I read The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood years ago, and I was obsessed with it. So when I heard the movie was coming, I was really looking forward to watching it.
I have seen it now, and of course, there were differences, as usual with book adaptations.
But there was one scene I was actually looking forward to.
That scene where the seats are full and Adam has to carry Olive on his thigh.
And the funny thing is, I didn’t go looking for what was going to be in the movie and what wasn’t going to be in it. I wanted it to just unveil itself to me while I watched.
So I was watching, waiting…
And when I realised that scene wasn’t going to happen?
Heartbreaking.
Honestly, heartbreaking.
It’s funny how you can read a book years ago and still remember these little moments. Not necessarily the biggest scenes, but those little things that stuck with you.
When this year began, somewhere around the 5th of January, I got tired of waiting for People We Meet on Vacation and so I started watching The Diplomat… Just a little something to hold me till the 9th of January. I enjoyed The Diplomat so much that I decided to finish it up even when the long awaited movie dropped.
Today I finally saw the movie.
People We Meet on Vacation is an adaptation of Emily Henry’s novel with the same title.
I had jumped on the novel the moment I learned that the adaptation was in production. It was in fact my second Emily Henry read, just after Book Lovers. I always love to do that; read a book and then see what film makers will make of it.
What did I think of this one?
It was nicely done. I had been worried about how well they could fit the back and forth of ten years as written in the book. They managed just fine… Not leaving too much from the book out of the film.
It’s a story about two longtime friends who take yearly trips together, they slowly realize that the person who feels most like home may also be the one they’re afraid to choose.
I have left details of the story out so as not to create any spoilers for anyone.
I was 50 minutes into the 1949 adaptation of The Great Gatsby when I said a little prayer;
“O dear lord. Pardon my condescending heart… But I feel sorry for people who dont read.” Especially when I read a book, and then I see its film adaptation.
But then, I found myself defending myself…. oh, how human of me… right?
I told myself; It’s not condescension… it’s the ache of someone who knows what the full feast tastes like and then watches others settle for crumbs.
When you read a book, you carry the author’s voice, the nuance, the internal worlds, and the slow bloom of meaning. A film, no matter how brilliant, can only give a slice of that. So when I see an adaptation, I feel the gap. I see everything that was left behind… but I love films… so I keep doing this to myself… over and over again… how pathetic. I guess I am not pitying them as people… I think I am grieving what they are missing out on.
I have always wanted to read The Great Gatsby. Over the years, I found it was a common and popular material in western literature.
Two reasons why I have never read it is one, I never did literature in my secondary school days, and two, The Great Gatsby isn’t a popular selection in the curriculum here in Nigeria.
I finally read it yesterday. It was a lazy Sunday, and I chewed on it from morning, and by bedtime, I was done.
I was carried away by the beautiful way it was narrated and by the witty humor, so much that I didn’t even know when tragedy hit me. It was a complete shift. A full 360 degrees.
I loved what F. Scott Fitzgerald did to me.
Do I wish I read it sooner? No. I think I read at the right moment of my life.
It was worth every page.
I spent most of my night reading reviews and literary analysis on this book… that’s how much I loved it.
For anyone who has read it, care to share anything with me?
