At last!! Any other Sarah Waters fans? - Affinity (2008) Discussion

[–] filmbuff87 16 years ago

im reading affinity for the first time right now! i have read all her all other work. waters is a amazing! her stories are sensual and beautiful. as of now, ttv is my favorite book; but maybe after finishing affinity, i'll change my mind.... idk.

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[–] Degausser3 16 years ago

No you won't, not after the ending.

"why don't you have pudding after breakfast?"

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[–] filmbuff87 16 years ago

yeah so i finished affinity... not my favorite!

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[–] ingemund 16 years ago

Affinity is my favorite Sarah Waters book. For me it's Affinity > The Night Watch > Tipping the Velvet > Fingersmith, althought they are ALL so very, very good reads. I like Affinity the best because of the way it's written, and because I just totally, totally fell for it. ;) Love it when that happens, it was just a terrific reading experience for me.

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[–] ambertolover8 16 years ago

I think The Night Watch would make an amazing movie as well as Affinity

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[–] THESTARCHILD_90 16 years ago

I'm so excited! I love the other two film adaptions especially TTV, as well as the novel.

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[–] gold_eagle33 16 years ago

I liked the adaption of TTV way more than the book (and I think that makes me weird). I just finished reading Affinity (haven't gotten to the Night Watch yet), and I am obsessed and absolutely mad about Fingersmith, the book and the movie. I expect the adaption to be good, and I look forward to seeing it.

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[–] reginawps 16 years ago

Me..me...(both hands up high!!!) Huge fan of SW and is looking forward to the TV adaptation. I read the novel few months ago... What an ending! Superb. That's all I can say...

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[–] wieldy 16 years ago

Affinity is my least favourite of Sarah Water's book, but it's still a bloody good book. I remember reading it, the twists and turns, especially towards the end, were absolutely breath taking. I'm hoping this will be a good adaptation, and with Andrew Davies doing the writing again then I'm fairly certain we won't be disappointed.

I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before they do an adaptation of Night Watch, one of the best books I have read for a long time. I just hope we don't have to wait another four years for the next new Sarah Waters book.

Dear Buddha, please send me a pony and a plastic rocket.

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[–] RosesRockMySocks 16 years ago

I thought that the BBC were doing the Night Watch adaptation which will be out this year too. I wish BBC had done Affinity too. I don't trust ITV as far as I could pick up their studio and through it. Hmmmmm hope it will be as good as the BBC adaptations!

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[–] mismi2 16 years ago

I just pre-ordered my DVD adaption of Affinity at wolfe video. It's set to come out late summer. I love Sarah Waters's novels and am sad that I've read them all and have no more!!

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[–] Ithilfaen 16 years ago

Loved the book (and so many others she wrote) and I can't wait to see this one. She's a very nice person too. Met her a few years back at a concert in London and she was really available and chatted with everyone... very cool and talented lady.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

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[–] GemaMelnicenko 16 years ago

I just this second finished reading this book, I have to say i really didn't like how it turned out, its put me off reading the night watch if its gonna be as misrable as that one, my fave is still fingersmith,
it put a real damper on my day *sigh*

I want to walk into the sea and never come back - Runt

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[–] SueKastle77 16 years ago

I discovered Sarah Water's works rather late, in 2005 when I watched Fingersmith and Tipping The Velvet on the Logo channel (in the U.S.) I loved these two films so much I bought the DVD's and found out they were based on a novel. Once I found out who the author was I bought Sarah's novels and they were even better then the TV counterparts. I loved both books, maybe favoring Fingersmith just a touch more as I re-read them both. Then I read Affinity as soon as it came out, though it was nicely written and kept my interest as I wanted poor Margeret to finally find happiness with Selina I was soon depressed as the ending turned out to be a total disappointment! I know not all endings can end on a lighter note but God, I was so upset that I literally threw the book at the wall because I was moved by the story so much or maybe because I saw a little bit of Margeret in myself as I nearly went through the same thing! So Affinity was the most depressing book I read recently, all that story build-up for nothing! LOL! After this book I can't bear to read The Night Watch because I'm afraid it will be just as depressing...

Anyone else moved this much by this tragic ending?

Can anyone tell me if The Night Watch is worth the read or not?

Rage More!--Lost & Delirious

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[–] wieldy 16 years ago

The ending of Affinity was not depressing. It was bleak, certainly, but why is it nessecary for all stories to be tied up in a pretty bow? The world certainly doesn't have happy endings all the time so why can't fiction. The ending of Affinity is powerful and shocking, and if you followed the clues in the book you could almost see it coming.

