It's Tuesday and you know what that means. Another Top Ten list! This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is top ten movie you'd like seen made into movies. Here we go.
1. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. I know, I know. It was already made into a movie. It doesn't count. Rosie O'Donnell as Ole Golly!!!! Give me a break. The movie I'm envisioning would be animated, drawn in the style of Fitzhugh's original illustrations.
2. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Wow! This powerful memoir blew me away. Wall's story of her childhood growing up with the most immature, irresponsible, nomadic parents in all of literature would definitely translate to the big screen. A coming of age story like no other.
3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. I recently read this modern ghost story and was not at all impressed. Way too many character POVs floating about on every page. However, that doesn't mean it wouldn't make a good movie. And London's Highgate Cemetery would make a wonderfully spooky setting.
4. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. This award-winning short story collection/novel would be a challenge for a filmmaker since it jumps all over the place in regard to character, time, and setting. But in the hands of the right director--someone similar to Robert Altman, say--it could be awesome. And with its strong music scene background I could even envision it as a musical. Maybe.
5. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. Ford's classic novel about betrayal is perfect for the screen. I see it as one of those tasteful British dramas, the kind made by Merchant and Ivory.
6. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Another British-style drama, but this one is set in present-day England. Major Pettigrew is a retired soldier from the old school. His beliefs and way of life are challenged when he falls for a Pakistani widow who runs the local grocery store. Although the novel grapples with serious issues, it does so with humor.
7. The Brief Wondorous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. An indie film for sure. Diaz's story of grossly overweight Oscar who seeks both fame and love is heartbreaking and an amazing character study. The film would depend on getting the right actor to play Oscar. But look at Push by Sapphire. It can be done.
8. The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah. Another novel I had issues with. Hannah has way too many unlikely coincidences in her novel about a young wife and mother who finds herself caught up in a dangerous murder investigation following an unwise affair a year earlier. Although I had problems with the character's motivations and the overwrought prose, the plot was clever and suspenseful. I think it would make a much better movie than book.
9. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. The first in a series of mysteries featuring Jackson Brodie, Case Histories is a delicious read. The novel ties together three separate cases that Brodie, a sensitive private detective with his own heartbreaks, investigates in a thrilling and suspenseful read. I would love to see the movie.
10. Room by Emma Donoghue. This is the only book on my list that I haven't yet read, although I plan to as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. Just reading the stellar reviews is enough to know that this novel about a young woman and the child she gives birth to in captivity could sizzle on the screen.
Now how many of these movies from my wish list will actually be made? Time will tell. While we're waiting, why don't you list your ideas for bookish movies of the future?
