in the real human world. This is a great leap of perception, I know, but these leaps are necessary to enjoy most any good work of fiction.

Now, does Pullman take issue with organized religion in the modern world? Yes, he does. And his fiction is affected by this, of course. But the focus of this series of books is not so much the good or bad points of religion, but the resourcefulness of his incredibly human protagonists in a very dangerous (imagined) reality. For comparison, Harry Potter in his fourth or fifth book was nowhere nearly as complex a character as Lyra Belacqua is on the first page of The Golden Compass.

In brief, the series is great, particularly the first two books in the series (the last is a bit unbalanced and lacking in focus structurally), and the film looks amazing from the trailer. You’ve got about three months to read the source before the film, so do so.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 9:14 AM | Link to this

grabbingsand:

THANK YOU for providing a well reasoned, informed, and thoroughly enjoyable debate piece. I’m going to stay out of this particular debate, simply due to my own anti-fantasy literary proclivities, but I do appreciate that you kept the debate to the topic at hand with a gentlemanly swipe at Lee rather than the “other” type of arguments we see so often on blogs these days.

Again, thank you.

By gw

August 29, 2007 9:17 AM | Link to this

Another novel that was adapted is The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. However if you have read this series of books, from what I have seen and read, the screenwriter massacred the script so that it barely resembles the images (not to mention the basic symbolism) that one imagines while reading the book. It is a shame an award winning young adult novel has been compromised so much just for the American sense of entertainment. Shame on Walden media for letting this travesty happen.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 9:21 AM | Link to this

gw:

In that vein, there have been SEVERAL book-to-movie conversions that were HORRIBLE. Maybe Phil could one day do a topic about that?

By Phil Kloer

August 29, 2007 9:24 AM | Link to this

Lee: I’m all about freedom of expression, but I’ve eliminated your post about how “His Dark Materials” ends. I think we need to be careful in this blog about spoiling the endings of books as a courtesy to people who haven’t read them yet.

If this starts to be a place where people are blurting out endings, it’s gonna become pretty unpopular.

I don’t necessarily want to get off on a tangent, but what do others think about this in general? Should we try to be spoiler-free, within reason? Or am I being too authoritarian?

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 9:29 AM | Link to this

Phil:

I’ve seen it done in other blogs (and IMDB does a similar thing in their trivia section), where something like

&&& SPOILER ALERT!!! &&&

is put above where a spoiler might be, so that a person can choose to read the spoiler or not.

Just something I’ve seen done. Not trying to tell anyone how to do things.

By Kat

August 29, 2007 9:32 AM | Link to this

Phil, please keep this a spoiler-free zone! People who genuinely love and understand books can discuss them without giving away the ending!

By Maria

August 29, 2007 9:48 AM | Link to this

Actually, Phil, the only time I ever wrote to you via e-mail was to complain about a Six Feet Under spoiler you had in an article about… not giving spoilers. Heh. Sorry. I’m not a spoiler nazi or anything, but I do think that when a creative work is taking on a new life and getting exposed to the public more than it has before, it’s polite for those who already know about it not to give spoilers. His Dark Materials has been out for a long time, but many people will just be coming to it for the first time this year. It’s a beautifully written series; when I read it, I already knew “what happened” at the end, and my experience wasn’t tainted by this. However, I always feel I’m something of an anomaly for reading more for language than for story.

I suspect that when Harry Potter 6 and 7 come out on film, the same sort of “hush hush, keep quiet on the ending” mood will surround them, too, even though a good portion of the population will have already read the books.

More on topic: I’m really looking forward to The Golden Compass and The Kite Runner. I think Cormac McCarthy can translate pretty well to film. I cringe when thinking of Atonement being distilled to 2 hours of screen time. Has there ever been a successful film treatment of a “quiet novel”? The Hours is the best one I can think of right now.

By gw

August 29, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this

I agree that many adaptations have been horrible. It’s just disheartening to have a company (Walden Media) that strives to maintain the integrity of each book (and has done so with movies like Narnia) destroy such a beloved novel.

By KA

August 29, 2007 10:42 AM | Link to this

I am not a fan of most movies made from great books as they usually edit the story, and it is frustrating to watch. I would go see The Kite Runner and Into The Wild, but probably not see Love in the Time of Cholera. I haven’t read The Golden Compass, and am intrigued, so I am going to read the trilogy. so much to read after only two days of your blog. I feel like I am back in college on the second day and have discovered that I should have already read half of the books on the syllabus. I need to read fast….

By Phil Kloer

August 29, 2007 11:20 AM | Link to this

Deep breaths, KA. There will be no test.

By Lily Toad

August 29, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this

I just finished reading The Kite Runner and have been thinking that it would make a great movie because it has a great plot. But fun? Come on, Phil. No spoiler here, but fun may not be an appropriate description of this book.

By Lily Toad

August 29, 2007 11:36 AM | Link to this

Two of the best page to screen adaptations I can think of off the top of my head are To Kill A Mockingbird and Reflections in a Golden Eye. Usually I’m disappointed in movies made from books because they can’t capture the language and interior monologues and narrative.

