movie vs. book - the time traveller's wife

Ahhhh..

The eternal throw down match begins. As an avid reader, I know that it is a rare event that the film made will ever hold a candle to the book I read. But as a film lover, I am usually hopeful. I'm in a tough spot you see.

There are indeed some films that have done well by the books (Lord of the Rings for example) , or short stories as the case may be. And then of course there are the very common genre of "The book was SOOOOO much better than the film (any of the Harry Potter Films, but especially Half Blood Prince)." But there is also the rare group of the film being better than the book. (for me Twilight, but even in film form it drove me nuts...)

Last night was an example of the book vs. film quandary. I just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Neffinger, quickly followed up by The Time Traveller's Wife.

I positively gobbled up Her Fearful Symmetry. The cover is what sold it to me. Yes, I know the adage about a book and its cover. But when you're chasing a two year old through the public library, and you have a list of books in your hand like an urgent shopping list, sometimes the cover and the blurbs are all you have to go by. Her Fearful Symmetry and the time Traveller's Wife both had lovely cover art, had great blurbs, and I was able to toss them in the library bag before my child darted out the front doors. Ahh the joy of a two year old who LOVES books, in the library. It's like Disney World for her. She just can't believe there are this many books in one place, all for her. And honestly, I can't get over that feeling either.

I loved Her Fearful Symmetry. Adored it. Gobbled it down. Devoured it. Was slightly annoyed at the ending, but things got sussed out in the end, so it's fine. It had an ultimately lovely and fitting ending for all those involved. I highly recommend it. Niffenger is a very subtle, nuanced writer. Don't look for bombs, explosions, anything massive here. Look for gentle internal conflicts, quiet desperation. These are really beautiful character studies.

I followed it up with The Time Traveller's Wife. I didn't love it as much as I loved Her Fearful Symmetry, but it's still a lovely read. The very unique thing about this book, one of the chief narrative tools that is such a help and make it such a unique read, is that the whole thing is told in first person, either from Henry's or Clare's point of view. Their respective ages and the date are posted at the beginning of each section. It sets the reader immediately in time and with the characters.

This is another subtle, nuanced, lovely book. Beautiful moments. Sad moments. Just lovely. I love the part where Clare and Henry get their just revenge on her very very bad date, and the time when young Clare is jealous of Henry's wife, hoping that he would have been married to her.

It's that kind of book. It's full of moments. But the narrative structure is what makes it possible and unrelentingly gripping.

So on to Redbox. Pop in The Time Traveller's Wife. And disappointment follows. The key to the book - the unique narrative structure - was eliminated (and I can see why. I'm not really sure how it would have been executed.), and what we are given are a series of scenes, vignettes from the book. Scenes that don't have the background information for us as viewers, scenes that don't build up the life or love of these two people. In really became, I hate to say it, boring. So much was missing. So much was absent from these two characters and their stories. We actually turned it off.

When I gave my husband the nutshell version, it was sad to hear my own voice come out with the very brief story of the point A to Point B aspect of this story, because it's really about everything but that. It's about the side trips and detours that we come across, that we build our lives and loves with.

Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams were lovely. They gave their all with what they were given. But even it wasn't enough for this film. Sadly.

This is one book that should remain a book. It is perfect in that medium.

My other concern is for Her Fearful Symmetry. If they make that into a film..... It almost needs M. Night Shamylan hands or Tim Burton hands, along with very delicate hands to take on the nuanced conflicts and loves. Maybe Peter Jackson? If you only know him from Lord of the Rings, he is lovely and amazing and oh my goodness. But then go watch Heavenly Creatures which is the true story of a horrible murder in New Zealand committed by two best female friends. He gets the audience so inside the minds of the characters, you start looking for an escape hatch.

Or perhaps Spike Jonze. After seeing Where the Wild Things Are, which is also subtle, beautiful and nuanced, maybe he could pull it off.

But Her Fearful Symmetry will need different hands and a different approach than The Time Traveller's Wife.

Both books are lovely though; they would both be pleasant company for a few hours or days.