There are two types of people in this world. Those who read a book first then watch the adaptation, and those who watch the adaptation and then read the book.
While there is no scientific evidence on just how to split this, I asked my immediate team what they did.
For TheLatch— beauty and wellness Editor, Alex, it’s only natural that she reads a book first because she’s more of a bookworm. Katie, our lifestyle editor, flits between the two based on reviews and word of mouth, although — as a general rule, would choose to read the book first.
For me, I’ve always been a “watch first, read later” person. In fact, I would often see a film and then go out of my way to buy the book.
When I was in my mid to late teens, I watched Fight Club for the first time. The story was intriguing and gritty, completely different from anything I had seen before. After watching it, I read the book — and in my opinion, it was even better than the film. Upon doing some research, I found out that one of the film’s producers, Ross Grayson Bell had actually picked up a copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name and after reading that twist, he knew he had to turn it into a movie.
So, hoping for a similar outcome — by means of which I would thoroughly enjoy it — I picked up the novel Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran. The novel was the inspiration and story for the TV series of the same name (streaming on Stan).
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I’ve been an avid fan of Younger since the beginning of its run. I’m a huge fan of Sutton Foster, love Hilary Duff as Kelsey and much to the chagrin of many, have been Team Charles since day dot.
But when I picked up the novel and started reading, the uneasiness set in. While the premise was there, the characters were nothing like the show. Liza was now Alice, Josh was now a game designer, Kelsey was now Lindsay with the red hair, Diana was the name of Alice’s daughter and not her boss, her boss was now Teri Jordan, her ex-husband was now Gary, “Alice” now works at Gentility Press not Empirical and the ultimate sin — there. is. no. Charles.
Now, I’m all for an adaptation following loosely on a story, however, this time around, watching the TV show first has simply stolen my joy.
I’m annoyed I can’t imagine my favourite actors playing the part — especially when they’re physical characteristics have changed. It’s incredibly confusing and not fun at all.
As a positive, the story will ultimately play out differently — especially when Charles is not in the mix (blasphemy) — so it’s up to me and my imagination to somehow keep on getting through it. It’s actually a very fun read if you take away my neurosis. One of those books you can’t put down at the beach. And maybe this is a lesson learned.
Maybe, I’m now a book before adaptation kind of girl? But, will an adaptation ever be enough for me after reading the novel?
While I ponder this, one thing I know for sure is that Younger is stealing my joy.
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