The book and the movie.
Have you any idea how hard it was to find a picture of my book's cover? The British edition's cover doesn't actually pop up all over the place... Also, in my opinion, Moore and West don't really look like themselves on that poster. This is more like them:
Landon & Jamie on a picnic. (:But I finally read through the book. Last night. It went awfully fast - a few hundred pages in a few hours. Talking semantics - it's hard for me to focus on the words when reading. I barely notice them. I generally just grasp the meaning. But - on the 100 first pages I managed to write down the unfamiliar words/phrases and the ones I was doubtful about. I may have skipped some, since understanding the text generally isn't about being able to paraphrase all the words. On to the actual book, then.
The story made me think back on my life and I realized - I'm a mean, selfish person. Look at Jamie - she's the role model for everything that's pure and good and sweet... she helped the orphans, put others before herself, was happy to help at all times, was happy. Period. Why shouldn't I be, then?
I should help others more, not get annoyed by them. I should be a better person. I should spend my time more smartly. I should do a lot of things, since the way I'm living now isn't really helping anyone. Sure, I wish to improve my skills and my knowledge; I wish to be good at the things I do and beat others - and that's all me, me, me. Why am I not doing something for everyone else at the same time?
I guess nobody expects me to - I'm just a teen with options, the whole wide world is open before me to fulfill my dreams... nobody expects me or others to care about the fate of others - every man for himself, yeah? Bollocks.
So the book really-really got me thinking... and it moved me. This story has you to tears almost throughout the whole thing and I really don't mind. It was amazing.
The movie kind of differed from the book - some nuances were left out that I really enjoyed (Landon volunteering, the orphanage, the jars) and some outright modified (Landon's dad, the era (DUH), the author and context of the play, Jamie's dad not telling the congregation)... so overall I must say I prefer the book. It's so small though - compared to the 600-700 page books I've been reading recently, this went by in a whoosh. But the book... sort of took a different road, I suppose, and this road was framed with ideas that didn't come out in the movie... also, now I finally understand the meaning of the title, A Walk to Remember. Also another thing that got lost in the script.
I will definitely be reading this again - but I'm afraid I'll only be able to read it when alone on a cold winter's night since I really wouldn't want to burst into tears at, say, school - and I don't want to suppress my emotions. This book deserves more than that.
I've got Sarah McLachlan singing in my head now. The soundtrack sounds more or less fitting, actually. Perhaps the next time I read this, I should have her songs play. I like the idea (:
The story made me think back on my life and I realized - I'm a mean, selfish person. Look at Jamie - she's the role model for everything that's pure and good and sweet... she helped the orphans, put others before herself, was happy to help at all times, was happy. Period. Why shouldn't I be, then?
I should help others more, not get annoyed by them. I should be a better person. I should spend my time more smartly. I should do a lot of things, since the way I'm living now isn't really helping anyone. Sure, I wish to improve my skills and my knowledge; I wish to be good at the things I do and beat others - and that's all me, me, me. Why am I not doing something for everyone else at the same time?
I guess nobody expects me to - I'm just a teen with options, the whole wide world is open before me to fulfill my dreams... nobody expects me or others to care about the fate of others - every man for himself, yeah? Bollocks.
So the book really-really got me thinking... and it moved me. This story has you to tears almost throughout the whole thing and I really don't mind. It was amazing.
The movie kind of differed from the book - some nuances were left out that I really enjoyed (Landon volunteering, the orphanage, the jars) and some outright modified (Landon's dad, the era (DUH), the author and context of the play, Jamie's dad not telling the congregation)... so overall I must say I prefer the book. It's so small though - compared to the 600-700 page books I've been reading recently, this went by in a whoosh. But the book... sort of took a different road, I suppose, and this road was framed with ideas that didn't come out in the movie... also, now I finally understand the meaning of the title, A Walk to Remember. Also another thing that got lost in the script.
I will definitely be reading this again - but I'm afraid I'll only be able to read it when alone on a cold winter's night since I really wouldn't want to burst into tears at, say, school - and I don't want to suppress my emotions. This book deserves more than that.
I've got Sarah McLachlan singing in my head now. The soundtrack sounds more or less fitting, actually. Perhaps the next time I read this, I should have her songs play. I like the idea (:
