In the past, I have been skeptical of page-to-screen adaptations...as discussed previously, it’s always difficult to balance expectations with reality, or to find the book that you read in the show or film that a production company put on the screen. But, as was proven with the super-terrific Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, good adaptations do exist, and they can captivate book-lovers and film-buff equally, together, and individually (and yes, we admit we have an addiction to this book, but if loving it is wrong, we don’t want to be right). Not only that, but the incredible advances in technology means that a great many tv shows have the production values, casts, and special effects of many films, meaning that you can enjoy your favorite shows at home. In your pajamas (hooray!).
Not only that, but productions are also acknowledging the enormous obligation they have to the reading public. Perhaps the adaptation of the Harry Potter novels were a turning point; with such an enormous fan base demanding to see their favorite books on the screen, Hollywoodland realized the power that readers can wield, both imaginatively and financially. Today, many authors are consulted on the scripts of their shows/films–and some even help with the writing (Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, particularly, seem terribly fond of adapting their own work for the screen). The results are often quite delightful. Susanna Clarke, the author of Jonathan Strange and mr. Norrell wrote a wonderful article about watching her characters come to life, saying that “nothing, I find, has prepared me for the sight of my own characters walking about. A playwright or screenwriter must expect it; a novelist doesn’t and naturally concludes that she has gone mad.”
But her madness translated into viewers’ delight, and offered hope for readers that the future of literary adaptations is a bright one. So for today’s post, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some more literary adaptations that have made it to the big screen–and are bound soon for the small screen.
Paper Towns: Fans of John Green (and really, everyone should be a fan of John Green, if not for his books than for his super-fun and highly educational YouTube channel) will delight in this second adaptation of his work. Paper Towns tells the tale of Quentin “Q” Jacobsen, a high school senior who revels in the mundaneness of his life…until he meets Margo Roth Spiegleman, a fellow classmate, who is shrouded in an air of mystery. But after Margo and Quentin sneak out for a bizarre midnight adventure, she disappears, leaving Quentin to piece together the clues and discover where she went. Green, as ever, defies convention in this book, challenging the “cool, mysterious, manic-pixie-girl” stereotype in a really interesting manner.
The End of the Tour: This sleeper indie hit seems to be hitting all the right notes with film-fans and bibliophiles alike. Based on David Lipsky’s memoir Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, this film tells the story of the five days Lipsky spent with Wallace on his book tour, following the publication of Wallace’s Infinite Jest in 1996. Lipsky recorded nearly all of those five days, providing an enormous treasure trove of material from which to develop his book–and from which the screenwriters developed this film. Reviewers have called the material “a biography in five days”, and they provide a fascinating insight into one of the most original minds of his generation. The film benefits from sensationally sympathetic performances by Jessie Eisenberg and Jason Segel as Wallace.
American Gods: Just remember–you heard this here first. Apparently, Neil Gaiman’s sensational, haunting, fiendishly clever book is being adapted for television, with Gaiman himself writing the script for the pilot. Shadow has just been released from prison with nothing–the death of his wife and best friend in a car crash has left him with no ties left on earth. He becomes a bodyguard to the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who seems to know far more about Shadow than anyone should…and gradually realizes that Mr. Wednesday is not the man he seems. It turns out that Wednesday is an ancient god who is determined to gather the manifestations of the old gods of Americas whose followers have passed away. This is one of those shows that will either by sensational or god-awful (pun intended), but with Neil Gaiman contributing to it, I can only surmise that this is a series that cries out to be binge-watched.
The debate over books-to-the-screen is always a difficult one, and issues of adaptation can prove more hazardous than international treaties, especially for devoted fans like you and I, but I think it’s safe to say that things are looking up in the world of adaptations–what say you, beloved patrons?
~~~
PS: Check it out! The library has pre-ordered the Blu-Ray of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Loud cheers!! 