Please keep this a spoiler free zone. I hate hearing the ending of either a book or a movie.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 11:45 AM | Link to this

LilyToad:

Agreed, but sometimes the movie does something COMPLETELY differently than in the book.

Memorable from Sahara was the final battle. One thing in particular (among several really) happens in both movie and book, but happens in a COMPLETELY different way. In the movie, the people doing the action realize the significance of it and cheer wildly. In the book, nobody even realizes it has really happened until much later.

By Kat

August 29, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this

I agree that the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird was particularly well done. The Thorn Birds also followed the book very closely. The worst film adaptation I’ve seen in a long time was Ella Enchanted, based on the children’s book by Gail Carson Levine. Good book, cute movie, but so different that practically all they had in common was the title. I think the Harry Potter movies have been well done. Someone was complaining to me recently about all the material from the books that was left out of the movies, but if they included every detail the last movie would have been 20 hours long. The movies have done a good job of distilling the essence of the books.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this

Kat:

Talking about movies that have nothing to do with the book:

If you’ve ever read The Bourne Trilogy by Ludlum, DO NOT watch those movies. I left in disgust halfway through the first one and haven’t watched either of the other two - and never will. They keep a few of the names and that is about it! (ZERO plot transfer between book and movie!)

By Phil Kloer

August 29, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

Jeff, I haven’t read a Ludlum in years,and I believe you about Bourne. Those books are so long and so packed you’d need a 20-hour movie to cover one. I think a lot of people like the Matt Damon flicks, as flicks, but as a Ludlum purist, you have a good perspective.

By jct

August 29, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this

I am glad that there won’t be a test as well as KA. I had never heard of Pullman’s series until this spring. It is on my reading list before the movie comes out. The movie trailers are quite exciting. I hope it lives up the the hype.

My most favorite book to movie translations are The Princess Bride and Room with a View. I saw the movie Room with a View when I was 16 years old in 1986. Of course, I went right to the library to borrow and read the book. That was the day I fell in love with E.M. Forester. Most of the movies made from his books translate well to the screen, however, A Room with a View is my all time favorite.

By Kat

August 29, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this

I do all the book selection & purchasing for five public libraries (a sweet job, I know), and it’s always guaranteed that if a movie comes out based on a book, the book will be in high demand. Even if the book is 20 or 30 years old, it will have a renewed popularity again. I’m seeing it now with the Ludlum books. So, even if the movie isn’t so hot, the publicity sometimes stirs non-readers to pick up a book.

By dep

August 29, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

The Time Traveler’s Wife is scheduled for release in 2008, and I can’t imagine seeing Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams in the roles of two characters I came to love while enjoying that book. I listened to it on audiobook, and perhaps that’s swayed my opinion—at this point I can’t imagine another interpretation of those characters. However, I tend to stay away from “book movies” in general. (Especially Stephen King books!)

By Seressia

August 29, 2007 1:28 PM | Link to this

People were raving about the action in the Bourne movies, so I, having read the series in high school, went to see them. How disappointing. I’m not even sure why they even had the Bourne name attached. The same with Sahara. It’s enough to make you not want to see any movie based on a book you’ve read.

Luckily the Golden Compass was years enough ago that I don’t remember much of it. I plan to see this, but then I like fantasy. I promise not to stalk Terry Brooks at the Book Festival this weekend.

By Phil Kloer

August 29, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

I’m sure Terry will be relieved, Seressia.

We’ve had such a response on this I’m gonna come back to the topic on a later blog in a more general sense: best and worst novel-to-film adaptations.

As for today’s topic, I’m pleasantly surprised at how much juice there is for Philip Pullman, and curious as to how little comment there is on Kite Runner.

Are we over Kite Runner?

By BookWrrm

August 29, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

I’m a thriller/adventure novel fan, and have recently enjoyed Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s trilogy, Dance of Death/Book of the Dead/Wheel of Darkness. It’s smart, pulse-pounding reading, and would be terrific for a movie (or 3). Attention casting agents— get Kiefer Sutherland for the Agent Pendergast role.

I make a point of avoiding books or movies that are morose and depressing— just don’t want to spend any hours with the head in that kind of mode.

By Jeff

August 29, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this

BookWrrm:

If you were a true fan of Preston/Child, you would know that the Diogenes Trilogy is comprised of Brimstone, Dance of Death, and Book of the Dead.

Though it turns out that you ARE right as far as Wheel of Darkness existing and following Book of the Dead. Looks like another LONG wait for the paperback for me….

By SarahT

August 29, 2007 11:19 PM | Link to this

I have to say that I am pretty nervous about the upcoming movie version of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Eric Bana as Henry? Most definitely! That Mean Girls chick as Claire? Hmmm, that’s just not working for me. Also, the nonlinear, looping structure of the story could lead to big trouble in movieland. We’ll see …