I have a sort of weird relationship with Tom Perrotta's novels. I started out by reading Little Children, which I read in one sitting (to be fair, it was over 5 hours while delayed in the Houston airport) and was really drawn into. I've since read Joe College (big fat eh) and The Abstinence Teacher (which I had forgotten about until getting to this review). Take that for what you will. Election is a short book and was easily consumed in a day but I'm still not sure what I thought of it.
Election, the movie, came out in 1999and I saw it in theaters. Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick are pretty great in the movie and the story line is all over the place but generally pretty messed up. I liked it. I like weird things.
While reading Election, the book, I found myself picturing the movie, remembering the movie, generally wanting to watch the movie. There isn't much in the novel (novella?) that they don't adequately portray in the movie so I'm generally confused as to whether I liked the book for its own merits or because I kept remembering that weird little movie I liked so much. Perhaps I would be wondering differently had I read the book first. But, I didn't.
The book has multiple narrators, an effect I like when done well; it's a nice little snapshot of suburban ennui, ambition, and general self absorption. I don't know that I identified with any of the characters or liked any of them but I enjoyed reading about all of them.
If you like Tom Perrotta or liked the movie, it's worth the read. It's an entertaining book and a quick read, great for public transportation.
To get a slightly different perspective read Brian's Review from the RegularGuyColumn
Abe's Book Blog though, seems to agree with much of my review arguing that "the book has nothing to offer that is not in the movie". My Big Fat Book Blog expresses the same sort of viewpoint, wondering what they would think without having seen the movie.
Want to know more about Tom Perrotta? Check out his official author site.
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5 months ago
Did you see Little Children, the movie? What did you think of it?
ReplyDeleteI did see Little Children the movie. Without saying too much, I'll just say that the ending is pretty different. I enjoyed the movie though. The overall feeling you get from the book is present but I'm not sure I understand the change.
ReplyDeleteI read about this...I think it was deliberate decision by Tom Perrotta and the director Todd Field, who collaborated on the screenplay. They wanted to do something different for the film, not just copy the book. I haven't read the book, so I’m not really sure what the differences are.
ReplyDeleteLittle Children is one of my favorite films. I found myself thinking about the film for weeks after I first saw it.
Just saw the link to my site on this - thanks. Your project sounds cool. I can't be as ambitious, but am continuing with the at least one book a month project I blew out of the water last year.
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