I have a problem. Nothing makes me want to tear my hair out more than when a movie based on a novel ruins everything I love about the book. I am a reader first, a film lover second. As I read, I imagine what the characters in books look like. I cling to the words on the pages, the descriptions of setting and the pace of the book. All of these things are reasons I keep reading a title. Seeing a film version simply is just not the same. The creative folks in the film industry have done all the thinking for me–they’ve selected the actors and costumes, and they’ve built the sets and painted the scenery. And, I know the film version will only always last around 90 minutes.
So when a film is made based on a book I’ve read and loved, I often just won’t see it. You can tell me how much you loved it and I still might have to pass.
My new problem arose when I listened to a book suggestion. A patron said I simply must read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. This book, originally published in 1938, was made into a film with Amy Adams and Frances McDormand and was released earlier this year to much acclaim.
Set in the 1930s, the book is the memorable, fun, and hilarious story of a day in the life of Miss Pettigrew. Miss Pettigrew thinks she is answering an advertisement to work as a governess, but instead she is shocked to find herself sorting out the scandalous love life of Miss LaFosse, a young, beautiful and modern gal with lavish taste in clothing and who performs as a singer in a nightclub.
It’s too bad I loved this adorable book–now can I bear to watch the film?
Read it or Weep 