Had to study the book for English this year (Go Bendigo WOO) and even though everyone seems the book sucked, I really liked it, possibly one of the best I've read this year (though I don't read much). How did everyone else feel about the book?
shareThe film and the book are amazing.
shareI love both the movie and the book. The book delved deeper into the different relationships and gave you the history of the characters. It was interesting to see how hard a childhood Romulus had had and how that shaped him as a man and father. Also, the book allowed you to learn about the rest of Raymond's growing up and answered questions I had over what happened to his half-sister, did Romulus marry again, etc. I found the ending very emotional - Raymond's love for his father is so alive in this book - you can feel this more so in the book than in the movie obviously which is why I would say my preference goes to the book.
shareThe book was certainly better. The film managed to make a relatively simple tale needlessly difficult to follow and was surprising flat emotionally.
It's probably worth stating that the book's a fairly concise volume too, so one can quite literally choose between a night in with the book vs. a night in with the film.
Can you share what did happen to Susan? And who/when did Romulus marry (and was it a happy marriage)?
[The film was "emotionally flat?" Hardly! Although I suppose if I read the book first I might understand that relative statement more...]