the trouble with love is

book: shutter island
author: Denis Lehane
method: purchased
completion date: 25/05/10

i hate comparing books to movies. its just not fair- movies haven't been around as long as novels. they are totally different mediums. but regardless we seem obsessed with making our books into movies. i suppose for movie writers a library is like a free idea bank. i can't even express how sick i am of seeing 'inspired by' or 'based on'. because you will never see the label 'copied verbatim' which is the one most fans seem to want to see.
i saw the movie shutter island first and really liked it. i had already decided that i was going to read the novel (based on numerous recommendations) and the deal was sealed when i found a cheap paperback copy (cheap paperbacks will slowly become the death of me). i found i was unable to really compare the two. i maintain that books and movies are different mediums and no matter what the same story isn't going to be communicated in the same way. but i loved both of them. the movie was engrossing and well told and the book was so engrossing it was a one day read. i was 20 pages away from the end when my bf and friend showed up for dinner. i didn't want to but i had to finish the book before following the conversation (even though i knew how it ended)
with lehane what i loved was how he writes dream imagery (which the book heavily relies on). he doesn't try to create a clear narrative within the dream and characters frequently change faces and bodies which is typical in dreams. teddys situation is so distressing and the resolution is so heartbreaking.
the one strength the movie had over the novel was the atmosphere (or should i say atmosFEAR). something about the fog and the shifty eyes of the actors just caused the hebitty-jebbities to run up and down my spine. the book did this too, but it focused more on what was going on in teddys head which was just as terrifying and upsetting (DON'T TAKE THE FUCKING PIIILLLS). my father tells me that shutter island is the worst (relatively) of lehanes books and if this is the case i'm more than looking forward to reading more of lehane's mysteries.
xo -ellebee