At the beginning of the year I went to the cinema and saw 'The Spectacular Now,' which I thoroughly enjoyed watching, as it was realistic, not glamourised and was a cute story that depicted a short chapter of someone's life. I didn't know it was based on a book until a was browsing through a book store and saw it on the shelf. I was pleasantly surprised by this and decided to buy it, as I knew how much I liked the movie and was interested to read what the book was like.
'The Spectacular Now' is written by Tim Tharp, who has written other books, which I'm interested in reading as well, because I really thought this a delightful read. It isn't a long novel, and is easy reading; it is short and sweet, which sometimes is the best sort of books. The protagonist, Sutter Keely is a charming and loveable character, who you wouldn't mind to have as a friend. He is the "master of the party" but also "a midnight philosopher," who meets this girl, Aimee, who finds him passed out on someone's front lawn. She is the "social disaster" who allows everyone to walk over her, and Sutter sees it as his mission to help her get confidence to stand up for what she wants, meanwhile, a sweet relationship forms. However, the story isn't exclusively about that, but also about Sutter's outlook of the world, of living in the "spectacular now"and seeing the beauty in everything. I loved reading about what he thought, because it was so honest and refreshing; he allowed for things to seem magical in a place where many imperfections were found- living with the "miraculous."
I do recommend this book, as it is a light read, that does cover domestic problems, yet is able make you smile and acknowledge a way of looking at life- making you think about how to look at life, for better and for worse. And the ending of the novel, which differed from the movie, is that the novel was left open, as if to show that the story does still continue even after the book has ended, which sometimes annoys me, but for this case, I thought Tim Tharp's ending was appropriate. Meanwhile, I think the ending of the film suited the story too, leaving it more rounded, which I think is better when it comes to movies.
Miles Teller played an excellent Sutter, managing to take on the beguiling role with ease, with Shailene Woodley as a believable Aimee. One of my favourite aspects of the film was how realistic and genuine everything seemed. For example, there was no evidence of makeup, which allowed the audience to see all the imperfections of an actor, which contributed to the vulnerability of each character and the rawness of emotions expressed.
Also, even though in a summary, it sounds like a stereotypical storyline, 'The Spectacular Now' is anything but. When watching the movie, I had no idea where the story was heading, and I remember distinctly at one point I gasped in surprise and having to cover my mouth with my hand to suppress my shock. When reading the book, I already knew what was happening, however, I enjoyed reading it without thinking "that's not how they did it in the movie" or picturing the actors in my head, which can sometimes happen when you watch the film before reading the book. Instead, it was a separate experience that I loved so much and accepted as the book in it's own right.
'The Spectacular Now' is written by Tim Tharp, who has written other books, which I'm interested in reading as well, because I really thought this a delightful read. It isn't a long novel, and is easy reading; it is short and sweet, which sometimes is the best sort of books. The protagonist, Sutter Keely is a charming and loveable character, who you wouldn't mind to have as a friend. He is the "master of the party" but also "a midnight philosopher," who meets this girl, Aimee, who finds him passed out on someone's front lawn. She is the "social disaster" who allows everyone to walk over her, and Sutter sees it as his mission to help her get confidence to stand up for what she wants, meanwhile, a sweet relationship forms. However, the story isn't exclusively about that, but also about Sutter's outlook of the world, of living in the "spectacular now"and seeing the beauty in everything. I loved reading about what he thought, because it was so honest and refreshing; he allowed for things to seem magical in a place where many imperfections were found- living with the "miraculous."I do recommend this book, as it is a light read, that does cover domestic problems, yet is able make you smile and acknowledge a way of looking at life- making you think about how to look at life, for better and for worse. And the ending of the novel, which differed from the movie, is that the novel was left open, as if to show that the story does still continue even after the book has ended, which sometimes annoys me, but for this case, I thought Tim Tharp's ending was appropriate. Meanwhile, I think the ending of the film suited the story too, leaving it more rounded, which I think is better when it comes to movies.
Miles Teller played an excellent Sutter, managing to take on the beguiling role with ease, with Shailene Woodley as a believable Aimee. One of my favourite aspects of the film was how realistic and genuine everything seemed. For example, there was no evidence of makeup, which allowed the audience to see all the imperfections of an actor, which contributed to the vulnerability of each character and the rawness of emotions expressed.Also, even though in a summary, it sounds like a stereotypical storyline, 'The Spectacular Now' is anything but. When watching the movie, I had no idea where the story was heading, and I remember distinctly at one point I gasped in surprise and having to cover my mouth with my hand to suppress my shock. When reading the book, I already knew what was happening, however, I enjoyed reading it without thinking "that's not how they did it in the movie" or picturing the actors in my head, which can sometimes happen when you watch the film before reading the book. Instead, it was a separate experience that I loved so much and accepted as the book in it's own right.
No comments:
Post a Comment