The Night Watch is an excellent book, the narrative drive is brilliantly created and it is as compelling a read as Fingersmith. I highly recommend it.

Dear Buddha, please send me a pony and a plastic rocket.

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[–] SueKastle77 16 years ago

That's why I wrote, "I know not all endings can end on a lighter note". The book was so "powerful" it simply made me depressed after reading the last few pages of the ending, that's all. I still think it was a good read I just disliked the ending! But like I wrote I was moved by the story, just not in the way I expected. Not to upset any Afinity-heads this is just what I thought of the book, my opinion! Hopefully when I see the film I will not have the same reaction.

I will give The Night Watch a try though.

Rage More!--Lost & Delirious

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[–] Alexis_79 16 years ago

I totally agree. The ending of Affinity is terribly tragic. I've only watched the movie, but it was so depressing i don't even want to read the book. I found myself yelling at the tv in the end because i wanted everything to work out for Margeret. It got me to thinking that this could have really happened in some way, and about how the women were treated back then. Then of course, i got even more depressed. I can't bear to think of how it must have been for women back then who were gay.

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[–] SueKastle77 16 years ago

Well if the movie had put you in a depressed mood then the book will certainly break your heart! LOL. Like I wrote before it was beautifully written but left me wanting more for poor Margeret. Life is depressing enough our books shouldn't be! But I would definitely try Sarah's other novels Tippeting The Velvet and Fingersmith then watch them on DVD, you'll be greatly surprised as how brillant they are.

I guess I'll skip the Affinity movie for now if it's the same result as the book.

Gay women certainly had it rough back then, but even today not much has changed in how straight people perceive lesbians! They are still treated terrible by society!

Rage More!--Lost & Delirious

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[–] charmed_luli 16 years ago

I finished reading Affinity last night,and well...I guess I was disappointed.

But Night Watch is a really good book. I guess you can describe it as happy beginnings at the end of the book.

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[–] theoneandonlymish 16 years ago

The ending is a real life ending, which makes it all the better! If you want a "Disney" ending, read Fingersmith! After I finished reading Affinity, I felt like I went through an awful breakup and needed to find a rebound relationship ASAP! It was just THAT tragic! I almost told myself I wasn't going to watch the movie, but I did because I loved the story! The film was a bit too fast, it didn't do Waters' story justice. She has a way of describing a scene so well that it's almost like you are there in the book with the characters. The film was flat and just laid out the story with no real emotion or depth... oh well. It's hard to mess up a good story with a lackluster film, so I guess I can't be that upset.

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[–] Yakkaty 16 years ago

I'm a huge fan of her work. I stumbled upon the Night Watch and I read it through almost at one go! I followed up by reading Fingersmith and then TTV and the last one I read was Affinity. The last one made me want to throw the book against the wall. I felt betrayed and then depressed. I had to watch FS and TTV several times to make me feel better. Gosh that's how powerful Sarah Waters novels are...

Now I wanna watch The Night Watch.

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[–] lharrisav 15 years ago

Oh I absolutely agree Sarah Waters novels are extremely powerful, indeed It has taken me a day (just over) to read Affinity as SW has a way of drawing me into a story like no other author and keeps me gripped. And like others here felt absolutely crushed by the ending. The way I saw it I had become Margaret, I had become desperate to visit Serena and the scenes SW paints out there in the prison cell, and was desperate for Margaret to get what she wanted and when she was left like that - with nothing but her own, old depressing life and feeling more hollow and wretched then ever before, well I was utterly devastated, despite the fact I knew something would go wrong. I suspected something with Ruth even, but I still held onto a sort of foolish hope that everything would end well.

I felt like SW had reached her hand into my very breast this morning and twisted my heart right round. I feel all out of kiltor with myself. It will be a while before I can reread Affinity I think, I loved it, I just don't think I can take that ending again so soon. Though it was a better ending than TtV which was just throughly disappointing Flo = drab.
Anyway Affinity is not my favourite of the books, I'd say Fingersmith > Affinity > Tipping the Velvet. I have next to read the Nightwatch, though I can't bring myself to start it just yet.

"I have a weakness, I like to lose control."

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[–] HijodelCid 11 years ago

I finished reading AFFINITY today, and I am so distressed!; how could Selina have betrayed Margaret so???

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

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[–] HijodelCid 11 years ago

That said, what would I do if I caught Selina?
Kiss her and forgive her, of course.
About the ending, what does it signify? That the spirit of S saves Margaret?
God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

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