“I’ve already seen the movie!”

“I’ve already seen the movie!” one might proclaim. It may be true but have you seen the story from the perspective of it’s original creator (the author or screenwriter), or from the perspective of your own imagination, those vivid internal landscapes we create when we read. Remember the reason so many books are turned into films in the first place is because of the captivating tales they tell (whether as fiction or non-fiction biopics of real-life personalities) and because those who read them were entranced by the imagery they described, the poetry and beauty of the language that fills them, the messages they deliver and the relatability, the fantasy or even the disdain, abject horror or disgust (as for instance in the case of crime fiction or dystopias) that they have evoked.

Take ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillan Flynn for example. Without providing too many spoilers the opening line of the book is so haunting and intriguing it was used to open the film too. Yet after that it was interesting to note the subtle ways the details and scenes changed between the two. The altering of the details of a party conversation that marks the first interaction and impression the couple makes upon each other, the omission of a period of time spent apart before the relationship unfolds further (a necessary contraction to meet the time limitations of film versus fiction), the embellishment of a proposal and the awkward, tension filled-falling apart - each tale a little different in the way it unfolds, yet the overall tapestry of each equally compelling and proof that each format deserves it own time and attention from it’s audience.

What’s your favourite book that’s been turned into a film or TV series? Was it a faithful retelling, a disappointing translation from page to screen or an imaginative recreation that builds or ascends from the original on it’s own creative trajectory?

Relevant titles available in store include:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Beach By Alex Garland

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Dry by Jane Harper

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

The Well by Elisabeth Jolley

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Breath by Tim Winton

Happy Reading from the Team at Dorothy Dickens Books & Music!