Do you typically watch the movie or series after reading the book?

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I recently read Small Things Like These (affiliate link), a novella by Claire Keegan. I discovered it, cover out, in an independent book store. Finding the book reminded me that Regie Routman had recommended it in one of her “What I’m Reading” blogs.

I’m not surprised The New York Times listed it as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. If I waited a bit longer, it would likely have made my top five books of 2024 list. It’s that good.

Regie provides a helpful synopsis:

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is an exquisitely written novella, a short, beautiful work of fiction that touches the heart and soul and packs a wallop. Keegan dedicates the book to “the women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries.” Those horrifying places, run by Roman Catholic institutions, kept thousands of “fallen” young girls captive as they suffered a life of unimaginable cruelty and neglect including hard labor, physical abuse, baby kidnapping and worse. A small but crucial act of redemption by Bill Furlong-- a coal seller, husband, and father of five daughters--brings a modicum of relief and hope; his personal search for meaning leads him to do the unexpected, provide hope to a young woman suffering grievously. This is one of those books you will want to reread; as soon as I finished it, I read it again and savored it even more.

I plan to reread it this week. I want to re-experience the moral dilemma that Bill Furlong struggles with throughout the story. What are the costs of doing the right thing, and what are you willing to pay for it?

After reading the book the first time, I thought about what a wonderful movie this book would make. Who would play Bill? Would the director remain faithful to the novella? (You can read it in an afternoon.)

My wishes were answered when, looking up a website link for the book to share with a colleague, I discovered that a movie was already out for it.

How is this movie not playing in our area? (I know the answer, but still.) Cillian Murphy seems perfectly cast for the role of Bill Furlong. The reviews are excellent. You can watch it from your own home.

When I shared my enthusiasm for the movie version of Small Things Like These with Regie, she noted that she is “sure it’s well done, but I’ve yet to see a movie that’s better than the original book.”

I acknowledged this sentiment. I also offered my own position.

“I love movies, so I have approached that mode of the story as a different experience, rethinking my expectations for it. I actually don't enjoy direct retelling of books through movies as much as a director's or screenwriter's interpretation of the story.”

It’s a reason I have enjoyed the later Harry Potter movies more than the first two. The initial entries watch more like the book-as-movie translation.

With the subsequent volumes getting longer, the directors had to use artistic license to tell the story within the given constraints of their medium. The distillation of the original novels into movie format actually, for me at least, surfaced the scenes that were most critical to the narrative.

And yet I am currently rereading Harry Potter: The Deathly Hollows (the final installment) before I rewatch the corresponding movie. I want to revel in the language and the full story before viewing its abridged version, no matter how well done.

Do you typically watch the movie or series after reading the book?

If you don’t, why not?

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