The Love Hate Relationship With (Book) 'Adaptations'

The first book that made you fall in love with stories probably wasn’t some dusty classic everyone pretends to love. Maybe it was Hana’s Suitcase.

A quiet, gut-punch of a book about a little girl caught up in the horrors of the Holocaust. You were just a kid, still figuring out that stories could be about real pain, real responsibility not only some fun escape. That book slapped you with the idea that stories could make you feel like, actually responsible for remembering and caring.

Since then, that one (or more) book’s been your emotional GPS. It’s told you books aren’t cozy getaways but in a way doorways into lives and choices you’ll never live but somehow carry with you anyway. But movies also promise you that.

But the movies and shows that promise to “bring your favorite books to life", a little controversial, You want to love them. You really do. The idea of seeing your favourite characters in full technicolor, hearing their voices, soaking in the soundtrack? Yes, please. Bring it on.

When they nail it, adaptations can be like a double shot of espresso for your love of a story—intense, thrilling, unforgettable. However, we know how hope can turn futile more often than not.

And book adaptations? Bro, they’re a mess. They take your precious novel, strip it down, toss out the nuance, and serve you a shiny, simplified version that leaves you staring at the screen like, “Wait, what just happened?!”

It’s like someone took your gourmet meal and turned it into fast food—quick, easy, but where’s the soul? You hate it when complex characters turn into clichés, when emotions get flattened for the sake of explosions or cheesy plot twists or simply because your 90 minutes don't allow it. You mourn the loss like a beloved friend gone too soon.

This love-hate situation feels like standing between two worlds: the infinite universe inside your head when you read, where you’re the boss of every detail, and the fixed, director-controlled world of film, where your imagination gets a serious time-out. Remember how Crime and Punishment crushed you with its heavy moral madness? Yeah, try fitting that into two hours without losing half the punch. Or The Metamorphosis—the sad, weird insect story that makes you feel all kinds of alienation. If they were to turn it into a film...on screen, it just looks like a bug with bad luck.

Still, you can’t ghost adaptations completely. Sometimes, they surprise you. They get under your skin, make you see the story through fresh eyes, or invite people who’d never touch the book to join the party and certainly test your loyalty over the treatment of your favourite or at least revered fictional characters.

In the end, your relationship with adaptations is a deliciously messy cocktail of love and eye-rolls. They’re imperfect mirrors—sometimes reflecting the story’s truth, sometimes warping it beyond recognition. And honestly? Holding onto both love and frustration is what keeps you coming back, reminding you why you adore books in the first place.