YOUR VIEW: Story Thieves – Why the book is always better

Book stackEveryone has a pet peeve. For Jamie Oliver, it’s peeling garlic; for my mum it’s referring to someone by their pronoun instead of their given name; and for me, it’s film directors turning my favourite books into films. Why can’t they come up with their own ideas instead of pinching the hard work of authors?

Now, before I begin, I should state that I haven’t read every book ever published – and so cannot compare every film adaptation of printed fiction to hit the big screen. What I can do, however, is explain why I’ve hated most box-office versions of some of the books I’ve read, and why I have little hope for the film adaptation of The Book Thief, which arrives in the UK next year.

Written by Markus Zusak in 2006, The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel, living in Nazi Germany. Liesel’s story is narrated by Death, which sounds bizarre and morbid, but will give you a whole new perspective on passing over. Through this narration, we learn that Liesel lives with her foster parents, has a best friend named Roddy, helps protect the Jew who lives in her basement, and as the title suggests – has a habit of thieving books. This novel is an English teacher’s dream as it’s filled with themes, motifs, and raises many a question about humanity. Plus there’s a good chance pupils will actually enjoy this one.

It’s hard for me to determine which book out there is my favourite, but, if I was being shipped off to a desert island and was allowed to take with me a limited number of books (you never know, right?), this would be one of them. I enjoyed it so much that I almost struck up a conversation with the guy who was reading it on the subway platform last week. But seeing as it’s taboo in Britain to make chit-chat about anything other than the weather, or the length of the queue with a stranger, I kept quiet. Lucky him.

So, back to the point. The book is almost always better than the film – and here’s why…

Screenwriters often change the novel’s storyline

This happened in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Well, it happened in most of the Harry Potter films but it was it was this one that got me really wound up. Who stole Harry’s wand? Was it Winky, or Barty Crouch Jr? Was Winky even in the film? The film had so many differences I can’t even remember how the original plot unfolded. When The Order of the Phoenix was released, I didn’t go see it. Or the three that followed.

Character development is overlooked

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower was the mantra of all angsty teens. When the film came out, I thought it would be good. The screenplay was written by Chbosky himself and it would be pretty impossible to murder your own novel, right? This movie however proved that it was in fact possible to murder your own novel. Important facts about other characters, such as main character Charlie’s sister being hit by her boyfriend, and becoming pregnant are omitted from the film – along with a bunch of other stuff that help the understanding of Charlie. Two very big thumbs down.

Protagonists are ruined by bad acting

If there’s one actress I don’t like, it’s Anne Hathaway. And of course she was cast as Emma Morley in One Day. While watching the film, I tried to see the character and not the actress. But all I saw was a well-kept Anne Hathaway (Emma was portrayed by author David Nicholls as being pretty average-looking) running around speaking in the Queen’s English when her character was from Leeds. Her excuse for not getting it right was because, in the book, Emma had lived in several parts of the UK and therefore her accent would have altered naturally, Sure thing, Anne, sure thing.

So, before The Book Thief is ready for viewing 31 January 2014, grab a copy from Waterstone’s, your local library, or the Kindle shop and enjoy the wonderful tale. If you don’t cry while reading, you’re not human…

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