Here is 5 of some of the best book adaptations, some of which you might have come across or not!
Little Women:
This is a coming of age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It was originally published in two volumes. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters- Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. It is loosely based on the lives of the author and her three sisters.
The book was so popular because it appealed to different classes of women, women could relate and dream where they may not have before. Little Women was ranked number 18 in the Big Read, a survey of the British Public by the BBC to determine the “Nation’s best loved novel”, it is 4th highest among novels published in the US on that list.
Little Women has been adapted to film seven times. Writer and director, Greta Gerwig took on the story in her 2019 adaptation of the novel. The film features a star studded cast, Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Emma Watson as Meg, Florence Pugh as Amy, Meryl Streep as Aunt March among many others. The film was a critical and commercial success.
It received 6 Academy Awards Nominations, including Best Picture. The film has an approval rating of 95% based on 417 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10.
Both the book and the film comes highly recommended.
After:
After is a 2014 young adult romance novel written by American author Anna Todd and published by Gallery Books. After is the first installment of the After series. After was originally released as a fan fiction on Wattpad. Anna Todd’s writing was inspired by the music and fandom of One Direction(the main character was named after Harry Styles in the book)
If you are a fan of rebellious college kids, then After is a must read for you. Within a month of publishing the first chapters, the story had acquired 544 million reads, Todd later landed a deal to publish the series with the lead male character’s name changed to Hardin Scott.
The film was directed by Jenny Gage based on the adult fiction novel. The film stars Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin and follows an inexperienced teenage girl who begins to romance a mystery student during her first month of college.
The film was a commercial success. A sequel, After We Collided was released in the US 2020. Two further sequels After We Fell and After Ever Happy have been completed, finishing production of the franchise.
The book and film comes highly recommended.
Crazy Rich Asians:
Crazy Rich Asians is a satirical 2013 romance comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. The novel was loosely based on his own childhood in Singapore. The novel became a best seller and was followed by two sequels, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. The novel received positive reviews internationally from sources including The New York Times, The Independent among others.
A film adaptation of the 2013 novel was directed by John M. Chu under Warner Bros Pictures. The director of the film appears in the book as a distant cousin of Rachel Chu. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Ken Jeong among others.
It follows a Chinese- American professor who travels to meet her boyfriend’s family and is surprised to discover they are among the richest in Singapore.
The film also won a lot of awards and received a lot of accolades.
Both the book and the film is worth every bit of your time.
Half of a Yellow Sun:
Half of a Yellow Sun is a novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Published in 2006 by Fourth Estate, the novel tells the story of the Biafran War through the perspective of the characters Olanna, Ugwu and Richard.
The story in Half of a Yellow Sun centers on war, the Biafran war. Adichie grew up in the aftermath of war. Themes of the book like war, relevance of academia in everyday life,role of Westerners in post colonial Africa, women empowerment, marriage made the book quite popular and widely accepted.
The novel was well received by critics and it was included in the New York Times “100 most notable books of the year”. In November 2020, Half of a Yellow Sun was voted the best book to have won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in its 25th year history.
A film adaptation written by playwright Biyi Bandele premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in late 2013 and had it worldwide release in 2014. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton.
The film and the book are both amazing and I definitely recommend.
Beasts of No Nation:
Beasts of No Nation is a 2005 novel by the Nigerian- American author Uzodinma Iweala that takes its title from Fela Kuti’s 1989 album with the same name.
The novel follows the journey of a young boy who is forced to join a group of soldiers in an unnamed West African country.
A feature film was adapted by Cory Fukunaga starring Abraham Attah as Agu and Idris Elba as the commander. The film is an international production shot on location in the jungles of Ghana. It premiered on Netflix on October 2005.
The film and the book comes recommended.
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