Tag Archives: Books into films

Warm Bodies – the funniest zombie book I have ever read!

Posted on 17 May 2013 by

Warm bodies is hilarious! It is a paranormal romance set in a post apocalyptic world where zombies and humans are battling to co-exist.

“None of us are particularly attractive, but death has been kinder to me than some. I’m still in the early stages of decay…” The main zombie in the story is “R” who is living in an abandoned airport with a group of other zombies and their daily existence includes the occasional head nod, grunt & slow-paced meander. They do get together at times and head outside the airport on hunts for human flesh. They do this to satisfy their constant cravings and in an attempt to reach the slightest human feeling.

“We sit against the tiles of the bathroom floor with our legs sprawled out in front of us, passing the brain back and forth, taking small, leisurely bites and enjoying brief flashes of human experience.” On one particular hunting trip the zombies attack a group of humans where R kills a boy named Perry. As R munches down on Perry’s brain he starts to receive vivid images of the boy’s life and experience his feelings for a girl named Julie. It is then that R sees Julie at the attack and feels obligated to protect her, to save her from the bloody scene and take her back to the airport. It is this action, this special and confusing connection between zombie and human that ignites a change. Things start to get weird, confusing, beautiful and new for R as Julie’s presence seems to be bringing some humanity back to R. Julie also starts to see R as not entirely zombie. She starts to ask herself could R have a mind, a heart, a soul?

Warm bodies sucked me in right away and kept my interest throughout with its character driven plot and humourous descriptive prose. Isaac Marion made me feel like I wasn’t simply reading a book but was there in the airport surrounded by a zombie population.

“My friend ‘M’ says the irony of being a zombie is that everything is funny, but you can’t smile, because your lips have rotted off.” Quotes like this made me laugh out loud! I really enjoyed this book, it finished way too early, I could have read chapter after chapter. The movie adaptation is also highly entertaining and really well down. My friends and I had the best time in the cinema!
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Modern literary classics hit the Big Screen!

Posted on 30 November 2012 by

Have you noticed that there is a spate of novel adaptations hitting the big screen right now? These films all hail from modern literary classics. Some are screening currently and others are scheduled for release in early 2013. Many readers swear … Continue reading →

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Thinking of books that make me laugh – and books that made me cry

Posted on 30 October 2012 by

There are some books that combine both humour and a good cry in one package, and others that are memorable for either a good laugh or because they tugged the heartstrings… Those with both sadness and humour … ‘Marley and me’ is full … Continue reading →

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Headhunters movie – a winning book to film conversion

Posted on 8 September 2012 by

I really enjoyed the bleak humour and the bloodiness of the violence in Headhunters – the film adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s novel. It’s a slick heist movie full of thrills, gore and intrigue. The movie begins by introducing Roger Brown, a slick, smarmy little headhunter with big overheads to meet. He makes his mortgage payments with high-end breaking and entering and stealing artworks from his rich interviewees. This is working out quite well for Roger until his latest interviewee and potential target, the suspicious Clas comes into his life. Clas is so not the sort of person you want to steal art from!

When Roger finds out that Clas is in Norway because he may have inherited a priceless Reubens painting, he thinks all his Christmases have arrived at once. So he sets up the perfect heist, getting all the details required to steal this painting with questions he puts to Clas in a job interview. It’s on this robbery that he uncovers some unfavourable circumstances and suddenly finds himself on the run from the maniac Clas and the authorities.

The film is deliriously effective at springing the element of surprise over and over again. Some of the outlandish things Roger is forced to do are really quite unbelievable but still very funny. If you are like me and have not read the book then prepare yourself for some graphic scenes, some gut-wrenchingly awful situations and some really clever twists. The plot turns randomly and the characters hold uncertain intentions and changing loyalties. Headhunters a disturbing, gripping action-thriller and you will not realise you are watching a subtitled film (if they aren’t usually your thing) :P
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A ghostly story

