There are two types of people in this world. Those who read a book first then watch the adaptation, and those who watch the adaptation and then read the book.
While there is no scientific evidence on just how to split this, I asked my immediate team what they did.
For TheLatch— beauty and wellness Editor, Alex, it’s only natural that she reads a book first because she’s more of a bookworm. Katie, our lifestyle editor, flits between the two based on reviews and word of mouth, although — as a general rule, would choose to read the book first.
For me, I’ve always been a “watch first, read later” person. In fact, I would often see a film and then go out of my way to buy the book.
When I was in my mid to late teens, I watched Fight Club for the first time. The story was intriguing and gritty, completely different from anything I had seen before. After watching it, I read the book — and in my opinion, it was even better than the film. Upon doing some research, I found out that one of the film’s producers, Ross Grayson Bell had actually picked up a copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name and after reading that twist, he knew he had to turn it into a movie.
So, hoping for a similar outcome — by means of which I would thoroughly enjoy it — I picked up the novel Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran. The novel was the inspiration and story for the TV series of the same name (streaming on Stan).
I’ve been an avid fan of Younger since the beginning of its run. I’m a huge fan of Sutton Foster, love Hilary Duff as Kelsey and much to the chagrin of many, have been Team Charles since day dot.
But when I picked up the novel and started reading, the uneasiness set in. While the premise was there, the characters were nothing like the show. Liza was now Alice, Josh was now a game designer, Kelsey was now Lindsay with the red hair, Diana was the name of Alice’s daughter and not her boss, her boss was now Teri Jordan, her ex-husband was now Gary, “Alice” now works at Gentility Press not Empirical and the ultimate sin — there. is. no. Charles.
Now, I’m all for an adaptation following loosely on a story, however, this time around, watching the TV show first has simply stolen my joy.
I’m annoyed I can’t imagine my favourite actors playing the part — especially when they’re physical characteristics have changed. It’s incredibly confusing and not fun at all.
As a positive, the story will ultimately play out differently — especially when Charles is not in the mix (blasphemy) — so it’s up to me and my imagination to somehow keep on getting through it. It’s actually a very fun read if you take away my neurosis. One of those books you can’t put down at the beach. And maybe this is a lesson learned.
Maybe, I’m now a book before adaptation kind of girl? But, will an adaptation ever be enough for me after reading the novel?
While I ponder this, one thing I know for sure is that Younger is stealing my joy.