I LOVE Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi action movie Children of Men. I’ve watched maybe six times and every time, the ending always almost brings me to tears. So when I learned it was adapted from P.D. James’ book of the same name, it was a no-brainer deciding what my next book would be.
After finishing the book, it wasn’t difficult to reach to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie better.
While James’ book gives a more in-depth look at how human infertility and humanity’s slow death march towards extinction affects the sexual dynamic between men and women and almost demented ways humans try to cope with a world without children or a race of dead men walking, I feel the book dedicates WAY too much time describing the failing of human civilization and the Regrets and guilt of Theo Faron. It’s not even until after 2/3 through the book where it feels like the plot and story are properly paced and stuff of consequence actually begin to happen.
The film’s adaptation by, comparison, feels consistent in its pacing and the world building and woe-is-mes of Theo feel more compact a take up less of the audience’s time.
What books do you feel were worse than its film adaptation and why?
This was my first thought too. Like I can absolutely respect the impact the books had on the fantasy genre, but if I disregard that and judge them solely as books… they were kind of boring and so drawn out.
The movies are absolute gold though.
How are you with other classic stories? Do you like Three Musketeers? Treasure Island? Count of Monte Cristo? The Once and Future King? War of the worlds?
Movies and then television influenced the pace of novels.
But I love Lord of the rings. It is a subtle sophisticated book. And if your characters are going to hike across the world, there should be scenes of walking.
I also had issues with the Lord of the Rings books, but it wasn’t a pacing issue, I read and quite enjoyed the Three Musketeer, so draw out pacing is far from a deal breaker for me. No, my problem is that the prose in those books is dense, it gives the whole affair a mythic feel, yes, but it also makes it quite easy to zone out while reading the third paragraph describing a single ruined field.
Ooh Three Musketeers is actually an excellent example! I wanted to love that book so much!!
My impression of the Three Musketeers was that it was a fun (and reasonably accessible) ride, sort of…but was thoroughly laced some very dated morals, in a way that seemed more severe than most classics I’ve read. I felt certain it would turn off a majority of people (or Americans at least) my age and younger.