Can't Miss Upcoming Book to Screen Adaptations

Do you have a favourite novel you would love brought to life on the big or small screen? Got some beloved characters that you would like to see in reality - and find out if the movie-makers imagine them just like you?

Maybe you just like watching the movie so you can say, ‘The book was better.’

There’s just something we love about an adored book being turned into a movie or TV adaptation. Did you watch Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit series’ last year? You may not have realised that they both came from books.

Check out this list of upcoming book to screen adaptations - you are sure to find something to get you pretty excited.

Jane Austen

Do you love a little bit of Austen? There is just something special about these gorgeous stories that still resonates with lovers and dreamers today, while the author’s criticism of social roles and norms is ever-relevant.

Netflix has got in the works a contemporary Pride & Prejudice adaptation called The Netherfield Girls which will be well worth a look. The flirtation and witty interplay of Eliza and Mr Darcy transports beautifully to the challenges of dating in an online world. 

There is also a modern-day Persuasion movie adaptation on Netflix starring Dakota Johnson, which is due to be released in 2022. Or if you are more of a traditionalist, there is also a period-set movie in production starring the brilliant Sarah Snook with the release date yet to be announced.

Shakespeare

Could you imagine a more gloriously tortured Macbeth than Denzel Washington? Nope, neither can we.

The Tragedy of MacBeth is directed by Joel Coen and is presented in black and white - gloomy, moody and full of beauty and angst. It also stars acting powerhouses Frances McDormand and Brendan Gleeson who are always wonderful, so if you love the Bard, you will likely love this.

Sci-Fiction

For fantasy and sci-fi fans we’ve got some great classics in the works. 

Frank Herbert’s Dune has been often described as unfilmable, and that bringing this incredible tale to the screen would never truly give it justice. 

Some people thought that of Stephen King’s It too, but the recent adaptations of this awesome novel show that modern filmmaking has finally caught up with the imaginations of our best horror writers. 

Dune was filmed not long after the book was released in 1984, but was somehow not a patch on the novel. The upcoming 2022 Dune looks a bit more impressive, with modern effects, a massive budget, and stars like Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa.

We are also very excited about an upcoming TV series based on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The 2005 film adaptation was very good, but there was so much more detail that could have been included - a full length television series was always going to be the best way to go.

And while we’re discussing books that deserved a full-length TV series, The Lord of the Rings is getting the Game of Thrones treatment and turning up on our small screens sometime next year or later. This television adaptation of the beloved Tolkien stories is said to be the most expensive TV show ever made.

What else has got us excited?

The 1929 novella Passing by Nella Larsen made some noise at Sundance earlier this year and will be released soon on Netflix. This is the story of two high school friends who reunite as grown women - both are African-American but one of them ‘passes’ as white and has married a white man with no knowledge of her ancestry.

Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile movie starring Gal Gadot is due next year. Directed by Kenneth Branagh who also stars as Hercule Poirot, if you enjoyed the fun of the star-studded Murder on the Orient Express then you should get in line for this next one.

Across the River and Into the Trees is Hemingway’s beautiful tale of romance set in Italy in the first world war, the story of American officer’s love for a young italian woman. Starring Liev Shrieber, the film is in the editing stages as I write this article, and hopefully will be released in the coming year.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a sweeping, multi-generational story filled with interesting characters, that kind of begs to make it to the screen. Netflix are developing this story into a must-see series which is still in pre-production, with no release date as yet. 

Get ready to binge.

Review - The Jungle Book

Thanks to Kimberley for this guest review of our June Classic!

“A man-trained boy would have been badly bruised, for the fall was a good fifteen feet, but Mowgli fell as Baloo had taught him to fall, and landed on his feet”

I have been reading the Disney version of the Jungle Book to my 3yr old a lot lately and was excited to be reading the original classic this month. If all you know of The Jungle Book is the film adaptions then you may be surprised to know that the book is an anthology of short stories and songs - only a few of which relate to Mowgli, our lost little man-cub.

Also different in the movie are the characters of Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa. Baloo trains the wolf Cubs and is just as rough with Mowgli as he is with the Cubs as he teaches them the law of the jungle. Kaa too, the sneaky snake I thought always wanted to harm Mowgli, is actually an ally!

In the other short stories are the tales of Rikki Tikki Tavi - a loveable mongoose, Toomai, the elephant boy, and Kotick, the White Seal. Exploring themes like courage, loyalty, friendship and love, Kipling’s showcases these animals in an interesting and enjoyable way.

They always say the book is better than the movie and while I don’t think that’s completely true in this case (sorry, Kipling), there were definitely interesting moments from Mowgli’s stories that I enjoyed. It was intriguing, a little magical, a little nostalgic in places, and perhaps a little boring in places too. All in all, a nice little read.

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The Jungle Book featured in the June 2021 Classic parcel. Past parcels are available for purchase here. Subscribe for next month’s parcel here.

Novels Ahead of Their Time

Sometimes the brilliance of a novel can’t truly be seen until many years after it was written. There are many books and authors that were ahead of their time, and that covered topics and ideas that society wasn’t quite ready for yet.

These may not have sold well upon first release, but have come to be appreciated for their greatness decades later. Here are some of the most prolific and debated novels ever published, which went on to be applauded as ahead of their time.

Top 12 Novels Ahead of Their Time

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

When it was published in 1962 it was extraordinary shocking - covering divisive subjects of violence and drugs, and generally quite bleak in tone. It wasn’t actually widely accepted until after the movie was released. This was an influential novel telling a story of a dark dystopian future, which at times is a frightening depiction of good and evil and the grey in between.

