Category Archives: Books on the Big Screen

“Room” by Emma Donoghue (2010) and “The Collector” by John Fowles (1963) – giving ‘small but perfectly formed’ a whole new dimension

Posted on February 15, 2016 by

The brilliant Baftas were just upon us again, and another baby star is coincidentally born, with the heart-stopping performance of Jacob Tremblay as five year-old Jack. When I read “Room” for the first time, my own daughter was 12 and we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

“War & Peace” by Leo Tolstoy (1869) – whatever am I going to do with myself now?

Posted on February 8, 2016 by

All good things, so so sadly, must come to an eventual end. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride trying to gallop alongside the heinously cropped 6-hour adaptation of this epic novel, and I almost came out of the saddle … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen, Classics Club Challenge | Tagged , | 23 Comments

Colm Tóibín – a man for all seasons? – the jury’s out…

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

Having spent a not inconsiderable amount of time over previous days proposing wildly romantic things for people to do in Paris over the Saint Valentin period, it struck me that the main character of Colm Toibin’s recent novel “Nora Webster” … Continue reading →

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“Lady Chatterley’s lover” by D.H. Lawrence (1928) – taking the John Thomas, sorry, the mickey – and welcome to “Whoar”, oops “War & Peace”

Posted on January 10, 2016 by

Back in the autumn, the BBC revisited Lady Chatterley and strapping Oliver Mellors, and after watching the rose-tinted version with a certain sense of bafflement, was tickled to pick up the battered (complete and unexpurgated) copy on the shelf and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen, Classics Club Challenge | Tagged , | 10 Comments

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (2009) – a whole new take on ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’

Posted on December 12, 2015 by

It’s taken me all this time to watch the film of the book I enjoyed reading so much the year it was published, with its Stepford Wives’ flavour and heady swipe at the treatment of the hired help in Jackson, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Baileys’ Women’s Prize for Fiction Best of the Decade OR “What a blinkin’ performance!”

Posted on December 5, 2015 by

It took an imminently expiring passport (you know that sinking “how did you let this happen” feeling?) and a belligerent bloke at the British Consulate here in Paree – “Désolé, Madame, mais le système a changé…” – to force a welcome … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Prizes, Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

“The Go-Between” by L. P. Hartley (1953) – between the devil and the deep blue

Posted on October 4, 2015 by

The BBC has a lot to answer for. All those carefully and lovingly prepared piles of books to be read in a certain order keep getting re-arranged, as not a week seems to go by without another new adaptation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Books on the Big Screen, Classics Club Challenge | Tagged , , | 21 Comments