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?
Ready player one
The book is one of the worst I've read, but the film was good fun.
The book is fun for Gen X readers just for the nostalgia factor. The story isn’t deep or meaningful in any way but the throwbacks to 1980s pop culture kept me turning pages.
I can't recommend either, but the book is one of the worst things ever put to paper.
I probably liked the book a little bit more, but the movie was very decent. I can see why some people might prefer it. It made the entire thing a bit more wholesome and kid friendly (for example the scene in the book where >!one of the Japanese guys gets thrown out of the window !
When I read the book all I could think about was how angry I was at the person who recommended it to me. “This is right up your alley!” They said. It’s garbage.
Then I heard they were making a film and I thought “okay so that could be a substantial upgrade over the book, a better medium for the story.”
The movie kinda sucks too. But it is slightly better than the book.
Both of them are unbelievable messes, though. At least the film got rid of the “80s only” games and movies, and the decision to switch from War Games to The Shining was awesome, even though I love War Games.
The book is torture.
Check out the podcast ‘372 pages we’re never getting back’ as an antidote.
EDIT as by way of explanation that podcast started as a critique of ready player one and is now a serial take down of bad books in general.
The sequel is much worse.
I found both to be bad, but the book was the worse of the two.