Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome! Today’s topic is an awesome audio adaptation. I have to confess that I am not 100% sure what this topic means, but I assume it means a musical, as I decided to go with a favorite!
Aside from Disney movies or those featuring the Muppets, The Phantom of the Opera may have been the first musical I fell in love with. The 2004 movie entranced me so much and quickly became one of my favorite movies for quite a time, and seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway also became a top priority for my bucket list. Fortunately, I was able to fulfill this as a sophomore in college. I was in New York for a trip with my church’s college group, and on our free day a group of friends and I grabbed tickets and headed off to see it!
I was undoubtedly freezing while this picture was being taken, but also quite excited! And the year after I saw the musical, my favorite American Idol contestant of Season 7 (AKA the winner!) David Cook did an amazing cover of the song on the show:
This still gets play time on my iPod.
In short, I think the 2004 film is a magical experience, between the haunting music and the stunning visuals. I get that Gerard Butler isn’t an amazing singer, but I quite enjoy him in the role and I have really gotten used to his voice in these songs (though I would gladly listen to David Cook’s version of all the songs as well!). In the movie, I think my favorite part might be when Christine and The Phantom sing “Past the Point of No Return,” even if it is a bit creepy. Something that was pulled off quite well in the movie but I especially loved seeing in the stage production is the performance of “Masquerade.” The stairs! The costumes! It’s just a delight! Check out this film yet if you haven’t already! And I still need to read the book!
It was love at first sight for me and the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and after that I sought out more Jane Austen stories. I read the book and I also watched movie versions of Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion. (Still need to seek out Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park!) But I found while reading P&P that while I loved a Jane Austen story, I didn’t exactly love her writing style.
Fast forward a few years, to last year to be exact, when I decided that I wanted to slowly work my way through all of Jane Austen’s novels, just because. I decided to read Northanger Abbey, since I didn’t know the story, and I thought it might help me appreciate the book a little more. In a way, I think it accomplished this. Then this year, after reading the Persuasion retelling For Darkness Shows the Stars, I decided I was due for a re-watch of the movie, and that maybe it was about time to read my third Austen novel.
I did struggle with it. Jane Austen has a way with writing a really boring chapter about something that seems innate, but then there will be a wonderful, interesting scene that gets cut just way too short. I don’t know why she elaborates on the boring and minimizes the romance, especially since the romance seems to be the point of the book (I suppose there is social commentary as well, but it’s time specific and hard for me to really appreciate). So if you want my thoughts on Persuasion the book, I give it three stars.
Now for the story itself, including Diana Peterfreund’s retelling of it. Anne Elliot (or just Elliot in FDSTS) at first seems a little meek (though less so, again, in FDSTS, but the similarities are there). She lives in a society where things are a certain way, and so she tries to live this way. She listens to her elders and respects them, but after years of living with regret, she knows she still loves Captain Frederick Wentworth (Captain Kai Wentforth in FDSTS). Anne (Elliot) sees the choice she made as necessary at the time but very unfortunate, since her heart obviously still wishes she had not made that choice. Elliot feels like she owes it to her family and their estate. Anne feels it would have been a foolish risk eight years earlier when she was only 19 and he had no money. Anne (Elliot) is smart, and I think that is clear both in the original book and in FDSTS.
In the book Persuasion, Captain Wentworth’s flirting was not nearly as obvious as the movie adaptation or in FDSTS, because Austen never shows him flirting, she just tells you he does it. Kai in FDSTS honestly made me kind of mad… he was flat out rude to Elliot on multiple occasions! Captain Wentworth is a little cold towards Anne in the original story, but he is mostly civil and you can better sympathize with him.
And then there’s Mr. Elliot, who I find interesting in the movie and in FDSTS.
Since “Mr. Elliot” is named Benedict in For Darkness Shows the Stars, I just pictured him as Benedict Cumberbatch.
In the book Persuasion, Mr. Elliot doesn’t get much face time. And honestly, everything with him is pretty boring until the concert scene when suddenly he’s like, “You know, it’d be great if you never had to change your name,” and then Anne notices Captain Wentworth getting jealous (hands-down, best chapter in the book BTW). But in the movie, he’s somewhat charming. And in FDSTS, though I got a bad vibe from Benedict at first, I almost liked him by the time he came on to Elliot. And what he was saying made sense. I mean, it seemed like Kai still might never forgive her and the two of them might not be so bad a match. Mind you, I wasn’t actually rooting for Team Benedict here, or for Team Mr. Elliot in the movie for that matter, but he seems like a more viable option than he does in the original book. In FDSTS, Elliot almost seems to consider his offer. Not quite, not really, but almost. She doesn’t say no right away and she understands the logic, but of course she doesn’t love him and she still loves Kai. So I was a little sad with how underwhelming his character actually seemed in the original story. But maybe it was because I had checked out of the story at this point, at least until Austen got back to the good, juicy stuff.
But no matter what version it is, it ends well.
So if you’ve read Persuasion, what do you think of it? And if you’ve seen/read other adaptations of it, how do they compare for you? And am I the only one who loves Jane Austen’s stories but doesn’t love her writing?
Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome! Today’s topic is an awesomely French adaptation.
