From: Kristin Butcher <kristin>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:14:06 -0700

I think Ann's concerns re: The Lovely Bones sums up in a nutshell the almost impossible task of rendering some books to movies. Film makers are very clever and talented, but a movie is not a book. It may be capable of retelling the story, but because it is a different medium, it is not geared to capture all those other elements that made the book so good -- the pacing, the language, the rhythm, the description, the tone, the mood, the phrasing. A book is so much more than merely a story. It isn't just what is said, but HOW it is said.

Sophie's Choice is a perfect example. So many times while I was reading it, I wanted to throw it at the wall. I did not want Sophie to labor through her painful story even one more time, although I knew she would reveal another small detail. It wasn't until I got to the end of the book and discovered what her choice had been, that I realized there could be no other way for her to reveal herself. I agonized with her and silently apologized to her for wanting her to get to the point and spit out what she had to say. How clever William Styron was tell her story in the way that he did. That book haunted me for a good week. Even today, I feel a sense of anguish when I think about it.

So I've never seen the movie. I didn't want to, because I knew there was no way a film could create that same emotional conundrum.

Kristin Butcher www.kristinbutcher.com
Received on Tue 11 Aug 2009 04:14:06 PM CDT