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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
It's really fascinating how closely the movie follows the book. I can only think of one major instance where they diverge, but the book does have some incidents that were left out of the movie. These scenes though mostly amount to shading, and while they're interesting, they can't compete with the on-screen charm of Michael Douglas and RDJ. It's always strange to me when I like the movie better, but this is one of those cases. Oh, and I totally admit to reading the book in my head in Michael Douglas' voice and imagining Frances McDormand's pained expressions as she deals with him.
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I love Wonder Boys, the movie. It's easily in my top five of movies, and I can't count how many times I have enthusiastically recommended it to people. The book, on the other hand, I've started twice and have yet to make it out of the first chapter. I'm going to do it this time though, I really am.
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I love Wonder Boys, the movie. It's easily in my top five of movies, and I can't count how many times I have enthusiastically recommended it to people. The book, on the other hand, I've started twice and have yet to make it out of the first chapter. I'm going to do it this time though, I really am.
Not sure how much I dig it. The film has always been dear to me, and after reading it, I see where the film missed some spectacular moments to portray. All in all, I'll probably end up watching the film a million more times, and merely remember that I once read the book. And for once, "Hollywood" didn't quite slaughter a book; the film rang very true to it, for the most part (they definitely miscast Sarah [for the best] and Hannah [for the worst]).
There was so much of this book that I forgot over the years and now remember why I loved it so much. I like the fact that, given my current situations, I related a lot to Grady Tripp than I had in my previous run through.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It would have been a lot better without the transphobia
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
not for me. Artsy fartsy and metaphor all over the place. Catcher in the Ryeesque. Needed more action. More interaction. Not just this one main flawed character thinking to himself and occasionally going out and doing symbolic but otherwise boring things.
I enjoyed this more than I expected - particularly when I had to settle for the movie cover, which infuriates me. I didn't enjoy this as much as The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Sometimes Chabon gave me more emotion than I thought possible from him.
This is my favorite book of all time. It has everything. I still remember the first time I read it. This book is like a close friend.
I love reading books about writers. I was a little leery about reading about a washed up writer like Grady Tripp, but good gracious, is he a great narrator. Granted, he spends a lot of time stoned, but the book has a cinematic quality to it that I greatly enjoyed. And I pray that I never have a weekend as packed as the weekend recounted in this book.
Full of engaging characters, a traveling tuba, and beautiful prose, it's a really fun book.
Favorite Quotes (in semi-chronological order that probably falls apart):
- "...it was a love that felt an awful lot like nostalgia."
- "He didn't belong anywhere, but things went much better for him in places where nobody belonged."
- "Every writer has an ideal reader, I thought, and it was just my good luck that mine wanted to sleep with me."
- "...looking with regret at James's knapsack, wishing with my wizened, selfish, black little raisin of a soul..."
- "Poets are not bad dancers as a rule. But we're a little light on poets this year."
- "...and then, with a Vincent Price cackle, unleashed the fledgling writers like a tattered flock of bats."
- "So the tuba and I went to take a look at the babies. There were only two on display at the moment..."
Full of engaging characters, a traveling tuba, and beautiful prose, it's a really fun book.
Favorite Quotes (in semi-chronological order that probably falls apart):
- "...it was a love that felt an awful lot like nostalgia."
- "He didn't belong anywhere, but things went much better for him in places where nobody belonged."
- "Every writer has an ideal reader, I thought, and it was just my good luck that mine wanted to sleep with me."
- "...looking with regret at James's knapsack, wishing with my wizened, selfish, black little raisin of a soul..."
- "Poets are not bad dancers as a rule. But we're a little light on poets this year."
- "...and then, with a Vincent Price cackle, unleashed the fledgling writers like a tattered flock of bats."
- "So the tuba and I went to take a look at the babies. There were only two on display at the moment..."
The more distance I have from the book, the more lukewarm I feel toward it. I feel like I dated a Grady Tripp-type character, which made the book endearing at times (at the time), but we broke up and I think he's a tool now, so what does that say? Meh. Still, it's Chabon, so the writing is good.
Happy New Year!!! First review of 2022.
“The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” was probably my favorite book of all time. I really loved it. So naturally I had very high expectations. I did not like “Wonder Boys” as much. But comparisons aside, it was a very good book.
In the beginning it was a bit slow, but around page 100 I got very invested and it got really awesome. Overall, solid book. Chabon made another banger.
“The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” was probably my favorite book of all time. I really loved it. So naturally I had very high expectations. I did not like “Wonder Boys” as much. But comparisons aside, it was a very good book.
In the beginning it was a bit slow, but around page 100 I got very invested and it got really awesome. Overall, solid book. Chabon made another banger.