“IF YOU ENJOYED THE MOVIE, YOU’LL CERTAINLY ENJOY LISTENING TO ROB REINER, THE MOVIE’S DIRECTOR, READ THE BOOK.” was what the online library listing promised me. They even shouted it. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
I would like to be really clear about this. I don’t want to get yelled at. This is a review for the audiobook. Very different from the movie. I love the movie. It became an instant favourite when I saw it over 20 years ago. I’ve enjoyed it many times since.
I also read the book many years ago. It was disappointing. Some of my favourite lines from the movie are not in the book. But, there is more back-story detail added which can be entertaining. If there wasn’t the comparison, I would probably have thought it was a good book. But, I would wonder what the big deal was with the fans of the movie, if I went only by that.
So, with this in mind, I already had lower expectations for the audiobook. But Rob Reiner directed this popular movie. Surely he must know how to read it well. No, no he does not. Which is ironic. The story starts as someone reading the book to a sick boy. Peter Falk does this well in the movie.
Read the rest of my review at Loopy Ker’s Life.