I had three different movies in the running for the theme of a French adaptation, but since my husband just got the Les Mis movie soundtrack for his birthday and we’ve been listening to the music since, It seemed like the most appropriate choice. And though the movie is not French, it’s hard to find a movie that looks more French, at least in volume of French flags featured in the film…
I have yet to read this brick of a book yet, but it’s clear the musical and movie adaptations are quite condensed. But the gist of the story is: Jean Valjean steals bread, does time, breaks parole, receives a blessing from a bishop, dedicates himself to a better life, takes a young girl as his own daughter after he watches her mother die, and tries to stay out of the grasp of Javert.
My favorite part of the story, or at least of the 2012 adaptation, is when Cosette is grown. I wish I knew more about what drove these young men to fight, though I certainly feel their emotions through their songs (“Red and Black,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,”Drink With Me”) . I also wish I could have seen more of Eponine and Marius’ friendship, and Cosette and Marius’ relationship (because from my understanding, in the book they actually had one, not quite just flat out insta-love), because I really love all their songs as well (“In My Life,” “A Heart Full Of Love,” “On My Own,” “A Little Fall of Rain”).
Ultimately, it’s a story of grace and redemption, a story I feel we as people often need to be told.
What do you think of Les Miserables? Or what’s your favorite “awesomely French” adaptation?
Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic was Top 10 Contemporary Books That Would Be Great Paired With A Required Reading Book OR Top Ten Books That You Wish Were Taught In Schools. Even though these are both great topics, I struggled with coming up with ten, and decided to focus on the books I wish I had read in school. Some people have read these for school, but every curriculum is different, and these are ones I wish I had been assigned to read (especially in place of some of my least favorites). This week’s list is separated by category.
The Classics That I Still Haven’t Gotten Around to Reading
Classics are intimidating, which is why they make us read them in school, right? Because otherwise, we might not pick them up. Or are we intimidated by them because they were required reading in school? Hmmm… Regardless, they can’t make us read them all, because there are so many of them! But some I kind of wanted to read, or want to read now, but I might be intimidated for one reason or another, or just haven’t gotten around to it for one reason or another.
(Somewhat) Classic Books I Enjoyed After Graduating
I’m noticing that there was a severe lack of dystopia reading in my school curriculum, which makes me sad. I missed out the poignant The Giver and the interesting Anthem, both which are nice short reads might I add. And while I don’t really consider Ender’s Game dystopia as much as sci-fi, I think it would still be a good school read that can get kids to thinking about the future.
Published After Graduating High School (or College), but Would Have Been Awesome to Read for School!
These were published in 2012, 2006, and 2008 respectively, all after I finished high school and Cinder after college, so I never would have really had the chance to read these in the classroom. But how great it would have been! You could read the original story of Cinderella before Cinder and then compare the two! The Book Thief offers a unique perspective on WWII you’re not going to find in history books, plus the prose is lovely. And then The Hunger Games is a true dystopia (much more so than many other YA “dystopias” that have emerged since), but is more interesting and friendly to read than, say, 1984. I think these more contemporary books would be great required reads.
What do you think? What books do you wish you had read for school?
Pivot Pointis a contemporary veiled with a paranormal vibe, but not of the werewolf or vampire variety, but of the special abilities variety. Addie’s ability is to see into possible futures when faced with a choice. This is her biggest choice yet: to live with her mom or to live with her dad when they decide to get a divorce. Warning: there is mild, vague almost-spoiler below… it’s hard to discuss my feelings on the story without a vague mention of the ending…
When I started reading Pivot Point and came to realize it was more contemporary than sci-fi, I didn’t think I would end up liking it as much as I did. However, the interesting and yet totally believable technology of the Compound, Addie’s personality, and her interactions with Trevor all drew me into the story. And though I knew ahead of time this was the concept, I still found it really neat basically the whole book is two different stories, and only one of them will actually play out. Elements from both stories also show up in the other story in unexpected ways.
It seemed really obvious to me early on which life was the superior one, but then something happens towards the end of the Search that forces Addie to question what to do in order to both keep a promise and to help the person she cares about most. Though I wanted to believe she could somehow solve the problem differently than she chose to, her solution was creative and probably the best choice she could make under the circumstances.
I could really relate to Addie’s character. She always does the right thing, she isn’t impressed by people just because they’re popular, and she loves to read. That was what made it hard to watch her seem to change in one of the possible paths, but after it was all said and done everything made much more sense. The fact that she had a best friend who was so different from her I could also relate to, because I too have been known to stay loyal to old friends who are completely different from me.
I also found the overall writing style enjoyable as well as the story, and even though the story felt fairly complete on its own, it did make me want to check out the sequel when it comes out.
Content Advisory: Some mild language and violence, and a non-graphic mention of sexual assault.
Have you read Pivot Point? What were your thoughts?
Aside from Disney movies or those featuring the Muppets, The Phantom of the Opera may have been the first musical I fell in love with. The 2004 movie entranced me so much and quickly became one of my favorite movies for quite a time, and seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway also became a top priority for my bucket list. Fortunately, I was able to fulfill this as a sophomore in college. I was in New York for a trip with my church’s college group, and on our free day a group of friends and I grabbed tickets and headed off to see it!
What do you think of Phantom of the Opera?
