With summer looming brightly on the horizon, comes the question of how to spend it. If you’re anything like me, your ideal plan includes countless hours binge watching as many tv shows as you can and diving headfirst into your ever expanding reading list. So I thought, for this week, I’d combine the two into a list of the best Book to Screen adaptations to binge over summer.
1.The Handmaid’s Tale
Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s best selling novel of the same name is favoured by many as one of the best book to screen adaptations in modern times. It stars Elizabeth Moss as Offred/June, trying her best to survive in a dystopian version of North America where women are seen as subservient to men. Offred is a highly rebellious character and is the exact opposite of what the world has tried to turn her into. The Handmaid’s Tale is an action packed female lead tale of struggle and survival and both the book and the show are excellent additions to your summer leisure.
2.The Cry
Perhaps less widely known and massively underrated is BBC one’s adaptation of Helen Fitzgerald’s novel of the same name. The Cry shines a light on the world’s fascination with broken people, as we follow the events of new mum Joanna and her trip to Australia. Though, the trip takes a dark turn and when the world looks to Joanna as a monster, Joanna and her family break, and even darker secrets come to light. The Cry is full of twists and turns and makes for an extremely exciting (though admittedly short – sitting at four parts) watch this summer.
3.Defending Jacob
Starring Chris Evans of Avengers fame, Defending Jacob is based on the Novel by William Landay (can you guess what it’s called?). It’s one of those shows where u start out thinking you know it all and that person is definitely the killer (did I mention it’s based of a murder of an American middle school student?) but then as the series progresses you’ll undoubtedly begin to doubt yourself, the show leaves you reeling needing to know whether the protagonists son, now accused of murder, is guilty.
The book-screen adaptation industry is huge and there’s so many more out there then those covered in this post, however these are some of the best (in my opinion). Whether you favour reading the book or waiting for the movie, the above hits both those birds with a single stone!