Posted on 24 May 2012 by

The movie preview of this book sparked my interest in reading it. I thought I would read it before seeing the film as I often like to make comparisons. However, after now reading it I am not so sure I will go and see it on the big screen. I can’t decide on whether I liked the story of whether it was just the fright that I enjoyed. Essentially, The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, is a classically written ghost tale. It begins with an elderly Arthur Kipp having Christmas with his family. He is not entirely present at this family gathering as he is a vacant soul who is deeply burdened by his troubled past. The story then travels back in time to a younger Kipp, as a junior solicitor who is assigned the job of tying up the loose ends of a deceased estate. This assignment changes his life forever!
As soon as he arrives at the Estate he begins to realise that all is not right, not right at all. He senses strange vibes from the local folk at the funeral of the Estate’s late owner and the Estate has such an eerie presence. All sorts of wickedly freaky things start to happen such as the sound of a rocking chair creaking from an empty nursery, a bone chilling scream from a invisible child and a vivid image of a wraithlike woman dressed all in black.
The story is really terrifying and the author does a brilliant job at describing the haunting scenes. I can still picture the woman in black, her face all sunken and wasting away….so horrifying. Despite its scariness nothing really big happens in the story and I found it at times hard to read due to the many long-winded sentences. The unique writing style made it a challenge to string together but if you can get past this hurdle and the lack of action it is a terrifying read that will stick with you!! Will the movie have the same scare factor and will I go and see it?
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White Oleander

Posted on 19 May 2012 by

White Oleander was on the required reading list for a literary subject I took at University and I have vivid memories of how intoxicating I found it. I don’t think I will ever forget this book. It’s written with such poetic eloquence with charm and wit and a clever flow despite its sensitive storyline. The writing is authentic and dubbed with lyrical verse. Not something that would instantly appeal to me but I will be forever grateful to have taken that University subject that listed it as required reading material.

The book narrator is Astrid, a girl who is forced to grow up much quicker than a child should ever have to. When Astrid was six years old her mum is sentenced to life in prison after killing her ex-lover with the poison of oleander flowers. This leaves Astrid to grow up in foster care with several foster parents each with their different agendas. Her years in the foster system are really gut-wrenching to read and she quickly realises that she is entirely on her own and must be suspicious of everyone. She has to deal with physical, physiological and mental abuse at such a young age from a foster parent who suspects her of sleeping with her boyfriend, another who accuses her of having a lesbian relationship with a neighbour, another who encourages alcohol and drug taking to another who makes her dig in rubbish bins for food scraps. Life surely has it is for Astrid!As much as these dark chapters moved me so too did the chapters in which Astrid bonds with some of the people she encounters. Sadly these relationships never last long. One sweet yet short connection I remember was when a pregnant foster-child looks to Astrid for support as she is freaking out about her pregnancy. Astrid herself is only young but has the maturity to comfort this young pregnant girl and offer her hope for the future. Such a bond suggests that human companionship can be found in the least likely of places.

The chapters Astrid visits her mum in prison are also truly compelling. Janet Fitch describes Astrid’s mum as a control freak with her unfaltering beliefs and her conviction to mould her daughter despite being behind bars. Her overbearing personality hinders any possibility of creating a real relationship with her daughter. In fact Astrid starts to dread her prison visits and increasingly feels suffocated by her mothers domineering facade. A favourite quote I used to title my University paper sums up Astrid feelings: “Who was I, really? she asks. “I was the sole occupant of my mother’s totalitarian state, my own personal history rewritten to fit the story she was telling that day. There were so many missing pieces.” Astrid transforms from a girl who worshiped her mum to a young lady who endeavours to be as far removed from her mum as possible.

This book will pull on your heart-strings, possibly even break them and then put them back together again, stronger than before!

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Headhunters by Jo Nesbo

Posted on 23 April 2012 by

I was totally transfixed from the second page of Headhunters, all the way to its last page. I loved the punchy pace from which the story starts, and how it depicts the cut-throat corporate world, where survival is everything, and the characters are ambitious, and ruthless enough to do whatever it takes to succeed. The author cleverly, makes the connection between the ruthless acts of murder and that of climbing the corporate ladder, seem like a natural marriage. Even after just finishing the book, and knowing how it ends, and where all the twists turn, I think I could easily read it all over again. But instead, I’m onto another of Nesbo’s books, as I’m desperate to know if if my new attraction to his fantastic writing style, will turn into a full blown love affair or not.
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Brighton Rock – a gangster crime mystery

Posted on 22 August 2011 by

Brighton Rock is a multi-layered crime story written by Graham Greene in 1938. I discovered it after seeing a preview of the newly released dvd. I believe this dvd is the second time the novel has been adapted into film. While this year’s movie is set in 1960′s Britain the novel depicts a late 1930′s Brighton. It’s a totally absorbing read, an excellent mystery in which good versus evil battle it out.

