2015 is shaping up to be the year of the adaptation. Here’s the books to read now before they hit the big screen.
This year has already seen a spate of huge cinema releases based on books, including Fifty Shades of Grey, Still Alice, American Sniper, The Theory of Everything and Insurgent. And with a load more to come, this is shaping up to be the year of the adaptation. Here’s the books to read before they become movies in 2015...
Brooklyn This 2009 novel by Colm Toibin tells the story of a young small-town Irish woman who emmigrates to Brooklyn in the 1950s to find work – but when a family tragedy brings her home she becomes torn between her new life in America and her old roots. It’s beautifully written, moving – and a relatively skinny 256 pages, meaning you can easily whizz through it before the film is out. When’s the film due? November
Dark Places Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is one of the publishing sensations of the last few years, and the film adaptation – which netted Rosamund Pike a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars – was equally successful. Now her debut novel, Dark Places, is also hitting the big screen, with Charlize Theron in the starring role. It’s another dark tale, focusing on a woman whose brother massacred the rest of her family when she was seven. But as with all Gillian Flynn’s books, everything is not as it seems…. When’s the film due? Late 2015
Far From The Madding Crowd One Day author David Nicholls has written the screenplay for this adaptation of the classic Thomas Hardy novel. Hardy’s tragic romance sees Bathsheba Everdene (played by Carey Mulligan in the new film) torn between three suitors – a sheep farmer, a handsome soldier and a wealthy bachelor. C’mon, we’ve all been there. When’s the film due? May
Paper Towns The hugely successful young adult book, The Fault In Our Stars became an equally lucrative film last year, so it’s no surprise that one of author John Green’s earlier books is being made into a movie too. Paper Towns is another quirky take on a teenage love story, in which a girl enlists a boy’s help in an elaborate revenge scheme, then disappears, leaving clues on how to find her. Cara Delevingne has a lead role in the film. When ‘s the film due? July
Frankenstein If you didn’t study Mary Shelley’s gothic classic for your ‘A’ levels, now is the time to discover it. The story of a scientist and the grotesque creature he creates is getting another film adaptation, Victor Frankenstein, this year, starring Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy. The film will focus on Igor, Frankenstein’s troubled assistant. When’s the film due? September
