Last week ... or maybe it was two weeks ago ...
If it was that long ago, what took you so long to tell us about it?
Yeah. Sorry. My bad. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah... about 60 weeks ago, I was getting coffee with the editor of Writing magazine. I have a tendency to talk her ear off in almost every situation and this day (about 537 weeks ago) was no different. I was telling her how much I was enjoying a book I was reading. The book in question was A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. We had both seen the author read from this exact novel at an event in New York City a while back (you can read about that night here) and she had bought me the book for my birthday.
ANYWAY...
As we're talking and preparing our coffee, a woman next to us overhears the conversation and jumps in.
"I love that book," she says. "I've always had a thing for John Irving." (I assume she meant John Irving's writing, but then again, what do I know? Maybe she's in love with the guy?)
So OK. Now we're talking to some stranger about literature. Awesome! I love it when this happens!
"You should really read the book though," she says. "The book is so much better than the movie."
Huh?
At this point, I surmised that her eavesdropping faculties had malfunctioned. She had heard us wrong. I was talking about the book, A Prayer for Owen Meany, not the movie it was adapted into, Simon Birch. How she made this mistake, I have no idea because I must have said "Owen Meany" at least 3 or 4 times before she spoke up.
Side note - As if this rant isn't confusing enough to follow, try making sense of this: Why would Hollywood disregard a perfectly good character name like "Owen Meany" and change it to "Simon Birch"? What could those west coast fat cats possibly have to gain from committing such a travesty? Show me the marketing research that says "Simon Birch" is a more suitable name for a tiny dude with a high-pitch squeal of a voice than "Owen Meany" and I will show you faulty research. Come on. It's not even a contest.
Side note's Side note - OK, I have an answer to the madness. I just checked IMDB.com, and according to them, "Author John Irving doubted his novel, A Prayer for Owen Meaney, could ever be turned into a film, and sold the screen rights on the condition it not be released under the same name as his book." Well alrighty then! This, I can live with!
Now back to the game...
So here's my problem with this woman that got coffee with us and, consequently, with pretty much everybody in America: if we happen to overhear someone talking about a book, we automatically assume, they are talking about a movie. I don't blame the woman for her oversight. I've probably been guilty of this, too. And I'm not a complete snob. There are plenty of films out there that, I'm sure, are much better than the books they come from. I just can't think of any right now.
Argh. I think I had a point originally, and I think it was a good one. But it is obvious now that I have completely lost it and am even coming off as some kind of angry literary purist jerk. I suppose that's what I get for waiting 900 bizillion weeks to write about it.
Wow. Sorry.
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Starting over...
I like A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is a book that I have enjoyed reading. Owen is a fascinating character. And the story is warm.
The End
