In mid/late March, PBS will be launching two new series on Sunday nights: "The Forsytes," based on "The Forsyte Saga" novels from the 1920s by John Galsworthy, and "The Count of Monte Cristo," based on the 1844 classic by Alexander Dumas. I plan to watch both! (at least the first few episodes, to see if I enjoy them).
(I remember my mother watching "The Forsyte Saga" when I was a kid, back in the 1960s -- or was it "The Whiteoaks of Jalna"? -- Probably both, lol. Apparently there was a new version of "The Forsyte Saga" made for British TV in 2002, too. The original 1967 series is apparently available to watch on YouTube... hmmm...)
I have not read any of the books these shows are based on. I generally do like to read a book first before seeing any movies/TV shows based on them, and I figured I would read these before the TV shows began. Of course, time zoomed by between when I first heard about the shows and the present... With just a few weeks left to go, I recently bought cheap e-copies for my Kobo reader, and opened them both earlier this week.
I have not read any of the books these shows are based on. I generally do like to read a book first before seeing any movies/TV shows based on them, and I figured I would read these before the TV shows began. Of course, time zoomed by between when I first heard about the shows and the present... With just a few weeks left to go, I recently bought cheap e-copies for my Kobo reader, and opened them both earlier this week.
I did not realize (until I did) that both are LONG books!! I checked on Goodreads, and the paperback Penguin edition of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is almost 1,300 pages long; "The Forsyte Saga" is 900! Granted, I suppose I could just read whatever I can before the shows start -- the first episode(s) won't cover the entire book, after all.
But do I really have the time, energy and focus right now to tackle two very long books like these? Are there other books I could/should be reading right now instead? (especially given my book club obligations). Will reading the books first enhance my understanding and appreciation of the shows -- or just annoy me, when I realize what they've left out and how they've miscast certain characters that I imagined differently?? etc. etc. (lol) Is it worth reading the books first when it's likely I'm just going to be annoyed by the TV show's lack of faithfulness to the subject material??
In the case of "The Forsytes," the project is being led by Debbie Horsfield, who adapted the first seven "Poldark" novels by Winston Graham for a TV series for a new generation (2015-2019), a few years back. (There was also a "Poldark" TV series in the 1970s, which my mother & I watched together.) The first several seasons of "Poldark" were mostly faithful to the books and very well done... right up until the final season, which completely departed from the novels, and was nowhere near as satisfying. (I've written about both the Poldark books & TV shows on this blog in the past, and tagged them all as "Poldark.")
And I've been hearing rumblings that "The Forsytes" TV series led by Horsfield won't be a strict adaptation, but rather will be "reimagined" from the novels. (See, for example, this article from Drama Quarterly, and this one from Radio Times.) Hmmm.... I don't mind a few tweaks and trims (you can't include EVERYTHING in the books, of course), but it does bother me when too many liberties are taken with the original story (especially when the author doesn't have any say in the changes!).
What do you think? Do you generally like to read a book before seeing the movie/show -- or do you think it matters? (Have you read these books before?)
(I was amused to see, while browsing through my past Poldark-related posts, that I wrote a similar post on this subject back in 2017!)
Hi Lori, I love to read your book reviews! I am doing a reading challenge this year and one task is to read the debut novel of a Nobel Prize Winner. I have chosen the Forsyte Saga for this and will start next Sunday. Would you like to do a slow read together? Many greetings from Annette
ReplyDeleteI already started a new book! -- but it wouldn't be the first time I have more than one book on the go! lol If we went at a slow pace, it could be do-able! Let me know what kind of schedule you have in mind!
DeleteI've just watched Wuthering Heights. I read the book a long long time ago, and don't have very fond memories of it. But I was glad I'd read it before I saw the movie. However, I don't think it's necessary. Especially if they've made changes to the plot or characters, modernised it, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe read Wuthering Heights in high school, although I don't remember if it was the full book of just the abbreviated version (which is where most movie adaptations stop). I did read the full book at some point, though, although it's been a while. And I've seen the Laurence Olivier/Merle Oberon movie from the 1930s. It's not exactly the romance they're billing it as, is it?
DeleteLike you, I would tend to read the book first, almost expecting to be disappointed by the movie afterward ;-). If I've seen the movie I usually don't see the point in reading the book because I already know the story, even though it is of course never quite the same.
ReplyDeleteA new movie or series can be an excellent motivator to read a particular book. I remember reading "The English Patient" when I was still quite young and discovering the world was exciting. I would never have read it without the movie. This is true for many other books and I'm glad I've read them!
When the books are long and energy is low, it is a tricky question though. I have certainly gone through times in my life when I was unable to focus my attention on any kind of more substantial literature. But if you have a cheap e-version, you could always give it a try and see whether you can get into the book – nothing would be lost. What I sometimes do: I sort of skim or scan some parts of the book if it is very long. I don't read everything as thoroughly, especially if I don't like a particular paragraph. Then I still get a feeling for the book, I know what it's about, but I get on a little faster. And often there will be other parts of the story that I like and/or that are easier to focus on.
Wishing you a lovely Sunday!
I like to read the book after the movie. I really like Dumas, though I haven't read any in probably 30 years. I have loved every Dumas adaptation I've ever watched both before and after reading, even ones other people thought were terrible (even though there are almost no female characters in his books and the ones who exist are paper thin). Monte Cristo is probably my least favorite property because it's the most serious, but it does have kind of a satisfying redemptionness to it-- it just takes a while to get there.
ReplyDeleteI think I tried to get into the Forsyte saga as a teen but couldn't, but also I wasn't really reading romances back then.