Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
If you are planning to read this I suspect you have seen -- and are a fan of the 1942 film. Many times it is said that the book is better than the movie based on it. In this case book and movie are equally enjoyable, mainly because the movie is remarkably similar. It's a compliment that many iconic lines in the movie are taken directly from Prouty's text. (Including the concluding ones about having the stars.) The plot is basically the same, too, with a few changes.
Her tale is well written and effective. Overshadowed by the film adaptation, one major change is that the first half of the novel recounts Charlotte's adventures on the cruise ship after leaving Cascade. (It's a Mediterranean cruise, which explains the line in the movie that might elicit a âHuh? â about tea time in Boston.) It also gives a little more background of JD's marriage â explained to Charlotte by a fellow cruise passenger who knew both JD and his wife, as well as memories recalled by JD himself. (The young Charlotte's encounter with a ship's officer on a cruise 15+ years before is recounted early in the book.)
While the film is more chronological in format, readers aren't introduced to the âbeforeâ Charlotte until later, in memories that Charlotte recalls at various points on the cruise. So readers don't have an image of the âbeforeâ Bette Davis as they learn of Charlotte's journey from repressed spinster to the center of attention on the last part of the month-long cruise. Her return to Boston and her clash with her mother are very much what the film depicted. The book goes into greater detail about her relationship with Elliot and fleshes out sister-in-law Lisa a bit.
Cascade is described in detail, and Charlotte's encounter with JD's daughter there is faithfully filmed.
Another minor difference between book and movie is the classic bit of JD lighting two cigarettes and handing one to Charlotte. There is a bit with two cigarettes in the book, but it is different.
This is a book to read over and over, especially when one feels lonely or alone. Or needs a good cry.
Her tale is well written and effective. Overshadowed by the film adaptation, one major change is that the first half of the novel recounts Charlotte's adventures on the cruise ship after leaving Cascade. (It's a Mediterranean cruise, which explains the line in the movie that might elicit a âHuh? â about tea time in Boston.) It also gives a little more background of JD's marriage â explained to Charlotte by a fellow cruise passenger who knew both JD and his wife, as well as memories recalled by JD himself. (The young Charlotte's encounter with a ship's officer on a cruise 15+ years before is recounted early in the book.)
While the film is more chronological in format, readers aren't introduced to the âbeforeâ Charlotte until later, in memories that Charlotte recalls at various points on the cruise. So readers don't have an image of the âbeforeâ Bette Davis as they learn of Charlotte's journey from repressed spinster to the center of attention on the last part of the month-long cruise. Her return to Boston and her clash with her mother are very much what the film depicted. The book goes into greater detail about her relationship with Elliot and fleshes out sister-in-law Lisa a bit.
Cascade is described in detail, and Charlotte's encounter with JD's daughter there is faithfully filmed.
Another minor difference between book and movie is the classic bit of JD lighting two cigarettes and handing one to Charlotte. There is a bit with two cigarettes in the book, but it is different.
This is a book to read over and over, especially when one feels lonely or alone. Or needs a good cry.