You might also love: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien

Inventive and funny, this 1932 novel is renowned for a wicked sense of humour and for playing on the traditional model of what a novel should be. This is the story of a writer writing about another writer, whose characters rebel against him in some clever and bizarre ways. This is an intelligent story that has become a modern classic.

You might also love: Murphy by Samuel Beckett

Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses has been called a major achievement in 20th-century literature. Based loosely on The Odyssey, it tells the story of a number of people across a single day in Dublin in 1904. Filled with fun, exciting and at times vulgar characters, the author plays with some extraordinary styles of writing and storytelling in this book.

You might also love: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon  

1984 by George Orwell

When 1984 was published in 1949 it was a nightmarish tale of the future, which scarily became more and more prophetic as the years passed. Even if you haven’t read this novel before, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid its effect on modern culture. Through this novel, we were introduced to Big Brother and a society in which nothing the citizens do is private anymore. 

You might also love: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Published in 1847 under a male pseudonym, this classic was highly controversial at the time for its description of mental illness, physical cruelty, and criticism of religion, class, and a woman’s expected place in society. Essentially a love story, Wuthering Heights is a story of deeply flawed characters and their hold on each other’s minds and hearts.

You might also love: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is a simple yet unforgettable tale set in a small town in Alabama, which became a popular and critical success almost instantly. This is now a very well known story of a crisis of conscience and a lawyer who was doing the best to raise his children right in a difficult world and time. It won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to be made into an Academy Award-winning film.

You might also love: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Written when Shelley was just 18, this novel was a very early example of horror, science fiction, and the possibilities and dangers of modern technology. This is a witty story from a strong female voice, considered to be quite hard-hitting and politically challenging upon its release in 1818.

You might also love: Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka

I am cheated a little here because this one isn’t really a novel, but a collection of Kafka’s best and boldest stories. Renowned for getting people thinking and arguing, the point of view in these stories is quite innovative, and would go on to influence a great many writers in the future.

You might also love: Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stowe was one of the first American writers to raise public awareness of the cruelty of slavery, and this book was largely discredited in the South when it was published.

It was controversial and has been often used since as an educational and enlightening novel showing how things were done at the time of writing. But it is also a really great adventure story and well worth a read.

You might also love: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Written in 1899, this was a revolutionary story of infidelity, in a time when considering such acts would make proper members of society turn white. Uninhibited and beautifully written, this novel was one of the first to discuss a female protagonist seeking physical pleasure through love and sex.

You might also love: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This was one of the first novels to place a black woman front and centre as a powerful protagonist - seeking identity, independence, and fulfilment not just a role as a wife or mother. It was poorly received upon release but has over time become well-loved and lauded for being an important novel about strength of race and gender.

You might also love: Native Son by Richard Wright

Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

You probably remember discovering this one for yourself when you were a tween, but at the time it was written, this novel was a rare honest depiction of how your body and mind changes with puberty.

This novel, and most of Blume’s others written in the 1970s were fresh and inspiring for young women at the time, and connected with girls in a way that nothing had before.

You might also love: Blubber by Judy Blume

Review - The Great Gatsby

Do I really need to begin with a synopsis? The Great Gatsby is probably one of the most well-known and well-read English language novels from the 20th century, so I expect that you’ve at least probably heard of it, if not seen the movie or been forced to read it in high school. But, just in case…

The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, and is set predominantly in and around New York City in 1922. Nick Carraway moves to New York to join the ‘bond business’, and ends up renting a small house in the (I assume) fictional village of West Egg, next door to the mysterious and very rich Jay Gatsby. The story is full of lavish Jazz Age parties, class divides and some thoroughly unlikeable characters. It is also beautifully written and thought-provoking, and is often called ‘the great american novel’.

RDo I really need to begin with a synopsis? The Great Gatsby is probably one of the most well-known and well-read English language novels from the 20th century, so I expect that you’ve at least probably heard of it, if not seen the movie or been forced to read it in high school. But, just in case…

The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, and is set predominantly in and around New York City in 1922. Nick Carraway moves to New York to join the ‘bond business’, and ends up renting a small house in the (I assume) fictional village of West Egg, next door to the mysterious and very rich Jay Gatsby. The story is full of lavish Jazz Age parties, class divides and some thoroughly unlikeable characters. It is also beautifully written and thought-provoking, and is often called ‘the great american novel’.

This is not the first time I’ve read The Great Gatsby, but I think it has been the most enjoyable. I held off my re-read until May parcels had been sent, so that I could more easily join in with the group readalong I had planned for our Facebook book club. It was fun to talk through some of my thoughts with others, both on Facebook and via Instagram. I think I have also developed a deeper appreciation for Fitzgerald’s style of writing, even as I’ve also come to more deeply dislike the characters.

While I am not usually one for lengthy descriptions, I really did find myself enjoying Fitzgerald’s scene-setting. For example, “The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens - finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run.” I also found Nick’s musings and observations to be thought provoking, and only a little (ok sometimes a lot) pretentious.

I had an interesting discussion though, with a fellow reader on Instagram. Is Gatsby really that great? We think perhaps not. Our narrator definitely thinks so, and I vaguely remember thinking that Gatsby’s story was a little romantic when I first read it, but honestly? As a critical adult? It’s kinda creepy. Rising above his station is all very American Dream, but I didn’t find myself rooting for Gatsby and Daisy as a couple. As miserable as Daisy seemed to be with the frankly horrific Tom, I’m not sure that somehow ending up with Gatsby would’ve been all that good for her either. In the end, we renamed the book The Flawed and Occasionally Ridiculous Gatsby.

Have you read The Great Gatsby? How would you retitle it? Come chat to me on Instagram - I’d love to hear your thoughts!