Roddy Doyle

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message: Nanda: "The Naked Lunch"

>>Roddy Doyle, anyone?
>
>hmmmm?

Roddy D is good stuff!  The trilogy of novels is now in a boxed set over
here -- oops, over in the US -- and sells pretty well.  He did a few
readings when Paddy Clarke came out, and I saw a few of them; he's a great
reader.   (And cute as a stuffed animal.  I went with a few women friends
of mine, who all swooned and wanted to take him home as if he were a pet.)

I just bought The Woman Who Walked Into Doors before I left, but haven't
had a chance to open it yet....

A few weeks back I went to see the movie they made of The Van, but fell
asleep.  Not a remark on the movie, but another manifestation of the rare
disorder I have, cinematonarcolepsy irregularensis.  I've seen all the
other movies they've made of his books -- he translates uncommonly well to
the screen -- and have enjoyed the others.

Now, there's an interesting topic: what fiction does or does not translate
well to the screen.

ObSalinger on this topic: In the best of all worlds, who would make a good
Holden Caulfield in a high-quality movie adaptation?  I've always thought
that Tom Hulce, exactly as he appeared in "Animal House," had the
absolutely perfect Holden Caulfield face and manner.  I'm not suggesting
that the book would survive the transition to the screen (though I've often
wondered how many people out there have, at some point in their lives, sat
down and written what they thought of as a faithful "Catcher" screenplay).
NB (since this is a fantasy idea): James Dean doesn't count; too obvious, I
think....

--tim o'connor

• Next message: Nanda: "The Naked Lunch"