It’s the story of Pinkie Brown, a teenage gangster & rookie member of one of Brighton’s infamous mobster gangs. When the gang murders a journalist one night, Pinkie sees this as his chance to prove his manhood & establish a reputation as a serious player of the Brighton underworld. Pinkie does everything & anything to glorify the act & avoid the law & the possibility of ever being caught.

Two female characters, Rose & Ida, enter into his life, adding further complications as each posses strong but different personality traits. Rose is a waitress who captures Pinkie’s eye. They quickly become inseparable but their relationship is very destructive. Ida was a friend of the murdered man and has taken it on herself to investigate his death. Through her investigations she uncovers disturbing details of the Brighton gangster culture & of Pinkie’s violent agenda. She becomes increasingly disturbed by Pinkie & Rose’s volatile relationship & fears for Roses’ life. Both female characters display moments of great strength which I particularly find appealing in a crime story.

The story is complex and the main characters (Pinkie, Rose & Ida) are very interesting as you get to know them. While reading I had to wonder whether Pinkie is a crazed sociopath or a confused young man striving for self-worth and struggling to fit in? I will leave anyone who wants to read this book to make their own judgement. It’s a pessimistic and very dark read but it will have you turning the pages right until the very end. I have not seen this years movie but am looking forward to seeing how it has made the transition. Continue reading →

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A favourite of mine – Great Expectations!

Posted on 30 June 2011 by

Was there ever a novelist who created more memorable characters than Dickens?

Great Expectations is my favourite novel Dickens wrote. I first read it in high school and have recently read it again. I remember it got criticized for being too dark, apparently Dickens’ wrote it when he was in a depressed state of mind. I however think it is inspirational. For me it is about wanting to achieve greatness despite everything seeming to be beyond one’s reach. That’s my simple interpretation.

It is written in first-person which helps illustrate the protagonist’s coming of age, it follows Pip from orphan boy to gentleman. Pip is being brought up by his sister and her husband but this isn’t a loving family arrangement and he is sent to live with the rich Miss Harisham, an intriguing and somewhat crazy woman. Also living with Miss Harisham is Estella, a beautiful young girl who is being taught by Miss Harisham to use her beauty to torment the men around her. After a while Pip falls in love with Estella but Estella does show any desire for his affections. When Pip is offered an education inLondonhe eagerly accepts as he sees this as the opportunity he yearns for to become a man of means and worthy of Estella’s love. Once inLondonhe soon starts to look down upon his humble upbringing & when he learns that Estella has married he is both angered and saddened. He also finds out that the money for his education came from the dishonest earnings of a convict he once helped escape years earlier. This sends Pip into despair but it does help him understand the true value of life.

It really is a classic and if you have not read it you should. If you have read it I strongly encourage you to give it another read as you will probably get allot more out if it the second time around.
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Oranges and Sunshine – a true story

Posted on 28 June 2011 by

Oranges and sunshine follows one woman’s plight to get justice for thousands of children who were wrongly shipped off to Australia to be given a ‘new and better’ life. The British government took these children from their parents as it believed Australia would give them a better lifestyle. When Margaret Humphrey heard a woman talk about her story of being sent by boat to Australia at the age of 4 with the idea of a ‘better’ life, she was a little disturbed. After further investigation Margaret learnt of the atrocity that occurred not only to this one woman but to thousands of British children. She knew she had a big story that the world deserved to know of.

So Margaret and her team began an endevour to find these children and reunite them with their parents. She is a remarkable woman who has not only reunited many families but has helped these people start to come to terms with what happened. My heart broke after reading what these children went through and what they have endured throughout their lives as a direct consequence of being torn apart from their parents.

The story is a truly sad and delicate read and also very well written. I became more and more shocked and saddened as I read and I had trouble coming to terms with the fact that this was still happening into the seventies. The book will really take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. While I found joy in reading about those who were lucky enough to be reunited I felt heartache for those who it was too late for.

Worldwide attention has been given to this story when it first broke and now it has been made into a movie for the big screen. Both the book and the movie are memorable and will leave you with a lasting impression of mixed emotions.
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