Tuck Everlasting

The sky was a ragged blaze of red and pink and orange, and its double trembled on the surface of the pond like color spilled from a paintbox.  The sun was dropping fast now, a soft red sliding egg yolk, and already to the east there was a darkening to purple. … Across the pond a bullfrog spoke a deep note of warning.  … The rowboat slipped from the bank then, silently, and glided out, tall water grasses whispering away from its sides, releasing it.

Tuck  Everlasting   by   Natalie Babbitt

I will never write a paragraph, let alone an entire novel, as effortlessly beautiful.  Am I capable? Probably.  Will it happen? Probably not.  I have a different style.  And, I am okay with that.

The reason I highlight this particular book is because I just finished reading it.  But, I saw the equally amazing 2002 movie FIRST.

Which brings me to the reason for this post AND an age old matter of contention.  Book or movie? Which was better?  Unfortunately, it’s complicated.  Of course it’s complicated.  Why wouldn’t it be?

Books have been and continue to be a great source of Hollywood material.  The Harry Potter series, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey – the list is endless.   Oh, did I mention  My  Life  As  A  Retail  Pharmacist –  A  Fictionalized  Memoir  would make a great movie?  Well, it would or will.  As a writer, you fantasize about when Hollywood comes calling.  And, which actor will play the coveted characters you’ve created.  It’s what gets you through the really rough days of writer’s block, editing, and rejection. Look at the actor selection process that went into Fifty  Shades  of  Grey.  That was crazy.  By the way, I think Jason Bateman, Topher Grace, or even that Eddie dude who just won an Oscar  would make a great Adam Thomas.

The reason my situation with Tuck Everlasting is complicated is because, like I said,  I saw the movie first.  Usually that’s not the case.  So, I knew exactly what was going to unfold, which actor played each character, and – gasp – how that gangly, icky guy in the yellow suit died.   My imagination while reading was influenced by the Hollywood version.  I don’t recommend it.  The movie followed the book precisely, changing just a few details necessary to present an equally endearing movie.

See why it’s complicated? If I would’ve read the book first, this ‘complication’  wouldn’t be an issue.

Oh well.  It’s kind of nice to have such trivial things to blog about, eh?

Anyway, to put us both out of rambling misery, I will close with a simple, yet poignant line.  Which, by the way, William Hurt totally rocked the delivery of in the movie.

Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXbbAbDvifw

Sorry about this, but I found another Babbitt bit.

Nothing ever seems interesting when it belongs to you – only when it doesn’t.

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