Love it or loathe the idea, a book you love will be made into a movie.
In the past, I have stubbornly expressed my derision at remakes that should never have been made. However, I do take a more moderate view of the book-to-movie translation these days but do find myself asking the question – Why is the book-to-film translation so controversial? I have given this some thought and have come up with a few reasons which I’ll share.
Obviously a book is not a screenplay. The devices, so effective in engaging you in your favourite book, will likely be completely ineffectual on-screen. The devices employed by an author leads your imagination to create your own exclusive interpretation of the nuances of the plot and characters. Your imagination is unique and rarely going to match someone else’s interpretation, so too are the imaginations of the director and screen writer(s) who will make important decisions about plot and characters in producing the screenplay.
Finally, the actors will also have their own take on how to execute the story. With all these people seeking to make the movie their own, it can start to feel like storytelling by Chinese whispers. What’s your favourite (or worst) or most original book-to-film translation?
Check out my list of Movie Remakes here:
Fragments of Eva 
I loved the cadence and rhythm of the language used by the author of the book, The Prince of Tides. It was stimulating, a real feast. The movie The Prince of Tides was wonderful, and the screenplay was partially written by the author which makes a big difference. But some of my favourite parts of the book are long or dense descriptive passages with no dialogue and I don’t think the poetry translated completely from book to screen. It is pretty special though that Pat Conroy worked on the screenplay as well as writing the book, so you get a double look in. With this extra insight I think you enjoy both book and movie all the more.